4/16/2021 0 Comments Bahr Hydro Excavating
The agreement assumed that 10 billion cubic meters, the difference between the 84 billion cubic meter inflow and the 74 billion cubic meter allocation to Egypt and Sudan, would evaporate in Lake Nasser.Chinas Involvement in African Conflict Zones CTC Home African Migration and the Brain Drain The Future of U.S.-Ethiopia Relations Nile Basin Relations David Shinn Nile Basin Relations Nile Basin Relations: Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia July 2006 David H.Shinn Nile Geography and Hydrology The Nile River is the longest in the world while the Nile Basin covers 1.3 million square miles, making it slightly larger than India.There are ten riparian countriesEgypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and Eritrea.
Three of the tenEgypt, Sudan and Ethiopiaare far more important than the remaining seven from the standpoint of Nile water hydrology and potential political conflict or cooperation over Nile water issues. The three account for 85 percent of the territory that constitutes the hydrologic boundaries of the basin. The importance of the Nile, especially for Egypt and Sudan, can not be overstated. Ninety-five percent of Egyptians live in the Nile Valley and depend on the river for virtually all of their fresh water. Egypt is not being alarmist when it says that Nile water is a life or death issue for the country. Egypt is probably more dependent than any other country in the world on freshwater that comes from outside its borders. But the Nile is also crucial for Sudan; 77 percent of Sudans fresh water comes from outside its borders, most of it via the Nile system. Ethiopia, on the other hand, because of its mountains that trap the moisture arriving by winds from the west and south is the major source of Nile water. Of the water reaching the Aswan Dam in a normal year, 86 percent originates in Ethiopia59 percent via the Blue Nile; 14 percent via the BaroAkoboSobat; and 13 percent via the TekezeAtbara. The average annual flow of the Nile at Aswan from 1870 to 1988 was 88 billion cubic meters. The late 1970s through 1987 were unusually low flow years, resulting in deep concern, especially in Egypt where Lake Nasser nearly disappeared. This low flow period coincided with famine in Sudan and Ethiopia, where an estimated million persons died. The average annual flow from 1988 to 2001 recovered to 86 billion cubic meters. The Nile moves much less water than Africas other major river systems such as the Congo, Niger, Zambezi, and Volta. At the same time, demand for water in the Nile Basin is significantly higher than Africas other river basins. A comparison with an American river makes the point about modest water volume in the Nile; it produces only 14 percent of the Mississippis annual discharge. Treaties and Water Allocation Over the years, Egypt, the United Kingdom, and Sudan have determined Nile water allocations. Egypt and the United Kingdom signed an agreement in 1929 that gave Egypt 48 billion cubic meters of water annually and Sudan 4 billion cubic meters. Following Sudanese independence, Egypt and Sudan renegotiated the agreement in 1959. Based on an annual flow at Aswan of 84 billion cubic meters, the 1959 agreement allocated 55.5 billion cubic meters (three-quarters) of the water to Egypt and 18.5 billion cubic meters (one-quarter) to Sudan.
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