Cascao Leipzig Waterscapes Nile Basin
-
Upload
ana-cascao -
Category
Education
-
view
324 -
download
2
Transcript of Cascao Leipzig Waterscapes Nile Basin
“Adrift on the Nile”:Shifting waterscapes in the Nile River Basin
Ana Elisa Cascão
King’s College of London, UK
CEAUP, Portugal
European Conference on African Studies
Leipzig, Germany
4-7 June 2009
NILE BASIN MAP
• 10 riparian states• 2 sub-basins – Eastern Nile and Equatorial Lakes• 2 sources
• Complex hydrology• Complex hydropolitics
• Old Lakes• New Lakes
• “Dams Race”Lake
Victoria
Lake Tana
OLD LAKES –
VICTORIA AND TANA
• Shrinking water levels• Uneven rainfall patterns• Growing demand• Over-pumping• Overpopulation• Environmental alert!
Lake Victoria Lake Tana
OLD ARTIFICIAL LAKE- Lake Nasser
• 1960s: Aswan High Dam
• Biggest artificial lake in the world
• A footprint in dam construction
THE DAMS RACE WAS
ONLY STARTING!
NEW LAKES – in the desert
• The new pyramids• Greening the desert• Securing water suply
• Dubious environmental, economic, social, hydrological, and political feasibility
MEANWHILE.... UPSTREAM...
SUDAN:
Oil and Water mix
• Petro-yuan!
• 2 new projects• Several planned
• “Hydraulic revolution”
• Trend: disregard for environmental and social
impacts
ETHIOPIA: Exploiting the sources
• Several planned projects• Some mega-dams
• Multiple interests – Politicians, World Bank, consultants,
constructors
• Trend: disregard for environmental and social
impacts
ARE ALL THESE PLANS REALISTIC?
1
2 4
3
5
67
The New China’s Great WallsSUDAN1 Merowe dam2 Roseires dam heightening
ETHIOPIA3 Neshi river hydroelectric dam4 Tekeze hydroelectric dam
UGANDA5 Ayago north and south hydropower
dams
BURUNDI6 Mugere hydropower station
CONGO7 Grand Inga (Inga 3)
Chinese Business: Infrastructures
Favourable contracts
Speedy construction
Environmental Impact Assessement
Environmental international regulations
Human Rights
Good governance
Notification/Consultation
Shifting waterscapes in the Nile River Basin
• Lakes shrinking• New lakes in the
desert• New dams• Future dams• More capital • More interests
Predictable transformation of landscapes and waterscapes