Ashok Swain

Ethiopia, the Sudan, and Egypt: The Nile River Dispute

T he Nile flows for 6,700 kilometres through ten countries in north-eastern Africa – Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire/Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the Sudan, and Egypt – before reaching the Mediterranean, and is the longest international river system in the world – see Map 1. Its two main tributaries converge at Khartoum: the White Nile, which originates from Burundi and flows through the Equatorial Lakes, provides a small but steady flow that is fed by the eternal snows of the Ruwenzori (the ‘rain giver’) mountains, while the Blue Nile, which suffers from high seasonal fluctuations, descends from the lofty Ethiopian ‘water tower’ highlands. They provide 86 per cent of the waters of the Nile – Blue Nile 59 per cent, Baro-Akobo (Sobat) 14 per cent, Tekesse (Atbara) 13 per cent – while the contribution from the Equatorial Lakes region is only 14 per cent.

Challenges for water sharing in the Nile basin: changing geo-politics and changing climate

Abstract For most of the 20th century, the Nile River has been the source of political tensions and low-intensity conflicts among three of its major riparian countries (Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt). However, since the late 1990s, the Nile basin countries—with the encouragement and support of the international community—have made some attempts to establish basin-wide cooperative institutions. This process of engagement and collaboration is presently under severe stress due to increasing demand and decreasing supply of water resources in the basin. This situation may be complicated further by the global climate change, which is anticipated to result in long-term changes in the volume and pattern of runoff in the Nile River system. Moreover, the emergence of China as a major player in the power politics of the Nile basin has facilitated a number of unilateral initiatives for large-scale water development projects. In this context, this paper critically examines the survival and sustainability of water cooperation endeavours in the Nile basin as the river faces challenges from the global climate change and shifting regional geo-politics. Citation Swain, A. (2011) Challenges for water sharing in the Nile basin: changing geo-politics and changing climate. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(4), 687–702.

Water wars: fact or fiction?

Abstract It is often said that future wars will be fought over water, not oil. These water wars are predicted to take place over the sharing of international rivers. Recently, the world has witnessed several inter-state river-sharing disputes, but almost all of them have not crossed the critical threshold of becoming violent. Rather, most of these river disputes are being addressed through bilateral riparian cooperative arrangements. These agreements are primarily coming up on the rivers, which have potential for further water exploitation. However, to find a lasting solution and to strengthen the river sharing arrangements, this article argues for the water issue to be addressed comprehensively in the basin, by taking into account both the demand as well as the supply side of the scarce resource.

Home Thoughts from Abroad: Diasporas and Peace-Building in Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka

This article looks at the dynamics of Diaspora groups as a possible catalyst for peace-building within violent segmented societies. With the help of two case studies, Irish-Americas role in Northern Ireland and Sri Lankan Tamil Diasporas role in Sri Lanka, it locates the variable impacts of Diaspora involvement in violent conflicts within their homelands. Despite their unique histories and individual complexity, both of these cases illustrate that Diasporas have a significant role to play in peace-building, are diverse rather than homogenous communities, and that they represent an important and often underutilized resource to bring negotiated settlement to violent conflicts.

Fight for the last drop: Inter‐state river disputes in India

Abstract The rapid growth of rural and urban demands for fresh water has made this finite resource increasingly scarce in India. The current management of the countrys water resources is poor, and attempts at exploiting Indias river resources through large and expensive projects largely have failed. At the root of the problem is the fact that all of the countrys main river basins are to be found across more than one state. The sharing of their waters has become highly politicised, leading to a number of acrimonious and sometimes violent inter‐state disputes. This article examines the history and current state of the most prominent and contentious disputes which have engulfed the Indus, Yamuna, Cauvery and Krishna river basins, respectively. Unless the countrys water scarcity problems are addressed by a national water management policy, Indias development and even unity will be severely affected.

The Security-Development Nexus : Peace, Conflict and Development

Attention to the ‘security-development nexus’ has become commonplace in national and global policy-making, and yet the exact nature of the term remains undefined. This study approaches the subjects ...

Global climate change and challenges for international river agreements

Shared rivers are not only expected to cause conflict, but they can also contribute to build engagement and cooperation among the riparian states. Particularly in the last two decades, several competing riparian countries have formally agreed to share and, in some cases develop their common water resources. Many agreements have been drawn up in the South to share the international river basins. Noteworthy ones are: Zambezi, Mekong, Jordan, Ganges and Nile Rivers. However, these agreements are presently going through severe stress due to increasing demand and decreasing supply of water resources. Moreover, global climate change raises certain possibility of long-term changes to the volume and pattern of run-off in these shared river systems. This paper critically examines the suitability of existing agreements on major international river systems in the South to address the challenges posed by the global climate change.

The Indus II and Siachen Peace Park: Pushing the India-Pakistan Peace Process Forward

Abstract The peace process between India and Pakistan, which started in 2000, moved very slowly before coming to a standstill following the terror attack on Mumbai in November 2008. This article argues that both these two South Asian neighbours need to focus on new areas of bilateral cooperation, which might help them to build mutual trust and provide much-needed impetus to bring peace in the region. The Indus River Agreement of 1960 between India and Pakistan, with its only focus on water sharing, has not been able to generate positive spin-off effects. If both the countries agree to renegotiate the Indus Agreement into an integrated river basin management mechanism, the benefit-sharing might have other peace-enhancing effects and can contribute to bilateral cooperation in other areas. Besides renegotiating the Indus Treaty, both India and Pakistan may also opt for another resource-based conflict management strategy in their tense border areas. For a quarter of a century, both these countries have been involved in an armed conflict to gain control of the Siachen glacier. If they decide to covert this disputed area as a Peace Park, it may provide an excellent exit strategy for both the armed forces—and the local people will support this move as it will give a boost to eco-tourism in the area. India and Pakistan, by establishing a Peace Park in Siachen and forming a basin-based river management institution on the Indus River, can reduce their trust deficit, which will help them to address their other long-standing bilateral contentious issues.

Water and post-conflict peacebuilding

ABSTRACT Water-management issues cut across all sectors of governance and have a critical bearing on many post-conflict challenges. The imperative of adequate water supply and the weakness of the state in a post-conflict period provide a nexus which demands comprehensive and well thought-out policy planning, for the short term as well as for the long term. However, very little research has been conducted on the nexus between water management and sustainable development in war-torn societies that are undergoing processes of peacebuilding. This article, after critically reviewing the contribution of water scarcity to security challenges and peacemaking, makes an attempt to contribute to the policy debate on how carefully planned interventions in the water sector can significantly contribute to the post-conflict peacebuilding process, from immediate recovery and rebuilding to long-term sustainable development goals and lasting peace. EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis GUEST EDITOR K. Aggestam

Stability and Sustainability in Peace Building: Priority Area for Warfare Ecology

The chapter aims to highlight the importance of efficient management of the environment in providing stable and sustainable peace to a post-conflict society. An attempt has been made to give selected cases where sustainable economic development is neglected and short-term, situational development is favored in post-conflict peacebuilding systems. The negative outcome of this approach has been the pollution of the environment, and also, in some instances creating further conflicts and insecurity in the society. In order to avoid these negative consequences, three policy recommendations – good governance, inter-state cooperation and early warning systems – have been elaborated for how to address and successfully overcome the environmental threats to sustainable peace – hence, how sustained stability can be brought into post-conflict systems.