THE END OF THE NILE

TC: 00:00:00
EGYPT IS CALLED: THE GIFT OF THE NILE. THE RIVER WINDS THROUGH
EGYPT --- PAUSE --- CARVING A FERTILE PATH FROM SOUTH
TO NORTH. IT’S THE REASON THERE IS ANY LIFE AT ALL IN THIS
OTHERWISE DESERT COUNTRY BECAUSE IT’S THE ONLY SOURCE OF
WATER FOR 80 MILLION PEOPLE.

TC: 00:00:17
TODAY, EGYPT FACES A CRISIS: THERE SIMPLY ISN’T ENOUGH WATER.
GROWTH ALONG THE RIVER, BOTH IN EGYPT AND IN THE NINE OTHER
COUNTRIES IT PASSES THROUGH, MEANS INCREASED DEMAND ON A
LIMITED RESOURCE.

TC: 00:00:32
IT IS A SITUATION WHICH HAS SPARKED WARNINGS FROM THE
EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT, INTERNATIONAL WATER EXPERTS, AND U-S
INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES, THAT WARN THERE IS A POTENTIAL THREAT
OF WAR OVER WATER IN THE REGION. THE UNITED NATIONS PROJECTS
THAT BY THE YEAR 2025 THE AMOUNT OF WATER EGYPT RECEIVES
WILL BE REDUCED BY TWENTY PERCENT.

TC: 00:00:54
THIS LOOMING CRISIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PULL APART THE VERY
FABRIC OF EGYPTIAN LIFE---- NATSOT FROM THE FISHERMEN WHOSE
LIVELIHOODS DEPEND ON THE NILE, NATSOT THE FARMERS WHO USE
THE NILE’S WATER TO IRRIGATE THEIR CROPS, NATSOT AND THE CITY
DWELLERS WHOSE TAPS MAY RUN DRY...

TC: 00:01:15
IT’S A CRISIS THAT COULD THREATEN EGYPT’S VERY EXISTENCE.
TUTT: The water supply is limited, absolutely limited,
RICHARD TUTTWEILER IS A PROFESSOR SPECIALIZING IN NATURAL
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AT THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO.
Tutt: This is one of the few countries in the world that has no rainfall what
so ever, to speak of. It’s dependent on a renewable source of water that is
coming from somewhere else... Yet the demand for that water is unlimited and
increasing, increasing, increasing…By that I mean we are adding 100,000 people
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TC: 00:02:06
EGYPT’S POPULATION IS MUSHROOMING. IT HAS INCREASED BY
FORTY ONE PERCENT SINCE THE EARLY 1990S WHICH COMPOUNDS
THE PROBLEM: NOT ENOUGH WATER.
Qandil: We need to reduce dependency on the river Nile.

TC: 00:02:24
DR. MAGDA QANDIL IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE EGYPTIAN
CENTER FOR ECONOMIC STUDIES. SHE EXPLAINS HOW EGYPT’S
DESERT GEOGRAPHY PLAYS A ROLE IN THE CRISIS.
Qandil: if you look at the map it provides a clear explanation for the density of
the population and the cultivated area. This is a very historic country with a lot of
civilaztion and many years of history--- but population density has been clustered
along the river Nile because of water resources.
THE MAP SHOWS JUST HOW TINY THAT SLIVER OF FERTILE LAND
REALLY IS. AND THE POPULATION MUST BALANCE THAT SMALL SPACE
WITH ALL OF ITS AGRICULTURE NEEDS.
WITH A SINGLE SOURCE OF WATER IN WHAT IS OTHERWISE A DESERT
COUNTRY, THE QUESTION OF HOW TO PRESERVE AND SUSTAIN THE
NILE HAS BEEN A TOP PRIORITY FOR EVERY LEADER SINCE EGYPTIAN
INDEPENDENCE IN 1952.

TC: 00:03:15
S/U Much of Egypt looks like this, its desert dependent on the Nile, In
some years the river floods, and there is extra water. Egypt’s former
president Hosni Mubarak had an ambitious plan to use the overflow to
increase Egypt’s amount of arable land.
METWALI: When you know the story of Toshka it’s great... fantastic.

TC: 00 :03:37
METAWALI SALEM IS A REPORTER FOR THE EGYPTIAN NEWSPAPER EL
MASRY EL YOUM. MUBARAK’S PLAN CENTERED IN THIS IMPROBABLE
PLACE, TOSHKA, AN EMPTY CORNER OF EGYPT.
METWALI: Mubarak was flying over Toshka in the early nineties, and that year
the Nile was especially high and the water entered Toshka. And so, the story
goes, that’s when he said "what about using the water to cultivate this land?"

TC: 00:04:03
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MUBARAK’S IDEA WAS TO USE OVERFLOW BY BUILDING THE LARGEST
PUMPING STATION IN THE WORLD. THE PUMP TAKES THE WATER
THROUGH A CANAL SYSTEM THAT WINDS IT’S WAY TO THE MIDDLE OF
THE DESERT.
IN MUBARAK’S GRAND VISION THESE CANALS WOULD TURN THE
DESERT INTO THE CAIRO OF THE SOUTH. THIS TRANSFORMATION
WOULD DRAW EGYPTIANS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THE AREA
WOULD BE FILLED WITH NEW FARMS AND CITIES-- FED BY WATER
FROM THE HIGH TECH CANAL SYSTEM THAT DRAWS WATER FROM
THE NILE AND IT WOULD SOLVE ALL OF EGYPT’S LONG-RUNNING
PROBLEMS - FROM UNEMPLOYMENT TO OVERCROWDING.

TC: 00:04:36
Metawali:...Despite high evaporation rates from the canal, despite that the
area is isolated, despite the lack of the infrastructure, despite the absence of
transportation method for the crops to the local and foreign markets. Despite all
of these things Mubarak’s project went ahead.
THE PLAN WAS SUPPORTED ONLY BY THE PRESIDENT’S CLOSEST
ALLIES. IT WAS HUBRIS TO BELIEVE THE SCHEME COULD SAVE
EGYPT BUT, MUBARAK WAS WILLING TO SPEND BILLIONS ON
INFRASTRUCTURE TO BRING THE IDEA TO LIFE.

TC: 00:05:05
Metawali: But, now the government is reviewing their plans to develop the
Toshka project.
THE PROJECT TODAY IS A NATIONAL JOKE- THE WATER THAT WAS
PUMPED IN STANDS UNUSED AND FOR THE MOST PART IS LEFT
TO EVAPORATE. THERE ARE NO CITIES, AND ONLY A FEW SMALL
FARMS. IT’S MODERN HIGH TECH CANALS ARE LEFT AS A SYMBOL OF
MUBARAK’S FAILURE TO SOLVE EGYPT’S CRISES AND HIS INABILITY TO
ADDRESS THE REALITY OF EGYPT’S FUTURE.

TC: 00:05:44
THE WATER IN THE TOSHKA CANALS STANDS IN STARK CONTRAST
WITH THE WATER IN MUCH OF THE COUNTRY. THE NILE IN MORE
POPULATED PARTS OF EGYPT IS OFTEN CHOKED WITH GARBAGE AND
SMELLS LIKE SEWAGE - LIKE THE WATER THAT FLOWS INTO HASSAN
HUSSEINY’S VILLAGE.
HASSAN: This canal comes from more than 30 kilometers away from the
Nile. This is the water for the crops. The problem is garbage as you can see
is coming through this canal. And we are facing a big problem to clean this.
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Because it is the government who is responsible to clean this canal, not us.

TC: 00:06:19
The problem STEMS FROM the COMMUNITY’s DEPENDENce on THE
GOVERNMENT(Don’t stress GOVERNMENT SO HARD HERE) for reliable
access to water. And it is a problem faced by people all ACROSS THE
COUNTRY. PARTICULARLY FARMERS – LIKE AHMED HAMID.
Ahmed: A: My main job is here, as a farmer on the land.

TC: 00:06:43
AHMED USUALLY WORKS ON HIS FATHER’S FARM JUST OUTSIDE
THE CITY OF ASWAN. WE CAUGHT UP WITH HIM DURING THE WINTER,
FARMING’S OFF SEASON, AND HE TOLD US ABOUT HOW A VIOLENT
STORM CUT ELECTRICITY TO THE CITY’S PUMPING SYSTEM TWO YEARS
AGO AND DESTROYED HIS CROP.
AHMED: There was no water. There was a big problem with the water and it was
cut off. I had to try and make up the difference with work elsewhere because my
crops had died. I tried to work elsewhere to make money, and to buy things. The
things I used to get from the land, I had to buy now from the market.

TC: 00:07:20
AHMED STARTED DRIVING A TAXI TO HELP THE FAMILY. HE LEFT
HIS FATHER AND EXTENDED FAMILY TO TEND TO THE FARM. BUT
HIS FATHER ABDUL HAMID REMEMBERS A SIMPLER TIME - WHEN
THE NILE WOULD FLOOD EVERY YEAR, FERTILIZING THE SOIL. THAT
WAS BEFORE THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT DAMMED THE RIVER TO
GENERATE ELECTRICITY AND CONTROL THE WATER.
ABDUL HAMID:
Before the high dam, the Nile, would flood this entire area) every year and it
would leave fish on the land as the water retreated. We’d pick them out and grill
them and eat them . After the dam on the river was constructed there were no
floods, there was a drought

TC: 00:07:53
THE LARGE FAMILY TODAY WORRIES WHAT KIND OF ACCESS THEY’LL
HAVE TO WATER IN THE FUTURE.
Abdul Hamid : We need the water to come so we can plant. So there will be a problem.Today we have the entire Egyptian nation living off of the Nile.

TC: 00:08:20
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IN A DESERT COUNTRY, WHERE 80 MILLION people ARE liVING OFF OF
ONE RIVER, THERE’S A TINY AMOUNT OF TRADITIONAL FARMLAND -
- LESS THAN 5 PERCENT. THAT MEANS EGYPT MUST FIND A WAY TO
TAKE BACK THE DESERT. IT’S WHAT MUBARAK TRIED AND FAILED
TO DO IN TOSHKA. BUT THAT’S BECAUSE TOSHKA IS IN THE MIDDLE
OF NOWHERE, IN POPULATED PLACES GREENING THE DESERT HAS
PROVED FAR MORE SUCCESSFUL.

TC: 00:08:43
TUTTWEILER: The government, since the fifties has really been promoting
desert development. Now, about 25 percent of cultivated land surface in Egypt is
reclaimed desert.
DESERT RECLAIMATION HAS EXPANDED THE NILE DELTA, WHERE
60% OF EGYPT’S CROPS ARE GROWN. THE DESERT DEVELOPMENT
CENTER A VENTURE OF THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO - SHOWS
FARMERS HOW TO DEVELOP THE RECLAIMED LAND.

TC: 00:09:16
Mohsen Nawara:New land, which is actually desert, as you see we only live in 4
or 5% of our land. And the rest of our land is desert.
MOHSEN NAWARA IS THE OPERATIONS MANAGER HERE. HE TEACHES
VISITING FARMERS HOW TO CONSERVE WATER. MANY EGYPTIAN
FARMERS STILL USE FLOOD IRRIGATION -- A WASTEFUL METHOD IN
WHICH FIELDS ARE DROWNED IN WATER. WHAT THEY’RE TEACHING
HERE IS MORE EFFICIENT DRIP IRRIGATION.

TC: 00:09:43
Mohsen Nawara: So the reclaimed desert is about 1 million acres that you see
now, and we’d like to increase this year by year to cover the demand of our food
production.Water is life actually . 80% of water we use for agriculture.
AGRICULTURE IS CRITICAL. IT’S STILL EGYPT’S BIGGEST EMPLOYER
AND KEEPING EGYPTIANS WORKING IS VITAL TO STABILITY. IT WAS
UNEMPLOYED YOUTH WHO FORMED THE BACKBONE OF LAST YEAR’S
REVOLUTION, RALLYING AROUND THE DEMAND: BREAD, FREEDOM,
AND SOCIAL JUSTICE.

TC: 00:10:19
QANDIL: When people riot they are angry about the inability to cope with the
higher cost of living and food prices…
FOR SOME, THE FAMILY FARM IS INSURANCE DURING TIMES OF
ECONOMIC STRUGGLE. AHMED IS 26 YEARS OLD AND HAS A DEGREE IN
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HISTORY BUT HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO FARM ALFALFA.

TC: 00:10:44
AHMED: I graduated from college but I can’t find work.
SO AHMED RETURNED HOME TO WORK THIS SMALL PATCH OF LAND.
AND HE’S JUST ONE PERSON OF THE MILLIONS OF EGYPTIANS WHO
WOULD LOSE THEIR MEANS OF SURVIVAL IF THE WATER WERE TO ONE
DAY RUN OUT.
AND EGYPT’S PROBLEMS ARE FURTHER COMPLICATED BY IT’S
UPSTREAM NEIGHBORS - THE NINE OTHER COUNTRIES THE NILE
PASSES THROUGH. THEY HAVE PLANS OF THEIR OWN. UNTIL NOW,
EGYPT’S WATER SUPPLY WAS SECURED BECAUSE OF A COLONIAL
ERA TREATY, WHICH GUARANTEED EGYPT A 90% SHARE OF THE NILE.

TC: 00:11:20
THAT MEANS UPSTREAM COUNTRIES, LIKE ETHIOPIA, ARE FORBIDDEN
TO TAKE EVEN ONE DROP OUT OF THE NILE WITHOUT PERMISSION.
TODAY EGYPT’S NEIGHBORS ARE NO LONGER SATISFIED WITH THIS
ARRANGEMENT.
Tuttweiler: Ethiopia as one of the fastest growing economies in Africa last year.
And a major area for investment is in water resources, particularly building dams.
They are being built to generate electricity.

TC: 00:11:47
THERE ARE FOUR MEGA-DAM PROJECTS CURRENTLY PLANNED IN
ETHIOPIA. THE LARGEST IS THE MASSIVE RENAISSANCE DAM. WHEN
COMPLETED, IT WILL CREATE A LAKE THE SIZE OF SINGAPORE.
EGYPTIANS ARE AFRAID THIS WILL GREATLY AFFECT THE AMOUNT OF
WATER THAT FLOWS TO THEM.
Raslan:. Egypt would never object to a project that is for the economic
development of Ethiopia.
HANI RASLAN IS AN ANALYST WITH THE GOVERNMENT-AFFILIATED AL
AHRAM INSTITUTE. RASLAN REPRESENTS THE OLD GUARD IN EGYPT
- THE GENERATION OF ANALYSTS AND POLITICOS WHO CAME OF AGE
UNDER MUBARAK AND VIEW NEIGHBORING STATES AS UPSTARTS -
WHO DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO DEMAND A SHARE OF THE NILE.

TC: 00:12:23
Raslan: Any further projects though that decrease the amount of water is a
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death sentence. The most dangerous is the Renaissance Dam
IN THE PAST, THANKS TO VERY SAVVY DIPLOMACY -- AND VERY
SUBTLE THREATS -- EGYPT HAS BEEN ABLE TO REMAIN IN CONTROL.
THE 9 COUNTRIES ALONG THE NILE’S PATH, MAKE UP THE NILE BASIN
AND TOGETHER THEY ARE TRYING CHANGE THE WAY THE WATER
IS APPORTIONED. SIX1 OF THE NINE NILE BASIN COUNTRIES HAVE
SIGNED A AGREEMENT THAT SEEKS TO REVIEW THE WAY THE WATER
IS DIVVIED UP.

TC: 00:12:57
IT’S AN AGREEMENT THAT EGYPT WON’T SIGN.
RASLAN: Egypt would never go to war over that. But, there are many other
means to use to exert pressure and get what you want but well short of total
warfare.
V/O: TOTAL WARFARE MAY NOT BE ON THE IMMEDIATE HORIZON.
BUT A NEW REPORT FROM THE US GOVERNMENT’S OFFICE OF THE
DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SAYS

TC: 00:13:21
TEXT ON SCREEN: WATER IN SHARED BASINS WILL INCREASINGLY
BE USED AS LEVERAGE; THE USE OF WATER AS A WEAPON OR
TO FURTHER TERRORIST OBJECTIVES ALSO WILL BECOME MORE
LIKELY....
V/O: : WATER IN SHARED BASINS WILL INCREASINGLY BE USED AS
LEVERAGE; THE USE OF WATER AS A WEAPON OR TO FURTHER
TERRORIST OBJECTIVES ALSO WILL BECOME MORE LIKELY....
BUT, THE STRUGGLE IS NOT JUST OVER WATER. THESE COUNTRIES
ARE VYING FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND THE NILE IS THE DRAW
FOR THOSE DOLLARS. IT’S THE CASH THAT BUILDS DAMS IN ETHIOPIA
AND KEEPS EGYPTIANS EMPLOYED.
QANDIL: We need to attract capital, there’s no question that is good for the
country, we need to establish a good balance. But there is risk here at the end
here, there are huge profits that are being subsidized by very limited resources

TC: 00:14:04
FOREIGN INVESTMENT IS EXACTLY WHAT HOSNI MUBARAK HOPED
TO ATTRACT WITH HIS GRAND TOSHKA PROJECT. SO MUCH SO THAT
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HE WAS WILLING TO GAMBLE TWO OF EGYPT’S MOST ENDANGERED
RESOURCES - MONEY AND WATER.
TUTTWEILER: They were hoping to get the investment on the ground with the
crops from private investors, so they offered land and water for a very cheap
arrangement. Certainly, that’s what the Egyptians hoped would happened in
Toshka.

TC: 00:14:37
BUT ONLY ONE MAJOR COMPANY BOUGHT IN: KADCO – THE KINGDOM
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY – OWNED BY SAUDI
ARABIA’S PRINCE AL WALEED BIN TALAL - A MAJOR PARTNER IN MANY
JOINT VENTURES WITH MUBARAK’s GOVERNMENT.
TUTTWEILER: The national attitude towards the project is that it is too expensive
and the money could be used better in another way. And it’s true it’s very
expensive.

TC: 00:15:04
SINCE THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION, THE COMPANY HAS RETURNED
75,000 ACRES. PROSECUTORS FOUND THE LAND-BUY WAS SUBJECT
TO THE SAME SHADY DEALINGS THAT PLAGUED THE FORMER
GOVERNMENT. TODAY, ANY FUTURE FOR TOSHKA IS UP IN THE AIR.
TUTTWEILER: It’s too early to say, in a post-Mubarak Egypt, what’s going to happen
with the policy towards Toshka. No one is guessing. But the infrastructure is there.

TC: 00:15:35
HASSAN HUSSEINY’S VILLAGE HAS NONE OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE OR
RESOURCES THAT WERE USED TO BUILD TOSHKA. BUT, HUSSEINY HAS
HIGH HOPES FOR HIS COUNTRY’S FUTURE.
Hassan: Look, this revolution is the best thing to happen in Egypt that revolution, the
problem is after Hosni Mubarak stepped down from his regime we have to think about
the future.
HUSSEINY IS CLEANING UP HIS GARBAGE CHOKED CANAL IN A GRASS
ROOTS CAMPAIGN THAT BEGAN ON FACEBOOK AND WOULD NOT
HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE BEFORE LAST YEAR.

00:16:10
HASSAN: We want to change this culture. The government will not do everything for
you…we try to convince the people to do, start by yourself and the government will help
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you. And if the government won’t help you, you motivate the government to do.
THAT, SAYS HASSAN, IS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE NEW EGYPT - A
DEMOCRATIC NATION FORGED IN THE CRUCIBLE OF LAST YEAR’S
UPRISING. SOLUTIONS WON’T BE FOUND BY STRONGMEN WITH FARFETCHED
IDEAS AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO SQUANDER...INSTEAD,
THEY WILL START AT THE VILLAGE LEVEL. WHERE THERE ARE
PLENTY OF SMART, COMMITTED PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND ONE
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH: THERE IS ONLY ONE NILE AND MILLIONS OF
PEOPLE DEPEND ON IT. IN THE COMING YEARS, IT WILL BE EGYPT’S
RESPONSIBILITY - AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ITS NEIGHBORS TO
PRESERVE THEIR RIVER .
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