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The chapter analyzes upstream-downstream issues in the Nile river basin. The large increase in population in the future and the resulting push for development will increase demand of the Nile flow in upstream riparian countries where headwaters are sourced. Variability in temperature and precipitation due to climate change will impact the heavily populated areas the most, which in the case of the Nile, is at the Delta in Egypt. This will have a deep economic impact as Egypt is the most prosperous country along the Nile. However, the increased development and engineering upstream will affect how much of the Nile is available at a specific time for Egypt. These tensions are already seen in the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. An agreement still has not been reached as countries are struggling with sharing ownership of the river. If sufficient flow is not released to Egypt, saltwater intrusion in Egypt can endanger current groundwater storage, pushing the country to invest in more desalination.
This interdisciplinary volume examines how nine arid or semi-arid river basins with thriving irrigated agriculture are doing now and how they may change between now and mid-century. The rivers studied are the Colorado, Euphrates-Tigris, Jucar, Limarí, Murray-Darling, Nile, Rio Grande, São Francisco, and Yellow. Engineered dams and distribution networks brought large benefits to farmers and cities, but now the water systems face multiple challenges, above all climate change, reservoir siltation, and decreased water flows. Unchecked, they will see reduced food production and endanger the economic livelihood of basin populations. The authors suggest how to respond to these challenges without loss of food production, drinking water, or environmental health. The analysis of the political, hydrological, and environmental conditions within each basin gives policymakers, engineers, and researchers interested in the water/sustainability nexus a better understanding of engineered rivers in arid lands.