Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
build more dams and irrigation schemes on the
Nile, downstream states, such as Egypt, are
becoming increasingly concerned about their own
ability to be able to take more water from the Nile
(Klare, 2002). Climate change could make the
situation much worse. Recent estimates suggest
that while water run-off may increase in upstream
states in the Nile Basin (such as Sudan), it is likely
to decrease in Egypt.
At present water withdrawals in Egypt and
Sudan from the Nile and its tributaries is gov-
erned by the
1959 Nile Waters Agreement
. This
agreement limits the amount of water that each
state can withdraw from the river system in a
year (with Sudan allowed to withdraw 18.5 billion
cubic metres and Egypt 55.5 billion cubic metres
annually). In the recent past, when Sudan has
suggested that it would withdraw more than its
allocated 18.5 billion cubic metres of water from
the Nile, Egypt threatened to use force to prevent
such action. Given that Egypt is the dominant
military force in the region, it continues to use
the threat of military intervention as a way of
The University of Michigan has produced
a series of helpful web pages that explain
the nature of water management issues
in the Nile Basin:
Source: Wikimedia Creative Commons, NASA
