BLOG
Egypt’s Nile Threats Weaken Case To Secure Water
June 17th, 2013
Via Bloomberg, some commentary on the recent Egypt-Ethiopia feud over the Nile: Egypt must drop its objection to an Ethiopian dam on the main tributary of the Nile River or it may struggle to ensure adequate supplies from the world’s longest waterway, former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia David Shinn said. A $4.3 billion, 6,000-megawatt hydropower […]
Read more »Why A ‘Water War’ Over The Nile River Won’t Happen
June 15th, 2013
Via Al Jazeera, commentary on the recent Ethiopia/Egypt tension over the Nile: Is northeastern Africa heading for a bloody “water war” between its two most important countries, Egypt and Ethiopia? Judging by the rhetoric of the past two weeks, one could be forgiven for thinking so. Ethiopia’s plans to build a multibillion dollar dam on […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Efforts To Overcome Its Water Shortages
June 14th, 2013
Courtesy of STRATFOR (subscription required), a report on China’s efforts to tackle its water crisis: On June 10, the easternmost leg of the South-North Water Transfer Project, the latest in a long line of attempts by China’s rulers to overcome the limits placed by water on the Chinese economy, began operations. This enormous engineering undertaking will […]
Read more »From Water Wars to Water Scarcity: Bolivia’s Cautionary Tale
June 11th, 2013
Via the North American Congress on Latin America, an interesting report on Bolivia’s water stress: When Bolivian President Evo Morales arrived at the new Uyuni airport last August and found no water running from the tap, he publicly reprimanded and promptly dismissed his Minister of Water. As it happened, the pipes were merely frozen. The […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Mega Water Diversion Project Begins Testing
June 11th, 2013
Courtesy of The Guardian, an update on China’s South-North water transfer project: When it is completed, it will be one of the world’s biggest feats of engineering. China’s South-North Water Diversion Project, initially a vision of Mao’s, will take water from the south of the country to the arid northern region, including the capital Beijing, […]
Read more »Ethiopia – Egypt: Water Diplomacy Or Water War?
June 11th, 2013
Via Nazret, an interesting report on the politics of the Nile: The politics of the Nile is full of tension, mistrust, anxiety, mystery and diplomatic confrontation among the downstream and upstream riparian countries since time immemorial. The basin has never seen cooperation until recent times. However, there has been cooperation between the two downstream countries […]
Read more »