As a water body that crosses numerous international political borders, the Nile River is subject to multiple disputes about water rights. Traditionally it is seen as the world's longest river flowing through ten countries in northeastern Africa – Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt with varying climates.

In terms of basin area of the Nile, Sudan has the largest size () whereas, of the four major tributaries to the Nile, three originate from Ethiopia – the Blue Nile, Sobat and Atbara. The modern history of hydropolitics in the Nile Basin is very complex and has had wide ramifications both for regional and global developments.See Tvedt, Terje (2004/2006). The River Nile in the Age of the British. Political Ecology & the Quest for Economic Power, IB Tauris (2004), American University Press, Cairo (2006), Waterbury, John (1979). Hydropolitics of the Nile Valley, University of Syracuse Press, and Tvedt, Terje (ed.), (2010). The River Nile in the Post-Colonial Age. Conflict and Cooperation among the Nile Basin Countries, IB. Tauris.

Geography The following table demonstratesM Chatteri et al. (2002) Conflict Management of Water Resources. Hampshire, Ashgate Publishing Ltd. p. 146 the water availability in each country within the Nile basin, and researchers' estimates of decrease in water availability to these countries, due largely to an increase in the countries' populations.

Country Population 1995 (millions) Population 2025 (millions) GNP per capita 1996 (US $) Population below the poverty line (1US$/day) (PPP) (%) Per capita water availability 1990 (m³) Per capita water availability 2025 (m³) Burundi 6.4 13.5 170 655 269 DRC 43.9 104.6 160 359,803 139,309 Egypt 62.9 111.7 1,090 32.5 1,123 492 Ethiopia 55.1 126.9 100 33.8 2,207 842 Kenya 28.8 63.4 320 50.2 636 235 Rwanda 8 15.8 190 45.7 897 306 Sudan 28.1 58.4 4,792 1,993 Tanzania 29.7 68.9 170 16.4 2,924 1,025 Uganda 21.3 50.6 300 50 3,759 1,437

Sudan also has hydraulic potential and has created four dams in the last century. This has resulted in the development so far of of irrigated land, making Sudan the second most extensive user of the Nile, after Egypt.T Tafesse. (2001). The Nile Question: Hydropolitics, Legal Wrangling, Modus Vivendi and Perspectives. London, Transaction Publishers

While Egypt is highly dependent on the Nile, there are factors that may lead to conflict over the distribution of the Nile's water supply. For example, Egypt has such an agriculturally dependent economy. Further, Egypt is already dependent on virtual water imports, a strategy which may lead that country to attempt future water conflicts.J Selby. The Geopolitics of Water in the Middle East: Fantasies and Realities in the Third World Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 2. pp. 329–349 (2005) Ethiopia's tributaries supply about 86 percent of the waters of the Nile. Over the years, the involved states have put agreements and treaties into place so that conflict can be controlled.

Egypt and the Nile Egyptian civilization has sustained itself utilizing water management and agriculture for some 5,000 years in the Nile River valley. The Egyptians practiced basin irrigation, a form of water management adapted to the natural rise and fall of the Nile River. Since around 3000 BCE, the Egyptians constructed earthen banks to form flood basins of various sizes that were regulated by sluices to floodwater into the basin where it would sit until the soil was saturated, the water was then drained, and crops planted. This method of agriculture did not deplete the soil of nutrients or cause salinization problems experienced by modern agricultural methods.S Postel.(1999) Egypt's Nile Valley Basin Irrigation http://www.waterhistory.org/

Treaties affecting Nile water use

April 15, 1891 – Article III of the Anglo-Italian Protocol Article III states that "the Italian government engages not to construct on the Atbara River, in view of irrigation, any work which might sensibly modify its flow into the Nile". The language used in this article was too vague to provide clear property rights or rights to the use of water.

May 15, 1902 – Article III of the Treaty between Great Britain and Ethiopia Article three of the treaty between Great Britain and Ethiopia has become one of the most contested agreements over the use of the Nile waters. The aim of this treaty was to establish the border between Ethiopia and the Sudan. One of its articles, number III, related to the use of Nile water. The English version, as reviewed by Britain and later by the Sudan, read: "His Majesty the Emperor Menilik II, King of Kings of Ethiopia, engages himself towards the Government of His Britannic Majesty not to construct or allow to be constructed any work across the Blue Nile, Lake Tana, or the Sobat, which would arrest the flow of their waters except in agreement with His Britannic Majesty’s Government and the Government of Sudan." The Amharic version, however, gave a different meaning and understanding to EthiopiaMesfin Abebe (address of Nov. 24, 1994), in The Nile – Source of Regional Cooperation or Conflict?, 20 Water Int'l 32 (1995). and "was never ratified by this country."

May 9, 1906 – Article III of the Agreement between Britain and Congo Article III of the Agreement between Britain and the Government of the Independent State of the Congo states "The Government of the independent state of the Congo undertakes not to construct, or allow to be constructed, any work over or near the Semliki or Isango river which would diminish the volume of water entering Lake Albert except in agreement with the Sudanese Government".

December 13, 1906 – Article 4(a) of the Tripartite Treaty Article 4(a) of the Tripartite Treaty (Britain-France-Italy) states “To act together... to safeguard; ... the interests of Great Britain and Egypt in the Nile Basin, more especially as regards the regulation of the waters of that river and its tributaries (due consideration being paid to local interests) without prejudice to Italian interests". This treaty, in effect, denied Ethiopia its sovereign right over the use of its own water. Ethiopia has rejected the treaty their military and political power was not sufficient to regain its use of the Nile water.

1925 Exchange of notes between Britain and Italy The notes concerning Lake Tana state: "...Italy recognizes the prior hydraulic rights of Egypt and the Sudan... not to construct on the head waters of the Blue Nile and the White Nile (the Sobat) and their tributaries and effluents any work which might sensibly modify their flow into the main river." Ethiopia opposed the agreement and notified both parties of its objections: "To the Italian government: The fact that you have come to an agreement, and the fact that you have thought it necessary to give us a joint notification of that agreement, make it clear that your intention is to exert pressure, and this in our view, at once raises a previous question. This question which calls for preliminary examination, must therefore be laid before the League of Nations."

"To the British government: The British Government has already entered into negotiations with the Ethiopian Government in regard to its proposal, and we had imagined that, whether that proposal was carried into effect or not, the negotiations would have been concluded with us; we would never have suspected that the British Government would come to an agreement with another Government regarding our Lake."

When an explanation was required from the British and the Italian governments by the League of Nations, they denied challenging Ethiopia’s sovereignty over Lake Tana.

May 7, 1929 – The Agreement between Egypt and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan This agreement included: Egypt and Sudan utilize 48 and 4 billion cubic meters of the Nile flow per year, respectively; The flow of the Nile during January 20 to July 15 (dry season) would be reserved for Egypt; Egypt reserves the right to monitor the Nile flow in the upstream countries; Egypt assumed the right to undertake Nile river related projects without the consent of upper riparian states. Egypt assumed the right to veto any construction projects that would affect her interests adversely.

1959 Nile Waters Agreement The Agreement for the Full Utilization of the Nile Waters between Sudan and Egypt established full control utilization of the Nile waters. This agreement included: The long standing dispute over the Nile’s average annual flow was resolved, with the volume set at roughly 84 billion cubic meters as measured at the Aswan High Dam in Egypt. The agreement provided for the full average annual flow of the Nile to be divided between Sudan and Egypt, assigning 18.5 billion cubic meters to Sudan and 55.5 billion cubic meters to Egypt. Annual losses from evaporation and other factors were set at approximately 10 billion cubic meters, with this amount subtracted from the Nile’s total yield before allocations were made to Egypt and Sudan. Sudan, in coordination with Egypt, agreed to undertake projects aimed at increasing the Nile’s flow by reducing evaporation losses in the Sudd wetlands along the White Nile in southern Sudan. The costs and benefits of these projects were to be shared equally. Any claims by other Nile riparian states regarding the river’s waters were to be addressed jointly by Sudan and Egypt. If the claim were accepted and water from the Nile were to be allocated to an additional riparian state, the agreed amount would be subtracted equally from the shares assigned to Sudan and Egypt, based on volumes measured at Aswan. Egypt was authorized to build the Aswan High Dam, capable of storing the Nile River’s full annual flow. Sudan was permitted to build the Roseries Dam on the Blue Nile and to pursue additional irrigation and hydroelectric projects in order to make full use of its allocated share of Nile waters. A Permanent Joint Technical Commission was envisaged to facilitate technical cooperation between the two countries.

Nile Basin Initiative

The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) is a partnership among the Nile Riparian states that “seeks to develop the river in a cooperative manner, share substantial socioeconomic benefits, and promote regional peace and security”. It was formally launched in February 1999 by the water ministers of nine countries that share the river – Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo with Eritrea as an observer.

International law context

1966: The Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers – Adopted by the International Law Association at the 52nd conference held in Helsinki in August 1966, the rules govern use of waters of an international drainage basin except as may be provided otherwise by convention, agreement or binding custom among the basin States. 1995: Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region was signed at Johannesburg, 28 August 1995.FAO Corporate Document Repository. (1995) Protocol on shared watercourse systems in the Southern African development community (SADC) region signed at Johannesburg, 28 August 1995. http://www.fao.org/docrep/W7414B/w7414b0n.htm. 1997: Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses.

Effects of treaties and policies on Nile basin water use