Ethiopia has built a dam on the Nile to meet 60% of its power needs. Downstream countries Sudan and Egypt are furious as this threatens their water supply. They are asking for UN intervention –– or war?

The Nile River as we know it is the large river that floods wide areas of Egypt, allowing for the farming of wheat, beans, cotton and fruit –– and tourism. But the Nile is one of the longest rivers in the world, and one of the two major sources of the mighty Nile starts in Ethiopia at what is known as the Blue Nile at Lake Tana. The Blue Nile is the source of 85% of the Nile water. The second source starts lower down in Uganda and passes through Sudan.

Over the years Ethiopia has been building a dam called the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) about 10 miles east of Sudan to supply its energy needs. Ethiopia has been building Africa’s largest hydro-electric dam since 2011. The landlocked country, which I visited this year, has one of the lowest rates of access to modern energy services, with its energy supply primarily based on biomass, followed by oil (5.7%) and hydropower (1.6%).

The main purpose of the GERD in Ethiopia is power generation, and its 13 turbines are expected to produce about 16,000 GWh of electricity annually which will double Ethiopia’s previous output of electricity and provide power to 60% of the country’s population. If you have ever visited Ethiopia you will understand how meaningful this is.

In 2023, Ethiopia filled the GERD reservoir to completion and Egypt, opposed to the GERD project, announced this was a violation of international law.

In the image below via the US Government site USGS you will see the area of GERD before the dam was built, and then a second photo of the water it required to fill the dam area near completion.

Related: this mystery discovery could explain how the pyramids were built

The GERD reservoir is in a deep gorge, so its surface area is relatively small compared to its volume. This means less water will be lost to evaporation than in desert reservoirs. The lake’s capacity is about twice the volume of Lake Mead formed by the Hoover Dam in the United States.

Including the Aswan High Dam in Egypt, which forms Lake Nasser and has the capacity of four times the volume of Lake Mead, two of the world’s largest dams are now on the Nile River system, in two different countries.

But Egypt is not happy about the Ethiopian dam, despite it building its own dam on the Nile: “We are ready to exercise our right to defend and protect the rights and interests of the Egyptian people, in accordance with the UN Charter,” said a warning letter issued to the Ethiopian government, addressed to the President of the UN Security Council and signed by the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Badr Abdelatty this month.

Egypt calls for the intervention of the UN in regards to filling of the GERD. Egypt says that Ethiopia is violating previous international agreements: “Egypt is almost entirely dependent on the Nile River for its renewable water resources, that are indispensable for the vital human needs and fundamental rights of Egyptians,” the letter states.

“Even though the Nile River has witnessed consecutive above-average flood seasons in recent years, which has relatively protected Egypt from major harm, the continuation of Ethiopian policies, as announced by the Ethiopian Prime Minister on 26 August 2024, could result in an existential threat to Egypt as well as the rights and interests of the 150 million citizens of both downstream countries, and would consequently jeopardize regional and international peace and security.”

For this reason, Egypt declares that after “having exhausted all amicable means, including those repeatedly resorting to the Security Council, in hopes of persuading Ethiopia to desist from its unlawful unilateral policies and accept any of the existing compromise solutions that balance the interests and rights of all parties, the Government of Egypt, therefore stands ready to exercise its rights to defend and protect the rights and interests of the Egyptian people, in accordance with the United Nations Charter.

“Egypt urges the Security Council to assume its responsibilities under Article 24 of the UN Charter, by taking appropriate measures to ensure that Ethiopia cease its unlawful unilateral practices in the Nile Basin,” the letter concludes.

Egypt recently signed a military agreement with the Somali governments to deploy Egyptian troops in the Horn of Africa which borders Ethiopia.

“Such policies are at odds with the aspiration of most regional countries to enhance cooperation and integration among themselves, instead of sowing seeds of strife and differences between peoples bound by ties of brotherhood and common destiny,” Abdelatty said addressing the UNSC president.

Related: This Turkish dam The Tuzluca Dam threatens biodiversity

Abdelatty said the dam will have “serious negative effects on the two downstream countries” which are Egypt and Sudan.

Is Egypt the pot calling the kettle black? Egypt built the Aswan Dam or the Aswan High Dam, as one of the world’s largest embankment dams, built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. It is about 600 miles from the Sudan border.

Like many other dams in the world, the Aswan dam had negative effects leading to water-borne disease, a rising water table that damaged urban sewer systems, damaging ancient monuments, and it deteriorated agricultural fields. The lack of rich sediment in the water drove high artificial fertilizer use and wiped out fish populations.

Egypt is not an angel in other ecological ways: It disregards the effects of the Suez Canal which is destroying ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea despite the man-made canal bringing in an estimated $9.4 billion USD (2023) in revenue. Egypt was not abiding by UN law when it allowed for billions of dollars of terror money to siphon into its borders through to Gaza over the last 15 years. And it easily allowed Hamas terrorists to cross into Egypt and fly out of its sovereign borders to countries like Turkey and Qatar.

Egypt’s human rights violations against its people and lower class societies are well-documented.

The post Egypt threatens Ethiopia over the source of the Nile appeared first on Green Prophet.

It took six years to transform a vast, barren space into a tree-filled, ecological habitat. Before 2004 there was nothing but dry, neglected land. The EcoPark has come a long way since we first reported its opening.

Visitor numbers are continually on the up, reaching 20,000 last year. On weekends in spring it’s not unusual for the park to see 2,000 visitors, ranging from families, to school groups and nature lovers all wanting to make the most out of the open green space, and enjoy the flora and diverse ecological habitats.

With its growing popularity (it’s even hosting the annual Jordan Valley Triathlon and Duathlon next month!) and to cope with the increasing visitor numbers, the EcoPark is upgrading its facilities. It’s recently installed new 26-kilowatt solar smart panels moving with the sun to catch its light and providing power to the information center and cabins.

Work is ongoing also on a new kitchen, toilets and seating area that will be ready in spring, and cabins with private bathroom facilities are planned for the future.

The EcoPark already has a giant swing in place to delight and challenge visitors, but it’s planning more adventure games for summer, including two new zip lines, one sweeping across Jordan’s first dam – the Ziglab dam – which was built in 1964. In keeping with its eco-friendly ethos, the new kitchen and toilets will be housed in recycled containers and private bathroom facilities will be provided with fresh spring water from the dam.

The story of Sharhabil EcoPark

Jordan is one of the driest countries in the world, and its problem of water shortages has long been documented. After seeing the destruction and the deterioration of  the Ziglab dam and the land surrounding it, a group of environmentalists from EcoPeace Middle East decided that they needed to do something. They rented 100 dunam of land from the Jordan Valley Authority, began to plant trees and monitor environmental threats.

The pilot project was so successful that they were given more land and grants, fenced off the area to prevent overgrazing. The park opened to the public in 2008. It now has 56 species of birds, walking trails and wooden cabins for visitors to stay in.

Educational initiatives

Part of the SHE EcoPark’s mission has always been to increase public awareness about the environment and to preserve ecological habitats in the Jordan River Valley. Recycling and sustainability haven’t been a priority in Jordan and green governmental policies are greatly lacking in Jordan. But the park aims to change this.

One way SHE EcoPark does this is by organizing events and projects for children from schools and community organizations around Jordan. With Jordan’s water shortage issues and having poor recycling infrastructure, educating the future generation about water conservation and recycling is paramount.

Recently a group of orphans from Amman that came to spend the day enjoying the fresh air, the grassy trails and games. After having breakfast cooked by two local women, they set off on a two-hour hike around the park, passing a bird-watching hut hide made from 2000 recycled plastic bottles filled with sand, learning that litter can be reused again for something useful.

The EcoPark’s manager Othman Al-Tawalbeh said that there are many ways that we can benefit from recycling and he wants to get this point across to visitors.  “We want to teach people how they can benefit from plastic by using easy-to-teach practices,” he said when describing a second use the park has for discarded plastic bottles – mosquito traps!

The geodesic dome – a structure made from metal – was another  huge hit with the children. Apart from learning about alternative ecological building techniques, they saw how an open air theater worked. The dome is used as a stop off point along one of the trails and provides a very apt space for environmental discussions, teaching visitors about the regional water conflict.

Mr Tawalbeh explained that although children have spend a fantastic time at the park,  it takes time and management to teach kids to care for the environment. “80% of the children leave the park with rich knowledge about caring for the environment, but there are still challenges of course in getting all children to understand the importance of sustainability and caring for the environment,” he added.

Working with the local community

As well as working with the general public to improve sustainability, the park also works with the local community. There have been problems in the past with cattle overgrazing, but the park and local Bedouins work together to reduce the effects. The Ziglab dam pumps water to the Bedouins for their own use and in return they conserve the main water reserves of the dam.

The SHE EcoPark park also relies on locally grown and made produce,  such as pomegranates, olives, oranges and lemons. Local Bedouins come and attend to bee hives in the park and sell the honey in the small visitors’ shop. Groups coming to learn more about nature and the environment also have the chance to drink and eat with a local Bedouin family.

Walking trails, bikes and a shady picnic areas are just some of the many ways to enjoy this calm eco-haven with rolling hills and magnificent views. The visiting children enjoyed it greatly. On returning from the two-hour walk tired, but animated, and full of new information one child commented: “This is already the best day I’ve had in ages.”

The post Jordan’s eco park helps the country go green! appeared first on Green Prophet.

We have long suspected that in the coming years, as climate change and population expansion put pressure on natural resources, conflicts will arise. The ongoing Egyptian protests demonstrate how repressed rage eventually surfaces when autocrats rule and people are deprived of basic goods and services. It is also interesting how such suffering can skew perception. Iraqis living in the oil-rich Kirkuk province near Kurdistan believe that their Kurdish neighbors are maliciously depriving them of water via the Dukan Dam, though that is not the case. Water scarcity in the entire Middle East region is putting pressure on everyone, but already tense Sunnis seek to pin the blame. Sheikh Khaled al Mafraji told Al Arabiya that their Kurdish neighbors are closing off the dam valves during winter, which means that they do not have enough water to drink or for irrigation. UN figures show that of the 900,000 inhabitants of Kirkuk, 16% rely on agriculture.

They farm wheat and corn in the winter and sesame, tomatoes, and watermelon in the summer.

Sheikh Mafraji added that he was prepared to organize demonstrations if the situation doesn’t improve.

Cooler heads show a different perspective. One landowner describes how in 2005, peasants were forced to give up 1/3 of their land. They claimed that Kurds then exerted pressure through water deprivation.

In Abdul Rahman al-Obeidi’s view, officials in Baghdad and the Sulaimaniyah province are not doing enough to avert what is a potential crisis.

At present, the region is receiving half of its usual annual rainfall. And the dam, which currently holds 1.3 million cubic meters of water, is dangerously low. Of that amount, only 600,000 may be used, since the rest is being held as an emergency reserve.

And the dam on the lesser Zab river has been closed every year during winter in order to preserve water for spring farming.

Tahseen Kader is the former Minister of water resources for the Kurdistan government. Given that many of Kirkuk’s residents are in fact Kurdish, he suggests it is absurd to suggest that they would deliberately harm their neighbors.

With a long history of ethnic tensions between Kurds and Iraqis, both governments would do well to arrest this problem before it gets out of control.

:: Al Arabiya

More on water shortages in the Middle East:

Yemen’s Water Shortage Could Worsen Security

In The Face Of Nile-lessness, Egyptians Protest Water Shortages

Thailand To Help Jordan Make Artificial Rain

image via martijn.munneke

The post Iraqi Sheikh Threatens To Demonstrate If Kurds Don’t Share Water appeared first on Green Prophet.