Water loss may expose 200,000 families to extremism, warns Egypt minister

Egypt’s irrigation minister warned yesterday that the loss of 2 per cent of Egypt’s water may put 200,000 families at risk of extremism.

At a seminar held at the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo, Abdul Ati said that his country is importing and recycling water to compensate for the lack of water resources, according to the official Egyptian news agency, Middle East News Agency (MENA).

He added that wheat and other commodities are being imported to save the water required for agriculture, and that Egypt is the second largest country in the world doing this and the only one in Africa recycling water.

Read: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180320-sisi-insists-on-implementing-agreement-on-ethiopian-dam/

He pointed out that Egyptians consume 80 billion cubic metres of water per year of which 55 billion cubic metres are provided by the Nile River. The difference is compensated by recycling and reusing water, he added.

He continued saying that countries which are suffering from infiltration by terrorist groups or experiencing a crisis, such as the Darfur region in western Sudan, can trace the beginning of their problems back to the lack of water.

He added that losing two per cent of water in Egypt (equivalent to one million cubic metres) means that 200,000 families may lose their jobs, which makes them vulnerable to the dangers of extremism.

During the seminar Abdul Ati reviewed the Water Strategy for 2050, when the population of Egypt is expected to increase to 170 million from the current 104 million.

He explained that the strategy depends on four factors, the first of which is the purification and reuse of water including wastewater. The second is to rationalise consumption by adopting modern irrigation methods and the cultivation of low-water crops. Third is the development of existing water resources by adopting the desalinisation of seawater in all coastal cities, as well as exploiting rainwater and floods. The final factor is to establish an appropriate environment by keeping the people aware of the current water situation and the procedures being applied by the state to face that challenge.

Read: Egypt, Ethiopia to resume talks on Renaissance Dam

The Egyptian Minister of Irrigation said that a ministerial meeting will be held in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Wednesday to discuss the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The Sudanese ambassador to Cairo, Abdel Mahmoud Abdel Halim, announced last month his intention to hold a meeting about the dam in Khartoum on 4 and 5 April, bringing together irrigation ministers and intelligence managers in Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt.

Abdul Ati said that negotiations over the dam are to be resumed immediately after the formation of the new government in Ethiopia.

Yesterday the Ethiopian parliament approved the appointment of Abiye Ahmed as the new Prime Minister, replacing Hailemariam Desalegn.

Abdul Ati stressed that Egypt is not against development efforts in Sudan and Ethiopia.

Cairo fears the dam will have a negative impact on the flow of its annual share of water from the Nile River (55.5 billion cubic metres), which is Egypt’s main water source. But Addis Ababa says the dam will bring many benefits to Ethiopia, especially in the production of electricity, and will not harm the downstream countries, Sudan and Egypt.

Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have entered into negotiations on the construction of the dam, which has not yet been completed, but the negotiations have been repeatedly stymied by disagreements over the dam’s capacity and the number of years it would take to fill it.