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Against the flow – new power dynamics and upstream mobilisation in the Nile Basin

2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 38; Issue: 128 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/03056244.2011.582767

1740-1720

Alan Nicol, Ana Elisa Cascão,

Hydropower, Displacement, Environmental Impact

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge with gratitude the insights and views shared with them in recent years by many professionals and academics from the Nile Basin, and which help to inform this article. Notes Eritrea is also a Nile riparian, but only has observer status under the Nile Basin Initiative. Interviews with members of the Nile Technical Advisory Committee (Nile-TAC), which comprises technical representatives from the partner states. Article 5 of the Convention states: ‘Equitable and reasonable utilization and participation: Watercourse States shall in their respective territories utilize an international watercourse in an equitable and reasonable manner. In particular, an international watercourse shall be used and developed by watercourse States with a view to attaining optimal and sustainable utilization thereof and benefits therefrom, taking into account the interests of the watercourse States concerned, consistent with adequate protection of the watercourse.’ Around 95% of Egypt's population of some 80 million people live along the banks of the Nile (‘the Old Valley’) and in the Nile Delta. Combined, this land area is just 5% of total Egyptian territory. Competition over the land resources between agriculture, industry and urban development is strong and has been felt acutely since the 1970s. Previous attempts to move people out of the Old Valley by creating new satellite cities in the Western Desert in particular have had little impact on the situation. Personal communication with the authors.