Water resources and inter-riparian relations in the Nile basin : the search for an integrative discourse / Okbazghi Yohannes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Yohannes, Okbazghi.

Series:

SUNY series in global politics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Water-supply--Nile River Watershed--Management.

Water-supply.

Water-supply--Political aspects--Nile River Watershed.

Riparian areas.

Regional planning.

Environmental conditions.

Water-supply--Political aspects.

Management.

Nile River Watershed--Environmental conditions.

Nile River Watershed.

Regional planning--Nile River Watershed.

Riparian areas--Political aspects--Africa.

Food supply--Africa.

Food supply.

Africa.

Physical Description:

x, 256 pages : map ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, [2008]

Summary:

Human demand for water resources is rising at an alarming rate in response to rapid population growth, rival development requirements, and the depletion of ecological resources. In this book, Okbazghi Yohannes examines the various facets of the competition for water resources among the ten Nile River Basin countries as they compete to harness the river's resources for purposes of irrigation-based agriculture and hydropower-based industrialization. Through a careful investigation of the rival states' strategies to capture greater shares of water resources, Yohannes assesses the lasting impact on the watershed ecology in the basin and on the hydrological demand of the river itself. He proposes the formation of a radically different water regime to address the looming demographic crisis, the stark regional food insecurity, and the region's collapsing hydro-ecology. This book shows how the effort to construct a regional water regime cannot be separated from the necessity to construct an ecologically sustainable internal water regime in each co-basin state, particularly in terms of ecological resources conservation and ecosystem services protection.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Toward A Provisional Understanding 1

Framing the Challenges 1

The Political Challenge 5

The Demographic Challenge 7

The Economic Challenge 12

The Hydrological and Ecological Challenge 16

Urbanization, Pollution, and the Challenge of Clean Water 22

The Governance Challenge 25

The Neoliberalist Challenge 28

Conclusion 31

Chapter 2 Egypt: Gift of the Nile 33

The Elusive Quest for Food Security and the Modernization Imperatives 34

After Modernization 46

The Puzzle 53

Chapter 3 The Sudan: A Hydrographic Bridge? 57

The Beginnings 57

An Arab "Breadbasket"? 59

The Politics of Internal Governance 65

The Sudd and the Jonglei Canal: Twin Crimes Against Nature and Society 71

The Puzzle 75

Chapter 4 Ethiopia: Land of the "Blue Gold" 79

The Hydrological Context 79

The Elusive Quest for Food Security and the Modernization Imperatives 82

The Politics of Internal Governance 88

The Eritrean Dimension of the Nile Waters 93

The Puzzle 96

Chapter 5 The Middle Nile "Squatters": Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda 101

The Historical Context 101

The Elusive Quest for Food Security and the Modernization Imperatives 103

Aquatic Resources and the Search for More Food Security 126

The Puzzle 140

Chapter 6 The Uppermost Riparian States: Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo 145

Problematizing Watershed Integrity 145

The Ethnography of Hydrology and Food Security 147

The Puzzle 160

Chapter 7 Thinking about the Future 163

Toward an Integrative Epistemology and Regional Authenticity 164

Toward a Nile Family of Nations 178

Toward Holistic Economies 181

Toward a Politics of Collective Self-Reliance 188

Conclusion 199.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-240) and index.

ISBN:

9780791474310

0791474313

9780791474327

0791474321

OCLC:

168717957