As government officials from riparian states gathered in Addis Ababa last week, focused on the politics of the Nile, experts presented growing scientific evidence that compels Nile Basin countries to work together to protect the waters.
Ethiopia has been in dispute with Egypt, Nile’s biggest user, over construction of the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (Gerd), a power generation project on the Blue Nile, which Cairo says will reduce waters due to Egypt.
Hydrologists warn that the Nile waters will generally be reducing for everyone because of climate change hence the need for cooperation.
They cite a recent Unep report that showed that the Nile’s water flow has reduced from over 3,000 cubic metres per second in 1970s to 2,830 today, blamed on frequent droughts and deforestation of catchment areas. In the next 70 years, the amount of water available for every of the 300 million inhabitants in the Nile Basin could reduce by as much as two thirds....
The forum agreed on a non-binding declaration for Basin-wide cooperation on equitable and reasonable utilisation of the Nile.
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