Introduction The Nile River is the longest river in the world, stretching approximately 6,700 km from its remote headwaters in eastern Africa to the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile and its tributaries flow through Eleven countries and the river basin drains over three million square kilometers (one tenth of Africa’s total land mass) and is home to more than 300 million people (many of them are among the world’s poorest). Because of its size and variety of climates and topographies, the Nile is one of the most complex river basins in the world. The Nile originates from its major source, Lake Victoria forming the White Nile that flows generally North through Uganda and into Sudan where it meets the Blue Nile at Khartoum, from the confluence of the White and Blue Nile, the Main Nile River flows northwards into Egypt and to the Mediterranean Sea. The Eastern Nile includes the countries of Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt, and encompasses the sub-basins of the Baro-Akobo-Sobat, the Blue Nile, the Tekezze-Settit-Atbara, portions of the White Nile in Sudan, and the Main Nile. All flows in the Nile are the result of rainfall upon the Ethiopian highlands and the Equatorial lakes region. While this rainfall is usually plentiful, it is not always consistent from year to year. The annual average rainfall over the entire Nile basin is approximately 600 mm, ranging from 1200-1600 mm at the headwater regions to near zero at the most northern part of the basin. The seasonal fluctuations of rainfall in the Ethiopian highlands are much greater than those at the source of the White Nile. However, depending on the strength of the monsoon over Ethiopia, the total flow volume from year to year can vary dramatically. There are two major basins within the Nile basin. These two major basins are the eastern Nile that is composed of Abbay (Blue Nile), Tekeze (Atbara), Baro Akobo (Sobat), and the Nile Equatorial Lake that is composed of mainly Lake Victoria basins, sudd swamp are in south Sudan. The White Nile flows from the tropical rain belt of Central Africa, and its principal source is Lake Victoria. As the White Nile flows north, it enters Sudan and then the Sudd marsh area, where the flows leave and re-enter the channel depending on the season. Much of the flow at this point is lost by evaporation. Downstream of the Sudd, the White Nile is joined by flow from the Sobat River that drains from the Ethiopian highlands. From this point to Khartoum, (about 800 km) nearly half of the flow in the White Nile is from the Sobat. South of Khartoum, the British built a dam ( Jabal al Auliya Dam) in 1937 to store the water of the White Nile and then releases it in the fall when the flow from the Blue Nile slackens.
Historical perspective The first great African civilization developed in the northern Nile Valley in about 5000 bc. Dependent on agriculture, this state, called Egypt relied on the flooding of the Nile for irrigation and new soils. It dominated vast areas of northeastern Africa for millennia. Ruled by Egypt for about 1800 years, the Kush region of northern Sudan subjugated Egypt in the 8th century bc. Pyramids, temples, and other monuments of these civilizations blanket the river valley in Egypt and northern Sudan. Battle of the Nile, naval action fought on August 1-2, 1798, during the Napoleonic Wars, between the British and the French in Abū Qīr Bay, about 24 km (about 15 mi) northeast of Alexandria, Egypt. A French fleet of 17 ships, commanded by Vice Admiral François Paul Brueys d'Aigailliers, had sailed from Toulon, France, with Napoleon Bonaparte and the army with which Napoleon intended to conquer Egypt, before attacking the British in India. The British fleet of 14 ships, under Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson, entered the bay at twilight and caught Brueys's ships anchored close to shore. After a battle that lasted into the night, the French were forced to admit defeat; all but four of their vessels either surrendered or were destroyed. Until the middle of the 1800s, the source of the Nile was one of the world’s great mysteries. Ancient Greeks wrote that the river originated in snowcapped highlands. Noted Western explorers of the Nile include British explorers John Hanning Speke, who reached Lake Victoria in 1858, and Samuel White Baker, who sighted Lake Albert in 1864; German explorer Georg August Schweinfurth explored the Baḩr al Ghazāl between 1868 and 1871. An Anglo-American, Henry Morton Stanley circumnavigated Lake Victoria in 1875 and explored Lake Edward and the Ruwenzori Range in 1889. European powers gained control over most of the countries of the Nile basin in the late 19th century. Britain established its power in Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya; Germany ruled what is now Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi; and Belgium governed what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). After World War I (1914-1918) German territory was divided between Britain and Belgium, with Britain controlling Tanzania, and Belgium gaining Rwanda and Burundi. Ethiopia remained an independent state. European power in Egypt and Sudan ended in the 1950s and elsewhere in the 1960s. let us know look at the economic aspect of the Nile river.
Economical Importance
Agriculture:
The major determinant of the Nile basin water balance remains the agricultural sector. The Nile has provided the basis of agricultural development in Egypt and Sudan since the start of agriculture, about 7,000 years ago, and for political reasons, most East African nations have adopted policies of self sufficiency when dealing with food supplies, In the Nile basin agriculture accounts for at least 80% of all water consumption. Whereas a few liters of water per day are a basic minimum for human survival, at least a ton per day is required to produce the food needed for a reasonable diet for just one person. There are great losses of water in agriculture because this resource is not used efficiently. Egyptians lived primarily of agriculture. The Nile water was used to irrigate their fields with systems of dams, channels and the "chadouf” (system of noria allowing drawing the water of the Nile with jugs). They cultivated corn, barley, beans, onions, garlic and lettuces. Every year the rising of the Nile, occurring in August and September, allowed the fertilization of the fields bordering the river; and the silt deposited even made it possible to manufacture bricks.

Hydro power Development: Ethiopia's potential for hydropower development is enormous. A proposition of far-reaching potential importance to the future of Nile water supplies would be the construction of a series of dams in Ethiopia. It is argued that Egypt's development is constrained more by lack of power than lack of water. Thus, a mutually beneficial arrangement would appear to be possible with respect to water and power, whereby Egypt would agree to a greater water allocation for Ethiopia and to the construction of Blue Nile Reservoirs on the condition that a certain percentage of the electricity generated would be sold to Egypt at a specified price. Because of Egypt's growing demands for electricity, the Blue Nile Reservoirs may be more valuable for their hydroelectric power generation than for water regulation and storage. Reservoirs would also control Blue Nile floods, which could be particularly beneficial to Sudan. Added upstream storage would facilitate expansion of Sudan's gravity-fed irrigated areas, which in turn would mean greater crop production. It could be possible to negotiate an arrangement whereby Ethiopia would trade electricity to Egypt and Sudan in return for agricultural and/or industrial products.
Navigation:
The Nile River is still a vital waterway for the transportation of people and goods. River steamers still provide the only means of transport facilities, especially in Sudan south of latitude 15º N, where road transport is not usually possible from May to November, during the flood season. Most of the towns in Egypt and Sudan are situated on or near riverbanks. In Sudan steamer service on the Nile and its tributaries extends for about 3,800 km. Until 1962 the sole link between the northern and southern parts of Sudan was stern-wheel river steamers of shallow draft. The main service is from Kusti to Juba. There are also seasonal and subsidiary services on the Dunqulah reaches of the main Nile, on the Blue Nile, up the Sobat to Gambela in Ethiopia, and up the Al-Ghazal River in the high-water season. The Blue Nile is navigable only during the high-water season and then only as far as Ar-Rusayris.

Fauna and Flora: Tropical rain forest is found along the Nile-Congo divide, in parts of the Lake Plateau, and in southwestern Ethiopia. Heat and copious rainfall produce thick forests with a great variety of tropical trees and plants, including ebony, banana, rubber, bamboo, and coffee shrub. Mixed woodland and grassland (savanna), characterised by a sparse growth of thinly foliaged trees of medium height and a ground covering of grass and perennial herbs, occurs in large parts of the Lake Plateau, in parts of the Ethiopian Plateau, in the area that fringes the Blue Nile near Ar-Rusayris, and in the southern Al-Ghazal River region.
On the Sudanese plains, a mixture of thin bush, thorny trees, and open grassland prevails. This area is swampy during the rainy season, particularly in the Sudd region of the south-central Sudan. The vegetation there includes papyrus, tall bamboo-like grasses, reed mace Ambatch, or turor, water lettuce, a species of convolvulus, and the South American water hyacinth.

Tourism Water-based tourism is important in several localities and in such places such as Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the most of the Nile river basin countries; it is often an integral part of livelihoods systems, providing a range of income and business opportunities, which lead to increase in the GDP of these respective countries.

The Nile River Basin It is essential to first comprehend the economic and political role of the Nile River and its role in the development of the entire region. The White Nile and Blue Nile are two of its main tributaries. From Lake Victoria in east central Africa, the White Nile flows generally north through Uganda and into Sudan where it meets the Blue Nile at Khartoum, which rises in the Ethiopian highlands. From the confluence of the White and Blue Nile, the river flows northwards into Egypt and on to the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile River is 5,584 Kilometers long if measured from its key source, Lake Victoria. However, if measured from its farthest source, the Ruvyironza River in Burundi, to the sea, the river is 6,671 kilometers long. The White Nile, fed by melting snow from the Ruwenzori (or Rain Giver) Mountains and various equatorial lakes, provides a small but continual flow of water to the river. However, the Blue Nile, which is the foremost tributary, descends from the Ethiopian highlands and is affected by high seasonal fluctuations. The Ethiopian highlands provide 86 percent of the Nile flow, the Blue Nile contributes 59 percent, the Baro-Akobo (Sobat) 14 percent and the Tekezze (Atbara) 13 percent.3 On the other hand, the contribution from the Equatorial Lakes to the Nile River is only 14 percent.4 The flow variations of the Ethiopian tributaries differ between the wet and dry seasons. During the rainy season, the water coming from Ethiopia constitutes up to 90 percent of the Nile flow. The annual runoff of the Nile River reaching Egypt also varies considerably as per the intensity of the rainfall during the wet season. In terms of land borders, the Nile River is shared by eleven countries in the northeastern part of Africa: Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt. The total population of Nile basin countries is 300 million people, and over half of this population is dependent on the Nile. These Nile basin countries, particularly Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt and Uganda are experiencing massive population growth. If the present growth trends continue, it is estimated that the population of these four countries alone will swell to 340 million by 2050. Due to the growing population, the per capita water availability in the basin is, in turn, decreasing at equally rapid rates. The Nile basin countries are amongst some of the poorest in the world. With the exception of Egypt and Kenya, the remaining nine basin countries are classified among the least-developed countries in the world by the United Nations. Nearly 100 million people within these basin countries live on less than a dollar a day. Although the Nile River is an extremely long water system and serves a high population among eleven countries, its average annual discharge is modest in comparison to the other major river systems in Africa. While the average annual runoff of the Congo River is 1,250 billion cubic meters, the Volta River 390 billion cubic meters, the Zambezi River 230 billion cubic meters and the Niger River 180 billion cubic meters, the average annual runoff of the Nile River, whose catchment area is 2,850 square kilometers covering 10 percent of the African continent, is only 84 billion cubic meters. Increasing water shortages constitute the single greatest threat to the basin's food security. Moreover, water is unevenly distributed in the region. The countries of the Great Lakes area are well-endowed with water resources, whereas some of the countries downstream have scarce water supplies. The Nubian Desert, through which the Nile passes through to the Mediterranean Sea, is one of the driest regions of the earth. Also relevant to the argument is the fact that the Nile basin countries have predominantly agricultural economies. To meet the needs of growing populations, irrigation has become critical to food security in the basin. Many important basin countries have an inadequate share of the water resources, while their agro-based economies require and consume even more water. The agriculture sector is responsible for nearly 75 percent of total water withdrawal in Nile basin countries. On a country scale, agriculture accounts for 86 percent of water withdrawal in Egypt and Ethiopia and 94 percent in Sudan. Rainwater contributes substantially to agriculture for countries in the Great Lakes region. However, in the Lower Basin area, the availability of rainwater is very negligible. In this section of the basin, even small-scale farming, to a large extent, has to rely on river or underground water. The two countries in the downstream, Egypt and Sudan are mostly dependent on irrigation. Out of a total estimated potential of 10.2 million hectares, approximately 5 million hectares are irrigated at present in the Nile basin, among which 98.7 percent are located in climatically dry Egypt and northern Sudan. It is important to point out that while there are eleven riparian countries, only three of these are in the most critical position for peaceful, cooperative sharing of Nile water—Ethiopia as the primary supplier, and Egypt and Sudan as the dominant consumers.

Water Equity, Rights, Shares and Legal rights
Water Equity The term water equity refers to the equity or fairness of allocation and utilization of water resources for different users with in the same sectors and also among different sector. The equity issue often takes international dimensions when it involves different riparian states that share a river basin or a common water resource. In the case of Nile Basin Countries there is no any element of equity since most of the share of river Nile is reserved for Egypt and Sudan hence any model we develop or propose suppose to address these issues.
Water Rights The term water rights have no universal definition this is mainly attributed to the fact that conceptions of water issues and water rights vary dramatically around the world. We can say Ethiopia and the Equatorial countries have a water right over the management and utilization of River Nile since the generate most of it but hence due to colonial rules and laws these countries does not have rights over the river Nile.
Water Shares Before we go to that share of the Nile water among the Nile river basin countries let us first compare the river Nile water discharge with some of the other African rivers to see how the river Nile is scarce. Although the Nile River is an extremely long water system and serves a high population among ten countries, its average annual discharge is modest in comparison to the other major river systems in Africa. While the average annual runoff of the Congo River is 1,250 billion cubic meters, the Volta River 390 billion cubic meters, the Zambezi River 230 billion cubic meters and the Niger River 180 billion cubic meters, the average annual runoff of the Nile River, whose catchment area is 2,850 square Kilo meters covering 10 percent of the African continent, is only 84 billion cubic meters. Which 55.5 billion cubic are assigned to Egypt and 18.5 billion cubic was assigned to Sudan and hence the remaining 10 billion cubic meters are let for the evaporation and other sorts of water loss and the remaining for the riparian countries we can say this could be seen logic from Egyptian and Sudan point of view since the solely depend on the water of the river Nile since they don’t have alternative sources of water, but it is not logic from Ethiopia and Equatorial countries to generate the river and not to tamper with it because of artificial laws enacted by the colonials that are confining the management and utilization of the river Nile with Egypt and Sudan.

Legal Rights
Anglo-Italian Protocol of April 15/1891 affirms that the Italian Government does not engage construct any work on the Atbara River in view of irrigation, which might sensibly modify its flow into the Nile.
Ethiopia-British Agreement of May 15/1902 says that His Majesty the Emperor Menelik II, King of Kings of Ethiopia, engages himself towards the Government of His Britannic Majesty not to construct any works across the Blue Nile, Lake Tana or the Sobat river which would arrest the flow of their waters except in agreement with His Britannic Majesty’s Government and the Government of Sudan.
Agreement of December 13/ 1906 between Britain, France and Italy asserts that the interest of Great Britain and Egypt in the Nile Basin, more specifically as regards the regulation of the waters of that river and its tributaries, shall be respected.
Agreement between Britain and Italy, December 14-20, 1906. This agreement contends that the Government of Italy engages not to construct on the head-waters of the Blue Nile or White Nile or tributaries or effluents any works which might sensibly modify their flow into the river (Abraham 2004).
The May 7, 1929 Agreement between Britain (on behalf of the Sudan) and Egypt states that Egypt as an independent state and Britain on behalf of the Sudan, signed the first agreement after World War-I. Egypt complained, for the first time, that Sudan may undertake irrigation development in its territory. Under this agreement, the concept of ‘Egypt’s natural and historical rights’ came into being (Abraham 2004).
Agreement for the Full Utilization of the Nile Waters between Egypt and he Sudan was signed in 1959. The proportion of waters of the Nile was 55.5 billion m3 for Egypt, 18.5 billion metric cubic for the Sudan and 10 billion metric cubic was estimated to evaporate under condition the flow stays the same 84 billion metric cubic (Abraham 2004).
Agreement of July 1/ 1993 between Presidents Meles Zenawi (i.e. Ethiopia) and Husni Mubarak (i.e. Egypt) states that one party shall not carry out any act that affects the interest and benefits of the other in relation to the use of the River Nile. Due to Ethiopia’s disagreement with Britain, the latter excluded the former when other agreements (Anglo-Italian, Anglo-Egyptian and Egypt-Sudan) were signed in 1925, 1929 and 1959 respectively. On July 1, 1993, a new agreement on the use of water on the river Nile was signed by Presidents Meles Zenawi and Husni Mubarak.
The Nile Conflict The Nile River is shared by eleven countries (Egypt, South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, D.R. Congo, and Kenya, and is home to more than 300 million people; the population is growing by 2–3% per year. The Nile Basin covers an area of 3.1 million km², of which 1% is urban, 2% are covered by forest, 3% by wetlands, 3% by open water, 4% by shrub, 5% by irrigated cropland, 10% by cropland, 30% by desert/semi-desert and 42% by grassland. The Nile River is the longest river in the world and flows for 6’600 km, traversing more than 31 degrees of latitude. Measured at Aswan, the Nile River had a yearly average flow between 1869 and 1984 of 87.1 metric cubic /year. 86% of the Main Nile’s water stems from the Ethiopian highlands in the Eastern Nile Basin, the rest originate mainly from the watersheds of the equatorial lakes. Many countries in the Nile Basin are highly dependent on the Nile’s water, as they are situated in an arid or semi-arid region. More than 95% of Egypt’s water stems from the Nile, which means that it depends on rainfall outside of its territory. Egypt has therefore always closely observed Ethiopia’s water development plans. Ethiopia’s irrigation plans are of great concern since they could reduce the water flow in the Nile. The periodic fluctuations in the Nile’s flow are demonstrated by the two extremes of 1916 with a water flow of 120 m³/year, and 1984 with a flow of 42 m3/year measured at Aswan (Collins 1990: 402).

Sources of conflict A finite amount of water resources stands to be used by a population that is increasing by 2–3% annually. The Nile countries’ national socio-economic and political capacity to find alternatives to present water use trends is limited. There is no agreement on water allocation between the riparian countries that is accepted by all. Egypt and Sudan uphold the principle of “acquired rights” and the validity of the Agreement of 1959; the upstream countries seek to negotiate a new Nile waters agreement. International investment in water resource development has been blocked, due to disagreement between the countries. The downstream countries are concerned about a decrease in water flow due to upstream water resource development. We can say in summary that the conflict can either be hard (i.e. environmental), or soft (i.e. political).

Environmental Induced Conflict Literature and empirical evidence are indicating that the impact of the environmental induced conflict over weight the political induced one and hence we are going to focus on the environmental perspective. Two research groups in the 1990s were pivotal in launching research on the environment as a cause of violent conflict. The Environment and Conflicts Project (ENCOP) group headed by Günther Baechler and Kurt R. Spillmann, and the Toronto group headed by Thomas Homer-Dixon. Both groups reached similar conclusions. The environmental and conflict project defined conflict and the following way: Environmental conflicts manifest themselves as political, social, economic, ethnic, religious or territorial conflicts, or conflicts over resources or national interests, or any other type of conflict. They are traditional conflicts induced by an environmental degradation. Environmental conflicts are characterized by the principal importance of degradation in one or more of the following fields: 1) overuse of renewable resources; 2) overstrain of the environment’s sink capacity (pollution); 3) impoverishment of the space of living.” (Libiszewski 1992) While on the hand the Toronto group used the following definition: Environmental conflicts are violent conflicts that are caused by environmental scarcity in interaction with a variety of, often situation-specific, contextual factors. Environmental scarcity appears in three forms: demand-induced scarcity (i.e. scarcity arising from increases in demand caused by, for example, population growth); supply-induced scarcity (i.e. scarcity arising from reduced total availability of certain resources due to degradation or depletion), and structural scarcity (i.e. scarcity arising from the unequal distribution of, or access to, resources). It is important to note that there is a slight difference between the two definitions while both research groups focused on the causal relationship between the environment (renewable resources) and violent conflicts, the difference between the two definitions lies in the terms “degeneration” versus “scarcity”. International water conflicts may arise over river basins that cross national boundaries. Conflict lines frequently form between upstream and downstream users of the river: particularly if the cost and benefit of water used for hydroelectric power production (HEP) or irrigation are asymmetrically distributed. Another example is the effect of upstream pollution on downstream regions. An adequate water supply is often a question of “national security” or even survival.

Environmental Conflict Management Environmental conflict management is still young and is often characterized by the application of general conflict management principles to an environmental conflict. Yet there are some important differences. One of the main differences is the importance of including both the “soft elements” of human behavior and interaction, and the “hard facts” of the physical environment. Environmental conflicts take place in an overlap of human and environmental systems, while general conflicts take place only in the human “system”. Let us use different Models of environmental conflict management.

Human Environment Interaction Triangle (HEIT) model The Human Environment Interaction Triangle (HEIT) model is used to schematically describe the conflict management and environmental conflict management it takes a minimum of two parties to create a social conflict. An environmental conflict, however, always has three “actors”. The environment being often not represented and hence being third actor, In the HEIT model this is shown by a triangle between the human actors (or actor groups) in conflict and the environmental system involved in their conflict. Although this model has used across the globe hence it has also challenges. The challenges of a cooperative approach in the triangle between an environmental system and at least two human systems are:
Time dimension: A long-term time perspective is necessary to be able to deal with issues of sustainability. Trees take one hundred years to grow; politicians are elected for four years. The time scale of elected politicians or groups of people fighting to survive does not correspond to the long-term time scale of sustainability.
Space dimensions: State boundaries do not normally correspond to the boundaries of the environmental system. Management is only effective if the environmental system’s boundaries are taken into account, as negative side effects of economic and social activity effect the whole environmental system and are not limited by political boundaries.
Inclusion of “hard” and “soft” elements: It is difficult to create a joint problem definition, since scientific data and their interpretation are uncertain. One should not separate fact-finding and technical analysis from the main negotiation efforts. Neither should the soft elements of the conflict, the perceptions and the relationship between the parties, be ignored, Hard factors (e.g. water quality and quantity) are needed to assess the various potential human uses and adaptive capacity of the environmental system.
Stakeholder involvement: A multiplicity of parties and delegations are represented in the negotiations. As many legitimate representatives as possible should be involved.
Multiple issues: Issues are not limited to environmental problems, but encompass economic, social, cultural and political questions.
Institutionalization: Solutions developed in a process of negotiation need to be institutionalized. For example NBI Nile Basin Initiative although NBI is not generate any sustainable solution in terms of quality and quantity of the river Nile hence it is away forward.

Multiple Causal Roles (Baechler Model) In the Multiple Causal Role Model, Baechler (1999), differentiates between reasons (root causes), targets or the aims of the conflict parties, channels that group people together, triggers that initiate a new level of conflict or cooperation, and catalysts that influence the intensity once the conflict is underway. Research in environmentally induced conflicts tends to focus on causes in the sense of reasons, or root causes. Environmental conflict management focuses on all these different types of “causes”, or influencing factors, and the possible interactions between them. Baechler’s model has been adapted to an international river basin. Some possible factors that could influence conflict and cooperation in a river basin are listed.
Root causes: An increase in cooperation in the basin could be positively influenced by decreasing the concerned countries’ dependence on agriculture, i.e. by addressing one of the root causes of the conflict.
Catalyser: Increasing international support of cooperative initiatives could also enhance cooperation. This second strategy would not be addressing the cause of the conflict directly, but it would still be influencing the level of conflict/ cooperation in the basin.
Trigger: International support could also be augmented by a conflict that is triggered by a series of droughts or floods. Even if the average flow stays the same, and thus the root causes of the conflict have not changed, the system could shift to new forms of interaction.
Channels: Nationality could be viewed as a possible channel in this setting, e.g. people are mobilized by pitting different national interests of water use against each other.

The Arena, Actors, Aspects (AAA Model) The AAA (Arena, Actors, and Aspects) model structures the analysis of a conflict into Arena, the system boundaries of the conflict (e.g. a river basin), Actors (e.g. government and non-government) and Aspects; the term “issues” is also often used. For the actor analysis, typical descriptions include their level of power (potential to influence the process and other actors), their positions, interests, needs and perceptions (Baechler (1999).

Fight or Flight reaction Fight or flight reaction: Humans react to stress and adversity with a fight or flight behavior. People’s perception of reality is narrower in a conflict situation than under normal conditions, the adversary is often viewed in stereotypical ways. Conflict management aiming to increase the width of perceptions and management options therefore seeks to help the conflict parties to relax and to shift their constricted way of perceiving the ‘other’ (Spillmann 2002).

Peaceful Alternative Most peaceful conflict management approaches require the good will of both parties. Peaceful non-cooperation, however, may work independently of the opponent’s good will. When power asymmetry between conflict parties is great, rules are non-existent or unjust, and the opponent is not open for negotiations, some people have successfully used peaceful non-cooperation.

Multi-Track Conflict Management Model Multi- Track conflict management model is relatively new and untried in the field of international river conflicts (Wolf 2000), and (Priscoli 1992). Although its applicability can, to a certain extent, be addressed by rational argument based on theoretical considerations, the method needs to be made more operational in order to be able to base conclusions on. Specific to conflict management over water resources, the differentiation between supply-side and demand-side management of water resources seems to have an influence on conflicts.

The supplier’s in this case Equatorial countries must utilize water in efficient way to the extent that it does not affect the downstream countries or in other words the demander in this case Sudan and Egypt, and it is important to note that the demanders have to utilize the river in efficient scale. Supply-side management is characterized by large-scale technical projects with a great environmental impact. Demand-side management can be divided into efficiency gains within each sector and efficiency gains achieved by reallocating water from one sector to another in the agricultural sector, the technology of drip irrigation uses water more efficiently than flood irrigation, an example of intra-sector efficiency increase. As water becomes scarcer, it may be reallocated between sectors according to its highest economic value, an example of inter-sector efficiency increase. Food is imported, for example, allowing for less water to be used in the agricultural sector. This saved water can then be used in the industrial sector where it has a higher economic return value. Yet a further demand-side management strategy aiming at increasing the availability of water would be a change in consumption habits. Demand-side management has been defined as “Implementation of policies or measures which serve to control or influence the demand.

Ohlsson Model A model developed by Ohlsson (1999) argues that international conflicts over water resources are to be expected mainly on the supply side. Dams that are built to increase national water resources potentially take these away from the downstream country. Demand-side management on the other hand decreases tensions between countries, according to Ohlsson, as this management strategy focuses on the water users within the country. This is why conflicts in relation to demand-side management are more likely to be found on the intra-national level. According to Ohlsson, as water becomes scarcer, countries are forced into demand-side management, and a shift from international water conflicts to intra-national water conflicts is to be expected. The model does not answer what happens in a water conflict if demands are not met, neither by supply- nor by demand-side management.
In summary: there are different approaches and models when it comes to rectifying the environmental conflict. Nile basin countries must adopt the one that suites them the most, and to my own view I recommend the Human Environmental Interaction Triangle Model.
Economic Models for Environmental Resources Several system models were recently introduced in order to comprehend the hydrological condition and management practice of the Nile River in a sub-basin or basin-wide setting. Benjamin and Gregory (1999) developed the NileSim to understand the hydrology of the Nile River. Georgakakos (2007) prepared a more advanced hydrological and climatic Nile River model, the Nile Decision Support System. Recently, Kirby et al. (2010) set up the Nile water-use accounting model to calibrate and forecast the hydrology of the Nile River using historical data.

The Nile Economic Optimization Model The first attempt to quantify the economic benefit of the Nile River employed a basin-wide economic optimization model - the Nile Economic Optimization Model (NEOM) (Wu, 2000). NEOM’s main purpose was to maximize the overall benefit of Nile River water allocated to irrigation and hydropower generation among basin countries in cooperative and non-cooperative game settings. Wu and Whittington (2006) used this model to study incentive compatibility and conflict resolution through various payoff schemes that are designed to satisfy possible coalition strategies among Nile riparian countries. Since NEOM, two hydropower plants in Ethiopia and hydropower and irrigation projects in Sudan have come into operation that undermined NEOM’s relevance. NEOM is formulated with the objective of maximizing the net economic value of allocating Nile River water for irrigation and hydropower sectors, taking into account resource degradation and various climate change scenarios, and the possibility of introducing basin-wide water trade via “allocate-and-trade.” These two sectors consume the lion’s share of the water in the basin. Domestic and industrial water uses, which account for about 13%, 3.3% and less than 1% of water use in Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, respectively, are not part of the analysis.

Investment Model for Planning Ethiopian Nile Development (IMPEND) The most recent sub-basin optimization model is the Investment Model for Planning Ethiopian Nile Development (IMPEND) (Block and Strzepek, 2010). IMPEND focuses on the impact of implementing four dams, identified by the Bureau of Reclamation, US Department of the Interior (1964), in Ethiopia for irrigation and hydropower purposes. One of the most important features of this model is its ability to assess the transient period between different phases of the dams and irrigation projects implementation, unlike previous models that assumed the four dams become operational simultaneously. IMPEND, however, focuses on Ethiopian water use without regard to the present and future hurdles in implementing such huge, billion-dollar projects.

Allocate and Trade Model The basic notion of this scenario is that, first, a regional Nile institution will assign water rights for riparian countries through a treaty, and then countries are allowed to trade water within the basin. The principle behind this arrangement is that water could be used for the economic sectors that generate the highest economic benefit. This helps in identifying the condition when water is transferred to a riparian country with a higher marginal benefit. At the same time, a buyer riparian country is willing to compensate a seller riparian country that has a lower shadow value of water. It introduces an intra basin allocate and trade, or a water trade (henceforth “trade”) that attaches a positive price on the commodity in question for example in this case river Nile.

Hydrological Transport Model A hydrological transport model is a mathematical model used to simulate river or stream flow and calculate water quality parameters. These models generally came into use in the 1960s and 1970s when demand for numerical forecasting of water quality was driven by environmental legislation, and at a similar time widespread access to significant computer power became available. Much of the original model development took place in the United States and United Kingdom, but today these models are refined and used worldwide. Hydrologic models are simplified, conceptual representations of a part of the hydrologic cycle. They are primarily used for hydrologic prediction and for understanding hydrologic processes. Two major types of hydrologic models can be distinguished: Stochastic Model and Process- based Model.
In summary when it comes to management and utilization of environmental resources specially in this case of Nile River we can used the Economic optimization model since it is suitable for all the river basin countries and above all there is element of efficiency and equity of this model.

Conclusion Nile Basin countries face the challenge of establishing a self-sustaining and lasting cooperative mechanism to make the best possible use of scarce Nile waters. The mutual benefit sharing of the Nile's resources may help the riparian countries to bring peace and development to this politically unstable and economically underdeveloped region. The success of this project is of crucial importance at present as the adverse effects of climate change may further complicate the water availability situation. Unfortunately, as it has been discussed before, the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), in its present shape has not succeeded in meeting these challenges. The NBI and its backers need to coordinate their efforts to bring Egypt to accept a new agreement over Nile water sharing, which should at least include Ethiopia as a party. At the same time, Egypt should not be allowed to unilaterally build large scale water projects such as the plan to create new arable lands in the Sinai and in the Western Desert. With their initial focus on the Blue Nile basin, the NBI should adopt a comprehensive strategy to push for mutual benefit-sharing resulting in regional integration. This strategy can include the storage of water and use of hydropower for groundwater exploitation in the Ethiopian highlands. In addition, Sudan's water resources can be developed for agriculture irrigation and exportation to the other regions. Finally, Egypt can provide financial and technical resources while having a key role in the management of the upstream hydro-projects. The international community can contribute by assisting Egypt with technological advancements to create a more economically viable desalination process. To a large extent, new technology could even reduce Egypt's insecurity over water availability. Active and healthy cooperation among these three major riparian countries of the Nile River Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia will not only ensure improvement of institutional capacities of basin-based organizations, but is also likely to prevent future diplomatic and military conflict.

References

Baechler, Günther; Kurt R. Spillmann & Mohamed Suliman. (2002). Transformation of resource conflicts, approaches and instruments: Peter Lang, Bern.
Collins, Robert O. (1990). The waters of the nile, hydro politics and the jonglei canal: Claredon Press, Oxford.
Delli, Priscoli. (1992) Collaboration, participation and alternative dispute resolution: Process Concepts for the (World) Bank’s Role in Water Resources.

Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) homepage, http://www.nilebasin.org (12.07.2002).
Ohlsson, Leif, 1999. Environment scarcity and conflict, A study of malthusian concerns, Department of Peace and Development Research Göteborg University, Göteborg.

Wolf, Aaron T., 2000. Indigenous Approaches to Water Conflict Negotiations and Implications for International Waters. International Negotiation: A Journal of Theory and Practice Vol. 5, No. 2, <http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/ publications/indigenous/> (15.12.2002).
World Water Council, The International Water Policy Think Tank, established in Marseille, 1999. http://www.worldwatercouncil.org (17.06.2003).