Nile Basin states tipped on better water use

• Egypt squanders 40 per cent of water used by households

CAIRO, Tuesday

Egypt needs to cut water waste and use new technology in agriculture and other fields to support its case for the lion share of the Nile’s resources over other African states, a global water expert said.

Egypt, which gets almost all its water needs from the Nile but faces possible shortages as early as 2017, has angered upstream states by sticking to colonial-era pacts that guarantee it can use most of the Nile’s flow.

The row over the Nile detracts from the real problem of poor water management in Egypt and the other upstream states clamouring for a bigger share, Asit Biswas, director of the Third World Centre for Water Management, told Reuters.

“Water is not a priority in most of the Basin countries,” he said. “But for Egypt it is of critical importance ...But the way it is looking to the future is regrettably very traditional.”

He said 30 per cent of rainfall in African states on the Nile was not being used for agricultural or other productive reasons.

Lack of awareness

And, Egypt, he said, squandered more than 40 per cent of water used by households, often due to lack of awareness.

“Egypt needs a radical overhaul of its water management plan in order to cope with its water scarcity,” said Biswas, who has advised several United Nations agencies, aid agencies and governments like on water issues.

“People have been saying we face a water scarcity issue. I say this is a bunch of baloney, the fundamental problem is us. The solutions are there but we are not using them and the most convenient excuse is that we don’t have enough water,” he said.

Agriculture firms are investing in sustainable farm research on new crops and better management, but Egypt and its Nile Basin peers have lagged in tapping this potential, Biswas said. (Reuters)