Resource Wars by Michael Klare

Author:Michael Klare
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Published: 2011-01-20T16:00:00+00:00

THE NILE RIVER BASIN

Since very early times, the waters of the Nile River have sustained human habitation in what is now Egypt and Sudan. Every fall, raging floodwaters pour down from the Ethiopian highlands into the Nile and its tributaries, drenching the fertile lowlands of the river valley. Many centuries ago, farmers in the lower valley learned to trap the receding floodwaters in shallow basins, thus allowing an extended growing season and more intensive cultivation. The resulting abundance permitted a sharp rise in human population and, in time, the emergence of cities, states, and empires. The great civilizations of Egypt owed their durability and opulence to the life-giving properties of the Nile River, and so it is hardly surprising that their rulers took every precaution to ensure its continued flow—through the rigorous performance of religious ritual and, when deemed necessary, the use of military force.

Military force has been employed on a recurring basis in northeast Africa to provide Egypt with dominion over the upper reaches of the Nile River and its principal tributaries. Because all of the water of the Nile is supplied by areas lying outside of Egyptian territory and because Egypt possesses no other significant source of water, Egypt’s rulers have consistently sought to control the river’s headwaters in order to ensure that no foreign power tampered with its natural flow. Although the ancient Egyptians were not able to locate the ultimate source of the river, they did trace its path into present-day Sudan and mounted periodic campaigns to conquer the area. The British copied this behavior when they established a protectorate over Egypt in the mid—nineteenth century, and Egypt’s modern leaders have continued the practice ever since.33

This strategy has enabled Egypt—which contributes nothing to the Nile’s annual flow—to appropriate the great bulk of its waters for its exclusive use. Because the upstream riparians have lacked the capital or the capacity to build extensive dams and waterworks, Egypt has benefited enormously from its privileged position. Thus far, moreover, Egypt has always possessed sufficient military strength to deter its neighbors from proceeding in this direction. But the need for water is growing throughout the region, and so the temptation to draw from the Nile can only grow stronger. The likelihood of future conflict hinges, therefore, on the willingness of upstream powers to risk Egyptian ire by appropriating more of the Nile’s flow, and on Cairo’s determination to prevent that from happening.

To fully appreciate the mechanics of this equation, it is useful to map out the geography of the Nile River and to consider its past, present, and future use by human societies.

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