The Nile: A source of energy, food and water for all
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Elisabeth Janaina
Feb 22, 2017, 11:14:59 AM2/22/17
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The Nile: A source of energy, food and water for all
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separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
By Sam Cheptoris
River Nile is a trans-boundary resource shared by 11 countries in the
Nile Basin, each with different and, sometimes, conflicting interests.
This scarce resource is a source of water, energy and food, all of
which are essential to human well-being, poverty reduction and
sustainable development.
JPEG - 21.6 kb
Sam Cheptoris (Courtesy photo)
Projections in the Nile Basin region, however, indicate that demand
for energy, food and water for domestic and industrial use will
increase significantly over the next decades under the pressure of
population growth and mobility, economic development, urbanisation and
climate change among others. Agriculture in the Nile Basin consumes
more water than any other sector and the demand for water for
agriculture rises as the demand for feeding the increasing basin
population also increases.
At the same time, water is needed for energy generation, particularly
for hydro power, which is the preferred source of energy for various
reasons; key among them the low production cost, which makes power
affordable to the urban and rural poor. On the other hand, energy is
needed to produce, transport, treat and distribute water; the more
energy we need, the more water we use, and vice versa.
The water, energy and food security nexus reflects the fact that the
three sectors are inextricably linked and that actions in one area
more often than not have impacts in one or both of the others. This
calls for a balancing of the act of exploitation to ensure
sustainability for our future generations, for we are, but only
stewards of these resources. These linkages have always been present,
but as the Nile Basin population races towards 600 million, there is
need for more cooperation and conscious stewardship of the Basin’s
water resources for wise and sustainable use of resources.
In addition to shared challenges in the Nile Basin such as climate
change, environmental degradation, rising populations, the countries
also share access to mechanisms that can help them to mitigate some of
these challenges. One of these is a 10-Member organisation called the
Nile Basin Initiative (NBI). Members are Burundi, DR Congo, Egypt,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
Established in 1999, NBI provides the only basin-wide platform to the
Member States to discuss with trust and confidence and understand
interests, positions and expectations of individual countries and
chart ways forward to ensure the efficient and sustainable management
and use of the Nile Basin’s water and related resources. Given the
increasing challenges countries face today, this cooperation is
paramount and needs support by everybody.
It is under this vision that, on February 22, 2017, NBI Member States
will gather in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania to commemorate the
establishment of the unprecedented Nile Basin Initiative. The day this
year is dedicated to the theme ‘Our Shared Nile - Source of Energy,
Food and Water for All’. It will provide an opportunity to highlight
the importance of continued cooperation by the River Nile Basin States
in the quest for food, water and energy security in the Nile Basin and
to consolidate and build upon previous efforts.
Therefore, as water becomes scarce, and competition is growing between
the energy and agricultural sectors, there is need for reliable and
policy-relevant data and information to guide water allocation
choices. Effective cross-sectoral consultation mechanisms across the
NBI Member States are needed to ensure the development of concerted
efforts to address this problem as part of an integrated, long-term
strategy.
Let us all join hands and work towards sustaining Nile cooperation to
ensure sustainable water resources in River Nile basin for the current
and future generation!
The writer is the Uganda’s Minister for Water and Environment &
Chairman Nile Council of Ministers.
Article
Comments (0)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
By Sam Cheptoris
River Nile is a trans-boundary resource shared by 11 countries in the
Nile Basin, each with different and, sometimes, conflicting interests.
This scarce resource is a source of water, energy and food, all of
which are essential to human well-being, poverty reduction and
sustainable development.
JPEG - 21.6 kb
Sam Cheptoris (Courtesy photo)
Projections in the Nile Basin region, however, indicate that demand
for energy, food and water for domestic and industrial use will
increase significantly over the next decades under the pressure of
population growth and mobility, economic development, urbanisation and
climate change among others. Agriculture in the Nile Basin consumes
more water than any other sector and the demand for water for
agriculture rises as the demand for feeding the increasing basin
population also increases.
At the same time, water is needed for energy generation, particularly
for hydro power, which is the preferred source of energy for various
reasons; key among them the low production cost, which makes power
affordable to the urban and rural poor. On the other hand, energy is
needed to produce, transport, treat and distribute water; the more
energy we need, the more water we use, and vice versa.
The water, energy and food security nexus reflects the fact that the
three sectors are inextricably linked and that actions in one area
more often than not have impacts in one or both of the others. This
calls for a balancing of the act of exploitation to ensure
sustainability for our future generations, for we are, but only
stewards of these resources. These linkages have always been present,
but as the Nile Basin population races towards 600 million, there is
need for more cooperation and conscious stewardship of the Basin’s
water resources for wise and sustainable use of resources.
In addition to shared challenges in the Nile Basin such as climate
change, environmental degradation, rising populations, the countries
also share access to mechanisms that can help them to mitigate some of
these challenges. One of these is a 10-Member organisation called the
Nile Basin Initiative (NBI). Members are Burundi, DR Congo, Egypt,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
Established in 1999, NBI provides the only basin-wide platform to the
Member States to discuss with trust and confidence and understand
interests, positions and expectations of individual countries and
chart ways forward to ensure the efficient and sustainable management
and use of the Nile Basin’s water and related resources. Given the
increasing challenges countries face today, this cooperation is
paramount and needs support by everybody.
It is under this vision that, on February 22, 2017, NBI Member States
will gather in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania to commemorate the
establishment of the unprecedented Nile Basin Initiative. The day this
year is dedicated to the theme ‘Our Shared Nile - Source of Energy,
Food and Water for All’. It will provide an opportunity to highlight
the importance of continued cooperation by the River Nile Basin States
in the quest for food, water and energy security in the Nile Basin and
to consolidate and build upon previous efforts.
Therefore, as water becomes scarce, and competition is growing between
the energy and agricultural sectors, there is need for reliable and
policy-relevant data and information to guide water allocation
choices. Effective cross-sectoral consultation mechanisms across the
NBI Member States are needed to ensure the development of concerted
efforts to address this problem as part of an integrated, long-term
strategy.
Let us all join hands and work towards sustaining Nile cooperation to
ensure sustainable water resources in River Nile basin for the current
and future generation!
The writer is the Uganda’s Minister for Water and Environment &
Chairman Nile Council of Ministers.
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