Damming The Nile

At ten o'clock, Fiona Bruce will

have the full round-up of the news,

but first, we look at the world's

longest river in this special

programme Damming the Nile.

The River Nile is the

world's longest river.

It's where the world's first war

over water could be fought.

The first of its two great

tributaries, the White Nile,

flows from Lake Victoria,

but our journey begins in Ethiopia,

following the Blue Nile

from Lake Tana as it sweeps

through Africa's Grand Canyon

to where a dam is being built close

to the Sudan border.

Lake Tana, the source of the river,

is a place of myth and legend.

It's the biggest lake in Ethiopia

and many of its 37 islands

have their own monasteries.

It's a very sacred place

for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians.

This monastery dates back

to the 14th century.

Some of these paintings

are more than 400 years old.

The Nile appears in

the Old Testament and legend has it

that the Ark of the Covenant

was briefly brought here.

But all is not calm on these waters.

The struggle for control of this

great river is dividing the three

countries that shade it.

-- share it.

The Nile is the bringer of life,

from when it launches itself

downstream it has the power

to bring peace or bring war.

This is where the Blue Nile

begins its long journey.

From here up in the Ethiopian

Highlands it will cut

through caverns and canyons,

across plains through Sudan

and Egypt and into a delta

of the Mediterranean Sea.

Around 85% of that water comes

from here and that is why a vast

new dam being built in Ethiopia

is dividing nations.

This is the Grand Ethiopian

Renaissance Dam and it is driving

Ethiopia's ambitious plans

for Industrial Revolution,

to put its growing population

to work to power the region

and to tame the river,

but it's also at the heart of a row

that has sucked in Sudan and Egypt

and threatens peace

in this part of Africa.

When it's finished, this will be

the largest hydroelectric power

station in Africa and one

of the biggest dams

on the continent.

It will not only power this country

but the surroundings

countries as well.

Ethiopia didn't even ask

the countries down the stream before

it started building.

That is the scale of this

country's ambition.

After just five years of work,

it's almost two thirds complete.

This project is a project

that is being built by Ethiopians

and that will benefit other African

brothers, sisters

and other countries.

and other countries.

and other countries.

The project manager says

it is costing at least

$4.5 billion and that is

probably an underestimate.

He insists that downstream countries

shouldn't worry as it is not

consuming any water.

This is a hydroelectric project.

It is a water-consuming scheme

project that is only dedicated

to generate electricity.

This shows how the government

of Ethiopia, how the people

of the nations, are committed

themselves to eradicate our

common enemy, poverty.

The construction

works are impressive.

This second dam sweeps

across a 5km valley,

joining two mountains to create

the edge of a vast reservoir.

All this and a lot

more will be flooded.

Once finished and filled,

it will cover more than 1,800 square

kilometres, larger than the size

of Greater London.

It will flood the Blue Nile

for nearly 250km upstream.

If it is filled too fast,

it will reduce the amount of water

that flows to Sudan and Egypt.

Thousands of people have already

been moved to make way for the lake.

The power lines are ready

and waiting for the electricity

the dam will provide.

70% of Ethiopia -

that's 70 million people -

don't have electricity.

It is holding back the country's

grand plans for development

and it is why people support

a project they are paying for.

TRANSLATION:

If we had electricity,

we would be able to get

what the village needs.

For instance, the villagers

here make a living by farming.

If we had electricity, we would be

able to create jobs on our own,

including metal and woodwork.

As well as that, we would also

be able to own TVs,

a fridge and so many other things.

Modernisation is already changing

life in the capital, Addis Ababa.

This is East Africa's

first metro system.

The amount of construction

going on speaks volumes.

Ethiopia wants to pull

as people out of poverty,

to create jobs and get

over its historic image

of drought and famine.

It's Africa's fastest-growing

economy right now,

but with a population set

to double in 30 years,

it needs to grow even faster just

faster just to keep up,

hence the need for cheap

renewable energy.

But the cost of government

ambition is human rights.

Freedom of speech and democracy.

Protests across the country

are being crushed.

To the government,

development is everything.

It is one of the most important

flagship projects for Ethiopia.

It is a project that

will transform the country,

it's very important.

There is money to spend

and the minister says that people

will pay for the dam

through a lottery,

contributions and taxes.

He insists that despite its fears,

Egypt will get more

rather than less water.

It's not about control

of the flow, it's really

about providing opportunity for us

to do the development.

It has a lot of benefit

for the downstream countries.

Construction on the dam

is going on around the clock,

such is the urgency to get this

build and generate power,

but because Ethiopia didn't consult

with Egypt or Sudan before starting

starting construction work

during the Arab Spring, talks

with countries keep collapsing.

A new political order is emerging

and Egypt doesn't like it.

I've spoken to senior people

in Ethiopia who have said

that they are afraid of a war

with Egypt over water.

That they might bomb it down.

That's the level of anger.

What do you think about that?

I don't think so.

These kind of extreme

ideas are not welcome.

This will not happen

in this region, I am sure.

There is no record in history of war

erupting because of water.

The water belongs to all of us.

We have to develop it

in responsible ways,

not thinking about war.

But whatever he says,

the Blue Nile can now be controlled

by Ethiopia and that is a big

concern for Egypt when so much

of the water that reaches

Cairo comes from here.

Sudan, however its next top,

likes the look of the cheap

electricity heading its way.

The waters of the Nile

bring life to Sudan,

One of the world's biggest

irrigation schemes was created

here more than a century ago to grow

cotton for Britain's

Britain's Industrial Revolution,

but now it is the gulf states

who need what Sudan can grow.

The Blue Nile heads north

through these vast irrigated lands

to join the White Nile before

meandering through a desert

steeped in ancient history.

We are following it to ask

if a row over who controls

its flow could lead to war.

It's here in Khartoum that the Blue

Nile and the White Nile meet

and merge and then head

north to Egypt.

The river has travelled

about a third of its way

from its source to the sea

and is growing and strengthening

in size.

So what does Sudan, this vast

country now emerging

from years of US sanctions,

think about Ethiopia

building this dam upstream?

Well, it thinks it's a great idea.

Land is not in short supply

and with the power of the sun

and the waters of the Nile,

Sudan's agricultural

potential is huge.

This is alfalfa, top-quality cattle

feed, and this farm can cut five

-- nine harvests a year primarily

for callous but also

for export

to the Middle East.

Sudan has the right to take billions

of gallons of water every year

through old treaties with Egypt,

but claims it hasn't been

using its full allocation.

The suggestion it now might

is a source of tension

with its northern neighbour.

This farm is owned by a massive

private company that is everything

from agriculture to mining,

from cars to health care.

Its owner is Sudan's richest man,

who designed his own golf course.

For Sudan, it is wonderful.

It is the best thing that has

happened for a long time and I think

the combination of energy

and regular water levels

is a great blessing.

is a great blessing.

Cheap electricity can be used

for a lot more than just keeping

your cows properly air-conditioned.

It can bring faster development

to Sudan, which is just emerging

to take advantage

from decades of crippling

US sanctions and wants

to take advantage

of the opportunities.

What do you think about

the row between Ethiopia

and Egypt about this dam?

The Nile is the lifeline of Egypt

so for them, I wouldn't

say they're paranoid,

but they are very concerned

about anything to do

with that water.

And the Nile is a lifeline

to Sudan as well.

Welcome to the first-ever

festival of music and

culture in this village.

This village is about half a day's

drive north of Khartoum.

It was abandoned 20 years ago,

the mud houses left without roofs

as the villagers moved away

from the river banks to avoid

catastrophic flooding.

This woman remembers to huge floods

from when she was a child.

Her father was the mayor.

This is their house.

TRANSLATION:

Is an image from my

life I will never forget. When the

1976 flood hit, it was hardest, some

people use boards. It has lasted

three weeks.

people use boards. It has lasted

three weeks.

The whole village left,

but now a dam upstream regulate the

flow of water so doesn't flow as

high, meaning they can hold

festivals here and people can move

back to this village, especially if

it is cheap electricity on the way.

It's a time of change in Khartoum.

With the lifting of sanctions, there

is a strong cafe culture where

issues of the day I discussed -- are

discussed. Most people here are in

favour of the dam.

On experience

shows that it is a blessing to

downstream countries especially if

the intention is power generation.

Do you think there is politics

between the changing fortunes of the

three countries?

Water in general is

becoming politicised not only in

this region but elsewhere, but I

think there will always be a

political case involving the three

countries, I think it will work out.

He's diplomatic, but this is far

from resolved. Talks between the

three countries have collapsed and

tensions across the whole region are

growing as a result of it. The

rivalries go back to the time of the

pyramids. The Sudanese pediments. --

pyramids. This is more than 2000

years old. The empire ruled Egypt

from here. This was their capital.

Powers rise and fall but all are

linked by one great river.

This is Egypt, the next stop on our

trip and what a way to see it. We

are flying in a hot air balloon over

Luxor. The sun is just coming up,

it's a stunning way to see this

country. The reason we're here is to

understand and get an explanation of

why it is Egypt is so opposed to

this dam that Ethiopia is building

way up the Nile. Even though Egypt

built the dam for its own

development, it is angry with

Ethiopia's plan. From Luxor, we will

follow the river to Cairo and onto

the Delta, the heart of the

country's agriculture where water is

everything. The Pharaohs used to

worship the river as a god. Egypt,

they said, was the gift of the Nile.

Civilisations flourished here on the

banks of the river. These temples

represent thousands of years of

wealth and power. The -- they are

proud of the culture.

The ancient

Egyptians considered the Nile as

lifeblood. It was life itself. Why?

Because they use the Nile for

everything. The Nile was alive and

still is alive for Egyptian people

in Egypt.

And decades ago, Egypt

decided the best way to protect its

interests was to build a dam. Work

on this dam began in 1960 and took

ten years. It created the giant lake

Nasser, nearly three times bigger

than the new Ethiopian reservoir

will be. It regulated the flooding

of the Nile, generated power and a

agricultural lands to be indicated.

Tens of tens of thousands of people

were forced from their homes and an

ancient Egyptian temple had to be

moved brick by brick but it was a

symbol of great pride, a national

project, rejecting power for

revolutionary post-colonial Egypt.

It has been good for this man, who

at 60 has been a fisherman on the

Nile for 40 years. Just like his

father and grandfather before him.

TRANSLATION:

Our life and livelihood

depends on the Nile. We as a family

lived by the river. We fished, we

grow crops on the islands in the

Nile. Our cattle are fed from the

Nile. All our food is from the Nile.

He has heard about the dam in the

Egyptian media. Ethiopia wants to

control the Nile and its floor will

be affected, but he's sceptical --

its flow.

The water would be affected, but

only God knows what could happen if

the dam the river there will be wars

and fighting.

And there are even

bigger concerns downstream in

chaotic Cairo. Egypt relies on the

Nile for almost all its water but

the population is growing fast. The

United Nations is warning there will

be water shortages by 2025 because

of wastage and pollution. But the

Government argues it is already

recycling water, using it

efficiently and importing wheat

rather than using water to grow it.

Egypt's water Minister says one big

threat is climate change.

It is

unilateral action in upstream

countries, it will have severe

impacts downstream and this is a

coordinated one.

How angry are you?

I am extremely angry because we are

responsible for our nation which is

100 million. One of the key things I

would mention to you, if the water

coming to Egypt is used by 2%, what

does this mean? We lose about

200,000 acres of land. One acre at

least. If one acre makes one family

survive, the average family in Egypt

is five persons, so it means 1

million will be jobless. He says

that means more migrants

heading to

Europe and more people to be

recruited by terror groups.

Europe

and Egypt are suffering from what is

happening in Syria and Libya and

other countries so what if Egypt is

added to these countries? What will

happen? It is an international

security issue.

Experts say Egypt

has the right to be angry. A dam was

being discussed but Ethiopia started

building without telling Egypt

judging the Arab spring. The impact

on stream has not been properly

assessed and although the

Renaissance Dam would extract water,

filling it to quickly will reduce

the flow downstream and it is a

trust issue. Ethiopia can now

control the river.

It is very much a

game changer. Now if Ethiopia is

combining the physical power of

being upstream country that can in

one way or another control the Nile

flow and the economic power of being

able to construct the dam depending

on its own domestic resources, so

yeah, it's an indication, it is a

manifestation that the power balance

is changing in the region, economic

way, politically and strategically

as well. -- economic Delhi.

The last stretch of the Nile is

where its famous Cotton is grown

alongside crops like rice, a

notoriously thirsty crop. Irrigating

fields by flooding them is one

reason why so much water is wasted.

The Delta is silting as the dam

stops being replenished. The reason

the Nile flood plains were so

productive to begin with. It is now

polluted and fish are dying and

people are getting poorer. Saltwater

is moving gradually upstream. It is

sad to see how this great river ends

up. This is it, this is where the

River Nile reaches the end of its

long journey. This behind me is the

Mediterranean Sea. You can see the

waves coming in, this is now

saltwater. Whatever Egypt says it

does, Ethiopia is building this dam.

It's not an idea or a plan, it's a

thing. You can already control the

flow of the River Nile. Egypt has

was been strong enough to dominate

the countries upstream but that is

changing. Talk of war is a foolish

thing to do to solve political

prices and every one we have spoken

to, nobody thinks that is going to

happen, but this is a really serious

problem and needs to be sorted out

quickly. The Nile is the place were

the world's first war over what can

be avoided. This could even become a

model of how countries can learn to

share great rivers. But for now,

it's up to Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt

to navigate tensions on the world's

longest river.