From August 25th to 26th representatives from Egypt, The Republic of the Sudan, and Ethiopia met in Khartoum to discuss the development of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and its potential impact on the flow of the Blue Nile. The meeting concluded with the announcement of an agreement to convene a team of experts to assess the dam’s impact and report its findings within six months. Thus far this summit has proven to be the most productive of recent meetings between these countries. Though Egypt has concerns about the dam’s construction (namely that the flow of the Nile will be reduced while the GERD's reservoir fills) it would appear that Cairo is resigned to the dam’s construction and is attempting to ensure that Egyptian concerns are taken into account in the management of the project. This cooperation could prove to be a positive step in the economic development of East Africa.
Prior to the Arab Spring Egypt's claim that it has a legal right to the majority of Nile’s water meant that the cooperation that we have seen in these meetings would have been unthinkable. Agreements reached in 1929 and 1959 between Egypt and the United Kingdom (representing their then East African Colonies) awarded the vast majority of the waters of the Nile to Egypt with a smaller portion reserved for Sudan. Ethiopia was not a party to the treaties despite the fact that the majority of the waters of the Nile originate in that country. Suffice it to say neither Ethiopia nor the other co-riparian countries willingly consented to these agreements but until recently there has been little that they could do about this arrangement as Egypt, though a poor country itself, was still much more powerful militarily and economically than its neighbors. The fact that many of these countries faced their own internal problems did not help the situation.
The internal instability that the Arab Spring has wrought in Egypt has weakened Cairo’s ability to bully its neighbors. One of the reasons that the military let then president Mohamed Morsi sack Field Marshal Tantawi in August of 2012 might have been the need to demonstrate to Egypt’s neighbors that their was a strong leader in Cairo. The idea may well have been that Tantawi's dismissal would send a message to parties, such as co-riparian countries that wanted more water, that Egypt could still protect its interests. Clearly, this tactic has not worked. Cairo now finds itself in a position where starting a conflict to prevent the development of GERD is too costly. Egypt appears to have accepted this reality and is now positioning itself so that Cairo can ensure that Egyptian interests are protected. On the surface statements such as “Egypt was never, and will never be against the development (of co-riparian countries)”...“as long as they are aiming to achieve mutual development,” (as well as) “the integrated management of water resources” might appear as rhetoric, however, the geopolitical realities of the region gives us reason to take such statements at face value.
The reality is that East African countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania are developing quickly. We are seeing improvements in infrastructure that provide access to Central African minerals, the development of the region’s manufacturing capabilities, and significant investments in port facilities. These developments combined with a geographic location that allows for easy trade with East Asia, South Asia, and Europe bodes well for the region, however, regular access to electricity is key to ensuring this development. The GERD could help meet these energy needs. Hydrological cooperation in the region could help maximize water resources, improve food security, and ensure a more reliable energy supply while reducing the political risk that a conflict (be it formal e.g. military or informal e.g. chronic acts of sabotage) would inflict. Cooperation would allow the countries of East and Northeastern Africa to focus on putting their resources to productive purposes rather than trying to undermine one another. If the team of experts is able to do their job properly within the six month time frame we will know by the Spring of 2015 whether or not such cooperation is possible and what policies will need to be enacted to promote it as well as a having a better understanding of any potential agreement's impact on the economic development of East Africa.
No comments:
Post a Comment