Water is a natural resource that God has freely given the world to use. People use water for various purposes, from cleaning, washing to drinking. It is sad when we see countries fighting over the control of water bodies. Ethiopia now disagrees with other countries over the Nile waters.
In this context, we see African countries fighting for the waters of the River Nile to gain control over it. Countries use waters from large water bodies for irrigation and industrial purposes which in the end improves their economies. Egypt and Sudan depend on the water of the river.
The Nile Waters
The Nile is a river in Africa. It is about 4130 mi long and passes in more than 10 states. These countries are Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt. The White Nile and the Blue Nile are its tributaries. The White Nile is the source of the Nile. The Blue Nile is the other source of the River Nile. White Nile flows through TZ, Lake Victoria, Uganda, and South Sudan. The Blue Nile starts at Lake Tana and flows into Sudan.
Most of the people and towns of Egypt lie along the Nile valley and all cultural sites of Ancient Egypt are located along banks.
The Blue Nile
The Ethiopians recognize it as the Abay. It supplies about 80% of the Nile water during the rainy period. Its flow reaches maximum capacity during the rainy season. The river was an origin of the flooding of the River Nile that caused the fertility of the Nile Valley. This river is very important to the Egyptians. It is shorter than the White Nile river, about 60% of the water that gets to Egypt comes from the Blue Nile.
Moreover, the river is vital to the lands of Sudan where the dams provide over 70% of the state’s electricity. These dams aid in the irrigation of the Gezira Scheme. The scheme is popular for its cotton. The area produces crops too such as wheat.
Looking at how these countries depend on the Blue Nile for various purposes, it is justifiable that they should fight for it. In 2012 Ethiopia began the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. The dam would produce thousands of megawatts HEP. Sudan and Egypt complained of a possible decrease in the availability of the water.
The White Nile
It is one of the two major tributaries of the River Nile. Its name originates from coloring because of the clay carried towards its waters. White Nile is a passable channel from Lake Albert to Khartoum via Jebel dam. During the 19th century when the Europeans were looking for the source of the River Nile, the White Nile was the center of focus. The basin size is over 1.7 million square kilometers.
Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt should discuss how they will fairly distribute the waters of the Nile without disagreements. All the countries depend on those waters for economic and industrial purposes, so one state controlling the whole of it might be quite unfair for the others.
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