Egyptian president Al Sisi said; “Nile
River is God’s gift to Egyptian people” in his twitter account on Oct 05, 2019.
The president made the statement to reaffirm to Egyptians people and
international community that his country is going to take necessary measures to
ensure Egypt's water rights in River Nile i.e., Ethiopia cannot use a water
from a Nile river flowing for 800 km in Ethiopia before departing to Sudan. In
my opinion, the first part of president’s statement is true, given the
magnitude of the river’s footprint on Egypt’s history, culture, economy, and
development. However, the truer statement would be
not just the river, but the Ethiopia’s highlands are also
God’s gift to Egypt. There cannot be Nile River, if the highlands aren’t
trapping water-vapor from prevailing air mass (i.e., equatorial trade and
monsoon winds), condense and turn them into a precipitation forming the Nile
river.
The highlands that made Ethiopia a water
tower of Africa creates a unique hydrologic state and processes responsible for
forming various river systems flowing into Egypt and other neighboring
countries such as Sudan, Kenya, Somali and Djibouti. Examples are rivers such
as Abay (i.e., Blue Nile), Baro, Tekeze, Omo, Juba, Shebelle and Awash. The rivers
are significant for the very existence of life, ancient civilizations and
current economic development in these countries, although historically, their
uses were limited to supplying drinking water for the downstream population and
their domestic animals.
However, with increasing sedentary life
and advancement in agricultural science, the rivers became source of irrigation
water for agriculture and agri-food production (i.e., including
fishery production)
. The advent of regional trade
and commerce made the rivers’ delta and floodplain a preferred habitat for
human settlement. The rivers eased navigations, transportation of goods and
human waste disposal. Currently, the rivers are landmarks and aesthetic for
major cities and their population in the region such as Mogadishu (1.3
million), Kisumayo (180,000), Alexandria (3.3 million), Khartoum (5.3 million),
Cairo (9.13 million) and Juba (300,000).
not just the river, but the Ethiopia’s highlands are also
God’s gift to Egypt. There cannot be Nile River, if the highlands aren’t
trapping water-vapor from prevailing air mass (i.e., equatorial trade and
monsoon winds), condense and turn them into a precipitation forming the Nile
river.
