Water and Food in Africa

                                     Grand Renaissance Dam. Source: (US/C,2020) Development of Riverine dispute frameworks   Yoffe (2003,9)  has found that extreme events of conflicts were more commonly found in areas with ‘ highly variable hydrologic conditions ’ . Africa ’ s erratic climates provide ideal conditions for conflict. International frameworks have been developed to assist the resolution of competing national demands for river water (The Helsinki Rules 1966 and the UN Watercourse Convention 1997) (Demin,2015) . These controls are often frustratingly abstract, and neither Ethiopia or Egypt have ratified them (Tanzi,2020) . International frameworks seek to allocate rights by determining what is ‘ reasonable and equitable and further refer to historic use of the water source (Wolf,2009) . However, ‘reasonable and equitable’ are subjective and unquantifiable measures. Furthermore these agreements have neither been developed or enforced by international courts.   Historically t

                                         The Nile. Source: (Britanica,2020) The issue of shared use of key river basins is particularly pertinent in Africa. Over 90% of the Continent ’ s surface freshwater resources are located in river basins and lakes which cross national borders (World Bank,2020) . This blogpost will explore current debates over increased upstream development of water projects in Ethiopia, which is especially strongly opposed by downstream users of the Nile in Egypt. I shall asses the importance of the Nile to both regions, then further asses each side’s respective claims regarding the dispute. Ethiopia 85% of the Nile ’ s water passes through Ethiopia (Blue Nile), yet only 1% of this water is utilised by the Ethiopian agriculture sector, even though it makes up 65% of the country ’ s total water resources (Brookings,2020) . Ethiopia is a country which has long suffered from food security. It has had a structural food deficit since 1980s. In 2000, 57% of Ethiopia