The Changing Hydropolitical Dynamics in the Nile Basin

Tesfaye Tafesse (PhD), Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia 

(Credit: Frontpage, Shutterstock)

Of late, the hydro-political dynamics in the basin has changed due to the following six factors: (i) the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Ethiopia; (ii) the joint/common positions of upstream states by: (a) asserting their equitable rights to the Nile waters, (b) rejecting colonial/post-colonial agreements, (c) nullifying Egypt’s ‘historical rights’ and (d) dashing Egyptian ‘veto power’; (iii) increasing political and economic clouts of upstream states that has more or less created level playing field between up- and downstream states;[2]; (iv) mobilization of alternative funding for unilateral water infrastructure development from other sources (e.g. China and some of the other BRICS members) and less reliance on traditional funders (e.g. The World Bank); (v)  Sudan’s unexpected support for GERD – a diplomatic coup for Ethiopia and a political setback for Egypt and (vi) the loss of the bargaining powers of Egypt over international powers and financial institutions (FIs) mainly as a result of the prevalence of post-Mubarak turbulence.

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