Anger Upstream on the Nile

Egypt runs on the Nile's water. But with a growing population, Egypt's Ministry of Irrigation expects that the Nile will barely be able to meet the country's water needs by 2017. Its neighbors are increasingly angry about its overuse.

1 minute read

September 27, 2010, 6:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg

"Upstream countries, looking to right what they say are historic wrongs, have joined in an attempt to break Egypt and Sudan's near-monopoly on the water, threatening a crisis that Egyptian experts said could, at its most extreme, lead to war.

'Not only is Egypt the gift of the Nile, this is a country that is almost completely dependent on Nile water resources,' said a spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Hossam Zaki. 'We have a growing population and growing needs. There is no way we can accept this kind of threat.'"

Seven upstream countries who have been profhibited from using the water in the same way as Egypt are calling for those colonial-era rules to be re-written.

FULL STORY: Egypt and Thirsty Neighbors Are at Odds Over Nile

Saturday, September 25, 2010 in The New York Times

Environment Land Use Africa Water Egypt Irrigation Nile River View More

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