Formative Assessment 1: Water and the Nile

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Satellite image of a portion of the Nile River (green) and Nile River delta (green, top). Stock Photo.

Instructions

  1. First, take a few minutes to check out the Water Conflict Chronology. This site details water conflicts around the world since 3001 BC.
  • Click on the Region dropdown menu and select sub-Saharan Africa (then repeat for Northern Africa).
  • Examine conflicts/trends since 1950 in the region.
  • You may want to take notes and refer to them later.
  1. Next, review the materials in your online course text concerning the Nile River Conflict.
  1. Now, read the materials below before moving on to answer the questions.

CREDIBLE SOURCES

  1. Andrew Carlson, 2013, Who Owns the Nile? Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia's History-Changing Dam [PDF | visit site]
  2. Richard Conniff, 2017, Yale Environment 360, The Vanishing Nile: A Great River Faces a Multitude of Threats [PDF | visit site]
  3. John Bohannon, 2010, The Nile Delta's Sinking Future [PDF | visit site]
  4. David Chandler, MIT News Office, International experts analyze impacts of Ethiopian Dam [PDF | visit site]
  5. Aya Nader, 2017, Climate Home News, Egypt faces water insecurity as Ethiopian mega-dam rumors swirl" [PDF | visit site]
  6. The Economist, 2016, Sharing the Nile [PDF | visit site]

Directions: Download the following worksheet to answer your questions; submit this worksheet. Answer the questions with a well-written paragraph or two, supporting your response with information from the above sources. You may use additional sources but you need to reference at least 4 of the articles listed above. Remember to use in-text citations to show where the idea/information is coming from, and include a reference list at the end of your document.

  1. What are the existing issues today in the Nile River conflict?
  2. What importance should be placed on the older treaties?
  3. What is Ethiopia's position on dam building on the Blue Nile and is it well justified?
  4. Are there fair solutions to the conflicts in water allocation between the Nile watershed nations? What are they and how can they be implemented?