Transboundary Rivers: A File at the Center of African Discussion

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The issue of transboundary water and rivers returned to the forefront of African discussion today, Sunday, during Egypt's hosting of the eighth mid-year coordination meeting of the African Union and regional economic communities in New Alamein City.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi participated in the opening session of the meeting, which discusses the progress made on the African Union's theme for 2026, which is 'ensuring sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063.' The meeting also addresses enhancing integration among regional economic communities and activating the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

In his speech during the session, El-Sisi emphasized that cooperation in managing transboundary rivers should be based on the principles of international law, consultation, coordination, and good neighborliness, while adhering to the principle of not harming other countries. He stated that every country has the right to development and to benefit from its natural resources, provided that this right is exercised responsibly without causing harm to other countries.

He also called for addressing transboundary issues through cooperation and dialogue, within a broader African approach to enhance the management of shared water resources.

The term 'transboundary rivers' refers to rivers and water basins that extend across the territories of more than one country, such that the country through which a part of the river flows is not the only one affected by what happens in it.

Therefore, the construction of a dam, changing water flows, or establishing a large project on the course of a river in one country can have impacts on other countries that share the river or its basin.

This is why the management of shared water resources has become an issue that transcends the borders of each country, especially in a continent that includes a large number of shared basins and rivers.

The African Union places special importance on water issues during the year 2026, after adopting the topic of 'ensuring sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063.' The Union emphasizes that many of Africa's rivers and lakes cross national borders, making regional cooperation a key element in managing these resources.

The Nile River is at the forefront of the most prominent transboundary rivers in Africa.

According to the Nile Basin Initiative, the Nile Basin extends across 11 countries: Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and Eritrea.

The initiative clarifies that Eritrea participates as an observer, while the Nile Basin Initiative includes 10 member countries.

The Nile Basin covers an area of approximately 3.2 million square kilometers and is home to more than 257 million people, with the river system consisting of two main branches: the White Nile and the Blue Nile, along with other tributaries such as the Sobat River and the Atbara River.

The Blue Nile originates in Ethiopia, while the sources of the White Nile are linked to areas in the Great Lakes region, before its tributaries converge to form the Nile River, which flows northward to the Mediterranean Sea.

This vast expanse is one of the reasons for the complexity of managing the Nile Basin, as the water needs of its countries intersect with agriculture, energy, population, development, and climate change.

One of the important basins in West Africa is the Niger River basin.

The basin includes several countries, including Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Côte d'Ivoire, in addition to Cameroon and Chad, according to data from African water basin management institutions.

The Niger River crosses vast areas of West Africa and represents an important source of water, agriculture, and economic activity in the countries whose populations rely on its resources.

For this reason, the concerned countries have established institutions for cooperation in managing the basin, including the Niger Basin Authority, aimed at coordinating the use of shared water resources and related projects.

In Central Africa, the Congo River basin comes next, which extends over a massive area and involves several countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, and South Sudan.

The Congo Basin is one of the largest river basins in Africa, and it is linked to a vast ecological system and forests, making its management related not only to water but also to agriculture, energy, forests, and biodiversity.

In Southern and Eastern Africa, the Zambezi River Basin appears, which is shared by eight countries: Angola, Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Malawi, and Tanzania.

The populations of these countries rely on the river and its resources in various fields, including agriculture and hydropower, which makes coordination among the basin countries important when establishing projects or dealing with changes in water flow.

The Volta River Basin is associated with five countries: Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Togo, and Ghana.

The basin countries cooperate through the Volta Basin Authority to manage shared water resources and enhance coordination among them.

The system of transboundary rivers in Africa is not limited to the Nile, Niger, Congo, Zambezi, and Volta.

There are also shared basins and rivers such as the Senegal, Gambia, Orange-Senqu, Limpopo, and Okavango, in addition to the Lake Chad basin, which shares its resources among several countries in the Sahel and Central Africa.

Specialized data on African basins indicate that the management of these resources often relies on joint bodies and committees between countries, aimed at coordinating water flows, projects, infrastructure, and responding to floods and other risks.

The fundamental problem is that a single river can be a source of water, agriculture, and energy for several countries at the same time.

The country located upstream may see the water resource as an opportunity for development, electricity production, and agricultural expansion, while downstream countries are concerned with ensuring the continuity of water flows and their delivery in the quantities and timings they need.

From here, the importance of agreements, consultation mechanisms, and information exchange between basin countries becomes evident.

The African Union indicates that managing transboundary water resources requires strengthening regional cooperation, as many African rivers and lakes are shared among multiple countries.

For Egypt, the Nile remains the most prominent example of the complexities of transboundary rivers.

Egypt is located at the end of the Nile's course, while the sources and main branches of the river lie outside its territory, making cooperation with basin countries an essential part of managing the water resource.

This is why President Sisi spoke at the Alamein meeting about the need for cooperation in managing transboundary rivers to be based on international law, consultation, coordination, and good neighborliness, without harming other countries, in a broader context of discussing the management of shared resources on the continent.

While each river basin differs from another in geography, needs, and the nature of relationships between its countries, there is one common denominator: water does not recognize the political borders drawn by nations, and therefore its management requires cooperation that transcends those borders.