Water resources

Current Status of Agriculture and Future Challenges in Sudan

Upphovsperson:	Mahgoub, Farida
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Agrarian Change, Property and Resources | Uppsala, Sweden
År:	2014
Ämnesord:	Sudan, Agricultural projects, Water resources, Water management, Irrigation, Agricultural development, Food security, Climate change

Urbanisation and long-lasting civil wars and conflict mean that the demographic pattern in Sudan is changing drastically. Nevertheless, 60%–80 % of Sudanese engage in subsistence agriculture. Agriculture remains a crucial sector in the economy as a major source of rawmaterials, food and foreign exchange. It employs the majority of the labour force, and serves as a potential vehicle for diversifyingthe economy. However, no rigorous studies have explained productivity in this sector inrelation to food security. The situation has worsened because agriculture in particular has been neglected sincethe advent of oil production in the early 2000s. Moreover, Sudan’s agricultural growth has been unbalanced, with the majority of irrigated agriculture concentrated in the Centre and ahuge disparity in development indicators between the best- and worst-performing regions. Thus, studies show that the vast majority of Sudanese are reported to be food insecure,especially internally displaced persons and in conflict regions such as Darfur, Kordofan and other regions.

Beyond Drops Water: Four Imperatives to Cooperation in the Nile Basin : Claude Ake Memorial Lecture 2010

Upphovsperson:	Yacob, Arsano
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2010
Ämnesord:	Nile river, Water resources, Regional cooperation, International relations, Environmental security, Peaceful coexistence, Video recordings, Political science, Statsvetenskap

The Nile basin is one of the oldest places on earth to which renowned civilizations, polities, kingdoms and empires are attributed. The Nile is the world’s longest river whose basin covers some 3.3 million sq. km and shared by ten countries. Whether in the upstream or downstream the countries and communities are permanently bound together, and their millions owe to it the present livelihood and future prosperity. On the contrary, the Nile Basin lacks a cooperative mechanism and perennially stuck in the lingering tension over apportionment of the waters. It is about time now for the Nile basin countries to work towards a viable cooperation beyond drops of water. A mutually acceptable cooperative engagement among the riparian nations is condition-sine-qua-non for enhancing development in each country and achieving the much desired peace and mutual security in the basin. The 2010 Claude Ake Memorial Lecture will, therefore, focus on the economic, environmental, security and institutional imperatives for cooperation and peace building in the Nile Basin. Dr. Yacob Arsano is Associate Professor of Political Science & International Relations at Addis Ababa University.

Nile Basin cooperation : a review of the literature

Upphovsperson:	Mohamoda, Dahilon Yassin
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2003
Ämnesord:	Nile river, Water resources, Regional cooperation, Literature surveys, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

Two interrelated developments can be identified in the Nile basin, during the last decade: an emphasis on potential conflict over the Nile waters on the one hand, and an evolving process of basin-wide cooperation on the other. The history of the Nile basin is dominated by tensions and conflicts. Relationships between major Nile basin countries are usually described in terms of mutual distrust and confrontation. The Nile basin, moreover, has frequently been referred to by many observers and analysts as an example where conflict over water resources as a result of water scarcity will lead to armed confrontation. Recent years, on the other hand, have witnessed a growing cooperation among the basin countries. The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) is a case in point. All the ten countries that share the Nile waters agreed, for the first time, to cooperate on development of the Nile basin. This is a significant step, although a number of serious problems and challenges remain. Many donors have made formal pledges to support the initiative. This paper reviews literature on the Nile basin cooperation and issues related to this process, focusing on more recent publications. The literature on utilization and management of the Nile waters related to basin-wide cooperation efforts has been growing fast during the last decade. At least seven books have been published on the subject between the years 2000 to 2002, while the number of papers presented at conferences and articles in various journals and on the Internet is enormous. This review discusses and covers a wide range of issues, which include: debate on water scarcity and its potential consequences in general, and its implications for the Nile basin countries in particular; legal aspects of utilization of the Nile waters focusing on the UN Watercourse Convention of 1997; conflicts and major attempts at cooperation; divergent views and interests of the basin countries; and challenges and prospects of the recent basin-wide cooperation.