COMPILED BY DARGIE KAHSAY
The Nile River, considered the longest river in the world, covers about 6,650 kilometers or 4,130 miles, crossing some 11 African countries. Nile Crosses Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Republic of the Sudan, and Egypt and its annual average water flow volume is 84 billion cubic meters.
From the total water volume of the River, Ethiopia contributes over 86 percent of the water of the River through the Blue Nile River with its tens of tributaries that originate from the highlands of Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, the major water source of the River is Sekela. Within the Ethiopian boundary, the River basin of Nile covers two-third of the country’s surface water resource and crosses three regional states, Amhara, Oromia and Benishangul Gumuz. In addition, over 30 percent of the country’s population is found within the river basin and surroundings in Ethiopia.
Regionally, more than 250 million populations are found within the River Basin and it is the major, if not the only, water source of Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. As an annually flowing river, the Nile is a major economic backbone of these countries, mainly the downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan, are dependent on the Water River and the resources from it. Almost in all countries, the Nile River is the major source of irrigation for the agriculture of the basin countries and also the major source of hydro power energy.
In addition to being a source of irrigation and energy, the Nile River is also useful for transportation, drinking water, fishery development and tourism in the basin countries. According to research, The Nile River and its banks are rich with many varieties of animal life. These include the rhinoceros, African tiger-fish, Nile monitors, enormous Vundu catfish, hippopotamuses, wildebeests, baboons, frogs, mongooses, turtles, tortoises and over 300 species of birds. Hundreds of thousands of water birds spend their winters in the Nile Delta. This includes the world’s largest concentrations of little gulls and whiskered terns.
The Nile River is also home to the Nile crocodile, which is among the most known and feared animals in the world. This fearsome predator has a reputation as a man eater and rightly so. Nile crocodiles can reach lengths of 18 to 20 feet, and are quite aggressive toward people. Estimates say that about 200 people a year are killed by these reptiles, according to National Geography.
The Nile has two major tributaries: the longer White Nile, considered the prime stream and headwaters; and the Blue Nile, which carries about two-thirds of the river’s water volume and most of the silt. The Blue Nile, which takes the lion share of the waters of the River Nile, originates from the Ethiopian highlands. The White Nile begins at Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, which touches the countries of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Lake Victoria itself has Feeder Rivers.
While the Blue Nile (Abay), the headstream of the Nile River and source of over 75 percent of the River’s Waters originates from the highlands of Ethiopia, from northwestern Ethiopia near the Lake Tana. It flows through a deep canyon southeast and west around the Choke Mountains and then turns northwest through Sudan to join the White Nile at Khartoum covering some 1,460 kilometers.
The White and the Blue Nile meet at Sudan, around the capital Khartoum and flow to Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. As the meeting point of the two major tributaries of the Nile River, Sudan uses the River for transportation, irrigation and hydropower production. Sudan builds a Rosaries Dam with energy production capacity of 280 megawatts and other dams both for irrigation and energy production. The Al- Ruṣayriṣ and Sannār dams in Sudan irrigate over 400 thousand hectares of land in the plain of Al-Jazīrah between the Blue Nile and White Nile rivers. The Sannār Dam also produces hydroelectric power.
So far, this longest River that crosses 11 countries was dominated by Egypt and Sudan, which are named as the downstream countries, while the remaining nine countries named as the Upper stream countries of the Nile River Basin. Using this River, Egypt covers 100 percent of its energy demand, 100 percent of its potable water demand, almost 98 percent of its irrigation. It builds the Aswan High Dam, near the desert area with an annual reservoir, a gross capacity of 169 billion cubic meters with a depth of 90 meters.
In 1959, excluding the upper stream countries, which are the origins of the longest River, Egypt and Sudan shared the total water volumes of the Nile River. From the annual 84 billion cubic meters average volume of the River, according to the selfish agreement of 1959, Egypt takes 55.5 billion cubic meters while Sudan takes 18.5 billion cubic waters and the remaining percentage is expected to evaporate.
Blue Nile (the major source of the Nile River), originating from Ethiopia is not only a River for Ethiopians. Though Ethiopia did not use the River so far due to economic shortages, the Abay (Blue Nile) River is beyond a River for the society living around the River Basin. The people living in the basin have a special connection with the River.
When you go to the societies settling around the River basin in Ethiopia, insulting the river or throwing a stone to the River is totally prohibited. The river for the society is something sacred and holy. Throwing even a single dust is just societally unacceptable. Even children and shepherds keep their cattle and sheep around the river, they praise the River with their songs and they tell you the River has something of a supernatural power. They enjoy the waters of the River happily. Within the society which crosses Ethiopia, the Abay (Nile) River is not only the biggest River, it is something of a holly or sacred River.
Not only in the society found around the Basin, has Abay (Nile) had a special place in the mind of all Ethiopians. Ethiopians sing, praise and promote the River, though the country has not yet benefited from the River. Since ancient times uncounted proverbs, sayings, traditional songs and poems were chanted and transmitted from generation to generation with regard to the River Nile. Abay is not only the longest River, it has a big image within the mind of all Ethiopians and Ethiopians believe that it can be the source of Ethiopia’s prosperity and development.
Ethiopian generation has dreamed to use the River for the development of their country. They never stop thinking of utilizing the river for their economic development by building dams both for irrigation and energy. As Agrarian society and the area that the Abay River basin is found is among the major agricultural production areas of Ethiopia, Ethiopians had a dream of using the River for irrigation to increase the agricultural productivity of the country.
A major turning point in using Blue Nile for the Ethiopian economy launched some 10 years ago. On 01 April 2011, Ethiopia launched the construction of the Grand Ethiopian renaissance Dam (GERD) to build at the great River to produce energy. The GERD, with a total water reservoir of around 74 billion cubic meters with the capacity of energy production around six thousand megawatts has already completed around 84 percent of its total construction. In addition, the first three round water filling was already completed and the first two turbines started energy production.
Now, as its name and its image within Ethiopian society, the Nile River is becoming big and big and started benefiting the people that honored it as a sacred River. Ethiopia, with its principle of win-win approach with the downstream countries, started benefiting from its natural resources without harming the downstream countries.
The Ethiopian Herald September 6/2022
