Will War For Water

Remember all those predictions about how the world will go to war over peak oil? Well, those predictions never came from the US government. However, the US government has been predicting that we could, in the future, see war over water - and this is an example.

Ethiopia on Wednesday said it planned to build a huge dam on the Nile despite a long-running row with Egypt over use of the river and concern the dispute may spark a war.

The nine countries through which the river passes have for more than a decade been locked in often bitter talks to renegotiate colonial-era treaties that gave Egypt and Sudan the lion’s share of the river’s waters.

However, six of the nine upstream countries — Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi — have signed a new deal stripping Egypt of its veto.

“The Great Nile dam construction is scheduled to commence presently near the Ethio-Sudan border,” Water and Energy Minister Alemayehu Tegenu said.

In November, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told Reuters that Egypt was backing rebel groups in his country because of the Nile dispute and that if it went to war with upstream countries over the river it would lose.

More background on the issue here. Worth noting the timing as Nile River nations are moving against Egypt while their government is at the weakest point in several decades.

This could turn into a legitimate election issue in Egypt.