River Wars

We take them for granted, but rivers are the primary lifeblood of many developing countries; they provide life-sustaining water, irrigation for agriculture, energy, and ready-made highways for transporting people and goods through otherwise hostile arid deserts and dense jungles. The 21st Century's first water war may occur some time in the near future in East Africa as various countries jostle to exert competing claims and exploit the Nile River. Friction over the Nile's waters isn't new by any means, but the confluence of several factors has the potential to bring it rapidly to the forefront.

Developing economies and increasing populations have raised the demand for energy, food, and water from the Nile. A number of nations with precarious stability -- primarily Egypt, Southern Sudan, and Ethiopia -- rely on the Nile’s water. From FUUO (which by the way, is an excellent blog written by a Navy FAO focused on African affairs), Ethiopia is building a series of new hydroelectric dams to satisfy the country’s increasing demand for electricity. This project will almost certainly create issues down the river, even though Ethiopia intends it to benefit the entire region. Additionally, very-soon-to-be independent South Sudan's Blue Nile region is one of the areas of contention with their northern neighbors.

For additional reading, Churchill’s The River War is a classic work on the strategic importance of the Nile. For the ADHD crowd (myself included), al Jazeera has a very interesting video here on the history of these disputes. Our riverine forces should work at developing relationships with the countries involved and familiarizing themselves with this riparian environment, because it is likely to become a future flashpoint.

The opinions and views expressed in this post are those of the author alone and are presented in his personal capacity. They do not necessarily represent the views of U.S. Department of Defense, the US Navy, or any other agency.