Politics of the Waters of the NileHydropolitics of the Nile Valley by John WaterburyReview by: Derek WinstanleyAfrica Today, Vol. 28, No. 2, The Sudan: 25 Years of Independence (2nd Qtr., 1981), pp. 120-121Published by: Indiana University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4186007 .

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The collaborative process and its success in the Sudan could easily be gauged by the extent of the pressure of economic and social changes on one hand, and the organization and intensity of the resisting and boycotting groups on the other.

The most serious shortcoming of the collaborative approach is that it reduces the struggle for national liberation to a mere game of self-interest be- tween the collaborators and the colonial masters, simply involving coaching, outmaneuvering, and betrayals.

Dr. Woodward, however, was able to overcome these shortcomings in vary- ing degrees in his superb conclusion. In it the author was able to tighten most of the loose ends and to provide rare insights into contemporary Sudanese political dilemmas. The footnotes contain a wealth of material and useful leads for further investigation and follow-up. His heavy dependence on Sir James Robertson's book and papers is noticeable, as is the absence of Egyptian secon- dary and primary sources. Nevertheless, the chapter entitled "Egypt's Challenge, 1946-1947" is one of the best written about the subject. Paradoxical- ly, it contradicts the collaborative approach in the sense that Egypt, a non- collaborative actor, played an important role in the development of Sudanese nationalism.

The chapters entitled "International Complications, 1950-1952," "Egypt's Success, 1952-1953," and "From Self-Government to Independence, 1954-1956" are well executed, but written in such a way as to make the Americans, the Egyptians, and the Sudanese collaborators appear as the aggressors, while the British government, the Sudan Political Service and the southerners appear as innocent victims. In spite of that, Dr. Woodward has written a scholarly and timely book.

Politics of the Waters of The Nile Derek Winstanley

John Waterbury, HYDROPOLITICS OF THE NILE VALLEY (Syracuse: Syracuse University, 1979) 301 pp.; $20.00

Water as a natural resource is often taken for granted. Increasingly, however, concerns are being expressed in many parts of the world about future availability of water at a reasonable price. Although there is not a global shortage of water, nor is there expected to be such a shortage in the foreseeable future, there are aspects that do create cause for concern. At regional, national and local levels there are problems of water availability and of water quality and some of these problems threaten to increase in magnitude in the future. Although there is not an overall shortage, there are problems related to the harnessing of water resources and to delivery systems and these involve both physical and social factors and concerns.

The major physical problem is to determine the water resources that will be available in the future. With the exception of non-rechargeable aquifers water supply is dependent primarily upon rainfall and other climatological factors. A

Derek Winstanley holds a Ph.D. in Climatology from Oxford University, and had extensive experience in climate-related projects in both East and West Africa. He is currently a visiting scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Boulder. Colorado.

120 AFRICA TODAY

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traditional method of determining future water supply is to use historical records of rainfall and river discharge as a guide to future expectations. In many developing countries a major problem is the short period and question- able accuracy of available records. This raises questions as to the extent to which these records can be considered representative of a longer time series and, hence, indicators of future water availability.

The harnessing of water resources involves costly engineering projects and decisions must be made not only as to their economic and technological feasi- bility, but also their political desirability. Often, financial and political considerations assume greater importance than the technical ones.

The result is that resource utilization often falls short of the 'optimal.' In the case of a river valley the interests of other riparian states must be considered in national policy-making and in some instances international authorities have been established to reduce inter-state conflict in river basin development. Major water resource projects are costly and the fact that many developing countries require external financing for their development projects involves further political considerations, in this case of a geo-political nature.

Using Egypt and the Sudan as a case study, it is these types of problems and issues that John Waterbury examines with respect to the utilization and management of the Nile River. His presentation is in chronological order. He records the historical developments in water utilization and management of the river system and then analyzes the present situation in context of the political and economic conditions in Egypt and the Sudan. Lastly, he looks ahead and attempts to project water supply and demand. While acknowledging the uncer- tainties involved in making such projections, the balance obtained by confronting the projections of supply and demand leads the author to conclude that the present system is approaching the outer limits of what it can provide and that a water deficit is highly likely in the next decade.

Although he states that the problems are not insoluble, he does express strong skepticism as to the likelihood of overcoming many of them. His main recommendation is to pursue a policy of internationalism in resource man- agement in the hope that this will prevent the occurrence of problems that result when sovereign states act in their own self interest. He also advocates closer links between technocrats and politicians and stresses the need for institutional and procedural changes.

This is an interesting, informative and well-written book. The fact that John Waterbury has traveled extensively in the Nile Valley and has first-hand experience of many of the problems about which he writes is evident in his authoritative style of writing. The inclusion of 33 tables, 10 figures, 8 maps and an extensive bibliography greatly contribute to the substance of the book.

I would have liked to have seen in the book more discussion on Ethiopia, the country that is the source of over 80 percent of the water in the River Nile. On page 19 there is one technical error in that an isohyet is not a belt, but rather a line connecting places with equal rainfall.

As pressure on resources becomes more intense, the management of transnational resources will become increasingly important. This excellent case study will be of interest and value to a wide range of students having interest in, for example, the Middle East and Africa, resource management, river control, environmental studies, development, the relationship between politics and technology, and also to policy makers.

2nd Quarter, 1981 121

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