Ethiopia – Africa’s Water Tower

Interviewee

Assefa Aleya

Historian, Travel Ethiopia Tour Guide

Interviewer

Alison M. Jones

NWNL Director and Photographer

Axum, Ethiopia, on September 24, 2007

Introductory Note

Assefa had been a guide with Travel Ethiopia for 8 years at the time of our first NWNL “Nile River Basin” expedition in 2007. Before guiding, he studied written history at the Addis Ababa University. In fact, he knew more American history than I did! Having been a guide on my previous trips in Ethiopia, I knew Assefa would provide a great narrative to accompany our documentation.

Outline

AFRICA’s RIVERS
THE BLUE NILE
A TRANS-BOUNDARY WATERSHED
BLUE NILE DAMS
BLUE NILE v OMO FARMING
BLUE NILE BASIN DEGRADATION
SOLUTIONS AND FUNDING
GOVERNMENT & A WATER TECH INSTITUTE
CLIMATE CHANGE & POLLUTION

Key Quote Ethiopian water belongs to Ethiopians, no question. The right is there by nature. But because of the historical, political, international and legal backgrounds, how to resolve problems should and must be solved according to international community thinking. But there should be no debate, no discussion for Ethiopia’s right to use the water sourced in Ethiopia to sustain its people and to develop its country. – Assefa Aleya

AFRICA’s RIVERS & NAMES

NWNL Assefa, let’s start by setting the stage for this big continent of Africa. What does the word Africa mean, or mean to you?

ASSEFA ALEYA First, Africa is not “the dark continent,” as the colonizers said. It is “the sun continent.”

NWNL And under the African sun, there are very important rivers and lakes – some among the biggest in the world. Indeed, many African regions, countries and tribes are named after ˙rivers. Is that because the rivers are so important.

ASSEFA ALEYA To begin, river names weren’t given to countries because of the rivers’ importance; but because of the interest of colonizers in using rivers as access to raw materials. Colonizers never used the names of chieftains, traditional ethnic groups, kings, or lords on their maps, because they wanted to bypass the native people to access those raw materials.

NWNL Can you list some of the African places named after waterways?

ASSEFA ALEYA Well, Nigeria is named after the Niger River. Burkina Faso is also the name of a river – as is Senegal, Congo, and Zaire. Chad is named after a lake.

NWNL What about Ethiopia’s name?

ASSEFA ALEYA From time immemorial, the name Ethiopia has existed. It’s in the Bible more than 42 times and mentioned in the Koran. According to historians today, Hamitic and Cushitic people intermingled in Ethiopia. From ancient writings, Ethiopia was the Upper Kingdom country,

NWNL The Upper Kingdom implies there is a Lower Kingdom….

ASSEFA ALEYA Well, “Upper Kingdom” to Ethiopians means “the upper truth”- not high elevation on a map. Yet, indeed, in Egypt they say “Upper Egypt” and “Lower Egypt.” But not in Ethiopia.

NWNL Let’s talk about the high elevations in Ethiopia. Isn’t there a name that implies high elevation and thus the source of the rivers?

ASSEFA ALEYA Ancient writings speak of Ethiopia’s “Upper Throne Country” – meaning the land of people who had their own government and were righteous. But such names were corrupted by Europeans, who used the name Abyssinia. The name Abyssinia was a corruption the name for people from the land of Habasha.

THE BLUE NILE

NWNL Ethiopia is often called “The Water Tower” of this region.

ASSEFA ALEYA Yes, Ethiopia is called the “Water Tower of the Horn of Africa,” or of eastern Africa because it has over 12 big rivers. These voluminous, big-flowing rivers give life to the neighboring countries. For example, in Egypt and Sudan, more than 85% of the Nile River comes from Ethiopia.

NWNL Is that 85% just from Ethiopia’s Blue Nile?

ASSEFA ALEYA No, they also get water from Somalia’s big rivers, both with perennial flows – the Shabelle and Genale Dawa. [The other large river in Ethiopia is Omo which is important to southwestern Ethiopians and Kenyans around Lake Turkana.] These big rivers give life to downstream border countries thus Ethiopia is called the “Water Tower of Africa,” or “The Water Tower of the Horn of Africa.”

Interestingly, most people in the United States think of Africa as a desert – and Ethiopia, specifically. That is true in southwestern, southeastern Ethiopia, but not up in the north.

NWNL Can you describe the difference between Ethiopia’s two river basins that fill the Blue Nile in the north.

ASSEFA ALEYA The Great Rift Valley goes through Ethiopia, dividing it into northwest and southeast halves. The northwest high mountains spill most of their water into the Blue Nile; and the southeastern half fills the Shebelle and Genale Dawa Basins as they too join the Blue Nile.

So, 60% of Ethiopia’s rivers are tributaries to the Nile. The other great Ethiopian river is to south is the Omo which flows into Kenya. The only Ethiopian big river that doesn’t cross the border is the Awash River, starting and ending in Ethiopia.

NWNL The Blue Nile begins in, crosses and leaves Ethiopia to join the White Nile, forming the main stem of Sudan and Egypt’s Nile River. But other countries also spill water into the Nile’s main stem.

ASSEFA ALEYA Yes. The Nile gathers rivers from about ten countries. These countries are: Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Egypt, Sudan, and Congo Republic.

NWNL Yet generally, it seems the Blue Nile is an Ethiopian river (with a little bit of Sudan), since it doesn’t merge with the White Nile until Khartoum., where, the Nile River begins.

ASSEFA ALEYA Incidentally, Ethiopians call the Blue Nile “Mormor” or “Abbayaa.” “Mormor Abbayaa” means “black main river” or “father of the rivers.” Other tributaries to the Blue Nile include the Baro and Tekeze (the bigger ones, each with many of its own tributaries); and the Gebele, Akobo, Desa, Fincha and so on.

A TRANS-BOUNDARY WATERSHED

NWNL The White Nile travels a further distance. Notably it contributes much, much less water, as it flows slowly from Ugandan shores of L. Victoria through the Sudd swamps to Khartoum. But its contribution to the Nile River brings the involved political entities to a total of ten countries in this watershed. How do they work out sharing water rights? What is the history? Who has the rights to the water?

ASSEFA ALEYA Ethiopian water belongs to Ethiopians, no question. The right is there by nature. But because of the historical, political, international and legal backgrounds, how to resolve problems should and must be solved according to international community thinking. But there should be no debate, no discussion for Ethiopia’s right to use the water sourced in Ethiopia to sustain its people and to develop its country.

NWNL In 1929, the Nile Basin Treaty was developed to address such issues. Can you talk about the history of conferences, those involved and its significance then and today?

ASSEFA ALEYA In 1929, there was a hydrology case. The British signed a treaty when they were expelled from American cotton plantation for their textile industries. Britain needed a dam to plant cotton in Sudan. So, it started and that brought an argument from Egypt and Sudan. They determined a specific amount of water for Sudan, and a specific amount for Egypt. When Sudan gained its freedom in 1956, they said, “This treaty never ever involved us. We want more water than the meager amount of water given by the British colonizers.”

So, there was a 1959 Agreement that 18 billion cubic meters of water were for Sudan and 55 billion cubic meters of water for Egypt.

NWNL So, the 1929 treaty was updated 30 years later, in 1959. Let’s talk about where the treaty stands now and what kind of framework the Nile Basin Initiative, which is made up of the ten countries, nations in this watershed.

ASSEFA ALEYA Well, particularly Egypt is persisting that Ethiopia become part and parcel of this treaty with other contributing countries of the Nile; but, Ethiopia never accepted this treaty. So, these days, things are changing. I think and hope the Nile Conference will be solving these problems.

DAMS ON THE BLUE NILE

NWNL What dams are now on the Blue Nile?

ASSEFA ALEYA In Bahir Dar [on Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile], the dams only for electrification, not irrigation. For irrigation, Ethiopia almost never uses tributaries to the Blue Nile or other big major tributaries.

NWNL Do sectors in Ethiopia’s Blue Nile Basin need to pull water for irrigation purposes?

ASSEFA ALEYA Truly, yes. Our population is increasing. According to hydrologists and scientists who study the Nile and Blue Nile basins, say people seriously irrigate the land in this area. This basin area is very, very important to Ethiopia and its people need food, water, and electricity.

NWNL How can that be best accomplished? What technology is needed? Are any efforts being made today towards providing those needs?

ASSEFA ALEYA I think the government would like to solve these problems with the neighboring countries. As you know, Ethiopia regularly struggles with famine and drought. These struggles are interconnected with shortages of rain and unwise use of our natural resources, especially water.

So, political stability in the region is very important, especially for our country to get along with neighboring countries. The government would like to solve its issue with the Egyptians; but clearly the Sudanese also want what they want – along with other countries.

As well, Ethiopian people should not die of drought and famine, especially when they have all these vital natural resources on their own land.

BLUE NILE v OMO AGRICULTURE

NWNL In the Omo River Basin, indigenous tribes live right on a very deep river that drops 60 feet as the rainy season changes to the dry season. When the water goes down, people plant and harvest sorghum on the banks of the river. That’s their sustenance.

But, the Nile River topography is very different. It’s a very deep gorge, not allowing agriculture on its flooded bank. So, how can people access that Blue Nile River for their irrigation? It’s not as simple as it is in the Omo.

ASSEFA ALEYA In the Omo River Basin, people live a primitive life. They are pastoralists, not sedentary farmers. Their water-recession farming is seasonal. They depend on the river for their cattle and flocks of sheep and goat, unlike Blue Nile Basin inhabitants who are sedentary agriculturalists.

Modern technology, however, is doing a lot. Plus, not all the water in the Blue Nile runs through a gorge. It runs about 800 kilometers from its source to the border of Sudan. From there, it is about 700 kilometers to reach Khartoum. Its major tributaries are not in gorges. There are places where one can irrigate. And thanks to the modern technology, even the river flows through a gorge, its water can be pumped out.

NWNL The Blue Nile is fortunate in that it does not face degradation issues of pollution because since there is no industry; and people don’t live right on the river, human and livestock effluent does not pollute the river. But the Blue Nile has serious erosion and deforestation issues.

BLUE NILE BASIN DEGRADATION

ASSEFA ALEYA From time immemorial and up to today, the Blue Nile’s topsoil has been eroded by this river. Yearly, about 140 billion cubic meters of soil goes off to Egypt.

Simultaneously, there is also terrible deforestation. At the beginning of the century, according to the historians, 40%of the country was covered by forest, and about 96% of our energy is derived from wood.

To curb erosion, the country must reforest land in its highlands. If reforested, that erosion will decrease. If reforestation does not happen, environmental degradation will turn the Blue Nile Basin to desert. If that happens, we cannot live. So, reforestation is critical.

This importance of forests is an issue in Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan. As eroded soil is carried away by river, their dams are filled by soil, silt or whatsoever. That impede the capacity of our dams to store water. So, if Egypt and Sudan took part in restoration efforts in upper countries, it would benefit them. Ethiopia must, must, must do this project. Now the government is initiating reforestation.

NWNL I read that was a Millennium Initiative here in Ethiopia.

ASSEFA ALEYA For our Millennium, the Forestry Department and the Government is trying to initiate reforestation. But still, more trees are cut than planted. It’s a hardship for farmers because they use these trees for energy. So, we are still decreasing our forests.

SOLUTIONS AND FUNDING

NWNL Assefa, is there any alternative energy source that people who previously cut trees could use as fuel?

ASSEFA ALEYA The solution is electrification. For that, the country’s waterpower is a critical resource. Ninety percent of the potential for electrification from waterpower is an untouched one.

NWNL Is that because there aren’t funds to create the dams for this?

ASSEFA ALEYA Well, it is difficult to improve modern technology and factory-finished goods because we don’t heavy industry. Heavy industry comes from abroad, but for that we need hard currency. So, we need loans from governments, international organizations and the regional organizations.

NWNL Does Ethiopia have sources to tap into such as NGOs (non-governmental organizations)? Are certain governments helping Ethiopia more than others?

ASSEFA ALEYA Well, whenever Ethiopia asks for funding for a project or for a loan, organizations or governments ask “What project? For what purpose?” If it’s for dams or projects on our rivers, they say, “Okay, we’ll see.” Egyptians aren’t giving loans or helping to implement projects in this country because they think our damming certain projects lessens the water level.

Our neighboring countries must understand our problems because they are more prosperous than Ethiopia. After all, Ethiopians, Egyptians and Sudanese lived together for time immemorial to now, bonded by Nature. Nature forced us to live together. Today’s diplomats, politicians and scholars could solve these problems. At least they have understood it well enough to communicate with the people, hear what the people are thinking, and see the problems of the people and the country.

NWNL Is Ethiopia educating its population as to the need to preserve the forests?

ASSEFA ALEYA Well, there is a forestry department, and a forestry college educating, youngsters. But since the 1970’s this water problem has yet to be solved.

GOVERNMENT & A WATER TECH INSTITUTE

Our lack of water infrastructure means 85% of our population depends on rain. Our farmers need rain to produce food. For 2 years there’s been no rain, and none is expected now. We must solve this problem. Without water, people are dying from thirst; going without tap water or clean water; and unable to irrigate their land. Crop failures are hurting the small-scale farmers.

In this common, shared and modernized world, we must sustain farming on a large scale to provide sufficient food. The government must act now. We have a water ministry. The water ministry and at University of Arba Minch there’s an Institute of Water Technology, graduating young students of hydrology.. This a governmental effort to teach about reforestation and the use of the water.

So, now people are learning about depending on rain and preserving our resources, especially by reforestation. It will take a long time to be understood by everyone, but this is the government’s initiative. Our people trying their best.

CLIMATE CHANGE & POLLUTION

NWNL You brought up the subject of rain. Is Ethiopia and its rain patterns being affected by global climate change?

ASSEFA ALEYA Yes, of course – Ethiopia is part and parcel of global issues. Climate change is not a simple problem as you know. It is caused by pollution of industry in the developed countries. We are not part of industry directly or indirectly polluting of the globe. Yet we face environmental changes.

NWNL Specifically, what changes do you see – perhaps more or less rain?

ASSEFA ALEYA Sometimes we have no rain and then untimely rain. There is a changing climate in our country. This year we have less rain and more heat.. Maybe you can insist your government to sign to an agreement. (Laughter.)

NWNL Assefa, that’s an ambitious note to end on! But thank you for sharing with No Water No Life so much information, your well-founded concerns for Ethiopia’s future, and your pride and knowledge of its great history.

Posted by NWNL on April 28, 2024.
Transcription edited and condensed for clarity by Alison M. Jones.

Ethiopia – Africa’s Water Tower Nile River Basin