Egypt is at present engaged on maximizing all its water assets to fulfill the rising home wants amid the stalled negotiations over a serious dam.
In Sept. 9 press statements, Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Aty confirmed his nation’s efforts to realize maximum water use efficiency in mild of the long-standing dispute with Ethiopia over the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Abdel-Aty unveiled a four-point plan to deal with the water disaster: rationing water use, bettering water high quality, offering extra water sources and creating an acceptable local weather for optimum water administration.
The federal government has drafted a $50 billion water resources strategy that extends till 2050 and should climb to $100 billion. He additionally introduced a nationwide plan for water assets till 2037.
Abdel-Aty mentioned his ministry has additionally launched main nationwide initiatives to rehabilitate canals, shift to fashionable irrigation methods, and broaden sensible irrigation functions. Different main initiatives will broaden the reuse of agricultural drainage water and shield in opposition to floods, each inland and alongside coasts.
On this context, Mohamed Ghanem, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Water Sources and Irrigation, advised Al-Monitor by cellphone that the ministry has ready for worst-case situations by managing a robust system for every drop of water. “Precedence is for the canals and drains rehabilitation and lining initiatives,” he mentioned, which can guarantee water is delivered by the total size of each canal and cut back wastage.
The second a part of the plan, he mentioned, is the upkeep and building of 92 water mixing and lifting stations that function with excessive effectivity and discharge water in a well timed method, particularly throughout peak demand.
One other plan goals to push farmers towards fashionable irrigation methods in desert lands, after which in different lands. “Work is underway to equip 4 million acres with water-saving drip and sprinkler irrigation methods as a substitute for flood irrigation,” Ghanem mentioned. “Agriculture consumes the biggest proportion of the Nile’s water.”
Egypt’s inhabitants has elevated within the final 10 years by roughly 25 million folks, Ghanem mentioned, and “primarily based on this indicator, we face many challenges relating to water assets. That is along with exterior variables affecting water assets and the influence of climate change.”
All of the nation’s water administration initiatives are working in parallel, Ghanem mentioned, to mitigate shocks in several sectors. However “the second filling of the GERD will undermine water assets in Egypt, which rejects Ethiopia’s unilateral transfer,” he added. “Egypt and Sudan are undoubtedly affected. Ethiopia didn’t generate power final yr. It would likely fail to take action this yr as effectively; however nonetheless, it seeks to impose a fait accompli, one thing Cairo rejects.”
Abdel-Aty had defined in televised statements in Could the influence on Egypt of the second filling of the GERD, which is being constructed on the Blue Nile, the principle tributary of the Nile River. He indicated that any quantity of water saved within the Ethiopian dam can be deducted from Egypt’s historic water quota, probably making a drought.
He argued that since Egypt’s water move from Ethiopia is about 50 billion cubic meters, Ethiopia’s intention to retailer 10 billion cubic meters would imply a 20 % discount to Egypt in a single yr. This may be a shock much like local weather modifications, floods or droughts. In instances of shocks, the infrastructure’s potential to mitigate their results is put to the check, he added.
Gamal Bayoumi, former assistant minister of international affairs, argued that the Ethiopian place is a political place and never a technical one. “Ethiopia is utilizing the GERD as a canopy to cover a lot of its inside issues,” he mentioned. “… Ethiopia doesn’t want the river’s water as a result of 99.5% of its lands are flooded with rainwater, and that’s the reason it doesn’t have an irrigation system in any respect.”
Bayoumi advised Al-Monitor, “Egypt and Sudan’s objections boil all the way down to the truth that the choice to lift the dam’s wall with out justification will create an enormous water block with a weight that the loam soil can not tolerate. There’s a excessive chance that the dam will collapse, drowning Sudan and harming Egypt.”
In keeping with the designs, water solely passes by the turbine holes, Bayoumi famous, and if the generators cease for any purpose, water will cease flowing. “Because of this Egypt requested discovering extra holes for water to move in case the generators cease working. Ethiopia rejected this request.”
He defined that Egypt provided to construct the dam in alternate for getting the electrical energy it produces and linking it to the networks of African and Arab international locations, which Ethiopia additionally rejected.
In his speech earlier than an peculiar session of the Council of the Arab League on Sept. 9, Egypt’s Minister of International Affairs Sameh Shoukry reiterated the place of Egypt and Sudan on the GERD. He asserted that the answer lies in a binding settlement that preserves Ethiopia’s proper to growth with out affecting the water rights of Egypt and Sudan.
On Sept. 15, the UN Security Council referred to as on Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia to renew the AU-sponsored negotiations on the GERD. In an announcement, the council additional invited observers who could be acceptable by the three events to participate within the negotiations.
Egypt welcomed the assertion, however Ethiopia denounced the assertion referred to as it “a regretful transfer that the council pronounces itself over a difficulty that’s outdoors of its mandate.” Ethiopian International Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti said, “Ethiopia is dedicated to persevering with the tripartite talks at any time and is keen to make use of water in a good means.”
He added, “The Nile Basin needs to be a supply of cooperation, not of battle.”
