Hydro-Politics of the Nile: The Role of South Sudan

Abstract

In an ideal world, water is supposed to be uniformly distributed and easily accessed by each and every state. In reality however, and especially in Africa, there is a challenge in water-sharing because of the increasing demand resulting from rapid population growth. The River Nile is a shared natural resource and its waters are neither evenly distributed nor effectively managed. As such, conflicts are bound to occur amongst the involved riparian states. Before the independence of South Sudan, the Nile River had ten riparian states; making South Sudan, which is a middle stream state, the 11th Riparian state. At the moment, the Nile is governed by treaties signed in 1929 and 1959 and, while other riparian states have continued to experience numerous misunderstandings, the recent independence of South Sudan has compounded existing conflicts amongst the Nile riparian states. This leads to the questions: What is the status of hydro-politics in the Nile Basin region? What role can South Sudan, as a middle stream state, play in order to bring all other riparian states to the table so that they can negotiate a lasting solution to the Nile Basin conflict and create peace in this volatile region?