PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
A Boston University researcher thinks he knows the solution to the Darfur conflict, one that could potentially end years of human rights violations and ethnic warfare: water.
BU Center for Remote Sensing Director Farouk El-Baz met with the Sudanese government in January to initiate and supervise the construction of dams along various Darfur rivers after his discovery of an underground "megalake" in the Sudan. The United Nations will fund the project, which will be built by locals and directed by El-Baz.
"Dams can slow down the advance of water . . . which would replenish the groundwater," El-Baz said. "We said we will deal with the lake as a long-term solution, but we now must have some short-term solutions."
Underground water was located too far from where Darfuris live, so El-Baz will begin the search for a lake closer to residential camps by continuing to study satellite images for rock faults where water would accumulate, he said.
The governor of North Darfur state, Osman Kedir, invited El-Baz to present his ideas to residents, El-Baz said. He has also met with Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Kamal Ali, engineers and heads of local UN groups.
Center for Remote Sensing researcher Eman Ghoneim said in an email that he and El-Baz suspected underground lakes existed in the region because the Sahara Desert has undergone drastic climate change. Ghoneim said he and El-Baz specifically conducted research in Darfur to alleviate the suffering there.
"The war actually started because of shortages of water," El-Baz said. "During the last 20 years, there was much less rain than usual."
The competition for water divided farmers and nomads in Darfur and led to hostility, causing the current conflict, El-Baz said. The farmers searched for other sources of water and fenced in shared wells, and "the nomads went berserk," he said.
"There is no real genocide and fighting between Arabs and Africans," El-Baz said. "If you find enough water for the farmers and wells . . . for the use of the nomads, and additional water to raise crops for people to eat, you satisfy all needs. Water is the whole crux."
Attention to each contributing factor in the Darfur conflict is the only way to promote peace, Charles Stith, BU African Presidential Archives and Research Center director, said. More water alone will not solve all of the nation's problems, but it could make negotiations easier, he said.
Stith said the whole country must feel as though they are part of the solution for El-Baz's plan to work, and diplomats need to establish a power-sharing arrangement to equally divide resources such as water and oil.
"I think we can't not believe that peace is possible, because without that belief you cease to work at it; you cease to be as creative," Stith said.
"Save Darfur Now" Facebook group administrator Alex Kantrowitz said he does not believe a new source of water will resolve the major issues in the region.
"I think that it's more of a surface solution to the situation," Kantrowitz, a Cornell University sophomore, said. "From my personal understanding of the conflict, this goes well beyond the distribution of water in the region. It's being led by a group of people that have serious underlying tension with the Sudanese government."
"Water is a great idea, and it's definitely a step in the right direction . . . but will it solve it?" Kantrowitz said. "I hate to be cynical, but in this situation . . . it's difficult to be optimistic."
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