UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA PROILEMS AND PROSPECTS FOR INTERCOUNTRY COOPERATION FOR INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT OF THE NILE RIVER MSIN Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 I. Background 7 II. The Nile River 9 III. Nile Water Use and Early Plans 14 IV. International Agreements on the Nile 18 V. Current Situation 21 VI. Role of International Organizations in the Nile Basin 23 VII. Socio-Economic Aspects of Nile Riparian Countries 25 VI33. Previous Initiatives on Cooperation 29 IX. Views from the Riparian Countries 33 X. Mission Observations and Conclusions.. '. 39 XL Problems and Constraints for Cooperation 42 XII. Prospects for Cooperation 47 XIII. Conclusions and Recommendations 50 Figures and Tables Figure 1 - The Nile Basin 11 Figured - Sketch Showing Nile Yield from Different Tributaries 17 Figure 3 - Schematic Diagram of Hydraulic Works in Egypt 24 Table 1 - Existing Storage Dams in the Nile Basin 23 Annexes Annex 1 - List of Reference Documents 55 Annex 2 - Terms of Reference for the Consultant 57 Annex 3 - Persons Met by the Consultant During Mission 58
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ACC/ISGWR (UN) Administrative Committee on Coordination, Inter-Secretariat Group for Water Resources. ADB African Development Bank cu.m. cubic meter(s) CIDA ECA Canadian International Development Agency Economic Commission For Africa ESCAP Economic and Social Commission For Asia & the Pacific EVDSA Ethiopian Valleys Development Studies Authority FAO Food and Agriculture Organization GDP Gross Domestic Product IDEA Centro Internazionale di Studio, Ricerca e Documentazione di Idraulica Applicata, Idrologia e Ambiente KBO Kagera Basin Organization. MIWR Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources (Sudan) MPWWR Ministry of Public Works and Water Resources (Egypt) PJTC sq.km. TECCONILE UNACC UNDP Permanent Joint Technical Commission square kilometer(s) Technical Cooperation for Promotion of the Development and Environmental Pro tection of the Nile Basin United Nations Administrative Committee on Coordination United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme USAID United States Agency for International Development WMO World Meteorological Organization WRC Water Research Center (Egypt). m
lltrh EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. Background: The Nile basin riparian countries at a workshop sponsored by the UNDP and hosted by the Lower Mekong Committee in Bangkok, Thailand in 1986 agreed that the Lower Mekong Basin experience was relevant to the Nile basin and decided to continue further consultation to seek ways of cooperating among themselves for integrated development of the Nile basin. A Fact-Finding Mission under the auspices of ECA/UNDP prepared a report in 1989 proposing a cooperative development programme with participation of the Equatorial lakes basin countries and the two lower riparian countries, i.e. Egypt and the Sudan. Ethiopia, which was not included in the programmme was opposed to the proposal and suggested that the report be revised with Ethiopia included and that meanwhile consideration of the report be deferred. As this initiative did not succeed in bringing the Nile countries together for the purpose of common development of the basin, ECA decided to prepare a study on "Problems and Prospects for Intercountry Cooperation for Integrated Water Resources Development of the Nile River Basin". 2. The Nile River and Its Flow: The Nile river with :i iaigth of some 6700 km. and a basin area of about 3 million sq.km. is one of the longest rivers with one of the largest catchment areas in the world. The Nile river obtains its flows from two major spurces, i.e. the Equatorial lakes basin and the Ethiopian highland plateau. The Equatorial lakes basin with a very.small contribution in southern Sudan contributes 15.5x 109 cu.m. annually to the White Nile at Malakal while Nile tributaries from the Ethiopian plateau contribute annually as follows: Sobat: 13 5xlO9 cu.m. to the White Nile at Malakal Blue Nile: 54.0xl09 cu.m. to the Nile at Khartoum Atbara: 12.5x10 cu.m. to the Nile at Atbara The rough equivalents of these flows at Aswan are 12x10 cu.m./year from Equatorial lakes a basin and southern Sudan; - and 72x 10 cu.m./year from the three rivers from the Ethiopian plateau. The total yeild from Nile at Aswan: 84x10 cu.m. 3. Nile Water Use and Current Situation: Egypt and to a lessor extent Sudan depend on the Nile for their agriculture and are the major users of the Nile waters. At present, Egypt has 3 million hectares under irrigation using 62 billion cu.m. of water annually, while Sudan has developed 1.26 million hectares requiring 16 billion cu.m. of water per year. MW. Egypt has a total of 2745 MW installed hydroelectric power on the Nile while Sudan has 278
Ethiopia and Uganda have developed 110 MW and 150 MW of hydroelectric power respectively. The other riparian countries have no significant water resources development for irrigation and hydropower in the Nile basin. " Following their 1959 Agreement on the Nile waters, Egypt and Sudan have completed major water conservation projects within their borders. However, some water saving projects in southern Sudan still remain to be implemented. Nile water yields can only be increased with water conservation in the headwaters of Nile tributaries in the Equatorial lakes and in Ethiopia supplemented with water saving projects in the Sudd. Water conservation in the Equatorial lakes basin and in Ethiopia would save water from evaporation losses as both areas have higher elevations with less rates of evaporation than in the Aswan High Dam and other reservoirs in Egypt and Sudan. Egypt constructed the Old Aswan Dam and the Aswan High Dam with respective storage capacities pacitiesof 5.1xlC 5.1xlO9 cu.m. and 164xlO9 cu.m.. It also constructed 8 barrages to control Nile water level for irrigation. Sudan constructed four dams, one for the use of Egypt, with total capacity of 8.7x10 cu.m. Ethiopia and Uganda have constructed one hydroelectric power dam each on Nile tributaries. Plans for the utilization of Nile waters fpr Egyptian irrigation were prepared in the early part of the twentieth century basically with storage reservoirs in the Equatorial lakes. These plans were given political support by Great Britain who managed to secure guarantees of unreduced flow of the Nile waters from upstream countries. 4. International Organizations: Activities of international organizations in the Nile Basin are scattered and mostly targeted to individual countries not considering the international character of the Nile river basin. There is a need therefore, for international organizations to coordinate their assistance to help the riparian countries to come closer to each other to cooperate for integrated development of the basin by establishing a central Nile organization. 5. Socio-Economic Aspects: The Nile riparian states are all developing countries with seven of them being classified as least developed. Most of these countries especially the upstream countries have agriculture based economies with high population growth rates. Development plans in these countries accord agricultural improvement including irrigation a leading role in the effort to raise the standard of living of the population. Water requirement will grow in the upstream countries and unless an agreed framework for integrated development of the basin based on an equitable allocation of Nile waters is in place, uncoordinated development in the basin could create unhealthy impacts on existing developments.
6. Previous Initiatives: Most of the initiatives to date for the development of the Nile basin have limited scope and failed to include all riparian countries. Besides, they were mostly driven by the interests of a few riparian countries. 7. Views from Riparian Countries: The Nile riparian countries have agreed on the need for the establishment of an intercountry Nile organization to lead the development of the Nile basin. However, they did not all agree on the Hydromet Project or TECONILE to assume this central role. There is a need for international assistance to these Nile countries in the formation and strengthening of a credible organization which will assist them to prepare their national master plans for their part of the Nile basin. 8. Problems, Constraints and Prospects for Cooperation: The Nile basin has a low water yield in relation to its large basin area and a great number of riparian countries claiming their shares of its flows. The major problem in the Nile basin is the scarcity of water exacerbated by recurring drought, socio-economic development needs for a rapidly increasing population, growing water requirements of the lower riparian countries and future use by the upstream countries. The upstream riparian countries have shown reluctance in a common development of the Nile as they neither have adequate information about their resources nor the capital needed to finance such projects. Preparation of a national water master plan for each country is a priority at this time. There can be no full cooperation by these countries before they prepare their national plans. Reluctance of some international and bilateral organizations in helping individual countries in preparing national water plans has a negative impact on cooperative activities in the Nile basin. All the old agreements intended to protect the flows of the Nile for Egypt and Sudan including the 1959 Nile Waters Agreement between them are regarded by the upper riparian countries as obstacles for an integrated development of the Nile Basin, Nevertheless, there are enormous opportunities for the Nile riparian countries to cooperate on the integrated development of the Nile with projects of water conservation in the headwater catchments of the basin and with water saving schemes in southern Sudan. Creation of reservoirs in the Equatorial lakes basin and in the Ethiopian highlands, where evaporation losses are less, would increase Nile yield providing wider opportunities for riparian cooperation. Furthermore, improved efficiency of water use in existing irrigation systems in the basin would make substantial quantities of water available for productive use. 9. Recommendations a. It is recommended that the international community: i) assist in the integrated development of the Nile basin in a coordinated and unified manner, ii) help upstream countries in the preparation of national water master plans and in consolidating these plans into an overall Nile Basin Master Plan.
:. iii) assist lower basin countries in improving water use efficiency and in increasing crop.. productivity per unit of water used.,... b. It is recommended that ECA with UNDP support: i) coordinate international assistance for the Nile basin development. ii) help the Nile basin countries to agree on and establish one central intercountry organi zation for Nile development; and take an active role in the running of the organization until it is operational on its own. c. It is further recommended that the riparian countries also: i) give priority to the development of the Nile basin ; ii) strengthen bilateral initiatives for hydropower development and inter-conneetion of transmission networks. iii) continue to give emphasis with renewed impetus for : improving water use efficiency and increasing crop productivity per unit volume of water used...,. reduction of water loss to the sea; increased use of groundwater and limiting of irri gation expansion to better soils. d. It is proposed that integrated development of the Nile basin be focused on water conservation in Equatorial lakes basin and in Ethiopia with assured benefits to each riparian country. e. It is further proposed that a Nile Development Fund be established and be administered by ECA for financing and strengthening of a central intercountry Nile Basin organization and activities leading to the integrated development of the basin.
PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS FOR INTERCOUNTRY COOPERATION FOR INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT OF THE NILE RIVER BASIN
i id: I. BACKGROUND 1. Workshop for Nile Basin Countries A workshop for the Nile River Basin countries sponsored by the UNDP and organized by the Mekong Secretariat on behalf of UNDP was held in Bangkok, Thailand from January 20-27,1986. The workshop was attended by eight Nile riparian countries. The eight countries were represented mostly by ministers responsible for water resources and other high ranking officials. The purpose of the workshop was to assist the Nile riparian countries examine the experience of the Lower Mekong Basin Committee as an international river basin development organization with the aim of enhancing a similar cooperative arrangement for the Nile River Basin. In addition to the Mekong Committee, four other river basin organizations were also represented. These river basin organizations were those of the Gambia (OMVG), the Senegal (OMVS), the Kagera (KBO) and the Rhine. Overviews on institutional development and planning with regard to basins of the Rhine, the Nile and the Lower Mekong were presented at the workshop. The Permanent Joint Technical Commission (PJTC) of the Nile Waters Agreement of 1959 between Sudan and Egypt was also represented at the workshop. The participants at the end of the workshop expressed their willingness to cooperate fully in the development of the Nile River basin for the benefit of all its inhabitants and approved a seven-point recommendation for fouow-up action towards initiating an effective cooperative development programme among the riparian countries. One of the recommendations was for the riparian countries to meet periodically at appropriate ministerial level to consult one another to strengthen the existing cooperation among themselves and to ensure effective planning and implementation of the Nile River basin development In this connection the workshop requested UNDP to organize a meeting among the riparian countries in order to examine proposals for setting up a technical body to assist the riparian states in the planning and implementation of the Nile river basin development programme. 2. Informal Consultation Meeting Following the Bangkok workshop, an informal ministerial consultation of the Nile river basin states was held in Niamey, Niger on April 14,1988 during the 14th meeting of the ECA Conference of Ministers. Prior to this meeting, ECA/UNDP had organized a "Pre-identification Mission" which visited eight Nile riparian countries, excluding Ethiopia, primarily to explain and to convince the countries visited to agree on the idea of mounting a Fact- Finding Mission. As some of the countries visited insisted on a meeting of ministers before sending a Fact Finding Mission, ECA/UNDP decidednsn a compromise solution of obtaining a ministerial approval of the proposal at an informal consultation meeting of the ministers.
The informal consultation of the ministers, in which nine Nile riparian states were represented adopted the decision that.a ministerial meeting should be convened before mounting a Fact Finding Mission. 3. Ministerial Meeting, January 9-10,1989. ECA/UNDP organized a ministerial meeting of the Nile river basin countries in Addis Ababa from January 9 to 10, 1989. Ethiopia was not represented. : The ministerial meeting agreed on the mounting of the Fact Finding Mission on condition that: a. A meeting of the Hydromet Technical Committee of the Equatorial Lakes basin and of national experts vis convened with the purpose of identifying joint projects and reviewing the Terms of Reference for the Fact Finding Mission. ; br The Fact Finding Mission be mounted only after the identification of joint projects; and: c. At the end of the Fact Finding Mission a ministerial meeting preceded by a meeting of a Technical Committee composed of the Hydromet Technical Committee and national experts,be convened to consider the recommendations of the Fact Finding Mission. The Terms of Reference of the Fact Finding Mission were reviewed and finalized by the technical Committee in Kampala, Uganda, and the Mission was fielded between May and June 1989. the Mission prepared its report under the title "Nile Basin Integrated Development". The report of the Fact Finding Mission which was submitted in July 1989 was discussed by an extraordinary meeting of a Technical Committee from the Nile riparian countries in the form of a workshop in Addis Ababa'from 23rd to 26th October, 1989. At this meeting nine Nile riparian countries were represented as were ECA, UNDP and UNEP. Ethiopia, which was not visited by the Fact Finding Mission but was represented at the workshop expressed its resentment for not having been visited by the Fact Finding Mission and submitted a revised Terms of Reference for the Fact Finding Mission. The Ethiopian paper strongly stated that the original Terms of Reference did notaddress the interests of all riparian states and should therefore be revised to redress the oversight. All the representatives of the upper riparian countries fully supported the Ethiopian stand and decided that the revised Terms of Reference prepared by Ethiopia should be?circulated to member countries for comment, and further agreed that the Draft Report of the Fact Finding Mission should meanwhile be deferred. The representatives also agreed,that the Technical Committee,should meet and discuss any comments comingfrom the riparian countries. The re,vise{l Terms of Reference were sent to all the riparian states soliciting their comments. Seven of the riparian countries responded. However, the Technical Committee did. not meet and the matter is still pending. ECA has all along been supporting this initiative and is eager to see the Nile riparian countries brought together for a cooperative development of the basin. Consequently the present study on
Htl<- 4 'Problems and Prospects for Intercountry Cooperation for Integrated Development of the Nile River Basin" was commissioned by ECA. H. THE NILE RIVER The Nile River with a length of 6700 km is one of the longest rivers in the world stretching between 4 South and 32 North latitude and traversing diverse geographical and climaucal zones. With an area of about 3 million sq.km., the Nile basin is among the largest river basins in the world. The Nile river and its tributaries are shared by ten riparian countries namely Burundi, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire. Ancient civilizations have flourished along the banks of the Nile and its waters and soils have furnished the means of livelihood for millions of its basin population. Hydrology of the Nile: The Nile obtains its flows from two main sources, that is the basin of the Equatorial Lakes plateau and the Ethiopian highland plateau. A. The Equatorial lakes basin is composed of: i) Lakes Victoria and Kyoga basin feeding the Victoria Nile ii) Lakes George and Edward basin including Semliki river flowing into Lake Albert (Mobutu Sese Seko) and iii) Lake Albert basin from which emerges the Albert Nile which eventually forms the Bahr el Jebel B. The Ethiopian and Eritrean part of the Nile basin is composed of: i) Sobat River Basin ii) Blue Nile River basin and iii) Atbara River basin C. The SUDD basin and the White Nile D. The Main Nile River (from Khartoum upto the Mediterranean Sea)
1. Flow contribution of the Equatorial Lakes Basin -..,- a) Lake Victoria Basin This basin has an area of 263,000 sq.km. of which 68,000 sq.km. is the area of the lake. The elevation of the lake surface is about 1130 m. above sea level. An average rainfall of 1500 mm on the lake and 1150 mm on the catchment area surrounding the lake is received annually. Annual evaporation rate from the lake surface is about 1260 mm. The total net annual yield of water of Lake Victoria is 23.5 billion cu.m.. Hows from the lake are discharged through the Victoria Nile to Lake Kyoga. This stretch of the river has a length of about 80 km. Elevation drop between Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga is 102m. The Owen Falls Dam and Hydroelectric Power Station which was constructed in the early fifties with the cooperation of Egypt and the TJ.IC" administration of Uganda is at the outlet of Victoria Nile from the lake. b) Lake Kyoga and Victoria Nile " Lake Kyoga has an area of 1800 sq.km. and is surrounded by a swamp of an area of 4520 sq.km.. It has an elevation of 1030 m above sea level. In addition, there is a catchment area 6^75000 sq.km. draining to the Victoria Nile and Lake Kyoga. Rainfall over the lake and its catchment area is about 1290 mm annually. In spite of such a high rainfall, an extremely high evapotranspiration (2230 mm/year) over the swamp surrounding the lake consumes much of the inflow resulting in a net water loss pf about 1.0 billion cu.m. yearly. Therefore, the average annual discharge from Lake Kyoga which receives 23.5 billion cu.m. per annum from Lake Victoria is 22.5 billion cu.m.. The Victoria Nile flowing between Lake Kyoga and Lake Albert/Mobutu has a length of 410 km and drops a total of 412 m in elevation between the two lakes. It discharges an annual flow of 22.5 billion cu.m. to Lake Albert at its northern tip in Uganda. c) Lake Mobutu Sese Seko (Albert) This lake has an area of 5300 sq.km.. In addition to the Victoria Nile which enters the lake at the northern end, the Semliki river discharges its waters at its southern end. The Semliki river carries run-off from its own catchment and flows from lakes George and Edward further south. Lake Mobutu has a catchment area of 17,000 sq.km.. Lake George and Lake Edward have surface areas of 300 sq.km. and 2200 sq.km. and catchment basin areas of 8,000 sq.km. and 12,000 sq.km. respectively. 10
12
The Semliki river which receives flows from these two lakes and also run-off from its own catchment delivers a total of 4.0 billion cu.m. of water to Lake Mobutu annually. Evaporation over Lake Mobutu is estimated at 1200 mm per annum and rainfall is 710mm. Summarizing, the inflow and outflow of the lake is as follows. Inflows: From Victoria Nile 22.5x 10 cu.mvyear From Semliki River 4.0xl09cu.m./year From Lake Mobutu Basin 2.5x10 cu.m./year Direct Rainfall Sub-total 3.6xi09cu.m./year 32.6xl09cu.m./year Evaporation Loss 6.3x10 cu.m./year Net outflow from Lake Mobutu 26.3x10 cu.m./year Lake Mobutu Sese Seko outflows discharge through the Albert Nile to Bahr el Jebel at Nimule town at the southern border of the Sudan. Taking water losses between Lake Mobutu outlet and Mongalla into account and considering run-off discharging into the river (Bahr el Jebel), the average annual discharge at Mongalla, which is considered the 'southern end of the Sudd, is about 30 billion cu.m./anhum. About half of this flow is lost by seepage, direct evaporation and evapotranspiration in the Sudd and thus the average flow reaching Malakal from Bahr el Jebel and Bahr el Zeraf is 15 billion cu.m. per year. 2. Flow Contribution of the Ethiopian River Basins to the Nile a) Sobat River: The Sobat River which is mainly made up of the two rivers of Baro and Pibor coming from the Ethiopian highlands joins the White Nile just south of Malakal and contributes an average annual flow of 13.5 billion cu.m. b) The Blue Nile River: The Blue Nile river originates from Lake Tana in the Ethiopian highlands. The river at the outlet from the lake has an average annual discharge of about 4 billion cubic meters. It is joined by several rivers originating in Ethiopia which discharge into it within Ethiopia. Two of its tributaries which have their catchments mainly in Ethiopia, namely Dinderand Rahad, join the Blue Nile in the Sudan. 12
Hi* The Blue Nile joins the White Nile at Khartoum to form the Main Nile and discharges an annual flow of 54 billion cubic meters. This flow is estimated to be equivalent to 48 billion cubic meters at Aswan. c) Atbara River: The Atbara river known as Tekezze in Ethiopia drains the adjacent highlands north of the Blue Nile Basin. It joins the Nile River at Atbara town in the Sudan and discharges an annual flow of 12 billion cubic meters into the Nile which is estimated to be equivalent to 11.5 billion cubic meters at Aswan. The Blue Nile and the Atbara rivers which drain the western highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea obtain most of their annual flow during the three months between mid-june and mid-september. Their flows are therefore torrential, characterized with violent floods and with heavy loads of silt. The fertile Nile delta in Egypt has been formed as a result of the silt carried down mostly by the two rivers, i.e. Blue Nile and Atbara. 3. The SUDD Basin and the White Nile Bahr el Ghazal receives flow of several rivers draining western and south western Sudan bordering Zaire and the Central African Republic. The* catchment has an area of 526,000 sq.km. of which about 40,000 sq.km. is swamp. Almost all of the inflow to Bahr el Ghazal from tributary rivers and direct rainfall on the swamp is lost in the swamp with only about half a billion cubic meters of water per annum reaching the White Nile at Malakal. Considering this net contribution of flow (i.e. 0.5 billion cu.m.) from the Bahr el Ghazal basin, the total discharge from the Sudd to the White Nile at Malakal comes to 15.5 billion cu.m. per year. Thus the average annual flow of the White Nile at Malakal which is considered as the northern end of the Sudd region is as follows: Contribution from Bahr el Jebel and Zeraf 15.00x10 cu.m./year Contribution from Bahr el Ghazal 0.50x 10 cu.m./year Contribution from Sobat River 13.50x10 cu.mvyear Total flow of White Nile at Malakal 29.00xl09 cu.mvyear This figure after deducting losses becomes 24 billion cubic meters at Aswan in Egypt. 4. The Main Nile River: Starting from Khartoum where the Blue Nile and the White Nile join, the river is known as the Main Nile up to its outflow into the Mediterranean sea. The Main Nile has a length of 3065km. The annual average flow of the Nile estimated at Aswan is 84 billion cu.m. If we divide this yield into water units each amounting to 12 billion cu.m. the annual yield at Aswan would be composed 13
of 7 units. Jhs flows of the various tributaries at selected points in their equivalent units at Aswan are as shown in the following:.. Bahr el Jebel downstream L.Mobutu 2 units Bahr el Jebel downstream the Sudd 1 unit Sobat River 1 unjt White Nile 2 units Blue Nile River 4 units Atbara River 1 unit Main Nile at Aswan High Dam 7 units III. NILE WATER USE AND EARLY PLANS The Nile has provided the basis for agricultural development in Egypt for as long as agriculture has been known in that country. Irrigation in Egypt and Sudan started about 5000 years ago along the banks of the Nile river mostly by flooding areas enclosed by artificial dikes in the form of basin irrigation. This system of irrigation with gradual introduction of water lifting devices during seasons of low flow cqntjnued mainly unchanged until the middle of the nineteenth century. As increased areas of irrigation required control of levels of Nile waters^.thefirst man-made structure, the Delta Barrage, wa^cpmpleted in 1861 at the head of the Nile delta feeding theinain irrigation canals with water at all times from the natural flow of the Nile. At the end of the Nineteenth century, Egypt made greater emphasis on the expansion of irrigation With reliable supply of water by controlling the Nile flows. Egypt recruited experienced British irrigation engineers and hydrologists mostly from India to work for its Irrigation Department These engineers and hydrologists with enthusiastic support from the Egyptian administration set out to surveying and planning for the full control of the Nile river as a hydrological unit for the utilization of its waters for irrigation in Egypt. These surveys and plans covered stretches of the Nile within Egypt and Sudan and also upstream catchments especially the Equatorial Nile basin areas. These plans for the Me were finalized and properly documented by Dr. H.E. Hurst and his associates of the Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation in the nineteen thirties and forties. The final proposed plan for the full control of the Nile for a maximized yield of irrigation water for Egypt and the Sudan.perceived in the Nile survey document comprises construction of storage dams in the upper Nile basin, that is in the Equatorial lakes basin and in Ethiopia, with supplementary 14
regulating structures and by-pass canals off swamps in southern Sudan. The scheme known as '"Century Storage" has the following main components: a) A large reservoir in Lake Victoria with a dam at Owen Falls forms the main storage of the system. b) A regulating barrage at Lake Kyoga in Uganda. c) A regulating storage dam at Lake Mobutu. This dam will regulate and control the amount of water flowing down to Sudan and Egypt d) Jonglei Canal to by-pass the Bahr el Jebel and save evaporation losses. e) Jebel AuUa reservoir mainly to hold back flood flows of Sobat river coming from Ethiopian highlands and release controlled flows for Egypt downstream. f) A dam at the outlet of Lake Tana in Ethiopia and also other dams as needed on the Sobat, Atbara and Blue Nile rivers. g) The Fourth Cataract Dam on the Main Nile mainly having the principal purpose of flood mitigation. The authors of the "Century Storage Scheme" had initially preferred the construction of a large dam at Lake Kyoga, with a regulating barrage at the outlet of Lake Victoria. However, a& this was not acceptable to Uganda at the time because a large agricultural area could be inundated and inhabiting population displaced. As means of water saving from losses in the Sudd, construction on the first phase of the Jonglei Canal had been started in 1974 but was stopped in 1981 because of security problems. It has now become clear that the by-pass canals would not be fully effective unless control reservoirs are built in the Equatorial lakes. Sudanese irrigation cannot be supplied with adequate water unless the floods coming from Ethiopia are retained in the identified huge reservoir of the Blue Nile. Sudan does not have good sites to build storage dams to catch waters coming from Ethiopia. These water saving schemes would need to be part of the overall integrated development of the Nile River Basin in full participation of all the upper riparian countries. At the end of the nineteenth century, irrigated agriculture was constrained by inadequacy of low natural flow of the river. The first storage dam on the Nile, the Aswan Dam, was constructed in 1902 with a storage capacity of 1.0 billion cu.m. 15
; A* -this storage dam proved successful, its height was later increased twice; once in 1912 and later in 1934 enlarging its storage capacity to 5.1 billion cu.m. After the construction of the Aswan Storage Dam, construction of further barrages downstream in the delta were carried out to optimize use of the waters released from the Aswan Storage Dam. This substantially improved irrigation in Egypt. Irrigation in Sudan has a similar evolution and parallel growth with that in Egypt A major breakthrough came about with the construction of the Sennar Dam in 1925 on the Blue NUe for the irrigation of 300,000 feddans (126,000 ha) under the Gezira scheme. The Gezira project was later gradually expanded to the current total of 2,000,000 feddans (840,000 ha). Further irrigation' expansion both in Egypt and in the Sudan was made possible after the construction of the Aswan High Dam in Egypt in 1964 and Rosens Dam on the Blue Nile and Khashm el Girba Dam on the Atbara, both in the,sudan. These dams were constructed as a result of the NUe Water Agreement of 1959 between Egypt and Sudan which provided the framework for cooperation between the two downstream countries of the Nile basin. On the basis of the average long term natural flow of the NUe at Aswan of 84 billion cu.m. per year, Egypt and SuSan agreed to share the assumed NUe yield at the Aswan Dam which would come to 74 billion cu.ra. after deducting the estimated 10 bulion cu.m. loss due to evaporation from the reservoir. Egypt's share was put at 55.5 billion cu.m. and that of the Sudan at 18.5 billion cu.m. Under the terras of this agreement the two countries established a Permanent Joint Technical Commission to administer implementation of the agreement and to provide overau technical input in the coordination of NUe waters development and operation in the two countries. Presently Egypt is using 62 billion cu:m. yearly (including reuse) while Sudan uses about 16 billion cu.m. yearly. According to the Ntte Waters Agreement of 1959 the two countries have constructed the dams stipulated in the agreement in order to enable them to utilize their respective shares of the flow. Hence, Egypt having constructed the Aswan High Dam (Sudd el Aalia) with a large storage capacity almost twice the average long term volume of flow at the site, can catch any flood coming from the upstream countries, especiauy from Ethiopia, for its own use downstream. The Aswan High Dam has also a hydroelectric power generating station with an instaued capacity of 2100 MW. Old Aswan (I & II) has a total of 645 MW instaued capacity of hydropower. Egypt at present irrigates a total of 7,000,000 Settdans (3raillion ha.). Cropping intensity is about 190% and overall irrigation efficiency 65% considering reuse of drainage water. Sudan has constructed the Roseires dam on the Blue NUe river and the Khashm el Girba dam on the Atbara river in 1966 to store the floods coming from the Ethiopian highlands for irrigation and production of hydroelectricity. The Roseires Dam has an original reservoir volume of 3.0 bulion cir.m. and the Khashm el Girba 1.3 bulion cu.m. both of which have at the present lost a big portion of their capacity due to sutation. Roseires has a hydroelectric generating station of installed capacity 16
Figure 2: A Sketch Showing the Nile Yield from different tributaries \7 ASWAN UNIT - 12 MILDS m3 TOTAL ANNUAL YIELD -12 X 7-84 MILDS H3 ATBARA KHARTOUM LAKE TANA «s BAHR EL GHAZAL MALAKAL R. SOBAT BAHR EL ZERAF L. ALBERT LAKE KYOGA R. SEMILIKI LAKE VICTORIA
of 250 MW. At present the Sudan has developed a total of 4 million feddans (1.68 million ha) under irrigation. It has a total of 278 MW of installed capacity for hydropower generation on the Nile tributaries. Sudan has plans to heighten the Roseries dam by about 10 m. and increase its reservoir capacity to 7.1 billion cu.m. This is to make expansion of irrigation in the Sudan possible and to increase its power generation at Roseires. At the present time the main constraint fo^agricultural development in the two countries (i.e. Sudan & Egypt) is overall water shortage. The Nile Waters Agreement also stipulates that the two countries will cooperate on construction for water saving in southern Sudan: Huge volumes of Nile Waters are lost by direct evaporation and evapotranspiration from marshes and aquatic plants in the Bahr el Jebel, Bahr el Zeraf, Bahr el Ghazal and the Mashar marsh on the Sobat river. The agreement specifies that water saving projects will be implemented to increase irrigation water for the two countries.. Use of Nile waters in the upstream riparian countries is negligible. No significant construction in irrigation exists both in the Equatorial Nile tasin; countries and in Ethiopia. With agreement between Uganda and Egypt, a dam, i.e. the Owjjh Falls Dam, at the outlet of the Nile from Lake Victoria has been constructed to generate hydroelectric power for Uganda and to provide irrigation water for Egypt. The hydroelectric power station has an installed capacity of 150 MW. In Ethiopia a hydropower plant has been- constructed with a dam having a reservoir volume of about 600 mill. cu.m. on the Finchaa river, which is a tributary of the Blue Nile. IV. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS ON THE NILE Although controlled irrigation started at about the same time in both Egypt and the Sudan, that is 5000 years back, it remained at about the same level until the nineteenth century. Though year-round irrigation had been introduced in Egypt in the middle of the nineteenth century by the construction of regulating barrages to control the level of the waters of the Nile, the limitation of the natural flow of the river constrained irrigation, in Egypt. Systematic surveys and hydrological measurements were conducted by hydrologists and engi neers to plan improved water supply for Egyptian irrigation and to know the Nile thoroughly. 1. Agreement of 1891 Great Britain on behalf of both Egypt and Sudan signeckan agreement with Italy representing Eritrea. The agreement delineated the spheres of influenceof the two powers and demarcated the boundaries between Sudan and Eritrea. The agreement was signed in Rome on April 15,1891. 18
The agreemement contained an article which stated; "The Government of Italy undertakes not to construct on the Atbara any irrigation or other works which might sensibly modify its flow into the Nile". 2. Agreement of 1902 This Agreement was signed on May 15,1902 in Addis Ababa between Ethiopia and Great Britain relative to the frontiers between Ethiopia and the Sudan. Article in of the Agreement states that "His majesty the Emperor Menelik E, King of Kings of Ethiopia, engages himself towards the Government of His Britannic Majesty not to construct, or allow to be constructed, any work across the Blue Nile, Lake Tsana, or the Sobat which would arrest the flow of their waters into the Nile except in agreement with His Britannic Majesty's Government and the Government of the Sudan". Ratification of this Agreement by the British Government was delivered to the Ethiopian Government in Addis Ababa on 28 of October 1902. In this same Agreement Emperor Menelik also granted the British Government to hold 400 ha of land on lease on Baro river frontage for commercial purposes. It was at this station that the British had been obtaining hydrologic measurement of the Baro river in Ethiopia. 3. Agreements of 1906 The Agreement between the United Kingdom (i.e.on behalf of Sudan) and the Congo (actually signed by Belgium) was signed on May 9,1906 in London. This document contains the statement; "The Government of the Congo undertakes not to construct or allow to be constructed, any work on or near the Semliki or Isango rivers, which would diminish the volume of water entering into Lake Albert, except in agreement with the Sudanese Government." 4. The 1925 Agreement between Great Britain and Italy Great Britain and Italy signed an agreement through the exchange of letters in December 1925 in Rome whereby Italy recognized the prior hydraulic rights of Egypt and the Sudan in tfie waters of the Blue and White Niles and guaranteed not to construct on the headwaters of the Blue Nile, the White Nile and their tributaries any work which might sensibly modify their flows into the main river. The Ethiopian Government which was not aware of the agreement at first, when notified by both countries vehemently rejected it and lodged its complaints to the League of Nations of which it was a member then. Both Great Britain and Italy in their identical note of explanation to the League of Nations asserted that their agreement was bilateral and not meant to bind another government.(w. Tilahun 1979) 19
5. The 1929 Nile Waters Agreement This agreement on the use of the Nile waters was concluded between Egypt and Great Britain the latter representing Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and the Sudan. The agreement was concluded by an exchange of letters between the Egyptian Prime Minister and the Britisff AmbassadoriivEgypt on May 7,1929 in Cairo. The agreement contained statements stipulating that the British Govern ment pledged that no works would be undertaken on the Nile; its tributaries and lakes-in the basin which would reduce the volume of the Nile waters reaching Egypt, this treaty also provided Egypi with the right of inspecting and investigating along the whole lengthy of the Nile, to the remote sources of Nile tributaries in these territories. In the background of the Agreement Egypt was allocated 48 billion cu.m. per year of Nile waters as its acquired right while that of the Sudan was 4 billion cu.m. per year. This was based on the report of the commission appointed by Egypt which produced a detailed report in 1925 providing a technical basis for the 1929 agreement. Sudan and Egypt renegotiated the 1929 Agreement in 1956 and signed a new agreement in 1959. 6. The Owen Falls Dam Agreement This Agreement between the Egyptian Government and the British Government, on behalf of Uganda, was concluded in the form of exchange of notes in May 1949 to construct the Owen Falls Dam at the outlet of Lake Victoria. The dam also included a hydroelectric power station with 6 units each of 15MW installed capacity initially. The Owen Falls Dam was commissioned.in 1954. The reservoir serves as a storage and assures controlled water releases to Egypt and produces hydroelectric power for Uganda. Egypt and the British Government also entered into an agreement for collecting meteorological and hydrological data in the East African Lakes basin as such data was needed for planning purposes by Egypt and Sudan. 7. The 1959 Agreement For the Full Utilization of the Nile Waters During the exchange of notes in the 1929 Nile Waters Agreement with the British, Egypt had indicated that it reserved the right to renegotiate the question of the control of the Nile waters with the Sudanese government Egypt and Sudan signed the "Agreement for the Full Utilization of the Nile Waters" on November 8,1959. This agreement also highlights the construction of the Aswan High Dam as the major element for the control of the Nile waters for the benefit of Egypt and the Sudan. The Agreement contains the following main components:- The main theme of the agreement is the full utilization of the Nile within the two countries, for increasing its yield, and the manner of execution of works and eventual administration of the regulation of the benefits accrued thereof. The main elements of the Agreement are as follows: 20
a) Present Acquired Rights: The total acquired right was agreed as 48 bill.cu.m. per year for Egypt and 4 billion cu.m. per year for the Sudan as measured at Aswan. b) Divisions of Benefits from Nile Control Projects: Egypt was to build the Sudd el Aali (Aswan High Dam). The Sudan was to construct Roseires Dam on the Blue Nile and any other works considered essential for the utilization of its share. Adding 14.5 bill. cu.m. to the acquired rights of Sudan and 7.5 bill. cu.m. to that of Egypt, the shares of the two countries comes to 18.5 bill.cu.m. per year for Sudan and 55.5 bill.cu.m. for Egypt. The sum of the two shares plus the 10 bill.cu.m. per year of estimated evaporation loss at the Aswan (Sudd el Aali) reservoir comes to the total long term average flow of the Nile at Aswan. Furthermore, the two countries agreed to construct projects for reducing losses of waters in the Nile Basin, specifically Bahr el Jebel, Bahr el Zeraf, Bahr el Ghazal and the Sobat river, and share the net benefits of these projects equally between the two. Under the general provisions of the agreement the two signatories agreed that any negotiations with other riparian states shall be conducted with a unified view of the two countries and that any agreed allocation to the said state shall be deducted from ttieir shares equally. c) Permanent Joint Technical Commission (PJTC): A technical commission with the above name was formed by the two countries with the responsibility to continue research, study, hydrological survey of the upper reaches of the Nile and planning and supervision of implementation of projects for the increase in yield of the Nile, and administration and supervision of operation. V. CURRENT SITUATION 1. Egypt Egypt has an area of about 3 million hectares under irrigation with an average croppingintensity of 190%. It uses up its share of water allocation given to it under the 1959 Nile Waters Agreement with the Sudan. It is now faced with water shortage to go for a major expansion of irrigation. Egypt constructed the Aswan Dam in 1902 with a reservoir capacity of 1.0 billion cu.m. which was later raised to 3.5 billion cu.m. in 1912 and then to 5.1 billion cu.m.. in 1934.The Aswan High Dam was completed in 1971 ( filling of the reservoir started in 1964 at the completion of the cofferdam). The reservoir has a capacity of 164 billion cu.m. (of which 107 billion is active storage). Since it is now obvious that the Upper Nile riparian countries, that is, the Equatorial Nile basin countries and Ethiopia are interested in participating in the development of the Nile tributaries in their region, it would be fair to examine how best to fully control the Nile as a single hydrological unit and with the highest yield of water from the system. 21
2. Sudan The Sudan has an area of about 4 million hectares under irrigation with a cropping intensity of 67%, It does not yet use up its share of 18.5 billion cu.m. of water per annum allocated to it by the 1959 Nile Waters Agreement with Egypt Its current annual water consumption is estimated at 16 billion cu.m. (MIWR) The storage dams which it constructed to store water for its own use are;... a) Sennar Dam-Built in 1925 on the Blue Nile River with a storage capacity of 0.9 billion cu.m. and a hydroelectric power station of 15 MW installation. b) Roseires -Built in 1966 on the Blue Nile River with a storage capacity of 3.0 billion cu.m. and a hydroelectric power station of 250 MW installation. c) Khashm el Girba Dam - Built in 1966 on the Atbara River with a storage capacity of 1.3 billion cu.m. and a hydroelectric power station of 250 ivfw installation. <J) Jebel Aulia Dam - Built on the White Nile in 1937 just south of Khartoum and having a storage capacity of 3.5 billion cu.m. was initially meant to control Nile flows for use in Egypt. After the construction of the Aswan High Dam, its main utility is restricted to providing services as a flood control reservoir for high flows coming from the Sobat River. These reservoirs especially the three built on the Blue Nile and on the Atbara rivers, that is Sennar, Roseires and Khashm el Girba have already lost most of their storage capacity due to the high silt content of flood waters coming from the Ethiopian highlands. Sudan has been planning to raise the Roseires dam by about 10 meters to increase its storage. However, this may not be necessary if the much larger reservoirs further up in Ethiopia could be built under a cooperative arrangement between Sudan and Ethiopia. Raising of the Roseires would also require discussion with Ethiopia as the latter has maintained that it would have back water effect across the border. Sudan and Egypt have already started construction of the Jonglei Canal stretching 360 km. between Jonglei village and Malakal as a by-pass of the White Nile flows from Bahr el Ghazal. The scheme is expected to save about 4 billion cu.in. per year which is to be shared equally between the two countries. However, because of the civil war in southern Sudan, the project has been suspended for several years now. 22
lhhili. ii i * TABLE 1: Existing Storage Dams In the Nile Basin Name of Structure Year Storage Capacity 109 m3 Country River/Lake Purpose Sennar Dam 1925 0.93 Sudan Blue Nile Irrigation/Power Jebel Aulia Dam 1937 3.5 Sudan White Nile Irrigation Owen Falls Dam 1954 Uganda L.Victoria Outlet Power Roseiris Dam 1965 3.0 Sudan Blue Nile Irrigation/Power Kbashm el Girba Dam 1965 1.3 Sudan Atbara Irrigation/Power Aswan High Dam 1963 164 Egypt Nile Irrigation/Power FinchaaDam 1972 0.6 Ethiopia Finchaa Power VI. ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE NILE BASIN A number of international and bilateral organizations are known to be involved in providing assistance to countries in the Nile basin in water resources development and related activities. These aid programmes are mainly targeted to individual countries. Such activities by international organizations would be more fruitful and effective if some degree of coordination is introduced and the activities synchronized in the context of a basin wide integrated development with the view of optimizing the benefits for the good of all the riparian states. Unilateral activity on water development in any one country in the Nile basin without reference to the basin's international character may have the danger of creating obstacles for future common development of the basin. In this respect it is encouraging to note that ECA has played a leading role in bringing together UN and other international and regional agencies involved in water resources development in Africa, i.e. Inter-Agency Group for Water in Africa, which holds its meetings annually. This group is set up with the objective of coordinating and harmonizing water resources activities in Africa. The Nile Basin countries could immensely benefit from this initiative. The major organizations assisting in water resources development of the Nile basin are the following: FAO, in addition to its regular activities in all the Nile countries, is assisting these countries individually and by sub-regions in developing a water policy and in solving transboundary water problems. FAO also carried out a project supporting a USAID financed project for Egypt under the title "Monitoring, Forecasting and Simulation of the River Nile". 23
Figure 3: Schematic Diagram of the Hydraulic works on the Nile in Egypt MEDTERRANEAN SEA 1200 LOWER EGYPT 1000 MIDDLE EGYPT 800 600 Nag HammadI Barrage 400 w. Nag HammadI Canal E. Nag HammadI Canal 200 Aswan pumps i i Aswan Dam Aswan High Dam Control Work Location D. S. Aswan Dam Year Of Completion 1. Old Aswan Dam 2. Esna Barrage 3. Nag Hamraadi Barrage, 4. Assiout Barrage 5. Old Delta Barrage 6. NewDelta Barrage 7. Zifta Barrage 8. Eddfina Barrage 9. Damietta Barrage 170 354 547 965 965 1052 1176 1902 1908 1930 1902 1861 1939 1902 1950 1991 Source : Ministry of Public Works and Water Resources (Egypt) 24