Water in North Africa

  • Morocco To Cooperate With MRC In Water

    CASABLANCA, 2017/07/08 In an effort to enhance South-South cooperation, Morocco, a rising star in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, recently signed a Memorandum of Considerate (MoU) with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to cooperate in the areas of sustainable water-resource development and management. “This partnership will foster exchanges and cooperation in water-resource development and management through the sharing of available technical expertise and lessons learned by both parties. Some of the common interests of both parties range from energy to agriculture and food security to water quality,” the MRC said in a press release.
  • For Africa to end chronic hunger, governments must invest in sustainable water supplies, writes Esther Ngumbi.

    AFRICA, 2017/04/30 The fields are bare under the scorching sun and temperatures rise with each passing week. Any crops the extreme temperatures haven’t destroyed, the insect pests have, and for a lot of farmers, there is nothing they can do. Presently, news about hunger across Africa makes mass media headlines daily. Globally, hunger levels are at their highest. In fact, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, over 70 million people across 45 nations will require food emergency assistance in 2017, with Africa being home to three of the four nations deemed to face a critical risk of famine: Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen. African governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and humanitarian relief agencies, inclunding the United Nations World Food Programme, continue to launch short-term solutions such as food relief supplies to avert the situation. Kenya, for example, is handing cash transfers and food relief to its affected citizens. The UN World Food Programme is as well distributing food to drought-stricken Somalia. And in Zambia, the government is employing each tool inclunding its military to combat insect pest infestation. But why are we here? What happened? Why is there such a large drought?
  • Golf goes green

    FRANCE, 2015/02/19 Recycling rainwater or leaving unplayed areas untouched are examples of ways to save water and reduce golfs’ water footprint While not the greenest sport on the planet, golf’s ecological footprint has for a few years been steadily declining, with some courses even going as far as adopting an all-out green approach. A prime example of just how eco-friendly this sport can be is the Vittel Ermitage golf course, in the Western Vosges region of France. Thanks to Nestlé Waters’ French branch, Agrivair, ecosystem protection and enhancement were taken, inclunding zero-pesticide measures. The result? It is presently not rare to spot deer in the woody parts of the course, or for low-lying areas to be flooded during winter.
  • East Africa: Renaissance Dam Talks Kick Off in Khartoum

    EGYPT, 2014/08/31 The fourth round of tripartite talks over the building of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam started in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum on Monday. The talks, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, will involve discussions part Egypt's, Sudan's and Ethiopia's water ministers to reach agreement over criteria and mechanisms for building the dam. Egypt's Water and Irrigation Minister Hossam Moghazi stressed during the talks that Egypt was at no time against development within the Nile Basin nations, reported national-run news agency MENA.
  • Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will provide power to Egypt

    EGYPT, 2014/05/06 Ethiopian National Minister for Foreign Affairs Berhane Gebre-Christos told a two-day forum held at Bahr Dar University that the dam, which is being constructed to generate electricity, will not harm Egypt. Instead, it will allow Egypt, which has been suffering from electricity shortages, to obtain electricity from Ethiopia. Because of electricity shortages, Egypt has experienced several power cuts nationwide. The Egyptian government before announced plans to boost the country’s electricity supply by importing natural gas and diesel, inclunding by beginning construction on three new power plants.
  • Ethiopia's bold decision to pay for a huge dam

    EGYPT, 2014/04/25 Ethiopia's bold decision to pay for a huge dam itself has overturned generations of Egyptian control over the Nile's waters, and may help transform one of the world's poorest nations into a regional hydropower hub. By spurning an offer from Cairo for help financing the project, Addis Ababa has ensured it controls the construction of the Renaissance Dam on a Nile tributary. The electricity it will generate - enough to power a giant rich-world city like New York - can be exported across a power-hungry region. But the decision to fund the huge project itself as well carries the risk of stifling private sector investment and restricting economic increase, and may jeopardize Ethiopia's dream of becoming a middle gain country by 2025.
  • Mauritania and Senegal are separated by the 700-km long Senegal River

    MAURITANIA, 2014/03/31 The Senegalese-Mauritanian ministerial consultation commission on transport ended its proceedings on Tuesday with a series of recommendations inclunding the decision to build a bridge on the Senegal River at the Rosso border. The region is located 2,100 km south of Nouakchott and 370 km northeast of the Senegalese capital, Dakar. Mauritania and Senegal are separated by the 700-km long Senegal River.
  • Impact of Water Scarcity On Food Security a Priority for Near East and North Africa Meeting

    NORTH AFRICA, 2014/02/23 Water scarcity is one of the majority urgent food security issues facing nations of the Near East and North Africa (NENA), with fresh water availability in the region expected to drop by 50 % by the year 2050, said FAO, as ministers of agriculture and national officials prepared to tackle the issue at a conference of the organization's highest regional governing body. Participants in the 32nd FAO Regional Conference for the Near East (NERC-32), to be held from 24 to 28 February, are set to discuss a new Regional Water Scarcity Initiative, launched by FAO to support member nations in identifying strategies, policies and practices that promote sustainable solutions to water scarcity and related food security problems.
  • Russia to help Northern Africa to resolve water resources issue

    RUSSIA, 2014/02/23 The issue of water resources deficit is becoming additional acute in a lot of regions of the world. Northern Africa is currently one of the «hot spots». Sergey Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Minister, while conference in Moscow heads of the foreign and defense ministries of Egypt particularly stressed the need for reaching mutually acceptable agreements in resolving that problem. The Arab world is in a very difficult situation as far as the sufficiency of water resources goes. While 5% of the planet's people lives on the territory of the Middle East and Northern Africa, only 0.9% of the world water resources are located there. A lot of nations practically draw their livelihood from one source. Specifically, the basin of the Nile River is divided between a dozen nations.
  • Egypt's Minister of Water Resources & Irrigation Visiting Addis Ababa

    EGYPT, 2014/02/13 Egypt's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mohamed Abdul Muttalib, headed a delegation to Addis Ababa today (February 10) to continue talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Minister Muttalib asked to visit Ethiopia to talk further about the differences of opinion over the formation of a committee to oversee the implementation of recommendations of the statement of the International Panel of Experts. This had remained a point at issue between Egypt on one side and the Ministers of Ethiopia and Sudan on the other, next three rounds of discussion in Khartoum.