On the whole, I think this blog is excellent and there was very little that I could find fault with. The focus of the blog and the issues investigated are clearly defined in the introduction page, and the background page is clear to read and very well-organized with excellent graphics. This group also worked in the class readings very well, discussing scalar levels of power and the issues of boundary.
The only thing I could point out as a possible weakness is that while the blog relates that there were problems such as power-holding and finances, there are no explicit examples of actual events of this happening, which would be useful for the reader to more fully grasp the situation.
The best part about this blog is that there is so much information here. This group went beyond the set pages with lots of embedded baby pages that explain useful background information in more detail. The conclusion was also clear and pointed, and there were many sources used. In sum, I found this blog very well-organized and informative.
Bloggers of the Green Nile,
This was an AWESOME blog. Your content, presentation, writing style, and analysis were all really great. As I read the blog, I began to see that the politics of scale would be important to this project… and I was happy to see that you had actually recognized that in “Managing the Nile”. You clearly led your readers up to that page, which I think was the strongest aspect of your coverage of the issues in the Nile Basin.
I particularly liked the distinctions you made around the scalar nature of the Green Nile initiative. You explained how the scalar effects of power struggles in the Nile Basin are related to “disagreement and neglect”, as opposed to the more challenging obstacles like “chaos and violence”. The latter reminded me of the issues in the Gaza Strip or the DMZ–areas of high levels of sociopolitical conflict which simultaneously must cope with serious levels of chaos and violence. You recognize that the Green Nile initiative must work toward overcoming various disagreement and histories of neglect–a much easier task when put in perspective with other conflictive contexts across the globe.
In tandem with your focus on the politics of scale, you conclude that there needs to be more involvement at the local level through scaling up. Perrault therefore serves as a great basis for contextualizing your analysis, which you weave throughout your assessment.
Again, great job. I don’t have any academic source recommendations to make, as your analysis did well in including relevant course readings to amplify your work. Lastly, I really liked how you used bolded words to emphasize the main points of your blog. Essentially, one could read each of the bolded sentences on each page and get an accurate sense of your project’s perspective and conclusion. Great work!
Hey, Green Nile bloggers,
Great job! I really like the overall presentation and content of this blog and your analysis and conclusion was very thorough and informative. You incorporated several readings from class that really helped solidify and support each of your arguments.
I thought you did a particularly impressive job outlining the relationships between local, regional, national and global involvement in the project and the influences each of these had on the others. You mention that while the support and aid of the World Bank, United Nations Development Program and United Nations Office for Projects Service are essential for financial and power reasons, the most significant impacts and influences come from the local communities. What sort of actions are being taken in these local areas? And what is the response of the people living there? Are there annual meetings where local, regional, and national organizations can exchange their ideas and opinions on the project? I like how you stated the program's potential to "bring disputing countries together under a common desire to protect the environment." I think this is one of the most important points all of these green regional blogs have pointed out. Despite personal conflict between varying regions due to different political or territorial disputes, the people of these communities have been able to see past their differences and come together under one mission that benefits all parties.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading through your blog and learning more about the Nile Basin and their struggle and accomplishments with this transboundary project. In order to achieve the greatest success, the involvement and cooperation of local, regional and global scale organizations is crucial. They all see the program at different levels, but share a common goal for their future. Again, awesome job. Great content and analysis with great visuals and layout.
I think the blog is very nicely done. The first thing I noticed about the blog was its neat arrangement with project objective bulleted and the main purpose behind the blog clearly stated. The inclusion of maps does make it more attractive. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the blog and while reading it I was thinking about what you said about the give and take of power within the Nile Basin. You say the give and take of power within the Nile Basin has hindered the progress of the NTEAP. How so? How has it created a problem and it would be slightly more clear if you list the major players. While I was working on my own blog I realized how important it was to get the regional and international organization on the same page to work towards a common cause. I liked how your group also placed an emphasis on that. You also talk about the international efforts and the regional efforts to combat the problem. That particular section was very interesting. Another thing I liked about the blog was how there was always the link if you wanted more information about an issue. I found it intriguing that regional cooperation was lacking because of the control and influence of international organizations such as World Bank. Why were they not approving of the foreign involvement. It would have been clearer if you had elaborated on that. IT will be interesting to see how all these actors play their part. Overall, the blog in itself is good.
Green Nile bloggers,
Great job on your blog! I think your blog was very well done, effectively utilizing pictures and maps, as well as academic sources to back up your analysis. Your use of bolding, numbering, and linking different words was very helpful in drawing attention to specific ideas.
I really liked your background page. I thought it was very useful and helpful to gain a good understanding about the NTEAP. Acknowledging the goals allowed me to understand where exactly the NTEAP is interested in taking this region, and how they plan on getting there. Your overall analysis was very well done, and included relevant course readings to support your work. I also really liked how you included the relationships between local/regional/national/global involvements in the project. It allowed me to gain a better understanding of the involvement in this project and what is being done to better the region.
Once again, great job. Your blog was very well done.
Green Nile Bloggers,
In your blog you talk about the power struggles between various actors involved with improving the water quality of the Nile River. This is a very complex issue that I think you thoroughly approach with a detailed look at international, regional, and local actors. It seems that there is a common thread throughout many of the blogs in which some members of groups have more power than others. I think that a lot of these imbalances are due to the varying degrees of personal commitments to environmental programs. Egypt and other downstream states are bound to have more control due to geographic location alone. It is in the river delta regions that much of the pollution is eventually effecting. It is the same in the Chesapeake watershed where the headwater states are not big players in goal setting or policy making actions that effect the bay. However, the inclusion of organizations like the World Bank makes this situation even more convoluted with the introduction of financing issues that require countries to jump through hoops. Then as a result a lot of these new development projects often cause even more problems like the various dam projects in Vietnam funded by the World Bank that have displaced millions of people and flooded rich forest ecosystems.
Dear Bloggers,
I enjoyed your blog and find the "Managing the Nile" section very interesting. Although it seemed too broad at times, it outlined several major problems. The use of Perreault’s work is very effective. Indeed, Mondayacu’s power struggles could serve as an example for local communities being affected by NTEAP. Based on your analysis, "jumping scale" is needed on several levels. It would be good to further discuss the levels (agricultural, educational, etc) in which local communities could reach out to "actors with broader institutional reach" (Perrault 97).
Sletto’s analysis of "environmental security" might also be helpful in addressing local claims. According to him "…international environmental institutions are placing increasing pressure on states to establish conservation spaces, while substate social movements…are demanding rights of self-determination to self-defined `homelands’ and other bounded spatial units" (184). In your conclusion, you mention one such grassroots project – Socio-Economic Development and Benefit Sharing Project (SDBS). Exploring the thin line between calls for cooperation and pressure between global organizations and social movements might be helpful in further connecting Perrault’s ideas to NTEAP.
The lack of regional and local cooperation could cause numerous issues concerning donor driven development. Perhaps you could look at ways in which concepts are "being reconceptualized in development agencies to serve donor agendas" (Finley-Brook 102). As someone pointed out, you give enough information to prove the lack of cooperation; for example the "monopolization of the NTEAP by international and not local sources" and ways in which member-states’ relations are strained such as the fact that "Egypt maintains the right to veto any development or resource extraction."
It seems to me that that the disconnect between global organizations and local/regional institutions could prove to be fatal for the project. This could cause a change in the discourse and politicize it to such extend, that the initial guidelines could be somewhat ignored. Your blog summarizes the problem effectively and provides a lot of helpful information regarding possible solutions.
Wow. I love the broadness and extent of your analysis. You covered a lot of ground, and for the most part it was very well organized and laid out in a manner that let me follow your analysis of institutions and their roles. However, sometimes I felt like your analysis of NTEAP was too forced–as though you were letting the reading structure what analysis you got into, rather than let the information lead you to conclusions. I’m not sure what I’m saying is clear, but I think the major effect it had on your analysis for an outside reader is that the ideas seemed unintegrated. There was a lot there though! Just could have used that extra push to make it present a clear and integrated analysis. For example, i would love to know more about the scales in NTEAP (first paragraph) rather than just that they exist (as perrault claims). I loved the hidden jewel page of “international actors” (below second picture) This could be linked to scalar power struggles outlined in the first issue through highlighting case studies of localities that lost out in the power play, and could be further investigated by asking questions of how effective this organization of power was in actually meeting the goals espoused by the organization (again a link between de cain and perrault). Another area I think could have been highlighted is the capacity of the organization to meet the demands of its funder (WB), and the differing issues among scales of actors in meeting these requirements. How “fair” were the demands of international actors? Was there a disempowerment of locals, or did the outside funding lead to projects that challenged local social and political institutions?
Really enjoyed the blog, thanks guys!
I found your section "Poverty in the Nile Basin," particularly enlightening. Showing through numbers, both per capita GDP and consumer prices, that Egypt and its population are the most fortunate economically, was very striking. I have always thought of Egypt as a poor country, and though it is, when one looks at it from a perspective relative to its neighbors, the picture is more clear. So, I really liked this section.
On the technical front, your heading titles are very good- they are both visually pleasing and the titles are concise. It's great to see that you put the extra effort to show your blog off with style and clarity. Your pictures are clear and useful. I particularly liked the shot of the sunset over a Minaret, looking over the river.
However, one issue that I did not find addressed on this blog at all, is the historical legacy of British colonialism. It is my understanding that despite the NTEAP and its efforts at promoting community involvement in water resources, the ultimate arbiter of Nile water politics still remains colonial-era agreements, such as the Nile Water Agreement of 1959. This treaty contains a clause binding every single party to the obligation of informing Egypt of the ultimate impact on its Nile flow of every action taken domestically. As one can imagine, this puts a great burden on the other countries through which the Nile flows, as they must not only assess their actions in relation to the domestic costs and environmental impact, but they must also consider the impact of Egypt as well. This also has been criticized as unfair by many other states, because they view it as a colonial legacy, during which strategically important Egypt was the issue on British planners' minds, Sudan second, and the upstream countries coming last. Here's a recent news article I found that outlines some of the clashing between governments, despite NTEAP's best intentions: http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/news/egypt-and-nile-basin-countries-clash-over-agreement.
Your conclusions are well thought out and powerful. For it is always with the best intentions that organizations such as NTEAP are formed, but when they enter the fray of policy debate, especially against entrenched interests, such as bureaucracies and interested partners, accomplishing what seems like reasonable compromises and solutions can become a nightmare.
I really enjoyed this blog. It was interesting not only because it discussed scalar issues, but because the difficulties of scale were compounded by problems related to traditional power struggles, namely Egypt’s historical domination of the Nile, and concurrently issues of war and political unrest. This Nile basin issues are so related to historical power struggles, relationships, and religious differences that it makes sense that these nations would, like you’ve discussed, have to scale up. However, scaling up does not always have the desired effect and depth of action that one would hope, and I liked how you discussed this too in your analysis of involved international organizations lie the World Bank. Your blog was comprehensive and well done.
On the whole, I think this blog is excellent and there was very little that I could find fault with. The focus of the blog and the issues investigated are clearly defined in the introduction page, and the background page is clear to read and very well-organized with excellent graphics. This group also worked in the class readings very well, discussing scalar levels of power and the issues of boundary.
The only thing I could point out as a possible weakness is that while the blog relates that there were problems such as power-holding and finances, there are no explicit examples of actual events of this happening, which would be useful for the reader to more fully grasp the situation.
The best part about this blog is that there is so much information here. This group went beyond the set pages with lots of embedded baby pages that explain useful background information in more detail. The conclusion was also clear and pointed, and there were many sources used. In sum, I found this blog very well-organized and informative.
Bloggers of the Green Nile,
This was an AWESOME blog. Your content, presentation, writing style, and analysis were all really great. As I read the blog, I began to see that the politics of scale would be important to this project… and I was happy to see that you had actually recognized that in “Managing the Nile”. You clearly led your readers up to that page, which I think was the strongest aspect of your coverage of the issues in the Nile Basin.
I particularly liked the distinctions you made around the scalar nature of the Green Nile initiative. You explained how the scalar effects of power struggles in the Nile Basin are related to “disagreement and neglect”, as opposed to the more challenging obstacles like “chaos and violence”. The latter reminded me of the issues in the Gaza Strip or the DMZ–areas of high levels of sociopolitical conflict which simultaneously must cope with serious levels of chaos and violence. You recognize that the Green Nile initiative must work toward overcoming various disagreement and histories of neglect–a much easier task when put in perspective with other conflictive contexts across the globe.
In tandem with your focus on the politics of scale, you conclude that there needs to be more involvement at the local level through scaling up. Perrault therefore serves as a great basis for contextualizing your analysis, which you weave throughout your assessment.
Again, great job. I don’t have any academic source recommendations to make, as your analysis did well in including relevant course readings to amplify your work. Lastly, I really liked how you used bolded words to emphasize the main points of your blog. Essentially, one could read each of the bolded sentences on each page and get an accurate sense of your project’s perspective and conclusion. Great work!
Hey, Green Nile bloggers,
Great job! I really like the overall presentation and content of this blog and your analysis and conclusion was very thorough and informative. You incorporated several readings from class that really helped solidify and support each of your arguments.
I thought you did a particularly impressive job outlining the relationships between local, regional, national and global involvement in the project and the influences each of these had on the others. You mention that while the support and aid of the World Bank, United Nations Development Program and United Nations Office for Projects Service are essential for financial and power reasons, the most significant impacts and influences come from the local communities. What sort of actions are being taken in these local areas? And what is the response of the people living there? Are there annual meetings where local, regional, and national organizations can exchange their ideas and opinions on the project? I like how you stated the program's potential to "bring disputing countries together under a common desire to protect the environment." I think this is one of the most important points all of these green regional blogs have pointed out. Despite personal conflict between varying regions due to different political or territorial disputes, the people of these communities have been able to see past their differences and come together under one mission that benefits all parties.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading through your blog and learning more about the Nile Basin and their struggle and accomplishments with this transboundary project. In order to achieve the greatest success, the involvement and cooperation of local, regional and global scale organizations is crucial. They all see the program at different levels, but share a common goal for their future. Again, awesome job. Great content and analysis with great visuals and layout.
I think the blog is very nicely done. The first thing I noticed about the blog was its neat arrangement with project objective bulleted and the main purpose behind the blog clearly stated. The inclusion of maps does make it more attractive. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the blog and while reading it I was thinking about what you said about the give and take of power within the Nile Basin. You say the give and take of power within the Nile Basin has hindered the progress of the NTEAP. How so? How has it created a problem and it would be slightly more clear if you list the major players. While I was working on my own blog I realized how important it was to get the regional and international organization on the same page to work towards a common cause. I liked how your group also placed an emphasis on that. You also talk about the international efforts and the regional efforts to combat the problem. That particular section was very interesting. Another thing I liked about the blog was how there was always the link if you wanted more information about an issue. I found it intriguing that regional cooperation was lacking because of the control and influence of international organizations such as World Bank. Why were they not approving of the foreign involvement. It would have been clearer if you had elaborated on that. IT will be interesting to see how all these actors play their part. Overall, the blog in itself is good.
Green Nile bloggers,
Great job on your blog! I think your blog was very well done, effectively utilizing pictures and maps, as well as academic sources to back up your analysis. Your use of bolding, numbering, and linking different words was very helpful in drawing attention to specific ideas.
I really liked your background page. I thought it was very useful and helpful to gain a good understanding about the NTEAP. Acknowledging the goals allowed me to understand where exactly the NTEAP is interested in taking this region, and how they plan on getting there. Your overall analysis was very well done, and included relevant course readings to support your work. I also really liked how you included the relationships between local/regional/national/global involvements in the project. It allowed me to gain a better understanding of the involvement in this project and what is being done to better the region.
Once again, great job. Your blog was very well done.
Green Nile Bloggers,
In your blog you talk about the power struggles between various actors involved with improving the water quality of the Nile River. This is a very complex issue that I think you thoroughly approach with a detailed look at international, regional, and local actors. It seems that there is a common thread throughout many of the blogs in which some members of groups have more power than others. I think that a lot of these imbalances are due to the varying degrees of personal commitments to environmental programs. Egypt and other downstream states are bound to have more control due to geographic location alone. It is in the river delta regions that much of the pollution is eventually effecting. It is the same in the Chesapeake watershed where the headwater states are not big players in goal setting or policy making actions that effect the bay. However, the inclusion of organizations like the World Bank makes this situation even more convoluted with the introduction of financing issues that require countries to jump through hoops. Then as a result a lot of these new development projects often cause even more problems like the various dam projects in Vietnam funded by the World Bank that have displaced millions of people and flooded rich forest ecosystems.
Dear Bloggers,
I enjoyed your blog and find the "Managing the Nile" section very interesting. Although it seemed too broad at times, it outlined several major problems. The use of Perreault’s work is very effective. Indeed, Mondayacu’s power struggles could serve as an example for local communities being affected by NTEAP. Based on your analysis, "jumping scale" is needed on several levels. It would be good to further discuss the levels (agricultural, educational, etc) in which local communities could reach out to "actors with broader institutional reach" (Perrault 97).
Sletto’s analysis of "environmental security" might also be helpful in addressing local claims. According to him "…international environmental institutions are placing increasing pressure on states to establish conservation spaces, while substate social movements…are demanding rights of self-determination to self-defined `homelands’ and other bounded spatial units" (184). In your conclusion, you mention one such grassroots project – Socio-Economic Development and Benefit Sharing Project (SDBS). Exploring the thin line between calls for cooperation and pressure between global organizations and social movements might be helpful in further connecting Perrault’s ideas to NTEAP.
The lack of regional and local cooperation could cause numerous issues concerning donor driven development. Perhaps you could look at ways in which concepts are "being reconceptualized in development agencies to serve donor agendas" (Finley-Brook 102). As someone pointed out, you give enough information to prove the lack of cooperation; for example the "monopolization of the NTEAP by international and not local sources" and ways in which member-states’ relations are strained such as the fact that "Egypt maintains the right to veto any development or resource extraction."
It seems to me that that the disconnect between global organizations and local/regional institutions could prove to be fatal for the project. This could cause a change in the discourse and politicize it to such extend, that the initial guidelines could be somewhat ignored. Your blog summarizes the problem effectively and provides a lot of helpful information regarding possible solutions.
Wow. I love the broadness and extent of your analysis. You covered a lot of ground, and for the most part it was very well organized and laid out in a manner that let me follow your analysis of institutions and their roles. However, sometimes I felt like your analysis of NTEAP was too forced–as though you were letting the reading structure what analysis you got into, rather than let the information lead you to conclusions. I’m not sure what I’m saying is clear, but I think the major effect it had on your analysis for an outside reader is that the ideas seemed unintegrated. There was a lot there though! Just could have used that extra push to make it present a clear and integrated analysis. For example, i would love to know more about the scales in NTEAP (first paragraph) rather than just that they exist (as perrault claims). I loved the hidden jewel page of “international actors” (below second picture) This could be linked to scalar power struggles outlined in the first issue through highlighting case studies of localities that lost out in the power play, and could be further investigated by asking questions of how effective this organization of power was in actually meeting the goals espoused by the organization (again a link between de cain and perrault). Another area I think could have been highlighted is the capacity of the organization to meet the demands of its funder (WB), and the differing issues among scales of actors in meeting these requirements. How “fair” were the demands of international actors? Was there a disempowerment of locals, or did the outside funding lead to projects that challenged local social and political institutions?
Really enjoyed the blog, thanks guys!
I found your section "Poverty in the Nile Basin," particularly enlightening. Showing through numbers, both per capita GDP and consumer prices, that Egypt and its population are the most fortunate economically, was very striking. I have always thought of Egypt as a poor country, and though it is, when one looks at it from a perspective relative to its neighbors, the picture is more clear. So, I really liked this section.
On the technical front, your heading titles are very good- they are both visually pleasing and the titles are concise. It's great to see that you put the extra effort to show your blog off with style and clarity. Your pictures are clear and useful. I particularly liked the shot of the sunset over a Minaret, looking over the river.
However, one issue that I did not find addressed on this blog at all, is the historical legacy of British colonialism. It is my understanding that despite the NTEAP and its efforts at promoting community involvement in water resources, the ultimate arbiter of Nile water politics still remains colonial-era agreements, such as the Nile Water Agreement of 1959. This treaty contains a clause binding every single party to the obligation of informing Egypt of the ultimate impact on its Nile flow of every action taken domestically. As one can imagine, this puts a great burden on the other countries through which the Nile flows, as they must not only assess their actions in relation to the domestic costs and environmental impact, but they must also consider the impact of Egypt as well. This also has been criticized as unfair by many other states, because they view it as a colonial legacy, during which strategically important Egypt was the issue on British planners' minds, Sudan second, and the upstream countries coming last. Here's a recent news article I found that outlines some of the clashing between governments, despite NTEAP's best intentions: http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/news/egypt-and-nile-basin-countries-clash-over-agreement.
Your conclusions are well thought out and powerful. For it is always with the best intentions that organizations such as NTEAP are formed, but when they enter the fray of policy debate, especially against entrenched interests, such as bureaucracies and interested partners, accomplishing what seems like reasonable compromises and solutions can become a nightmare.
I really enjoyed this blog. It was interesting not only because it discussed scalar issues, but because the difficulties of scale were compounded by problems related to traditional power struggles, namely Egypt’s historical domination of the Nile, and concurrently issues of war and political unrest. This Nile basin issues are so related to historical power struggles, relationships, and religious differences that it makes sense that these nations would, like you’ve discussed, have to scale up. However, scaling up does not always have the desired effect and depth of action that one would hope, and I liked how you discussed this too in your analysis of involved international organizations lie the World Bank. Your blog was comprehensive and well done.