The impact of colonial agreements on the regulation of the waters of the River Nile

This paper assesses how the Nile Basin agreements that were signed during the colonial period continue to affect the regulation of the waters of the Nile. The agreements signed by Britain and other European colonial powers regarding the regulation of the waters of the Nile are interpreted by the lowest riparian state, Egypt, as binding and while the other upper riparian states such as Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda argue that since the countries got their independence the agreements are not binding. The two parallel positions have made it difficult to develop a Nile Basin Agreement to regulate the use of the waters of the Nile Basin up to the present day.