REPORT24

Robert Paller									May 30, 2008

Ms. Ellis									E-Research

Saving the Nile River

Water is becoming increasingly scarce in many parts of the world, leading to the many health issues present in third world countries. The Nile River is located in northeast Africa, just south of the Mediterranean region. It is one of the largest rivers in the world and one of the most resourceful, but has been misused to the point of almost no return. The Nile’s issues are directly related to the struggle of the people in its ten bordering states. The Nile, a “river of life” beginning in ancient times, is now deteriorating due to the increasing population in developing countries throughout Africa. Misuse of the Nile’s water is an even bigger mistake than one would think because of the increasing demand for water from the tremendous population growth in the surrounding riparian countries. Many attempts to preserve the Nile River have failed because of the horrendous circumstances that exist in that area, but new groups are forming in order to help the cause. The Nile River is in a state of decline because of the condition of the countries surrounding it. Five of the ten countries that the Nile passes through are among the poorest in the world. The rapid population growth combined with the lack of resources and education, leads to young people who aren’t capable of conserving water. Because new children are being born at such a rapid pace, and education isn’t a thought out as being a necessity, the misusing of the finite amount of natural resources becomes popular in the states bordering the river. Ethiopia is one of these countries in great danger of extreme overpopulation. There are over 60 million people residing there to this day, but the population is predicted to double within the next fifteen to twenty years, by the year 2025. Population growth is a terrible issue in that, the greater amount people existing in a small area with bad resources, the higher chance of death and struggle for the average person due to the needs of each person in a limited space. Population growth in developing areas leads to the struggle for fair use of the river and the benefits it brings to life in and around it. [|terrible living conditions] Another reason why the Nile is in great decline is that the pollution levels are at an ultimate high in terms of the struggle of living conditions of plants, people, animals, etc. The Nile River’s benefits, under treaty in 1959, are only supposed to be shared by Egypt and Sudan. Although this treaty seems unreasonable, it is held out for the most part, with all of the other eight remaining countries using up only about 1% of its use. The Nile has become extremely polluted, but the cause of the pollution is not the carelessness of the countries in control of it by law, but instead by the other countries downstream. These people contribute to 86% of the river’s pollution and discharge, which greatly angers the northern states, which have right to the Nile by treaty. The Nile River has many benefits when treated with care, but with the people living in poverty’s ignorance about to what extent they are affecting the “mother river,” they are decreasing its resources, thus making the average living conditions worse for them. Although the Nile is being heavily polluted, it still can be a valuable beneficiary with the hard work of outsiders to get the cooperation of the civilians living in the local riparian areas. [|pollution in the Nile] Even with all of the corruption occurring in the area surrounding the Nile River, improving the life of these third world people is extremely important because of how many people are living there. Population growth and pollution are both major problems for the amount of life and supplies the river will be able to donate for the use of the people in need of its water. There have been many attempts to build groups within the area to watch over the use of the river, and give guidance to the people misusing it. Almost all of these attempts have failed because of the people’s attitude towards being helped by outsiders. For instance, the World Bank of America came up with a plan to send volunteers into the southern areas of the Nile where conditions are worse. The corrupt leaders of these developing countries were angered and felt insulted that we would even consider helping them, because they, the leaders, are living in prosperity as opposed to the rest of their civilians’ state of poverty. These days, there are more organizations whose duties are to protect the water sources such as the NBI (Nile Basin Initiative), SVP (Shared Vision Program), World Water Council, and the International Consortium for Cooperation on the Nile. The NBI’s mission statement is to “achieve sustainable socio-economic development through the equitable utilization of, and benefit from the common Nile Basin water resources.” They are a fairly recent group that can make an enormous impact on everyday life on the coast of the river if they achieve what their goal. The goal of the SVP is to make an “enabling environment” out of the riparian space by conserving the water of the Nile and teaching the commoners procedures in which to do so. The World Water Council is an international group in charge of giving drinking water to all nations, so they have some representatives in Egypt and Ethiopia; but not enough to make a sufficient impact. The International Consortium for Cooperation of the Nile is a group inspired by Dr. Mahmoud Abu Zeid, that will specifically focus in on water problems taking place in the Nile River. The group will try to get the people to cooperate in making a safer place to live with the conservation and preservation of the river’s water supply. These groups have the potential to change the life of many individuals who battle great struggles everyday of their lives. In conclusion, the Nile River has clearly shown that it can potentially be a tremendous asset to the struggling people of the ten surrounding countries with the help of outside rebuilding groups and cooperation of the individuals using the water. [|needed cooperation]