Many countries in the world are connected by rivers and groundwater aquifers that cross the political boundaries. In many of these cases, transboundary countries have benefited from this and equitably share the common water resources and forge collaboration, boost economic development and also promote cultural exchange. Even though Nile River is the longest river crossing eleven countries, sometimes its history and fame are overshadowed by the transboundary water use conflict between Egypt and Sudan on one side and Ethiopia and the remaining upstream Nile countries on the other side. This conflict and lack of collaboration to use the common good are exacerbated after the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a hydroelectric dam for hydropower production. This non-consumptive water use project has multiple benefits for Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. Regardless of the various efforts to reach a negotiated agreement on the filling and operation of the dam, the three countries have yet to build trust, narrow their differences and use this unique project to their benefit and learn from other successful transboundary agreements to work together and tackle the common challenges of increased water demand, climate change and watershed degradation. The time is now to deescalate the issue and reach to an agreement driven by science and good data. This chapter looks into the history of the Nile, colonial era non-inclusive agreements, the efforts of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) to forge a Cooperative Framework Agreement and also the recent negotiations on GERD. It also recommends some directions in resolving the conflict for a sustainable transboundary water management.
