Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Can The Middle East Avoid Future Water Wars?

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Image from Carboun.com

Water Conflicts Will Increase Tensions As Rural Areas Suffer -- Mark Zeitoun, The National

Three days after the fall of Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak, the then Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, announced the start of construction of a dam on the Nile's main tributary. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will be the first Ethiopia has built on the river. The move is a direct challenge to downstream Egypt's "hydro-hegemony", which had ensured that it and Sudan enjoy essentially exclusive use of the river, thanks to favourable colonial and postcolonial agreements.

Until 2010, Ethiopia, South Sudan and eight other states were negotiating water sharing under the auspices of the Nile Basin Initiative. These discussions have now degenerated into threats.

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My Comment: There will be a breaking point .... when that will be reached is something that everyone is afraid to predict.

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