Dams, People and Development. The Aswan High Dam Case

185 Pages·1981·5.981 MB·English

by  Hussein M. Fahim (Auth.)

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Ife
PERGAMON
ON INTERNATIONAL
POLICY
DEVELOPMENT
STUDIES
Dams, People and
Development
The Aswan High Dam Case
Hussein M. Fahim
Pergamon Press
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Copyright © 1981 Pergamon Press Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Fahim, Hussein M 1934-
Dams, people, and development.
(Pergamon policy studies on international develop­
ment)
Includes bibliographies and index.
1. Nasir reservoir region, Egypt and Sudan—Economic
policy. 2. Aswan High Dam—Social aspects. 3. Aswan
High Dam—Economic aspects. 4. Nubians—Social
conditions. I. Title. II. Series.
HC830.27N373 1980 330.962'3 80-23939
ISBN 0-08-026307-0
All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means:
electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Printed in the United States of America
This book is dedicated to the Egyptian people
in hope for and trust in a prosperous future.
MAP OF EGYPT
List of Tables
and Figures
Table
1.1 Engineering Features of the Aswan High Dam 16
1.2 Growth of Population and of Cultivated and
Cropped Land, Egypt, 1821-1976 17
2.1 The Aswan High Dam Debated 42
6.1 Growth of National and Urban Population
in Egypt 106
6.2 Annual Intercensal Rates of Population Growth 110
6.3 Selected Ranges of Physiochemical Characteristics
in Lake and Nile Waters During 1979 114
8.1 Potential Effects of Socioeconomic Activities
on Environment 132
9.1 Water Supply Service Situation 144
9.2 Egypt's Water Supply and Demand, Mid-1970s, and
Projected Water Supply and Demand, Mid-1990s 152
9.3 Some Features of Nile Dams 153
Figure
1.1 Sketch map of the River Nile Basin. 18
1.2 Distribution of rainfall in the river basin. 19
1.3 Each river's monthly contribution to the floods
of the Nile. 20
1.4 The effect of the dramatic increase in population
on the need for maximum use of land. 21
1.5 Locations of dams and barrages in Egypt. 22
1.6 Schematic diagram of the Nile Basin. 23
1.7 A sketch graph of the Sudd area, Southern Sudan,
showing the course of the Jonglei Canal. 24
3.1 A core diagram. 48
3.2 The first analytical unit of the flow chart. 48
3.3 The second analytical unit of the flow chart. 50
XI
Xll LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
3.4 The third analytical unit of the flow chart. 51
3.5 The fourth analytical unit of the flow chart. 52
3.6 An overall conceptual flow chart. 54
4.1 Sketch map showing the location of the Aswan High
Dam, the flooded area, and Khasm el-Girba. 79
4.2 Old Nubia in Egypt and the Sudan. 80
4.3 Sketch map of Egypt showing location of Old and
New Nubia. 81
4.4 Sketch map of New Nubia. 82
4.5 Kassala Province, New Haifa Scheme. 83
5.1 The fishing delineations of Lake Nasser. 101
5.2 Fish bases at Khor el Allaqui in 1972. 102
5.3 Increasing number of fish bases as of 1977. 103
5.4 Map of Lake Nasser and Eastern Dessert showing
pre-dam and post-dam nomadic routes. 104
7.1 Possible human settlement sites in Lake Nasser. 128
7.2 Potential areas for agriculture in Lake Nasser. 129
7.3 Transportation and navigation routes in Lake Nasser. 130
Preface and
Acknowledgments
My research association with the Aswan High Dam project began in
1963, when I became involved in the "Ethnological Survey of Egyptian
Nubia," a study directed at recording the culture of the Nubians whose
land has been inundated and whose communities were consequently
expected to be displaced (Fahim, 1972a). This study was carried out by
the Social Research Center of the American University in Cairo, in
collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs, Egypt, and was
sponsored by the Ford Foundation. My research work lasted three years.
In 1968, I returned to the Nubians in their new location for a follow-up
study, and in 1971, I again became involved in a study of human
problems associated with the agricultural development scheme in the
new land. This study (1971-73) was done at the request of the
Development Department of the Egyptian Authority of Land Reclama
tion and Development and was funded by a grant from the U.S.
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (Fahim, 1972b; 1974).
Because the Aswan High Dam Lake(l) extended beyond the Egyp
tian-Sudanese border, it forced the relocation of the entire Wadi Haifa
District to a new site at Khashm el-Girba, east of Khartoum (fig. 4.1),
now known as the "New Haifa Irrigation Scheme." Subsequently, I paid
three visits to the relocation site during the period from 1969 to 1973.
The purpose of these visits, for from two to three weeks each time, was
to familiarize myself with the resettlement program at the Sudanese
site, compare it with the Egyptian scheme, and follow up the processes
of adaptation to involuntary resettlement (Fahim 1972b, 1974).
As the controversy over the Aswan High Dam began to intensify
during the early years of the 1970s and was especially aggravated by
increasing conflicts between facts and fiction, science and politics, in
both domestic and international circles, it became essential to tackle
the "dam's dilemma" on a scientific basis and in a way that would
realistically account for the technical and human issues combined.
Accordingly, since 1974 the Egyptian National Academy of Scientific
xin
xiv PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Research and Technology, in conjunction with the School of Public
Health at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, has been conducting
an assessment study of the Aswan High Dam and its effects, now and in
the future. International funding for this study, which is still going on
(as of 1980), came mainly from the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and the Ford Foundation. This project, labeled "Water Studies
on the River Nile and Lake Nasser" (referred to in this book as the
Academy/Michigan project), has two main objectives. First is the
assessment of the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the
Aswan High Dam; and second is the provision, for policy-makers and
planners, of alternative scenarios for the optimum use of the Nile
resources in Egypt (Mancy and Hafez, 1979).
The focus of the Academy/Michigan project has been on the impacts
of changes in water quality and the river ecosystem in the Aswan High
Dam reservoir and the downstream portion of the Nile. These impacts
are measured in terms of their physical, chemical, and biological
parameters. The human implications of the water impoundment have
also been examined in terms of their agricultural, public health, and
socioeconomic effects. The operational output of the project is an
extensive monitoring network and an environmental information and
retrieval system, as well as technical training associated with carrying
out these chemical and biological measurements; the use of advanced
pollution detection equipment; and the application of modeling and
system techniques (Mancy, 1979b).
In 1976, I joined the Academy/Michigan project as a coordinator of
the socioeconomic component. Recruiting research staff was a difficult
task as most Egyptian researchers, whether educated abroad or at
home, lacked training in the methodology for impact studies of large-
scale development projects. Consequently, relatively little was ac
complished during a period of nearly two years. Nonetheless, local
literature on the socioeconomic effects of the dam was searched,
reviewed, and documented. Field work was also conducted but was
confined to the lake area. It included, on the one hand, a study of the
nomads by the sociologist Sherif El Hakim and his research assistant,
Shahira Fawzi; and on the other hand, a follow-up by Nirvana Khadr of
previous studies on the lake fisherman. (These three researchers were
then associated with the American University in Cairo.) Preliminary
work on the impact of urbanization and industrialization on water
quality was done by Engineer Fahmy El Sharkawi, of the Public Health
Institute of Alexandria University. I was particularly interested in
investigating the Nubians' plans to return to the lake shores and resettle
themselves anew. These socioeconomic studies have been compiled in
one volume and presented to the National Academy in Egypt (Fahim,
1979).
In March and April of 1980, I revisited the New Haifa irrigation
scheme and investigated current Sudanese plans for the development of
new resources created by the formation of the lake behind the dam.(2) I
acknowledge the useful information provided by the commissioner for
Wadi Haifa Reconstruction and Development. Discussions with adminis-
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xv
trators and scholars working in the field of water development have
been instructive. Following my visit to the Sudan, I spent three weeks in
Egypt meeting with quite a few researchers and administrators who
have participated in the Academy/Michigan project. I also met with
several others whose positions in the government or in research
institutions relate to the subject matter of this book. The purpose of
these meetings was to acquaint myself with recent studies and policy
issues. From this group of experts, I also wanted to verify several points
on technical material or discussions in this book that lie outside my own
expertise.
In this book, I pull together my Aswan High Dam studies since 1963.
I also examine, at both the conceptual and the policy levels, issues and
problems pertinent to the interrelationships between dams, people, and
development. I view dams as engineering works, supposedly constructed
to serve people; they, of course, have their technical specifications and
requirements, but their potential humanistic implications should neither
be overlooked nor underestimated. Since dams are often associated
with development, which I conceive as an ultimate task involving a
complex and longitudinal process of concept-making, strategy-building,
and implementation, people should present a central theme and a basic
element in this process. Although capital and technology are definitely
important prerequisites for development, people, in my view, represent
a far more significant and nondepleting resource. A basic premise in
this volume is that economic benefits and human welfare should
constitute part and parcel of the development process of water
projects. Otherwise, dams will result in situations of "growth without
development."
The material in the book has been presented in four distinct but
interrelated parts. Each of the first three parts is preceded by
introductory notes on its chapters' topics and material. These topics are
not by any means all-inclusive, but they present selected issues and
problems that the author has addressed and investigated. Although some
topics still need further study and several issues require follow-up in
the years to come, it is still important to look into them at this point to
reflect, learn from them, and work for the future. The fourth part
presents concluding remarks that recapitulate the basic issues discussed
and relate them to current national and international efforts directed
toward the selection of problems related to dams, people, and develop
ment.
In writing this book I have found my participation in the Acad
emy/Michigan project an invaluable educational opportunity. I wish in
this regard to acknowledge the assistance rendered by both Dr. Mostafa
Hafez, the manager of the Academy/Michigan project, and Dr. Khalil
Mancy, its principal investigator. I also appreciate the services of all
those who were involved in undertaking studies and/or in serving on the
advisory committee for the socioeconomic studies which I was honored
to chair, 1976-78. Thanks are extended to my colleague, Dr. Sherif El
Hakim, who acted as chairman of this committee for several months.