The impact of the nile treaties on the nile communities: a case study of east africa

Abstract

This research is about the impact of the Nile treaties to the Nile communities where by the introduction begins with a general overview of water issues in the world. It also shares experiences of some of the major trans boundary rivers and lakes. There is the general knowledge of the Nile and a mention of the colonial agreements. The problem statement based on the fact that despite the availability of a big water resource the communities living along the Nile including one of its sources, L. Victoria are still very poor, suffering from food insecurity, illiteracy and diseases. The objectives mainly focus on the community wellbeing, the Trans boundary resource sharing and the community resilience. The literature review being very broad since a lot on the Nile treaties is reviewed ranging from the oldest to the most recent treaty. There are issues on riparian States, resources, and the institutional frameworks like the NBI are also reviewed. The justification argument is aimed at confirming the gap noticed after the literature review. Thus indicating that a lot of research has been done on the ownership conflict and how the conflict and the treaties affect the community. The theoretical framework is embracing the sensitivity on human dignity and community working together which is well linked to the regime theory. Regime theory has an emphasis on the collaboration, cooperation and coordination process with main propagators as Stone and Krasner. The main concepts that govern this research are the bottom up-approach majorly propagated by Lederach, increasing available water resources. In addition there is a concept of broadening the basket of benefit which actually considers other alternatives. There is also the river basin development planning and management concept which strictly focuses on planning and management strategies. The other concept is the cooperative framework that is partly implemented in the Nile Basin Initiative. The framework puts emphasis on collaboration and cooperation with fair benefit sharing. The historical details of the treaties and the countries are also shared. The sharing of information about resources is highlighted. The research findings do indicate that most community members are not aware about the Nile treaties, were never consulted just the way they were not during the Berlin conference of 1884-1885. Communities have demonstrated resilience in looking for alternative livelihood to fishing like looking for jobs after good education, political thagery, while others waste away in alcoholism and prostitution. Recommendations include reviewing of the latest treaties to correct the notion that communities don't matter, empowering communities to engage in national and international process affecting their lives.