Water security among Egypt ,Ethiopia and Sudan- subject is Essay

Water security among Egypt ,Ethiopia and Sudan- subject is international relation - Essay Example 98). The river originates from mainly two countries. The White Nile from Burundi joins the Blue Nile from Ethiopia to form the Nile Basin. The Nile Basin is the major source of water for this region supplying ten countries with water. Egypt is the traditional user of the water and has almost exclusive rights for extracting water from the River Nile. Though a non-contributing country, Egypt benefits from a bilateral 1959 agreement that gives it the largest allocation in the utilization of River Nile’s Water. Sudan, another noncontributing country, gets the second largest share of the river’s resources. Other nations especially, the contributing ones have, for a long time, suffered water scarcity due to the unequal distribution of this water. This has created animosity between neighboring countries and was a source of conflict amongst the countries in this region. Countries upstream have, in recent time, considered controlling the use of the water (Adar, 2011, pp. 73). Some have, for example, built large dams and canals to confine their waters. This issue has been a major concern which the UN lists as one o f the most urgent political issues. Watershed countries in the Nile Basin have realized that a shift from the current state must be fueled by a more equitable sharing of the Nile water. This urge to exploit more water has been occasioned by the desire to achieve economic development. Ethiopia, for example, has initiated hydroelectric power projects along the river’s flow. Despite these efforts, however, economic development has not been achieved in many countries. Most of the countries in the region have long unresolved disputes that hinder the economic prosperity of the people (Jacobs, 2012, pp. 37). Civil wars, famines, strife, and internal and regional discord have been the order of the day in these countries. The disparities in the colonial agreement