You think of water when the well is empty...

You think of water when 

the well is empty. 

Although we strive to be prepared, sometimes we 

can be caught unawares. That is why it’s worth thinking 

about water before the well goes dry in order to have 

enough time to plan ahead. Part of this preparation 

is knowing what the right questions are and striving 

to answer them. To be prepared and plan ahead also 

means to notice small changes when they occur. This 

can only happen if you spend time observing and 

learning. The Nile shows us its many facets depending 

on the light, the time of day and the mood of the 

observer. Noticing these changes helps us to know 

more and be prepared. Through the pages of this 

paper, correspondents from the Nile Basin countries 

share their experiences and observations about the 

Nile and try to find answers to the most relevant 

questions about the river. We celebrate the day of the 

Nile by thinking about water, before the well goes dry. 

Issue 11 

22 February 2018 

Addis Ababa 

Ethiopia 

A complex system 

of trade-offs: water, 

energy and food 

page 4 

Lake Victoria: 

Tanzania’s efforts 

to protect a delicate 

ecosystem 

page 7 

More plentiful and 

cleaner than surface 

water: groundwater 

Regional 

Nile Day 

2018 

page 12 

Mara River Basin: 

changing the way 

people use the river 

page 24 

24 

hours & 

questions

2 TN 

T 

What is 

‘The Niles’? 

he Niles has recently undergone a rebirth and 

evolved into a media platform that covers not only 

contributions from Sudan and South Sudan, but 

extends to the entire Nile Basin, which stretches from 

the river’s origins in Burundi, Rwanda and Ethiopia, 

to the rich delta on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. 

Our vision is to provide a publication in which 

journalists are free to explore the common challenges 

facing their countries and to focus on solutions to 

growing water demands and altered water availability, 

thus cultivating accurate and fact-based reporting that 

promotes inter-riparian trust, confidence and mutuality. 

The Niles invites journalists and organisations 

working on strengthening reporting in the Nile Basin 

to make positive contributions to on-going debates 

around the questions that lie at the core of the current 

debate around the Nile Basin’s precious resources. 

This second basin-wide issue of The Niles – the 

eleventh in total – is published on the nineteenth Nile 

Day, celebrated on 22 February 2018 in Ethiopia, as 

a symbol of cross-border cooperation, and a reminder 

that yet more remains to be done. It provides an 

opportunity to increase awareness about the sustainable 

management and development of the shared 

water and related resources for win-win benefits, 

but also about the consequences of non-cooperation 

and the challenges of Nile cooperation. 

The theme for this year’s Nile Day, hosted by 

the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) and the Government 

of Ethiopia is; ‘The Nile: Shared River, Collective 

Action’. The River Nile is a shared resource which 

traverses political boundaries, inevitably bringing 

into play the competing priorities of different uses 

and users as well as shared challenges that include 

climate change and environmental degradation. 

To obtain the optimal utilization and ensure sustainability 

of the resource, Nile Basin States must act 

collectively, balancing interests and focusing on common 

goals at Basin level. 

6 AM, Lake Kivu, Rwanda. 

Leaving the boat after another 

night fishing on the lake. 

AFP / Natalia Jidovanu 

Cover image: picture alliance / 

Reuters / Tiksa Negeri 

6AM

4 TN TN 5 

Can the Nile 

Basin balance 

the water-energyfood 

nexus? 

Can the Nile Basin survive 

the water-energy-food nexus? 

By Frederic Musisi 

N 

The growing population of the 10 countries in the 

Nile Basin is deeply reliant on the water of the River 

Nile. They must overcome mistrust to negotiate a 

complex system of trade-offs, between water, energy, 

and food production. 

othing is more useful than water” but “scarcely 

anything can be had in exchange for it,” argued 

Adam Smith, the father of modern political economy, 

in his book “The Wealth of Nations.” 

The irony, as Smith postulated in what became 

known as the “Diamond-Water Paradox,” is that 

while water is on the whole more useful in terms 

of survival than diamonds, it is diamonds that 

command a higher price on the market. 

This was the case when Smith was writing over 

two centuries ago and it is still the case today. 

However, in years to come economists think this 

trend could reverse. So much so that a few years 

ago, a study by the American investment bank 

Goldman Sachs predicted that water would be 

“the petroleum of the next century.” 

Increasing consumption fuels tensions 

Furthermore, there are indications that this 

future could arrive even sooner. 

There is a growing number of disputes and 

tensions around the world over water resources, 

and these have only just stopped short of open conflict: 

Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan; Turkey, Syria, and 

Iraq; Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan 

and Kyrgyzstan, and in the Nile Basin. 

The driver of this anxiety, one that is not limited to 

the Nile Basin, is the increasing human consumption 

of water resources by ever-growing populations. They 

require water for either food production or energy 

production for industrialization to create jobs and 

urbanization for better living conditions. Experts call 

this the “water-energy-food nexus.” 

With food, energy, and water so deeply intertwined 

actions in one area commonly impact on one or both 

of the others. Yet, a big problem, experts say, is that 

water is often taken for granted. 

According to the Institution of Environmental 

Sciences (IES), the nexus concept is not new; environmental 

scientists and practitioners have been talking 

about this for years but using different terminology 

such as “integrated resource management,” or 

“systems thinking.” 

A big 

problem, 

experts 

say, is 

that water 

is often 

taken for 

granted. 

The nexus concept pertains to obvious day-to-day 

issues where there are numerous interdependent 

relationships. For example: water for energy (e.g. 

thermal electric cooling and hydropower generation); 

energy for water (e.g. treatment and distribution of 

water); water for food (e.g. irrigation of crops); “food” 

for energy (e.g. biofuels). 

The IES further notes that the challenge of the 

nexus is not just about the interdependent relationships 

between water, energy and food. It also involves the 

complex planetary drivers, pressures and challenges 

that influence these resources on different geographical 

scales (local, national, global), temporal scales 

(historical, current, future) and experiencing differing 

risks (political, economic, environmental). 

And this nexus can be felt acutely in a complex 

trans-boundary region like the Nile Basin, encompassing 

the 10 countries of Ethiopia, Eritrea, DR 

Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, 

Sudan, Egypt, and South Sudan that share the River 

Nile’s catchment area. 

The United Nations Economic Commission for 

Europe in a 2015 report titled “Reconciling resource 

uses in trans-boundary basins: assessment of the 

water-food-energy-ecosystems nexus,” indicated that 

its “complexity increases substantially in trans-boundary 

river basins where the impacts spread from one 

country to another and trade-offs may cause friction 

between the riparian countries.” 

Implications of development 

for water resources 

According to the 2012 “State of River Nile Basin 

Report” by the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), the 10 

Nile riparian countries use the water from the river 

to varying extents for agriculture, hydroelectric 

dams, urbanization, trade, transport and other 

economic needs. 

The NBI is an intergovernmental body established 

17 years ago by the 10 states to promote an equitable 

utilization of the River Nile and to foster cooperation. 

In Uganda, the river chiefly runs hydropower 

dams that generate an estimated 695 megawatts 

(MWs) according to the Ugandan energy ministry. 

However, the government’s National Development 

Plan II outlines future plans to fast-track generation 

to a capacity of 2,500 MW by 2020. The government 

is set to launch Isimba (183MW) and Karuma 

(600MW) hydropower dams soon. 

Building 

more 

dams will 

increase 

the supply 

of cheap 

electricity 

and help 

to attract 

investors. 

The Ugandan government set itself an ambitious 

target of turning the country, which is recovering 

from civil war, into a middle-income economy by 

2020, although this has now been revised to 2030. 

(A middle-income economy is defined by the World 

Bank as one where the annual per-capita gross 

national income ranges between $1,025 and $12,615.) 

Policymakers are now faced with a choice of pushing 

ahead with industrialization or opting for modernizing 

agriculture. Either option has huge implications 

for water resources. 

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who 

last year attempted to mediate between Egypt and 

Ethiopia in their long-standing feud over sharing 

water resources, argues that building more dams 

will increase the supply of cheap electricity and help 

to attract investors. This, he argues, is the only way 

to save the River Nile. 

“The biggest danger of the Nile is damaging water 

in the tropics by the people. They cut trees for firewood 

that would help modify rainfall and end up 

damaging the eco system,” President Museveni said 

last March at a joint conference with Ethiopia’s Prime 

Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. 

While Museveni advocates for more dams to 

increase the availability of cheap electricity, other 

countries do not share his view. For example, Egypt 

wants to limit large hydropower projects on the 

river, which is its principal source of fresh water 

and is used for food production to cater for the 

country’s growing population. 

Irrigated agriculture in Egypt and Sudan, according 

to the NBI report, represents the single most 

important water usage with a combined acreage 

of 4.5 million hectares compared to less than 50,000 

hectares in the other Nile Basin countries. 

Growing water stress 

Ethiopia’s population of 106 million is the highest 

in the basin closely followed by Egypt, with 99 

million, and DR Congo with 83 million, according 

to the latest United Nations estimates. The same 

estimates indicate that Uganda has a population 

of 44 million, South Sudan and Rwanda have 13 

million respectively, Sudan’s population is 41 million 

and Burundi’s is 11 million. Kenya has a population 

of 50 million people and Tanzania’s is 58 million. 

Is there enough water for this number of people? 

The only way to ensure that there is, according 

to experts, is to increase cooperation between the 

countries. They need to negotiate a complex system 

of trade-offs, especially between water, energy, and 

food production. 

By 2030, according to the NBI, the basin’s 

population is expected to reach 648 million and 

by 2050 it will be near 1 billion. The NBI report 

warns that such concurrent developments point 

to increasing water stress in the basin. At the same 

time demand is steadily rising due to rapid population 

growth and economic development. 

Meanwhile, the river’s ecosystem comprising 

of small rivers like Kagera, Nzoia, Semliki, Albert 

Nile, Bahr el Jabal, Bahr el Ghazal, Sobat, and Blue 

Atbara, fringed by a forest, are also increasingly 

under strain from a multiplicity of other threats like 

mining, climate change, and natural disasters. 

Callist Tindimugaya, the senior official at Uganda’s 

Ministry of Water and Environment responsible for 

planning, allocating and regulating water resources, 

says that the greatest threat to more intense cooperation 

between Nile Basin countries is “mistrust.” 

“If you look at the water levels of the Nile I think 

it is enough for all of us, but only if used equitably,” 

Tindimugaya told The Niles. 

“Look at it as if people are lining up orderly 

in a queue for food. If the food is not enough more 

is brought to the table,” he said. 

“But if the same people instead choose to fight for 

the same food, how much of it will be lost and do you 

think it will be enough even if it were to be? That is 

exactly what we are facing as Nile countries.”

8 

things 

you 

How much 

water can 

a donkey carry? 

Balancing 

development 

and 

conservation 

How can we 

best protect 

Lake Victoria’s 

ecosystem? 

TN 7 

didn’t 

know 

about 

the 

Nile 

By Esther Muwombi 

The Nile is the world’s longest river. But you 

probably knew that already. And you also probably 

know that it passes through 11 African countries. 

But did you know that this great river’s 

basin is occupied by more than 257 million 

people whose lives greatly depend on economic 

activities generated in and around the river? 

Here the first of a few things you never knew 

about the Nile. 

1. 

What is the exact origin and length 

of the Nile? 

While there has long been speculation 

about the water’s exact origin, there’s never 

been solid proof of the exact source of the river. 

The White Nile expedition that began in 2004 

came closest to a definitive answer, concluding 

that the origin was in either Rwanda or Burundi. 

However, there are other possibilities. For 

example, in Uganda, at a point in the river 

closest to Lake Victoria there is a force of water 

gushing up from underground, which suggests 

the source could be there. Since the origin 

still remains a mystery, it’s hard to tell the exact 

length of the river. According to the Nile Basin 

Initiative the river is 6.695 kilometres long. 

By Elzahraa Jadallah 

W 

A shantytown on the edge of Sudan’s most populous 

city has no official water supply. Instead residents 

have to rely on tanks filled with groundwater and 

barrels bought from the back of donkey carriages. 

hile water security is a major crisis facing Sudan’s 

rural communities, the issue is not only one facing 

those living in the countryside and small villages. 

Increasingly people living in urban areas, such 

as in Khartoum State, the smallest but most populous 

of the country’s 18 states, are struggling to access 

enough clean water. 

The residents of a shantytown on the edge of 

Omdurman, the country’s biggest city, which lies 

across the Nile from the capital Khartoum, face a 

daily struggle to access clean water. They are forced 

to find water themselves. 

“We are considered a part of Khartoum State, but 

we don’t enjoy its services,” says Mohamed Hassan, a 

worker living in “Alhila Aljadeda,” a shanty town in Dar- 

El-Salam, West Omdurman. “We wish to drink water 

from taps and have a bath with a shower,” he says. 

The poor residents of Alhila Aljadida were displaced 

as a result of the city’s steady expansion, yet they lack 

the most basic services, such as electricity and running 

water. Many live in makeshift accommodation that 

provides little security or shelter from harsh weather. 

While the settlement has been in existence for 

more than 15 years, it has no access to Omdurman’s 

water supply pipelines. Instead they make do with 

17 tanks that are filled with groundwater or barrels 

sold from the back of donkey carriages. 

Khadjia Mohamed lives across the street from one 

of those tanks. “We have been living here for 16 years, 

we buy water from donkey carriages,” she says. “It’s 

20 to 30 pounds a barrel, available at all times. The 

tank nearby is new but we don’t know if the water 

is potable. That’s why we buy water elsewhere.” 

The need for secure pipelines 

Hassan, however, says he struggles to find 

adequate clean water. The tanks, he says, are not 

always accessible. “They are available only at certain 

hours of the day and sometimes the tanks stay 

empty for a day or two, carriages don’t show and 

we suffer from the shortage, the situation is even 

more serious in the peripheral areas.” 

There are, however, conflicting views in the settlement, 

with some people saying that they have not 

“Sometimes 

the tanks 

stay 

empty 

for a day 

or two, 

carriages 

don’t 

show 

and we 

suffer 

from the 

shortage.” 

How much water 

can a donkey carry? 

experienced any major problems accessing water. 

“We don’t have problems buying water from donkey 

carriages, it’s clean and drinkable, and we can have 

it whenever needed,” say two women buying water 

on the street. 

Nevertheless, they agree on the need for official 

water pipelines. “We ask the authorities for a proper 

supply, so we can have taps inside our houses.” 

Local authorities say they are making efforts to 

ensure that clean water is provided to the settlement. 

“We have several wells and tanks, and it’s all potable 

water. All sources were studied and tested,” local committee 

member, Asaad Ibrahim, said, adding that 

there are regular inspections of tanks, wells and barrels. 

Yet many barrels in the settlement appeared 

rusty, and one of the tanks was empty due to a pump 

malfunction, while another had been abandoned 

because the water was salty. 

Ibrahim said that the committee had been appealing 

to the municipal government to lay proper water 

pipelines. “We reached out to authorities and organizations 

about our issue. However, no actions have been 

taken in this regard, just talk,” he said. 

Hassan, the shanty town resident, said he had seen 

little evidence of any efforts on the part of the authorities. 

“No governmental entity of any kind came here 

to handle our problems,” he complained. “We are suffering. 

The local committee stands by the citizens, 

raises our issues, but we need services to be available.” 

Denying responsibility 

The lack of an official water supply can pose 

serious public health risks. 

While many people boil their water or use traditional 

herbs to purify it, many others just use the water 

they get. As result, there are reportedly many cases 

of kidney problems and allergies among the residents. 

Ibrahim, the committee member, however, insists 

that this is due to old wells and that the current 

supplies are clean. “We closed the old wells and 

people now use safe sources.” 

A former manager of Omdurman’s official water 

corporation, Zain-Alabideen Babickir, said that the Alhila 

Aljadeda settlement doesn’t fall under the corporation’s 

authority, as it is not an official settlement. 

Despite being in existence for 16 years the shanty 

town is still considered under urban planning. “When 

the physical planning is finished, then people can claim 

their right to water pipelines,” Babickir said. “Until 

then we are not responsible for their water sources.” 

By Sylivester Domasa 

“ 

Tanzania’s Minister for Water and Irrigation, 

Isack Kamwelwe, spoke to The Niles about his 

government’s efforts to protect Lake Victoria’s 

delicate ecosystem. 

The Niles: In 2010 the UN General Assembly 

recognized the human right to water and sanitation 

and acknowledged that clean drinking water is 

essential to the realization of all human rights. 

Experts say that to secure clean drinking water and 

other water uses in the future, we need to ensure 

that the freshwater ecosystems remain healthy. What 

is the current situation? 

Isack Kamwelwe: The conserved and healthy 

freshwater ecosystem is a pillar for water resources 

utilization and for meeting current and future water 

demands including human water supply. This 

includes controlling and managing water pollution 

from point and non-point sources; and limiting 

abstractions to sustainable levels such that the 

amount of water left in lakes, rivers and other sources 

is sufficient to maintain aquatic ecosystems. For 

example, the current situation in Lake Victoria is 

satisfactory and there are tremendous efforts and 

commitments to conserving the lake. The conservation 

is implemented by the Lake Victoria Basin Water 

Board, the Lake Victoria Environmental Management 

Programme (LVEMP), and the Lake Victoria Water 

and Sanitation Project (LVWATSAN) among others. 

Water from Lake Victoria is fit for human use after 

average processing. 

TN: Can you describe the trends in freshwater 

ecosystem management in Tanzania? 

IK: The management of the freshwater ecosystem 

is carried out in a decentralized system that combines 

bottom-up and top-down approaches. The managing 

institutions begin with the Water Users Association 

at the level of a water source to sub-catchment, 

catchment and basins. These are linked to the national 

level through the National Water Board and the 

Water Resources Division of the Ministry. The 

institutional set-up from the national to water users 

level was designed to implement the Integrated 

Water Resources Management approach, one of 

whose principles is that the environmental integrity 

that sustains the freshwater ecosystem should be 

maintained through the allocation of a fair share 

of water for the environment. So far, the country 

has developed Integrated Water Resources Management 

and Development (IWRMD) plans in six out 

of nine basins.

8 TN 

There are tremendous 

efforts 

and commitments 

to conserving 

the lake. 

How can we best protect 

Lake Victoria’s ecosystem? 

TN: Throughout history, most of the pressure 

placed on freshwater ecosystems has been attributed 

to human activities. How can you ensure that the 

existing and ongoing development of water infrastructure 

does not disrupt the ecosystems? 

IK: The Ministry of Water and Irrigation, in collaboration 

with Basin Water Boards based in the field, 

are balancing the management and development of 

water resources. Major water use includes irrigation 

and domestic use. To conserve ecosystems, all 

abstractions from a water source are balanced with 

environmental water requirements at a specific area 

before being issued a water use permit. The protection 

of the ecosystems is clearly stipulated in the Water 

Resources Management Act No. 11 of 2009 Section 

6 (2) (b) where the share of environment termed 

as an environmental reserve (requirement) is stated. 

Similarly, through the Environmental Management 

Act No. 20 of 2004, major projects are subjected 

to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study 

that aims to safeguard the environment. 

TN: What are the most common threats to freshwater 

ecosystems in the country? 

IK: There is increasing encroachment of water 

sources through agricultural expansion, including 

livestock keeping and other economic activities. 

The encroachment is associated with deforestation 

and subsequent sedimentation. Likewise, pollution 

through wastewater from settlements and industries, 

as well as from mining (small and large scale) 

activities is gradually becoming a threat to freshwater 

ecosystems. 

TN: The loss and degradation of habitat, in particular 

from sedimentation due to deforestation and 

eutrophication, and the introduction of alien species, 

are posing major threats. How is the government 

addressing this situation? 

IK: Specifically, in the Lake Victoria Basin, the 

government, via the Lake Victoria Basin Water Board 

(LVBWB) and Lake Victoria Environmental Management 

Programme Phase II (LVEMP), has been 

working on the same issues through the control 

and prevention of point source pollution and watershed 

management. For example, through LVEMP 

II, three urban pollution hotspots have been addressed 

(sludge disposal facility, abattoir & artificial 

wetland and connection of households to sewageline), 

and there are 24 water hyacinths hotspots with 

active monitoring and control activities. The management 

of upper catchments to check sedimentation 

is also conducted through community based 

interventions (CDDs). The interventions include 

sustainable land management activities in the 

areas of afforestation/reforestation, conservation 

agriculture, protection of the buffer zones and 

land use planning. 

TN: When it comes to Lake Victoria, can you 

explain how member states can sustainably promote 

the lake’s ecosystem? 

IK: The Lake Victoria Partner States enjoy close 

historical, commercial, industrial, cultural and other 

ties. This has led to increased investment in areas 

of social and economic endeavor to spur development 

and eradicate poverty around the Lake Victoria Basin. 

To do this, the member states designated the Lake 

Victoria Basin as an economic growth zone and 

agreed to establish a body for the joint management 

of Lake Victoria called the Lake Victoria Basin 

Commission (LVBC) with its headquarters at Kisumu, 

Kenya. The Commission is to jointly take all appropriate 

measures, individually or jointly, and where 

appropriate with the participation of all stakeholders 

to protect, conserve and rehabilitate the basin and 

its ecosystems. Member states, via the LVBC, promote 

the management and conservation of the lake ecosystems 

through the improvement of the collaborative 

management of the trans-boundary natural resources 

of the LVB. This includes the adoption of harmonized 

policies, legislation and regulatory frameworks 

for water and fisheries management. Likewise, the 

improvement of environmental management of 

targeted pollution hotspots and selected degraded 

sub-catchments. 

TN: Is it true that the ongoing droughts are causing 

unprecedented stress to the Lake Victoria’s ecosystems 

and are pushing many native species to the brink 

of extinction? 

IK: Lake Victoria is of major ecological significance 

because it supports a wide diversity of flora and 

fauna. It also plays a major economic role in the 

riparian countries, including supporting a large 

fishing industry for export and local consumption. 

The lake and its satellites are also important stores 

of fisheries resources both in terms of diversity and 

numbers. Despite the richness in diversity and species, 

one of the problems facing the lake is unsustainable 

fishing that has had adverse impacts on fish species 

diversity and the stocks. However, it is thought that 

some endemic species especially haplochromine, 

which previously comprised about 90 percent of 

the fish biomass, had become extinct from the lake 

partly due to predation by the Nile perch introduced 

Lake Victoria is 

of major ecological 

significance. 

in the lake in the late 1950s and early 1960s and 

partly from unsustainable fishing, such as illegal 

fishing gears and methods, contributing to the 

dramatic loss of fish biodiversity. So far, there is 

no scientific evidence connecting the decline to the 

drought but rather the evidence points to typically 

exploited fisheries. 

TN: Climate change and climatic variability have 

had an obvious impact on water resources, including 

reduced flow and erratic rainfall. How are you 

addressing the effects of climate change? 

IK: The effects of climate change on ecosystems 

and water resources are mainstreamed in the basin’s 

Integrated Water Resources Management and 

Development (IWRMD) plans addressing catchment 

degradation and climate change impacts. Additionally, 

the Ministry works in collaboration with the 

Vice President’s Office (VPO) – Environment. The 

VPO has a National Climate Change Strategy dating 

back to 2012 from which the Ministry of Water 

and Irrigation has developed an action plan: Water 

Resources Management Strategic Intervention and 

Action Plan for Climate Change Adaptation, 2012. 

TN: Biodiversity within inland water ecosystems 

in Tanzania is both highly diverse and of great regional 

importance to livelihoods and economies. However, 

development activities are not always compatible 

with the conservation of this diversity and it is poorly 

represented in the development planning process. 

How do you assess the government’s performance? 

IK: The Ministry takes the conservation of freshwater 

ecosystems very seriously. Hence, any development 

associated with water sources and resources 

is critically scrutinized. One way the government 

achieves this is by subjecting all the development 

projects to an environmental impact assessment 

according to environmental management law. The 

same always occurs in planning processes for the 

protection, conservation and management of environment 

and water sources. 

TN: Freshwater ecosystems form a particularly 

important part of urban green spaces. What is the 

government’s strategy towards promoting such 

greenbelts? 

IK: In the country there are water sources with 

significant ecosystems both in urban and rural 

areas. Both are treated and managed similarly. The 

conservation of water sources such as rivers crossing 

urban centers and green environments is mainstreamed 

as part of the day-to day-functions of the 

Water Basins and other Ministry’s organizations. 

TN: Do you have any advice for the people living 

near freshwater ecosystems? 

IK: Water is a valuable but finite resource; hence 

it should be used wisely and efficiently. According 

to the Water Resources Management Act No. 11 of 

2009 section (7): “Every person residing in Mainland 

Tanzania shall have a stake and a duty to safeguard 

and protect water resources and to inform the relevant 

authority of any activity and phenomenon that may 

affect the quantity and quality of the water resources 

significantly.” This should be the case for all people 

living near freshwaters. Likewise, polluted water 

is as good as no water. Hence everyone should make 

sure that water remains clean, as there is no alternative 

to water. 

10 AM, Ambo, Ethiopia. 

Checking bottles of mineral-rich 

sparkling water made in this factory 

established 80 years ago in Sekele 

locality near a hot spring 130 

kilometres west of Addis Ababa. 

Getty Images News / 

Per-Anders Pettersson 

10AM

10 TN TN 11 

Fast and 

convenient 

Is the Nile still 

an important 

transport route? 

By Mugume Davis 

T 

From Ancient Egyptian times to today the River Nile 

has long helped transport people and goods. 

he River Nile has been used for millennia as a 

means of transporting people and goods, preceding 

even Ancient Egyptian civilization. 

Today it serves as both a transport route and 

an attraction for locals and tourists alike. 

Up until the 19th century and the arrival of the 

steam engine, it was virtually unknown to travel 

for long distances by land. The majestic River Nile 

allowed people and goods to move across distances 

long and short. 

Historical Egyptian watercraft had a high stern 

and bow, equipped with cabins at both ends. The 

boats were propelled south by the prevailing winds, 

while boats heading north relied on the current 

and oars. 

The simplest type of boat in ancient Egypt was 

the skiff, made from tying together papyrus reeds. 

They were used for travelling short distances as 

well as fishing and hunting game in the marshes. 

Longer journeys were taken on large wooden 

ships, which were equipped with square sails 

and oars. They were made of wooden planks, held 

together with rope, which expanded in the water, 

making the ship watertight. The ships were used 

to transport the massive blocks of stone that were 

used to build the pyramids, temples and cities along 

the river. 

The only reliable means of transport 

port, travelling frequently from the town of Jinja 

to Uganda’s capital Kampala. 

“It is a great experience and I do it at least once 

a month,” Lek says, adding that he pays 1,000 Ugandan 

shillings for the trip. 

For others, travelling on the Nile is purely a source 

of pleasure. 

Ringo Ringo Garang, for example, is an IT 

specialist from South Sudan who often takes cruises 

to floating islands on the river. “It always gives me 

peace of mind whenever I cruise on the River Nile,” 

he says. 

A business opportunity 

The river can also be a source of income to 

entrepreneurs. Wiswa Mukuve, for example, has 

taken advantage of the business opportunities 

the River Nile offers. 

The 37-year-old, who set up his own business 

in 1999, sells small boats and canoes to fishermen 

and rents out boats for pleasure trips for 10,000 

Ugandan shillings a day. 

He also transports passengers and commodities 

either on the River Nile or Lake Victoria from Masese 

port, about 1.5 kilometers from Jinja. 

Mukuve says he makes a daily profit of 30,000- 

40,000 Uganda shillings, despite the challenges of 

high fuel prices. He supports his family of two wives 

and 10 children, who all go to school. “I have managed 

to buy a plot of land and I am now building on it.” 

To this 

day the 

river is 

still a fast 

and convenient 

means of 

transport. 

Transporting people and goods 

on the Nile is an important source 

of income for many entrepreneurs 

living along the river. 

The Niles / Mugume Davis 

The vessels may have become more modern, 

but to this day the river is still a fast and convenient 

means of transport for the millions of people 

living in the Nile River Basin countries, such 

as Uganda. 

One of these is Elizabeth Kiden, who lives 

in Koboko, Northern Uganda. She often visits her 

relatives who live on the other side of the river 

in Adjumani. Although it only takes 15 minutes 

to cross the Nile by ferry, the first time she made 

the trip she was worried. 

“I was scared because of the large water and I 

imagined there were animals in the water,” she says. 

“But in the end it was fun.” 

Lek Lek who hails from the Eastern Ugandan 

district of Jinja also depends on the river for trans- 

8 things you didn’t know about the Nile 

2. 3. 

How many Nubians were displaced by the construction 

of the Aswan High Dam? 

According to the organization International Rivers, 90,000 Nubians 

who once occupied the area surrounding the Aswan Dam had to be relocated 

due to the flooding caused by the construction of the dam in the 1960s. The 

farmers who live in the area today have to purchase costly artificial fertilizers 

because the nutrient-rich silt that used to be naturally deposited on the 

farming lands there is now trapped behind the Aswan Dam. 

Is the Nile known by any other name? 

Although “River Nile” is the most famous name, known around 

the world, the river actually has a different name in almost every 

region it flows through. In Sudan, the river is known as Bahr al Ghazal, 

but the southern tributary of the river is called Bahr el Abyad. In other parts 

of Sudan and South Sudan, it is known as the White Nile and the Blue Nile. 

When it enters Ethiopia, it is referred to as Bahr el Jabal. But as it flows 

deeper into the country, it becomes Sobat. Other tributaries of this mighty 

water have several names, including the Yellow Nile, Atbara, and Aur.

12 TN TN 13 

The answer 

beneath 

the earth 

Can groundwater 

reserves solve 

water scarcity? 

By Henry Lutaaya 

T 

The water trapped beneath the earth’s surface in 

Africa is more plentiful and cleaner than surface water. 

The key is regulation and cooperation. 

raveling across rural Uganda, one is sure to see 

women, men and children carrying jerry cans on 

their heads or bicycles. They are usually on their 

way to or from a well to collect water. It’s the way 

thousands of households across the country access 

the water they need to survive. 

However, many of these wells can become infected 

or dry up. And with the effects of climate change 

making droughts more frequent, thousands of people 

are being forced to walk miles each day in search 

of clean water, while others settle for dirty water 

in streams and rivers. 

Yet, the answer to this water shortage could 

lie beneath the ground. There is now a growing 

awareness that groundwater could provide the key 

to the issue of water scarcity in many parts of the 

Nile Basin. 

Poor access to water is not only a threat to 

people’s health but also livelihoods. It limits the 

potential to irrigate crops or undertake other waterdependent 

activities such as agro-processing and 

livestock farming. 

The need for greater access to reliable and clean 

water has therefore risen to the top of the development 

agenda of many countries in the Nile Basin 

in recent years. 

These countries recognize that the pressure on 

water resources will only grow, due to the ambitious 

economic development plans of the member countries 

of the Nile Basin ranging from energy generation, 

irrigation, industrial use, oil development as well 

as conservation. 

Studies by researchers at the Nile Basin Secretariat 

show that the combined effect of the ambitious 

development plans of the 10 Nile Basin member 

countries will cause significant water stress in the 

region as soon as five years from now. 

In light of the growing demand for water, these 

countries have come together under auspices of 

the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) to discuss ways to 

increase cooperation and understanding of the water 

resources in an effort to promote their sustainable 

utilization and development. 

The 

pressure 

on water 

resources 

will only 

grow. 

Lakes underneath much of Africa 

An increasingly important focus is the question 

of how best to access and utilize the groundwater 

trapped beneath the earth’s surface. 

Groundwater is the water held in inter-connected 

spaces between rocks lying beneath the surface 

in basin-shaped rocks known as aquifers. Rainfall 

is the main source of this water and if extracted, 

the rain is a source of replenishment or recharge. 

These aquifers are located at different depths and 

the groundwater can be extracted, in a process known 

as “abstraction.” It can then be used for irrigation 

or treated for use as drinking water. 

Significantly, there is growing scientific evidence 

that most African countries, including those in the 

Nile Basin, possess a considerable number of aquifers. 

Since shallow aquifers can easily be depleted 

through over-abstraction, the focus is now shifting 

towards the deeper aquifers that contain larger reserves. 

And technological advancements are making 

it easier to locate and exploit these reserves. 

Mapping underground resources 

In 2013, researchers using satellite and radar 

technology discovered aquifers in the arid Turkana 

and Lotikipi Basins of northern Kenya. The two 

aquifers were found to hold some 250 billion cubic 

meters of water, enough to meet Kenya’s water needs 

for nearly 70 years. 

The previous year, researchers from the British 

Geological Survey and University College London 

announced that they had mapped in detail the 

amount and potential yield of groundwater resources 

across the continent. They found that the total 

volume of water in underground aquifers was 100 

times the amount found on the surface. 

Rainfall is the biggest source of water for replenishing 

the aquifers. With many aquifers not being 

filled due to a lack of rain, the scientists said at 

the time of their report that they were concerned 

large-scale borehole developments could rapidly 

deplete the resource. 

The biggest aquifers are thought to exist in the 

desert countries of North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Libya 

and Sudan. There are, however, several relatively 

smaller aquifers located across the continent. 

In Uganda, the state-owned water utility, the 

National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), 

Groundwater 

can be 

accessed 

more 

reliably. 

Women and children carrying jerry 

cans filled with water. 

The Niles / Henry Lutaaya 

Can groundwater reserves 

solve water scarcity? 

is working in conjunction with the Ministry of 

Water and Environment on a major drive to supply 

urban and rural areas with safe water. Groundwater 

is increasingly being looked at as a potential 

source because of its numerous advantages over 

surface water. 

For a start, groundwater can be accessed more 

reliably all year round and there is little cost involved 

in treating it. 

According to Chris Tumusiime, the assistant 

commissioner for rural water supply at the Ministry 

of Water and Environment, the biggest challenge 

with groundwater is the initial cost of drilling 

and installing the pumps. In the long run, however, 

this is still cheaper than treating surface water, 

he says. 

“The biggest problem is if you take more water 

than the basin is able to recharge,” he explained. 

“There is a certain level beyond which you cannot 

abstract any more water.” 

NWSC spokesman Samuel Apedel explains 

that in Uganda they have been able to find aquifers 

a few meters beneath the surface in many parts 

of the country. 

“Uganda is so blessed,” he said. “Wherever 

you see a borehole, it is the first sign that there 

is groundwater. This also means that if further 

explored by experts, chances of finding much bigger 

reserves are high.” 

According to Apedel, groundwater contributes 

between 25 and 30 percent of the NWSC’s overall 

water supply annually. 

Groundwater is likely to receive even more 

attention in coming decades as organizations like 

the NWSC seek to deal with the rising levels of 

pollution in surface water bodies such as Lake Victoria. 

According to Apedel, the unplanned expansion 

of urban settlements around the capital Kampala has 

significantly contributed to the rising pollution of 

Bucket after bucket water has 

to be pulled to the surface at this 

groundwater well. 

The Niles / Henry Lutaaya 

Lake Victoria. That has caused a rise in the cost 

of treating water before it is piped across the city 

and its suburbs. 

Data from Uganda’s Ministry of Water and 

Environment shows that the demand for water 

in the country will rise by nearly 80 percent by 2030. 

The existence of significant groundwater reserves 

in different parts of the country, and indeed the 

wider region, offers great promise for the successful 

realization of development plans, particularly 

ambitions to turn the region into the food basket 

of the continent through irrigated agriculture. 

Robust regulation 

At the same time, experts warn that if mismanaged, 

the reserves could be quickly depleted. A 

sustainable utilization of water resources requires 

a robust regulatory regime in order to prevent 

over-abstraction. 

For example, Uganda’s Ministry of Water 

and Environment operates a regulatory framework 

that only allows the abstraction of groundwater 

by individuals or organizations after a survey has 

been carried out by a registered hydro-geologist and 

a payment made for a permit for each well. 

“Once the safe yield of a water well is known, 

the government regulates the amount of water 

to be abstracted by stating it in the water permit,” 

explains Edward Rwarinda, the principle water officer 

responsible for regulations at the Ministry for Water 

and Environment. The permits cost approximately 

$125 and each motorized pump is issued with a 

unique identification number and a meter to facilitate 

prompt inspection. 

However, Rwarinda admits that abstraction 

permits are only required for motorized pumps

14 TN 

Aquifier productivity 

Very High: >20 l/s 

High: 5-20 l/s 

Moderate: 1-5 l/s 

Low-Moderate: 0.5-1 l/s 

Low: 0.1-0.5 l/s 

Very Low:

16 TN TN 17 

Can fishing 

survive as a way 

of life along the 

River Nile? 

By Mugume Davis 

A 

Generations of fishermen have supported their 

families by fishing on the River Nile. But increased 

regulations to try to combat illegal fishing are 

threatening their way of life. 

ziz Kidudu sits under the shade of a tree on a 

sunny afternoon weaving a basket. Using nylon 

and sisal fibers, the 39-year-old Ugandan is making 

dozens of baskets that he will use to catch fish in 

the River Nile. 

Yet, his way of life is under threat as the government 

seeks to crack down on illegal fishing. 

Kidudu’s afternoons are usually reserved for 

making baskets or mending ones that have been 

damaged. He spends his mornings, evenings and 

sometimes nights dipping the fishing baskets into 

the river. 

The baskets catch small species of fish. He uses 

the very smallest as bait for larger fish, mainly Nile 

perch locally known in Uganda as “empuuta,” while 

he either sells the bigger ones or uses them to feed 

his family of 10. 

Kidudu started fishing when he was just seven 

years. He recalls that he began to accompany his 

elder brother, Ashraf, after the death of their father 

who had been the family breadwinner. 

“I would only carry baskets or food to my brother 

and ended up learning from him,” he says of Ashraf, 

who was only 11 at the time. 

His mother was ill and could not take care of 

them, so “the river became our next father,” he said. 

Since then, he has spent most of his life along 

the Nile, at the villages of Bujagali and Nalufenya. 

Godfrey Kimbugu also earns his living fishing 

on the River Nile. 

“Whatever I earn has enabled me to send my 

children to school and also to buy other basic needs 

of life such as clothes and food,” Kimbugu said. 

However, the 39-year-old father of seven says 

it has been challenging since last year when the 

government started a crackdown on illegal fishing 

activities on the rivers and lakes. 

“When soldiers who are charged to prevent illegal 

fishing find us, they take all our catch even though 

we now respect the rules,” he said. He claims that the 

economic difficulties forced his 16-year-old daughter 

to drop out of school recently. 

The new rules stipulate that fishermen only 

use canoes measuring 32 to 34 feet when sailing 

the river and they are also prohibited from catching 

young fish. 

According to Vincent Sempiija, Uganda’s Minister 

of Agriculture and Fisheries, illegal fishing and 

overfishing of immature fish leads to an estimated 

annual loss of $429 million. 

The Ugandan fisheries sector is an important 

employer in the country and also a vital source 

of foreign currency. According to the Ministry 

of Agriculture and Fisheries, the average annual 

haul of fish is about 461,000 tons. Fish exports 

in 2015 were 17,597 tons valued at $134,791 million. 

‘What else can we do?’ 

Both Kimbugu and Kidudu say that despite the 

increase in regulations they will never leave the only 

profession they have ever known. 

“Where else can we go, what else can we do apart 

from fishing here?” asks Kimbugu, who has been 

fishing on the River Nile for the last 20 years. 

Another fisherman, Stephano Waiswa learned 

fishing from his late father, who along with his 

brothers made his living on the Nile. 

Now a 28-year-old married father of two, Waiswa 

started fishing when he was just nine years old. 

Fishing is fun but it can be challenging, he says. 

Sometimes you can fish for the whole day and 

fail to catch “anything,” by which he means no Nile 

perch, his main source of income. 

A kilo of Nile perch is sold for between 6,500 

and 7,000 Ugandan shillings (around $1.5-$2) to 

businessmen who then sell it to restaurants, hotels 

and whole-sellers. 

Apart from Nile perch, other fish species in the 

Nile include the bolti (a species of Tilapia), the barbel, 

several species of catfish, the elephant-snout fish, 

and the tigerfish or leopardfish. 

25-year-old Sadam Ziko is one of the merchants 

who buy fish from fishermen on both the River Nile 

and Lake Victoria. 

“Trading in fishing is very profitable but risky,” 

Ziko says, explaining that the main challenge is 

the fluctuations of the price of fish. Sometimes the 

prices can drop suddenly, so that he ends up having 

to sell at a loss. Other risks include fish rotting if 

ice runs out or refrigerators lose electricity. 

Ziko says he usually makes a profit of 20,000 

to 30,000 Uganda shillings a day. He has already 

bought a plot of land and hopes to build a house 

there in two year’s time. 

“The river 

became 

our next 

father.” 

The Nile Basin annual fresh 

fish production is estimated 

at three million tons. 

The Niles / Mugume Davis 


5. 

What does the name ‘Nile’ mean? 

Nile originates from the Greek word “neilos” which means valley. 

Although the river has several other names, the second most 

common name it bears is “Ar” in Egypt, which means the black river. The 

name developed because of the black sediment the river would deposit 

in the fields during its annual floods.

18 TN TN 19 

Can the Nile 

River secure 

Port Sudan’s 

water supply? 

Can the Nile River secure 

Port Sudan’s water supply? 

By Elzahraa Jadallah 

M 

After decades of promises, Port Sudan on the Red 

Sea may finally attain water security by connecting 

to the River Nile. 

aaza Abdullah lives in the city of Port Sudan, 

in Sudan’s Red Sea State. She says she would like 

to see the government provide “water security.” 

To her, this means providing clean water for all 

citizens so that she and others no longer have 

to struggle to find water. 

Red Sea State has had a problem with its water 

supply for decades and it’s a problem that countless 

state governments have failed to solve. 

The city of Port Sudan, in particular, has been 

affected by the issue. The situation became so critical 

that in 2013 the city suffered a severe water crisis, 

exacerbated by soaring temperatures. 

However, new plans to revive a shelved project 

to convey water from the River Nile is offering some 

hope to the city. 

For now, Port Sudan residents rely on declining 

natural sources of water or they buy commercial 

products. 

The main source of natural water is the Khor 

Arbaat Basin, which is supplied by a seasonal creek 

northwest of the city. They also access groundwater 

from several wells. 

Constant challenges 

“Since the 1960s, the water level in the lake started 

to decline because of the decreased rainfall ratio,” 

says Abdulrahim Awaad, director of planning and 

development at the State Water Corporation. “We 

were affected the most in 2013 when the city was hit 

by a severe crisis. The rest of time we have always 

faced challenges, though it remains manageable.” 

While the city has continued to expand, its growing 

population has had to make do with the same if 

not depleted sources of water due to climate change. 

One of the ways the state has sought to tackle 

this water scarcity is through seawater desalination. 

In 2003 it established four desalination plants, 

with a total capacity of 15,000 cubic meters a day. 

However, the economic sanctions against Sudan 

at the time meant the plants lacked spare parts and 

they had to be shut down. Awaad said that a new 

plant with a 3,000 cubic meters production capacity 

was currently under construction. 

“We have 

always 

faced challenges, 

though it 

remains 

manageable.” 

Meanwhile, there are also a few private water 

treatment plants operating in the city, which use 

water from the wells or the Arbaat Basin. One of 

the companies, Tasneem, uses groundwater from 

a well that is located 5 kilometers outside the city. 

“We do daily chemical analysis, and monthly 

microscopic checks to make sure the water is potable,” 

Nafisa Mahmoud, a chemical analyst at Tasneem 

said. “We use sand filters at the beginning, then inject 

the water with substances that balances the PH and 

eliminate planktons, finally we proceed filtering to 

reduce salinity.” 

Many promises 

According to Awaad, during the 2013 crisis, 

government officials, including the vice president, 

and international NGOs visited the city to try to 

tackle the issue. 

“Britain took an interest in our problem,” Awaad 

said. The British development ministry put forward 

a plan including measures covering “desalination 

plants, maintenance of water pipelines from Arbaat, 

maintenance of wells and local tanks, and replacing 

the intake from Arbaat with a stable one.” 

The “Strategic Investment Program for Water 

and Development” only covered Port Sudan rather 

than the entire Red Sea State. The budget was $200 

million, with the British government providing $10 

million as well as technical support, capacity building 

programs, and the institutional reform of the State 

Water Corporation. However, the plans have been 

stalled because the government did not fulfill its part 

of the agreement, Awaad says. 

What is clear is that, despite ongoing official 

promises and plans, the people in the city have seen 

little progress. 

“We have a water pipeline from Arbaat in this 

area, but it’s semi-idle,” says Waleed Mohamed, 

a taxi driver who has lived in the Salalab-Port Sudan 

suburb since 1993. “It would work one or two days 

a week, in the summer it could stop for two weeks 

or work once weekly,” he said, explaining that he often 

buys water from the back of donkey carriages. “We 

wish the ‘long-desired’ Nile water would arrive here.” 

Maaza Abdulah, a mother from Umalgora-Port 

Sudan, says that residents in her area get water from 

tanks fed by pipelines from Arbaat but the pipelines 

are not connected to the houses and when there’s 

a shortage she buys water instead. “I take water from 

private tanks in the neighborhood. It’s not potable 

“We wish 

the ‘longdesired’ 

Nile water 

would 

arrive 

here.” 

and we have it for daily use and we drink mineral 

water only.” 

In winter the water is available most of the time, 

while in summer the tanks are empty for long periods 

and she is forced to buy water from donkey carriages. 

She complains about the quality of all these sources 

and says she would like to have access to potable water 

from pipelines that are properly connected to the 

houses and work all the time. 

Health impact of dirty water 

There have been cases of diarrhea in the city, 

which are suspected of being related to water quality. 

When contacted about the issue, the State Water 

Corporation said the cause was illegal wells drilled 

inside the city during the 2013 crisis, which had been 

polluted by the sewage. The utility claimed that the 

contaminated water was being sold to consumers 

from the back of trucks and donkey carriages. They 

denied any problems concerning Arbaat water. 

However, a Health Ministry spokesperson stated 

that their investigation had found otherwise. “We 

found health problems in some water sources people 

use; we had to treat a lot of them with chlorine 

with the help of Sudanese Red Crescent. It was main 

stations fed by Arbaat. We make sure it’s all treated. 

And other pollution problems caused by the unmonitored 

transportation.” 

The Health Ministry said that the municipal 

authorities carried out regular inspections of all water 

sources, including tanks and pipelines all over the 

city. “We closed any affected wells, and we educated 

people about using chlorine, even private tanks fall 

within the scope of our inspections,” the ministry stated. 

These private tanks are usually underground tanks 

managed by citizens to provide water for nearby 

houses via hoses – usually free of charge – and are 

used to fill the small barrels carried by donkeys. The 

tanks are to be found all over the city and the water 

comes from Arbaat. 

“I’ve run this tank for 20 years now,” says Haj 

Alnoor, a tank owner in Umalgora. “We work daily 

unless there’s a shortage. It’s available in winter, not 

so much in summer time. Most of the people use it 

directly, without treatment, for drinking or cooking.” 

With most tank owners, the State Water Corporation 

and the Health Ministry have agreed on the 

regular inspections, these don’t cover the donkey 

carriage operators or some independent tank owners. 

That is a problem, as in many places in the state 

the only source of water is the donkey carriages. 

One such place is Ageeg, a village on the outskirts 

of the city. Osman – a fisherman who lives there 

– explains how the people of the village struggle to 

access water. They cannot use the seawater, are too 

far from Arbaat, lack an appropriate dam to hold the 

seasonal water that comes down from mountains, 

and have no pipelines whatsoever. Instead, he explains, 

they are forced to buy water from donkey carriages 

when it’s available. 

The long-desired dream 

The head of the State Water Corporation, Naji 

Ezzuldeen, says that the Nile Water Project is 


6. 

Why does the Nile flow slowly? 

The rate at which the water of a river flows is determined by 

natural factors such as the shape and the gradient of the riverbed, 

and the volume of water. Another factor contributing to the Nile’s slow flow 

is the existence of powerful dams, including the Aswan High Dam in Egypt, 

the Owen Falls Dam in Uganda, and the Sennar and Rosieres Dams in Sudan.

20 TN 

Can the Nile River secure 

Port Sudan’s water supply? 

considered “the ultimate solution for water issues 

in the city.” The plan is to construct a water supply 

system across the 470 kilometers that stretches from 

the Atbara area of the Nile River to Port Sudan. 

The project goes back to 2003, when two consultancy 

firms drew up an initial plan. Then in 2006 

a contract was signed with a Chinese company. 

“However nothing happened in this regard until 

the company withdrew in 2013 due to funding issues 

and other reasons,” Naji said, explaining that these 

included the sanctions against Sudan at the time. 

“We started a partnership with the Giad company 

aiming to bring a Chinese company to execute the 

project and to come up with a suitable funding plan,” 

he said. “We had several meetings; and the work 

is ongoing. We expect to reach an agreement soon.” 

Naji said that a number of international companies 

have made offers to be involved in the project 

since the United States lifted sanctions last October. 

He pointed to the fact that the project had been 

included in the federal budget for this year: “2018 

will witness the start of this long-desired dream.” 

5 PM, Lukutu, Democratic 

Republic of Congo. 

Ready to cook dinner for 

the passengers on the boat. 

Getty Images News / 

Per-Anders Pettersson 

5PM

22 TN TN 23 

What can local 

people do to 

protect the Nile? 

By Esther Muwombi 

N 

The people who live and work at the Bujagali Falls 

on the River Nile are coming together to help 

preserve and protect their local environment and 

their livelihoods. 

akanda Fatima is a single mother of four who for 

many years has sold smoked fish to the countless 

tourists, including rafters, who come to visit the 

famous Bujagali Falls, the point where the River 

Nile exits Lake Victoria. 

She’s one of the thousands of Ugandans who 

earn their income from tourism. In fact, travel and 

tourism has become one of the countries most 

important sectors with revenues of $1.8 billion 

in 2016, according to the World Travel & Tourism 

Council (WTTC). 

Like many of the Ugandans who rely on tourism 

for their livelihoods, Nakanda worries about the 

environmental impact of things like pollution and 

overfishing. That has prompted her to regularly meet 

with others who work here to help preserve and 

protect their local environment. 

“I jealously guard the Nile because these waters 

serve as my office,” Nakanda says. “I don’t buy young 

fish from the fishers because first of all it is illegal 

and you can get arrested, but also because I don’t 

want the fish to become extinct because otherwise 

my business won’t be able to operate anymore.” 

Abdul Byekwaso Fazir agrees. He sails merchandise 

and tourists across the river and is proud of his 

job. “In a day, I earn between 70,000 and 100,000 

Ugandan shillings.” 

He says that he can’t afford to lose the Nile 

because it would mean that he loses his daily bread. 

Flocks of tourists, both local and international, 

come here on a daily basis. “There is never a day you 

don’t get people to sail and that’s just enough reason 

to guard this precious river,” he explains. 

With the goal of both protecting the Nile and 

improving their business, the various traders meet 

every few months to discuss ways to both improve 

their services and also help clean the river. 

“Each time we gather, we either collect money 

to pay cleaners for the job or we take a walk along 

the river stream and clear the clogged and bushy 

paths and collect the rubbish left by tourists,” 

Fazir says. 

Although several areas along the banks of the 

river are designated as “protected areas” by the 

government, it’s clear that in reality there’s often 

little respect for these rules. 

For example, several vegetable gardens and 

irrigation ponds line the banks in these areas. 

According to Phillip Ngongaha, the environment 

protection officer for the Buliisa district, one of the 

biggest threats the river faces is from the spraying 

of insecticides and pesticides onto crops. The chemicals 

spread into the river and kill the aquatic life. 

The affect of deforestation along the river is also 

being felt. According to “The State of the River Nile 

Basin 2012” report, as a result of human activities, 

“the area of forest in the Nile countries shrank by 

proportions ranging from 4 to 39 percent between 

1990 and 2008.” 

Ngongaha explains that the environment is also 

affected by poaching, illegal farming and fishing. 

However, efforts by the government to tackle these 

issues are being undermined by corruption. 

For example, the Uganda Wildlife Authority pays 

a number of guards to patrol the river to stop illegal 

farming and fishing. However, a man who grows 

vegetables and beans along the river in the Buliisa 

district and chose to speak on condition of anonymity, 

says that he pays a monthly bribe to one of the guards 

to be able to work the land there. 

Meanwhile, others in the area are working tirelessly 

to protect the local environment. 

One is Bosco Mudomo, a geography teacher at 

the local Oxford Secondary School. He is on a mission 

to persuade students there to carry out routine 

cleanups along the banks of the river. 

He has proposed to the school administration 

that students get a day off so that they and their 

parents can gather at the river to work on cleaning 

it up. “As a motivation for the students, we will then 

carry out water tests to see whether our cleaning 

has created an impact,” he said. 

Mudomo also hopes to raise funds to purchase 

boats and canoes so that some volunteer parents 

can help drag trash floating in the river to the banks, 

from where it can then be collected. That money 

could also be used to cover transportation costs 

for students to go to villages and speak about the 

importance of protecting the river. 

The inspiring teacher is confident that once these 

measures are adopted, it will bring about a great deal 

of change in the way people use the river. 

“My goal is to instill in children the discipline 

of ensuring the water’s safety from an early age,” 

he said. 

“I jealously 

guard 

the Nile 

because 

these 

waters 

serve 

as my 

office.” 


7. 8. 

How did the Nile contribute to the building of the pyramids? 

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only surviving wonder of the seven 

ancient wonders of the world. The pyramid took 20 years to build 

and for 3,800 years it was the tallest structure in the world, standing at 481 

feet (146.7 meters). The pyramid was built for the fourth dynasty Egyptian 

Pharaoh Khufu. The vast wealth needed to build and furnish these pyramids 

was generated by farming the fertile land along the banks of the River Nile. 

People and animals alike enjoy 

and depend on the Nile. 

The Niles / Esther Muwombi 

How many people are killed by Nile crocodiles every year? 

A study by the Crocodile Specialist Group estimated the number 

of attacks by Nile crocodiles per year was 275 to 745, of which 

63 percent are fatal, while the Florida Museum of Natural History estimated 

that Nile crocodiles attacked 480 people with 123 fatalities in Africa between 

2010 and 2014. The Nile crocodile is the most dangerous crocodile on the 

African continent, yet millions of people are forced to risk their lives because 

they rely on the Nile to survive. Simon Pooley, a researcher at the Imperial 

College London, told the BBC that crocodiles do not necessarily want to eat 

humans, they are just predators who will attack any prey that is within their 

reach. Pooley advised those living near the Nile to stay out of the water when 

it’s warm and try to keep 3 meters away from the river.

24 TN TN 25 

A lifeline for 

people and 

wildlife 

Could the 

Mara River 

disappear? 

The Niles is a publication of Media 

in Cooperation and Transition gGmbH 

Chief Editor: Sven Recker 

Editors: Siobhan Dowling, 

Dominik Lehnert 

Managing Editor: Dirk Spilker 

Design: Gunnar Bauer 

By Sylivester Domasa 

T 

Human activity along the Mara River Basin is causing 

serious environmental degradation. Local initiatives 

are hoping to change the way people use the river. 

he mighty Mara River is facing ongoing environmental 

degradation due to human activities, in particular 

water abstraction by farmers and fishermen. 

Winding its way through Tanzania and Kenya, 

the 395-kilometer-long river is one of six main inlets 

that drain into Lake Victoria. It originates in the Mau 

Escarpments in the Kenyan highlands and traverses 

the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya and the 

Serengeti National Park in Tanzania before finally 

draining into the lake. 

Known to wildlife conservationists as a “lifeline” 

of the world-famous national reserves, it forms 

different streams that feed the downstream Mara 

wetlands, an important source of natural resources 

and habitat to a variety of fauna and flora. 

“The wetlands play an essential role in the function 

and ecology of Lake Victoria and along the Nile 

River,” says Mwita Mataro a water protection officer 

at Tanzania’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation, who 

is based in Musoma, a town on the eastern edge 

of Lake Victoria. 

Yet that ecology is increasingly under threat. 

Over 80 percent of the population that lives near 

the river makes their living from fishing, while many 

others engage in agriculture. And they have dug 

countless canals to trap fish or to irrigate their fields, 

which is causing severe environmental problems. 

“Some knowingly or unknowingly abstracted the 

river flow to water their farm fields especially during 

droughts,” says Ibrahim Wabura, secretary of the 

North Mara Water Users Association. 

The association, along with its counterpart in the 

south, is fighting to reverse the situation. Experts say 

that if it is not immediately addressed, there is a risk 

the river could disappear from its main path. 

The association has received technical support 

from the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action 

Program (NELSAP), one of the two investment 

programs under the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), 

an intergovernmental partnership of the 10 Nile 

Basin countries. 

While fishing activities have the most impact in 

the northern part of the Mara Wetlands, agriculture 

activities and deforestation is the most detrimental 

in the wetlands to the south of the river. 

The North Mara Water Users Association oversees 

the eight villages of Nkerege, Tembwi, Bisaru, Surubi, 

Nyamelambaro, Marasibora, Nyanchabatenye and 

“We’re 

seeing 

a rapid 

decline 

in the 

water 

levels.” 

Kwibuse, which are all adjacent to the river. The 

South Mara Water Users Association is responsible 

for the villages adjacent to the wetlands. They include, 

Kirumi, Kitasakwa, Ukabwa, Ryamisanga, Kwisaro, 

Buswahili, Kongoto and Rwegero. 

The Tanzanian government has enacted a number 

of laws, strategies and policies in an attempt to protect 

and manage its water resources. In addition, there 

are international treaties and conventions to which 

Tanzania is a signatory. 

The Water Supply and Sanitation Act of 2009 

criminalizes any person who “willfully or negligently 

misuses or wastes, or causes or allows to be misused 

any water passing into, through or upon, or near 

any waterworks.” 

Water is regarded as vital in enabling Tanzania 

to achieve its social and economic objectives, known 

as the “Development Vision 2025.” These include 

eradicating poverty, attaining water and food security, 

and sustaining biodiversity and sensitive ecosystems. 

The revised “National Water Policy” and subsequent 

reviews and reforms of existing laws, institutional 

frameworks and structures are all aimed at meeting 

these objectives. 

However, deforestation, agriculture activities 

and other economic activities, including mining and 

fishing, are having a huge toll on this sub-basin of 

the greater Nile River Basin. 

“Human activities in the basin have seriously 

affected us,” says Mairi Magabe, chairperson of the 

South Mara Water Users Association. “Floods occur 

even at the slightest downpour.” 

“We’re seeing a rapid decline in the water levels,” 

Magabe said. “There is a big difference when you 

compare it to 10 years ago.” 

Magabe says that as well as the declining water 

levels, the river alongside the protected wetlands 

is witnessing a rapid extinction of various species 

including trees and fishes. 

Residents and local leaders say that the increased 

fishing activities in the form of canals have led to 

the removal of most of the tree species that could 

have prevented the flooding. The Buhemba gold 

mine is also blamed for contributing to deforestation 

in the protected area. 

“We managed to control the speed and now 

people are helping by planting more trees,” Magabe 

said. “However it is not up to the required pace.” 

Wabura, secretary of the North Mara Water Users 

Association, told The Niles that a number of log trees 

that were illegally cut down had been washed away 

by the rains and subsequently clogged the river. 

“Tampering 

with the 

nature 

poses 

high risks 

for disasters.” 

Could the Mara River 

disappear? 

At the border of the Busaru and Surungu 

villages huge logs had caused the river to become 

diverted. The gaps have been filled by sands, which 

then pose a risk for crocodiles moving from one 

point to another. 

A local leader and mother of five in Busaru 

village says it has been many years since the villagers 

last spotted crocodiles. She says there are places 

along the river where before, residents had to use 

canoes to cross the river but now it is dry and people 

can just walk. 

“The crocodiles helped to clear the river and 

allow a smooth water flow,” Wambura explained. 

While the two associations were working at 

decreasing the level of human activities along the 

wetlands and the water sources, they have limited 

resources. 

Despite covering a large area the associations 

have no permanent office or transport facilities 

to help survey the area. Furthermore, for a long time 

the associations weren’t recognized by the local 

government authorities. 

Amani Ngusaru, World Wide Fund for Nature 

(WWF) country director for Tanzania, says his 

organization helped the associations in Kenya and 

Tanzania get government recognition. 

“We have been training them on the climate 

change adaptation and sustainable land use plan. 

Water quality is key to humans and the wildlife,” 

he said. 

According to Ngusaru, water abstraction, which 

is increasing at an alarming rate, must be controlled 

to ensure the sustainability of the Mara wetlands, 

Lake Victoria and the Nile. 

Mark Mwandosya, a water expert and retired 

politician in Tanzania, says both his country and Kenya 

are now committed to preserving the wetlands of 

the Mara River Basin. However, he is worried that 

the two countries have no official treaties governing 

their shared waters, notably the Mara River. 

And cooperation is vital to ensure the river survives. 

“We need to take precautions, rather than 

waiting to see a similar experience with the Great 

Ruaha River,” Ngusaru of the WWF said. 

Since 1993, that river has regularly dried out, 

sometimes for months at a time. Experts have 

concluded that this was largely due to farmers 

diverting the river for irrigation purposes, as well 

as deforestation. “Tampering with the nature poses 

high risks for disasters,” Ngusaru said. 

Contributors: 

Frederic Musisi, Elzahraa Jadallah, 

Mugume Davis, Sylivester Domasa, 

Henry Lutaaya, Esther Muwombi 

Pictures: 

picture alliance / Reuters / Tiksa 

Negeri (p. 1), Nile Basin Initiative 

(p. 2), AFP / Natalia Jidovanu (p. 2/3), 

Getty Images News / Per-Anders 

Pettersson (p. 9), The Niles / 

Mugume Davis (p. 11), The Niles / 

Henry Lutaaya (p. 13), AFP / 

Yasuyoshi Chib (p. 15), The Niles / 

Mugume Davis (p. 17), Getty Images 

News / Per-Anders Pettersson 

(p. 20), The Niles / Esther Muwombi 

(p. 23), picture alliance / Reuters / 

Asmaa Waguih (p. 27) 

This issue of The Niles is produced 

by Media in Cooperation and 

Transition (MiCT) in collaboration 

with the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) 

and with support from the Deutsche 

Gesellschaft fuer Internationale 

Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, 

commissioned by the German 

Federal Foreign Office (AA). The 

views expressed in this publication 

do not reflect the opinions of NBI, 

AA, GIZ or MiCT. 

Contact: 

Media in Cooperation and Transition 

Dirk Spilker 

dirk@mict-international.org 

Brunnenstraße 9 

10119 Berlin, Germany 

Phone +49 (0)30 4849 3020 

www.mict-international.org 

www.theniles.org 

© 2018, all rights reserved.

26 TN 

24 questions and answers based 

on the articles 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

Q: What requires more water, vegetable 

or meat production? 

A: Meat production requires a much higher 

amount of water than vegetables. To produce 

1 kg of meat requires between 5,000 and 20,000 

litres of water whereas to produce 1 kg of wheat 

requires between 500 and 4,000 litres of water. 

Source: Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) 

Q: Which Nile Basin country has the highest 

per capita electricity consumption? 

A: Egypt’s per capita electricity consumption 

is more than double the combined per capita 

electricity consumption of six Nile Basin countries. 

Source: Nile Basin Water Resources Atlas 

Q: How much water does it take to make one 

litre of beer? 

A: 1 litre of beer requires about 300 litres of water. 

Source: Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) 

Q: How many hours are spent each year 

collecting water in Africa? 

A: 40 billion hours are spent collecting water 

every year in Africa alone. In just one day, 200 

million work hours are consumed by women 

across the world collecting water for their families. 

Source: unicefusa.org 

Q: Which sector consumes the most water, 

industry, domestic or agriculture? 

A: Worldwide, agriculture accounts for 70 

percent of all water consumption, compared 

to 20 percent for industry and 10 percent 

for domestic use. 

Source: worldometers.info 

Q: Guess how much water was already consumed 

this year worldwide (million of litres)? 

A: http://www.worldometers.info/water 


Q: How many days would it take by boat 

(cruising speed 100km/day) to cover the 

Nile river length? 

A: Approximately 67 days. 

The Nile river length is 6,695 km. 


9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

Q: How many Nile riparian nations have 

navigable water bodies? 

A: Nine of the 11 Nile riparian nations have 

navigable water bodies and a total of 72 inland 

water ports with Egypt and Uganda having 

the highest numbers. 


Q: How much of the earth’s surface is water? 

A: About 71 percent of the Earth’s surface 

is water-covered, and the oceans hold about 

96.5 percent of all Earth’s water. 

Source: water.usgs.gov 

Q: How much water have we lost on Earth 

in the past 100 years? 

A: There is about the same amount of water 

on Earth now as there was millions of years ago. 

Source: dnr.wi.gov 

Q: Which Nile riparian state has the highest 

water demand? 

A: The total water demand for municipal 

and industrial use has been estimated at 12,900 

million cubic-metres per year for the whole 

Nile Basin. Nearly 97percent of this demand 

occurs in Egypt. 


Q: How much fresh fish is produced in the 

Nile Basin every year? 

A: The Nile Basin annual fresh fish production 

is estimated at 3 million tons of which 57 percent 

is apportioned to capture fisheries in the lakes 

and rivers. Egypt has the greatest yield in fisheries 

production at 50 percent, followed by Uganda 

19 percent and Tanzania 12 percent. 


Q: Wich of the two contains more water, 

a jellyfish or a cucumber? 

A: A jellyfish and a cucumber are each 95 

percent water. 

Source: fs.usda.gov 

Q: How long can a person live without water? 

A: A person can live about a month without 

food, but only about a week without water. 

Source: water.epa.gov 

Q: In which town do you have to pay more 

for water, New York or Nairobi? 

A: In Nairobi urban poor pay 10 times more 

for water than in New York. 

Source: cnn.com 

18. 

19. 

20. 

21. 

22. 

23. 

Q: What percentage of the world’s water 

is drinkable? 

A: Nearly 97 percent of the world’s water 

is salty or otherwise undrinkable. Another 

2 percent is locked in ice caps and glaciers. 

That leaves just 1 percent for all of humanity’s 

needs – all its agricultural, residential, manufacturing, 

community, and personal needs. 

Source: epa.gov 

Q: How many countries share the Lake 

Victoria shoreline? 

A: Three countries; Kenya (6 percent), Tanzania 

(51 percent) and Uganda (43 percent) share the 

lake shoreline. 


Q: Which plant, introduced by Europeans, 

today covers large parts of Lake Victoria? 

A: Water Hyacinth: This plant was introduced 

to Africa by Europeans; it reproduces rapidly 

and covers large areas of the lake. The dense 

mat of plants block sunlight needed for survival 

by the life below the surface. 

Source: interesting-africa-facts.com 

Q: Through which two major conservation 

areas runs the Mara River? 

A: The Mara River Basin is about 13,750 square 

kilometres, of which about 65 percent is located 

in Kenya and 35 percent in Tanzania. The Mara 

River runs through the Masai Mara Game Reserve 

on the Kenyan side and the Serengeti National 

Park on the Tanzanian side, both of global 

conservation significance. 

Source: panda.org 

Q: Which of the Big Five species found in the 

Mara River Basin is the most endangered one? 

A: The rhino is the most endangered species 

of the Big Five. Rhino poaching worldwide hit 

a 15-year high in 2009. The illegal trade is being 

driven by an Asian demand for horns, made 

worse by increasingly sophisticated poachers 

who are now using veterinary drugs, poison, 

cross bows and high caliber weapons to kill 

rhinos. Very few rhinos now survive outside 

national parks and reserves. 

Source: worldwildlife.org 

Q: Which Nile Basin country has the highest 

population? 

A: Ethiopia has the highest population (106 

million) closely followed by Egypt (99 million) 

and DR Congo (83 million). Eritrea (5 million), 

Burundi (11 million) and Rwanda (13 million) 

have the smallest populations. 


9PM 

9 PM, Cairo, Egypt. 

A street vendor on a bridge 

overlooking the Nile is offering 

the last beverage of the day. 

picture alliance / Reuters / 

Asmaa Waguih 

8. 

Q: Where did the granite stones for the 

great pyramids of Giza come from? 

A: The granite stones came from Aswan and 

had to be ferried down the river, for 934 km, 

on large barges. 

Source: sciencing.com 

17. 

Q: How many countries share the Nile river? 

A: Eleven countries share the river: Burundi, 

the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, 

Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, 

South Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania 

and Uganda. 


24. 

Q: Guess how many hectares are irrigated 

across the Nile Basin? 

A: An estimated 5.4 million hectares of land 

is under irrigation Nile Basin-wide. Over 97 

percent of this area is in Egypt and Sudan. 


good night.

The Niles 11 contributors 

Frederic Musisi is a journalist for the Daily 

Monitor in Uganda, attached to the Special 

Projects / Investigations desk. He also serves 

as the chief reporter on the Energy and 

Foreign Affairs beats. 

Elzahraa Jadallah is a journalist and 

writer from Khartoum, Sudan. She works 

as TV producer and presenter, and published 

a number of short stories and features online 

as well as in print publications. 

Sylivester Domasa is the Bureau Chief 

of the Daily News in Dodoma, Tanzania. He 

was formerly acting news editor and a science 

and environmental reporter for The Guardian 

Newspaper in Dar es Salaam. 

Mugume Davis is a multimedia journalist 

who has worked with different media organisations 

including Voice of America, Active 

Nation and the Rwanda News Agency, covering 

political, social and economic stories. 

Henry Lutaaya is the editor of The Sunrise, 

Uganda’s leading weekly newspaper. He has 

been working in this position for the past ten 

years, focusing on topics such as agriculture, 

energy and human rights. 

Esther Muwombi has been working in the 

media for over ten years. Esther gathered her 

first experience with Signal FM Uganda and 

then moved to various media houses in South 

Sudan like the Juba Post, The Citizen and the 

Nile Fortune magazine.

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