Running head: DAM DISCOURSE 1

Research Thesis Dam Discourse: Narratives of Egypt’s Aswan Dam

Submitted by

Ashley Thompson

Towards fulfillment of the Capstone in Geography Western Oregon University

DAM DISCOURSE 2

Abstract

Dams are structures built to enhance human life in numerous ways by controlling the flow of streams. They can be a controversial topic, as there are environmental costs to the social and economic benefits that dams can contribute to. Egypt’s Aswan Dam, constructed during the

1960s on the Nile River, was built to advance Egypt’s development by controlling flooding, storing water for irrigation, and producing hydroelectric power. Since its construction, many research projects and assessments of the dam have been written to evaluate whether the Aswan

Dam has been beneficial or not. These assessments arrive at various conclusions and are often from an economic and social or environmental standpoint. This paper focuses on how the Aswan

Dam is constructed as positive or negative through a discourse analysis of four articles. The narratives that emerge in favor of the Aswan Dam tend to view achievements made possible by the dam as outweighing any environmental problems. Problems caused by the dam are also viewed as issues that humans have the ability to solve. Narratives more skeptical of the Aswan

Dam tend to view the dam as a drastic solution that will have long-term environmental consequences that might outweigh the immediate benefits.

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Dam Discourse: Narratives of Egypt’s Aswan Dam

Dams are a familiar sight in today’s world. Major rivers often feature multiple dams and their tributaries are likely controlled in a similar manner. In many developed countries, they are almost an expected feature of the landscape. Dams are built to control streams in ways that benefit human activities. They control the flow of water and downstream water levels, preventing floods and maintaining a more consistent flow all year round, creating a constant supply of water for irrigation. The release of water is often used to create hydroelectric power.

While dams can be an essential part of the function of human life, they are not always viewed favorably: dams disrupt the typical flow of water and local ecosystems. Water stored and then released can raise a stream’s temperature or decrease a stream’s sediment load. A cascade of consequences result from the altering of the physical landscape. Human life is not the only life that dams impact, and human life may not always be impacted positively. Dams can be controversial, as they can challenge people’s values and make people ask what environmental costs are worth.

Egypt’s High Aswan Dam was constructed in the 1960’s on the Nile River as part of

Egypt’s economic development. The river and its yearly floods were brought under control of the dam and significant changes to the river and areas downstream have occurred. Assessments of the impact of the operation of the High Aswan Dam have been conducted in the years following its construction. Topics of assessment include environmental impact (e.g. Walton, 1981) and economic impact (e.g. Abu-Zeid & El-Shibini, 1997). Assessments are conducted to reach a general conclusion about the success or failure of the dam in these areas.

These assessments may reach differing conclusions depending on the area of impact of the High Aswan Dam studied. In order to further understand these assessments, the underlying DAM DISCOURSE 4 assumptions about what defines the success or failure of the dam should be examined; for example, the storage of water in a reservoir may have different consequences from an environmental perspective versus an economic perspective. How the High Aswan Dam is viewed can be grounded in how it is assessed and written about. Research needs to be done to analyze the content of these assessments and other writing about the High Aswan Dam to uncover how conclusions about the dam are reached and framed – as success or failure (has the dam been good for Egypt or not?). A discourse analysis could achieve this goal.

As of the present, there is little precedent for conducting discourse analyses on dams. One study done by Jórgensen and Renöfält (2013) looked at articles about potential dam removals in

Swedish newspapers. They analyzed arguments from both opponents of and proponents for dam removals. They found that the two sides generally framed the services of the dams in different ways, with proponents of removal concerned about the ecosystems that dams impacted and opponents concerned about the cultural values of the dams, such as recreation, as well as the unknown about the real effects of removing the dams. The authors used the same framework to analyze both sides of the argument, showing the complexity about people’s feelings and values about the use of dams and the importance of examining both sides of an issue.

There is a greater precedent for discourse analyses in studies on the environment and development. Mühlhäusler and Peace (2006) reviewed discourses concerned with environmental issues and the way in which they have been analyzed and approached across various disciplines.

In doing so, their research has provided some guidelines and general information about conducting these kinds of discourse analyses. They list components in discourses that are analyzed: participants (addresser, speaker, hearer, addressee), the purpose or goals, outcomes, form and content of messages, tone, channels, and genre. Through analysis, specific terms used DAM DISCOURSE 5 to discuss the environment have been uncovered that are problematic in a few ways: too vague

(such as “pollution”), undifferentiated (“growth” can refer to different types of growing), and misleading (discussions of “fertilizers” that can make soils unproductive). It is concluded that studying environmental discourse draws on knowledge from multiple disciplines and that these studies began in the 1980s amid a rising number of discourses on environmental issues. It is not clear if analyzing these discourses has made any impact on the actual natural environment.

Lorente and Alonso (2014) used discourse analysis to look at how environmental issues were treated in Spanish Newspapers. They focused on narratives of scale related to global climate change and how its impacts are discussed at global, national, and local levels. They found that newspaper articles in Spain tend to give readers information about what is being done, on a global scale, to combat climate change and that the effects of climate change are sometimes framed as local problems. However, the readers are given no power in being a solution to climate change; the issues are presented in a way that only gives experts the ability to form solutions and renders the readers themselves powerless at the local level to make any change. These discourses may not only effect how climate change is viewed, but may cause readers to feel helpless and that they cannot do anything about climate change.

Gregory and Brierley (2010) analyzed the discourse and development of a vision statement for a river rehabilitation project in New Zealand, Project Twin Streams, to understand if vision statements can be effective by defining goals and promoting action. Specific components looked at were elements in the vision statement, those that decided the vision, and the goals as well as the process to achieve those goals defined. In this case study, they found the vision statement of Project Twin Streams to be effective because it connected the community and local government, laid out what the ultimate goal of the project was, interpreted these goals for DAM DISCOURSE 6 specific areas, and allowed for flexibility in planning and taking steps to achieve the goals set out. Discourses can have the power to motivate concern and action for the physical environment.

Wall (1999) was interested in how nature was conceptualized in CBC’s The Nature of

Things and how this shaped the way environmental issues could be understood. Largely anthropocentric views were revealed by analysis; nature can be understood as a collection of resources for humans to exploit. Science and technology can aid in this exploitation, but can also be tools used to solve environmental problems. Discourse can influence and restrict the types of environmental problems that are considered and what solutions to these problems are seen as acceptable.

Rodela (2012) investigated discourses on the use of natural resources, using the Goričko

Landscape Park in Slovenia as a case study. Two main discourses were found: one in favor of agricultural growth and the other in favor of a healthy environment. Both viewpoints have effects on the management of the park. The concluding remarks cite that there has been limited research on how competing or differing discourses have approached resource use.

This review contains a diverse body of work that shows the applications, flexibility, and precedent of using discourse analyses when studying subjects in the environment. It also shows what kinds of information can be important or revealed through the use of a discourse analysis and that the study of opposing narratives can be helpful. However, little of this kind of work has been done in relation to dams and how the impacts of dams are discussed. This research uses discourse analysis to answer one main question: How is the Aswan Dam constructed as a positive or negative project?

Methods DAM DISCOURSE 7

To try to understand how the Aswan Dam is seen as successful or not, I read through many articles written about the dam. I noticed that some articles written as assessments or evaluations of the effects of the Aswan Dam took a stance. A couple of these articles seemed to have a negative view of the dam, focusing on the harmful ecological effects of the Aswan Dam and the problems the dam has created for Egypt (Walton, 1981; White, 1988). Other articles were more concerned with the social and economic benefits that Egypt has gained since construction of the Aswan Dam (Abu-Zeid, M.A., & El-Shinini, F.Z., 1997; Biswas, 1993). The research question arose from these observations. There are many different viewpoints and emotions that the dam elicits; has it been a successful and beneficial project? In order to understand further what these articles were saying and how these writings construct an image of the Aswan Dam as successful or not, I decided to perform a discourse analysis.

Discourse Analysis

Discourse analysis “is the study of language at use in the world, not just to say things, but to do things,” (Gee, 2011, p. IX). Language can do many things: inform, express emotion, persuade, lie, connect, ignore, etc. Discourse analysis is interested in these things that language does as well as how language is used to accomplish them (Alba-Juez, 2009). How something is said can convey as much information as the thing that was said. The practice of discourse analysis arose largely from the ideas of Foucault and the way he conceptualized discourse. To

Foucault (1980), discourse is a way in which power is exercised. There are certain rules and conventions of language that are used to express knowledge and truths, or what are recognized as knowledge and truths (Foucault, 1980). Language is not objective; discourses originate from someone or somewhere and they are used as the frameworks from which we can talk about and DAM DISCOURSE 8 understand the world (Ogborn, 2003). Discourses do not just come into being or exist in a vacuum. The context in which language is used is an important part of analyzing discourses.

Discourse analysis is not confined to the field of linguistics. It has a larger scope that looks at the political, social, and cultural implications of the use of language (Alba-Juez, 2009).

Just as discourse analysis has many fields of application, there are also many different approaches to doing discourse analysis. Gee (2011) organizes one method of approaching discourse analysis through the use of various “tools,” or questions to ask of the text being analyzed and considerations to keep in mind while asking these questions of the text. I used some of these tools as guides; the consideration and application of each tool were all different ways of viewing the text and helped me to keep certain ideas at the forefront of my mind as I approached the text. Gee (2011) further explains:

[Each tool] makes the reader look quite closely at the details of language in an oral or

written communication. Each question also makes the reader tie these details to what

speakers or writers mean, intend, and seek to do and accomplish in the world by

the way in which they have used language. (p. X)

For my research, I first selected specific tools to pull evidence from the texts that would help to answer the research question. These tools do not only look at language, but its social, cultural, and political meanings (Gee, 2011). The tools used were: The Fill In Tool, The Frame

Problem Tool, The Doing and Not Just Saying Tool, The Activities Building Tool, The Politics

Building Tool, The Connections Building Tool, The Sign Systems and Knowledge Building

Tool, The Situated Meaning Tool, and The Big “D” Discourse Tool (Gee, 2011). A brief explanation and rationale for the use of each tool follows, and an appendix is provided with

Gee’s original wording of the tools I used (see Appendix A). DAM DISCOURSE 9

The Fill In Tool considers the underlying assumptions and the previous knowledge necessary to understanding a text be considered. This tool covers everything that a reader would have to know to make the text clear and understandable (Gee, 2011). The underlying assumptions that authors bring to texts about the Aswan Dam help create an image of what the dam is and does. The Frame Problem Tool is concerned with the context in which the text occurred and what that context can inform other areas of analysis (Gee, 2011). This tool considers context, which is important for every discourse analysis to consider.

The Doing and Not Just Saying Tool and The Activities Building Tool both consider what the piece is doing, not just what information the text is conveying. The former looks at what the specific piece is doing and the latter looks at what activity/practice the text is part of and the social groups that could be part of this activity (Gee, 2011). If these articles on the

Aswan Dam are taking a stance, then they are not just conveying information but also doing something (ex. Constructing a particular image of the dam). The Activities Building Tool also can work with the Frame Problem Tool; because these articles were written at certain times and within certain contexts, it may be that they are part of a larger body of work or group of ideas about how to view, for example, large projects such as dams in general.

The Politics Building Tool is concerned with what the text constructs as social goods and how they should be distributed (Gee, 2011). The Aswan Dam is a project that has social ramifications; analyzing which ones are addressed and not addressed in a text can show how the author wants the reader to view the dam. The Connections Building Tool is about the connections made and the connections that are not made between ideas in a text (Gee, 2011); similar to the Politics Building Tool, in the case of articles concerned with the Aswan Dam, DAM DISCOURSE 10 evidence the author chooses to connect with other ideas and evidence the author chooses to ignore or view as a separate issue can construct a particular view of the dam.

The Sign Systems and Knowledge Building Tool addresses what kind of language is being used (e.g., technical language or everyday language) and what kinds of knowledge are privileged (Gee, 2011). The Aswan Dam has been the subject of scientific inquiry, and there are many different specialized fields with their own jargon and knowledge that contribute to these studies of the dam. Information can be more or less accessible to a reader depending on the presence of technical language. Facts can be obscured or unclear (a connection to the Fill In

Tool) with certain types of language and word choice. The Situated Meaning Tool asks about the different meanings and connotations words or phrases can have depending on the context in which they are used (Gee, 2011). These language choices can create a certain interpretation of evidence and with articles on the Aswan Dam, help to create a certain image of the dam.

The Big “D” Discourse Tool is concerned with the overall identity the author is creating and enacting within a text. A larger view than the Activities Building Tool, this tool considers context, social groups, and values that are associated with a Discourse, a construction of the world through language (Gee, 2011). Seeking the Discourse(s) pieces about the Aswan Dam are a part of reveals the world or view that dam is being constructed as a part of. Context informs how the dam is viewed, the good and bad it has done, and how successful it has been.

Texts

After I selected fitting tools for analysis, my next step was to select the texts to be analyzed. Using Academic Search Premier, I searched for key words and phrases such as

“Aswan Dam” or “Aswan High Dam” to find articles and books. The criterion for a text was that it had to provide some kind of larger assessment of the effects of the Aswan Dam. I excluded DAM DISCOURSE 11 texts that looked at one specific issue, such as seismic activity induced by Lake Nasser, the reservoir of the Aswan Dam (see Abu-Zeid, Charlie, Sunada, & Khafagy, 1995), as they did not fit with this criterion. There were some articles that did assess a wide range of effects of the

Aswan Dam, but were only confined to one area (see Bohannon, 2010), and I also excluded these because this research is interested in the effects of the Aswan Dam beyond the scope of one specific area. My research is concerned not only with a large array of effects, but also how these effects have influenced a larger physical area.

I identified four articles and one book as fitting these criteria. The book was ultimately excluded because it was narrow in scope – highlighting anthropological effects of the Aswan

Dam and related policies on specific groups of people (Fahim, 1981). I read through the articles multiple times to be sure the information presented was consistent with the research criterion.

Reading all the articles multiple times before analysis also aided in familiarization with the material and with the specific topics and consequences of the dam that could be discussed.

Analysis

My analysis began after immersion in the texts. For each text, I prepared an electronic worksheet with all of the tools listed to record and categorize evidence (see Appendix B). There was space on each worksheet for other notes and observations about the text that could be categorized later. For a lot of the tools, I first approached the articles section-by-section and then did at least one more complete read through to fill in gaps and analyze the text as a whole.

Finding evidence using some of the tools, such as the Politics Building Tool, were more manageable in the section-by-section approach, while tools such as the Big “D” Discourse Tool could only be used looking at the text as a whole. After I completed analysis of each article, I categorized or discarded notes in the “other” section based on their relevance. DAM DISCOURSE 12

Results

Four articles were analyzed to determine how the Aswan Dam has been constructed as a positive or negative project. The results are divided into two sections. First, the articles that present a skeptical view of the Aswan Dam are analyzed and then the articles that are more supportive of the dam are analyzed.

Skepticism and Caution

Overall, “Egypt After the Aswan Dam” (Walton, 1981) and “The Environmental Effects of the High Dam at Aswan” (White, 1988) are a part of a discourse that is skeptical and cautious about the benefits of dams. The negative impacts of the Aswan Dam are emphasized over any beneficial changes the people of Egypt have gained. Within the second paragraph, Walton (1981) states, “from the moment plans for the high dam were announced, the dam has been a source of controversy, particularly among environmentalists” (p. 31). Throughout his piece, White (1988) is more careful to acknowledge that studies on the Aswan Dam are far from being complete and comprehensive, but does mention in the introduction that the dam “is vilified as an environmental catastrophe” (p. 5). Even the title of White’s (1988) piece, “The Environmental

Effects of the High Dam at Aswan” gives the expectation that it is not a celebration of the Aswan

Dam.

It is interesting to note that both of these articles were published in Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development during the 1980s. The magazine’s current statement says that it “analyzes the problems, places, and people where environment and development come together, illuminating concerns from the local to the global” (“About Environment,” 2016).

Though it is not a peer-reviewed journal, Environment says it “offers peer-reviewed articles and commentaries from researchers and practitioners who provide a broad range of international DAM DISCOURSE 13 perspectives” (“About Environment,” 2016). The specific issue Walton’s (1981) article is included with “Integrated Pest Management in China” (Metcalf & Kelman, 1981), “Overgrazed and Undermanaged” (Sheridan, 1981), and “A Time of Transition” (Taylor, 1981). White’s

(1988) article was in an issue among other pieces such as “Anticipating Climate Change” (Jäger,

1988), “The Future of the Forest” (Lugo, 1988), and “Toward Global Protection of the

Atmosphere” (“Toward Global Protection of the Atmosphere,” 1988). An examination of the archives of Environment using Academic Search Premier, looking at articles published no more than five years previous and five years after both Walton (1981) and White’s (1988) pieces, shows there were seven other articles concerning dams published (“The Jebel al-Awliya Dam along the White Nile,” 1992; Luecke, 1990; “Planning for China’s Grand Dam,” 1986; Sandler,

1978; Smith, 1978; “Tasmanian Dam Halted,” 1983; “To Dam the Mekong,” 1991). Considering that Environment has been consistently, with a few exceptions, releasing ten issues a year, each of which contain numerous articles, dams did not get a lot of attention during the time period.

Three other articles in the above mentioned time period had to do with Egypt (Hoke, 1990;

Quayle, 1992; “Sanitation Problems in Alexandria, Egypt,” 1991); a majority of the articles were about research done in the United States.

Susan Walton, the author of “Egypt After the Aswan Dam,” was the editor of BioScience previous to writing this article. Some of her other works focus on Australia (see Walton, 1984, &

Walton, 1985). The study her article is based on is called the United States-Egyptian River Nile and Lake Nasser Research Project. There is an EPA report based on this study that cites the study as collaboration between the University of Michigan and the University of Alexandria. The

Environmental Research Laboratory and the EPA sponsored the research (Miller, Hussein,

Mancy, & Hilbert, 1978). DAM DISCOURSE 14

Gilbert F. White’s article was based on a lecture that he gave after winning the Tyler

Prize for Environmental Achievement in 1987 (White, 1987), which is given for “environmental science, health and energy conferring great benefit upon humanity” (“Tyler Prize for

Environmental Achievement,” 2016, ¶1). White is lauded as a water resources expert who specialized in methods of flood management, especially “alternatives in resource management, such as forecasting and changes in land use, rather than dams in response to floods” (“1987 Tyler

Laureates,” 2016, ¶8). He was, at different points in time, associated with UNESCO, a UN Panel in Integrated River Development, the Lower Mekong River Coordinating Committee, the UN

Development Programme, the Advisory Committee on Greenhouse Gases of the World

Meteorological Organization, the UN Envrionment Programme, the International Council for

Science, the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment, the National Academy of

Sciences, and the Soviet Academy of Sciences (“1987 Tyler Laureates,” 2016).

The social goods at stake in Walton (1981) and White’s (1988) pieces are water quality, soil quality, land stability, scientific knowledge, cultural heritage, and human health. As defined by Gee (2011), social goods are anything that either a social group or a society views as valuable. Social goods are presented within the context of human use and benefit, although many of these goods are also valuable to healthy natural environments. To Walton (1981) and White

(1988), these are all goods that are being threatened in some way by the Aswan Dam.

Quality of water may be the most valuable good from Walton’s (1981) viewpoint.

Statistics and information about the importance of water quality from the World Health

Organization and the Pan American Health Organization are presented. A section spanning almost two pages of the six pages of text in the article is dedicated to schistosomiasis, a water- borne disease. Other sections of the same length involve discussion of multiple issues; for DAM DISCOURSE 15 example, the section “Erosion, Salt, and Sardines” (Walton, 1981, p. 35) has as many pages dedicated to it as the section on schistosomiasis, but deals with multiple topics. White (1988) dedicates a section to water quality in his article. He discusses the change in turbidity, dissolved solids, salinity, and phytoplankton density and, more importantly, “the effects upon land and water use,” (p. 11) as a result of these changes. Water quality has direct ties to the economy, in both agriculture and brick making. The brick-making industry suffered from the lack of silt deposition from floods on the Nile’s banks, this material being key to brick making. There were also new water treatment issues: aquifers have risen and algae growth has increased (White,

1988).

One of the major reasons cited for the construction of the Aswan Dam was to increase the quantity of water available for use for agriculture and to keep it a reliable resource year to year, protecting Egypt against floods and droughts, as well as using the Nile’s water to generate hydroelectric power (Walton, 1981; White, 1988). It is acknowledged that the dam has succeeded in this goal, but the discussions of water quality issues more so than water quantity issues indicate that water quality is just as important. The Aswan Dam may have accomplished the Egyptian government’s goal, but the costs to water quality and perhaps the lack of planning for these issues undermine some of the success.

Soil quality is another issue addressed by Walton (1981) and White (1988) and it has implications for one of Egypt’s essential economic activities, agriculture. The buildup of salt in soil is concerning to both Walton (1981) and White (1988). Both agree that, as of their respective articles, salt buildup was not a serious issue: “The accumulated burden in fields is not yet regarded as threatening,” (White, 1988, p. 35), but “the land is susceptible” and “several DAM DISCOURSE 16 countermeasures could be taken – all of them expensive” (Walton, 1981, p. 35). White’s (1988) use of the word “yet” (p. 35) entertains the possibility that this is an issue to be wary of.

Soil quality as a social good is important because of its connection to agriculture. While agriculture is an economic activity in Egypt, it is above all the foundation of human survival.

Agricultural land is precious; the banks and former flood plain of the Nile and the Nile Delta are the main regions where agriculture is possible in this arid region. White (1988) explicitly addressed this by mentioning Egypt’s “limited resources of arable land” (p. 6). The theme of agriculture is very prominent in both pieces and both do highlight the fact that the Aswan Dam has made it possible to increase irrigation by use of more of the Nile’s waters. The increase in water availability is a benefit to agriculture, but being able to irrigate land will not be a benefit if soil quality deterioration is the trade-off; successful agriculture depends on more than just water.

From Walton’s (1981) and White’ (1988) viewpoints, the Aswan Dam has solved one problem, but it may be creating another.

The stability of the land is another concern in these articles. Space is needed for “a population threatening to grow much faster than the supplies of water and arable land” (Walton,

1981, p. 36). Land for agriculture, for living, and for industry is necessary to support Egypt. The two related issues Walton (1981) and White (1988) discuss are coastal erosion and the rising of aquifers. The Nile no longer deposits as much silt as it once did and “erosion rates along several sectors of the coast of the delta accelerated” (White 1988, p. 36). Walton (1981) not only mentions this problem but urges action: “the shorelines below the dam will, in fact, require reinforcing” (p. 35). The expansion of irrigated land will not be a success if land is lost in other areas. DAM DISCOURSE 17

Walton (1981) and White (1988) discuss the fact that the water table has risen since construction of the Aswan Dam, due to an increase in the amount of irrigation water being used

(White, 1988). White (1988) reports that water table rise has been reported in the delta and

Upper Egypt, but that these changes have not been severe and have “stabilized”. White (1988) does not mention how these changes have impacted buildings and other infrastructure. Walton

(1981) brings a limited discussion of this issue too; stability is only discussed in the context of

“irreplaceable” (p. 35) Ancient Egyptian temples.

Walton (1981) and White (1988) are both proponents of scientific knowledge being gathered and used in evaluations of large water projects such as the Aswan Dam. White (1988) is careful when he says, “evidence from post-audit study over the past decade is far from complete,” (p. 5) and acknowledges the difficulty of reporting on this evidence “in a balanced fashion” (p. 5). White (1988) also specifies that his article is based on “a large mass of diverse scientific information” (p. 5). This article is being presented as a piece that is as objective as the author could make it; it is not a piece full of suppositions and opinions and this information is scientifically valid and trustworthy. Walton’s (1981) source is the United States-Egyptian River

Nile and Lake Nasser Research Project. Like White, Walton (1981) mentions that “the River

Nile Project has its limitations and biases,” (p. 31) but does not discuss these. Instead, Walton

(1981) tries to bolster the credibility of this project by discussing its director, Khalil H. Mancy, and says that while he is “a U.S. citizen,” (p. 31) he is “Egyptian by birth” (p. 31). Both White

(1988) and Walton (1981) believe that scientific knowledge is the most objective measure of the effects of the Aswan Dam and they want people to know that their respective pieces are guided by science. These facts are what people deserve to know and need to know to make decisions about the effectiveness of the Aswan Dam. DAM DISCOURSE 18

It is interesting to note that both White (1981) and Walton (1988) present arguments for why these kinds of balanced assessments are necessary. Walton (1981) specifies, “perhaps such studies will encourage officials in Egypt and elsewhere to include plans for mitigating the negative effects of their new water schemes in the original projects” (p. 36). This statement does two things: it implies that the Aswan Dam was not planned as well as it could have been and in doing so presents the Aswan Dam as a warning to future water project planners. Assessments are not only needed after dams are built, but before construction possible scenarios and outcomes should be considered.

White (1988) asks the question, “’Why try a more searching evaluation?’” (p. 38) in the conclusion of his piece and goes into the numerous barriers (social, political, economical) in conducting assessments. He does not directly answer the question, but instead concludes with,

“The Aswan High Dam illustrates these factors at work. It also demonstrates the difficulty on scientific grounds of making a definitive evaluation” (White, 1988, p. 38). White does not leave the reader feeling resolved on his question, but the fact that this entire piece was written says something. The fact that it is a difficult and complicated project with effects radiating into various sectors is why these evaluations are important. It is a massive undertaking, but the

Aswan Dam may be an example of why these evaluations should not be ignored with future projects.

Both Walton (1981) and White (1988) address issues related to the preservation of cultural heritage for the people of Egypt. Egypt’s population is largely concentrated along the banks of the Nile and the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. This has been true for thousands of years and as such many of the remnants of the Ancient Egyptians, including temples and sites where artifacts are waiting to be discovered, are located along the banks of the Nile. Walton DAM DISCOURSE 19

(1981) says that, “In 1966 temples that would have been flooded out by Lake Nasser were moved” (p. 35). This action displays the importance of these historic buildings and how far the

Egyptian government was willing to go to keep them, although White (1988) points out that the original archaeological sites in the Lake Nasser area are now completely underwater; there may be artifacts that are now ruined and unrecoverable. Another problem is that temples further downstream that were not relocated for this project: the rise of the water table could destabilize the foundations of these ancient buildings (Walton, 1981). A solution, pumping water to lower the water table, is offered but “the high cost involved would be only partially offset by the tourist revenues that the temples bring in” (Walton, 1981, p. 35). This passage brings up an interesting point as well: the remnants of the Ancient Egyptians have both cultural and economic value

(tourism). The Aswan Dam may affect Egypt’s tourism revenues. How great this change is and the economic benefits gained in other areas will tell if this is a negative or not. There are trade- offs that must be considered and the Aswan Dam has created a set of new problems and decisions about what is valued for Egypt, preserving the past and advancing the future.

The potentially negative effects of the Aswan Dam on historic sites is one cultural problem, but even more concerning is how the dam has affected the living. When Lake Nasser was created, it flooded an area that required the relocation of 50,000 to 60,000 Nubians living in

Egypt and 53,000 Nubians living in Sudan (White, 1988). Walton (1981) reports that the relocation has given these people, “improvements in health and housing facilities” (p. 34). White

(1988) agrees, saying that “their health has improved materially through reduction in the incidence of infectious disease,” (p. 7) and he also says that their agricultural production is similar to what it was at their former location and that there has been an increase in “their interest and effectiveness in handicrafts” (p. 7). This sounds promising, but wellbeing does not only DAM DISCOURSE 20 involve physical health and decent economic opportunity. White (1988) paints an emotional picture, saying “they were unhappy in their desert-edge location without their beloved palm trees and river bank,” (p. 7) while Walton (1981) is more succinct: “In spite of the improvements… many Nubians, nonetheless, want to return to their homeland” (p. 34). Walton (1981) also includes some historical background that puts this relocation into context: this was not the first time in the 20th century that this group of people has been relocated. It is part of a larger story of

Nubians getting their lives disrupted. While the benefits to these people cannot be denied, both

Walton (1981) and White (1988) suggest that these benefits must be considered in the context of the Nubian’s multiple relocations and the resulting disruption to their lives.

White (1988) and especially Walton (1981) discuss human health. The main concern that the authors have for human health is the water borne disease schistosomiasis. This was a potential problem identified before the construction of the Aswan Dam and in this one case the dam is not vilified or treated as a potential source of schistosomiasis issues in the future. White

(1988) and Walton (1981) both provide data that shows that the rates of schistosomiasis have decreased since the 1930s and that this decrease has continued after the construction of the

Aswan Dam. White (1988) mentions that in the 1950s potable water was made more available and hundreds of new rural health centers were established to combat the problem. This is a case where both Walton (1981) and White (1988) display the importance of anticipating the problems that dams can cause and taking action. In terms of water borne disease, the Aswan Dam has not been the cause of an increase, although Walton (1981) does state that there is a “constant threat of increases in water-borne diseases if sanitary water supplies are not available,” (p. 32) suggesting that the Egyptian government needs to keep doing its part because water-borne disease has not been eradicated. DAM DISCOURSE 21

The way that social goods are constructed and made significant in these pieces is vital to understanding how the authors create their views of the Aswan Dam. Another important piece is the connections that they choose to make and choose to ignore. The Aswan Dam has brought many changes to many different areas of life in Egypt. A change that might be beneficial to one area may have a negative effect on another (ex. Beneficial to the economy, negative for the environment). In writing their respective pieces, the authors could not in the space of one article include every possible thing there is to know about the Aswan Dam. They had to make decisions about what or what not to include, which effects the overall impression of the Aswan Dam.

Overall, Walton (1981) is more concerned with connecting the Aswan Dam to its negative effects. The first major section of her article is titled “Pluses and Minuses” (Walton,

1981, p. 31) and it begins by listing the benefits of the Aswan Dam. However, that section ends with a list of negatives, each of which is expanded upon throughout the rest of the article

(Walton, 1981). The benefits are condensed into a few paragraphs, while the negatives are given more attention and detail. White (1988) takes a different approach; his piece has different sections related to different areas of the dam and lists the positives and negatives alongside each other (see section “Agriculture”) and in the end, he connects these with what he stated were the goals of the Aswan Dam. In a similar fashion to Walton (1981), he lists the positives, or how the dam has achieved its goals, followed by the negatives, or what goals were not achieved and what negatives have occurred that were not foreseen and could “be of grave importance” (White,

1988, p. 37).

Both articles discuss damming the Nile River and the historic struggles and splendor the

Nile has afforded Egypt. Walton’s (1981) use of language is quite vivid when she says, “In years of drought or excessive flooding, the land was ravaged by famine and want” (p. 31). White DAM DISCOURSE 22

(1988) describes the context in which the dam was built: “The Egyptian government faced in the late 1950s the prospect that its population, which had doubled from about 10 million at the turn of the century, was continuing to grow at a rate of approximately 3% annually… Egypt was looking earnestly for opportunities to expand agricultural, energy, and associated manufacturing production” (p. 6). Both agree that the situation warranted action for Egypt to cope successfully with the future. The Nile River, left untouched, provided necessary water but also had an unpredictable, dangerous element to it that could be costly to human life. It is not clear that the dam was the best solution, as Walton (1981) characterizes the Aswan Dam as a “drastic solution to a drastic problem” (p. 36). The Aswan Dam has made achievements, but those have come with costs.

One of the goals, as stated by White (1988), was increasing agricultural production through making irrigation available year-round and reclaiming more land for agricultural purposes. Walton (1981) and White (1988) state that making perennial irrigation possible has allowed the land to produce two or even three crops per year instead of just one. But, this more intensive cropping is resulting in the “deterioration of soil fertility resulting from a combination of… absence of Nile silt, increasing proportion of chemical fertilizers, and cropping of poor land” (White, 1988, p. 36). Land reclamation does not necessarily result in land that is good for agriculture; poor soils need to be supplemented with fertilizers to be productive. Land reclamation specifically for agriculture has not been as successful as anticipated, as the “gain is partially cancelled out by the loss of 600,000 acres to urban expansion – and by additional acreage lost to shoreline erosion along the Mediterranean” (Walton, 1981, p. 32).

Walton’s (1981) focus is more directly on the human benefits, discussing human health at length and putting the negatives of the dam in the context of their negative effects on human life. DAM DISCOURSE 23

Despite this, Walton (1981) only briefly mentions that hydroelectric power production increased because of the dam and does not discuss any of the potential social and developmental benefits this could have for Egypt. While White (1988) seems concerned with the negatives of the Aswan

Dam as well, his article takes on a more environmentalist stance than Walton’s (1981). A discussion of both social and environmental effects come together in White’s (1988) discussion of Lake Nasser. Lake Nasser’s purpose is to store water, but because of the reservoir’s location water is lost due to evaporation. The reservoir’s shores have experienced vegetation growth.

White (1988) says this disrupts the migration patterns of wild animals and nomadic people by making food and grazing available year round. It was anticipated that agriculture could be taken up on the reservoir’s shores, but those attempts have largely failed; the soil is not good enough to support agricultural activity. Lake Nasser has also become a part of Egypt’s fishing industry, but problems with overfishing as well as social conflict have become evident. White’s (1988) discussion of Lake Nasser is exemplary of the way his piece weaves both social and environmental issues together while implying the negative role or failures of the Aswan Dam, something that Walton (1981) does largely through discussion of the dam’s negative effects on people.

Both Walton (1981) and White (1988) mention that more crops can now be grown per year and are willing to discuss the negatives, such as the soil quality decreasing because of more intensive farming. But increased production from the land cannot only be negative. Walton

(1981) does not discuss what this means for Egypt’s people and economy. Is Egypt largely able to sustain its population from its own crops? Have exports increased and strengthened Egypt’s economy? White (1988) attempts to address this issue but acknowledges that, “The interpretation of government statistics on the yield of major crops is complicated” (p. 36). Some crop specific DAM DISCOURSE 24 statistics are provided, but it is not explained what these different numbers mean for the Egyptian economy. As well as including crop statistics in his discussion, White (1988) also mentions some government policies, such as what he describes as an “unattainable goal of 3.0 crops per season”

(p. 36). He also discusses how farmers can take advantage of government incentives for planting certain crops (White, 1988). The Aswan Dam made such policies and growth possible, but White

(1988) does not put these new policies in a positive light and is not made clear how the agricultural sector of the economy has increased.

How Walton (1981) and White (1988) conclude their articles sums up what they view as the important connections made in their pieces. White (1988) concludes that the dam succeeded in its “basic aims” and acknowledges that, “most of the side effects were anticipated” (p. 37).

The exceptions to these are discussed and White (1988) treads carefully, stating that “For the large number of other impacts that were identified at the outset, the record of subsequent study is mixed, and it is difficult to ascribe relatively accurate or precise numbers to all” (p. 37). White

(1988) is not interested in making a sweeping judgment of the dam, but this statement could indicate that White (1988) does not think this project has been handled well: the follow up research has not been consistent. Walton (1981) is more critical in her conclusion, saying,

“Egypt’s planners must now seek to prevent the unwanted side-effects of the dam from cancelling out its benefits” (p. 36). She is more worried about the negative impact of the dam and sees this impact as something that needs addressing right now; Walton (1981) uses the word

“must” (p. 36) when a less commanding and less urgent word such as “should” would also make sense in that statement.

Walton (1981) and White’s (1988) pieces are operating on some assumptions that may make their pieces less clear to readers lacking certain background knowledge. Their uses of the DAM DISCOURSE 25 word “environment” are specifically in reference to the natural world, not just the surroundings.

Walton (1981) is assuming that readers value the quality of the environment as much as the benefits of the Aswan Dam. For example, she states, “In good years… the country flourished. In years of drought or excessive flooding, the land was ravaged by famine and want. The high dam controls these fluctuations, but it has had some harmful consequences as well” (Walton, 1981, p.

31).

In building their arguments about the negative effects of the Aswan Dam, there are instances when both Walton (1981) and White (1988) do not fully explain why certain problems are problems. Some explanation of mechanisms is missing, which makes their evidence weaker.

White (1988) discusses the increased plant and bacteria growth in the Nile and states that, “the prevalence of silt may have constrained algal growth in domestic water supply prior to 1965” (p.

34). The use of the phrase “may have” (Walton, 1981, p. 34) does not make this statement strong, and explanation of why this is possible (such as silt blocking some sunlight, a necessary source of energy for photosynthetic algae) would give a reader without a background in biology, ecosystems, or rivers a logical reason to accept this statement. As another example, Walton

(1981), discussing intrusion of salt water into fresh water sources, states that “Some scientists fear that… a breach will become even more likely if the plans for the new Qrattara Depression power project are carried out” (p. 35). No detail about this project or how it would exacerbate the problem of salt water intrusion are given; the reader must rely on the author’s authority to accept this statement.

For the most part, these articles are written in language that is not technical or requiring intimate knowledge of engineering or rivers. When terms like “schistosomiasis” are introduced,

Walton (1981) and White (1988) explain what it is. However, White (1988) is not always as DAM DISCOURSE 26 clear or helpful. For example, in a discussion of fish species in the reservoir, he says that the most common reported species are “Tilapia and Alestes,” (White, 1988, p. 9). This makes sense if there are no common, recognizable names for these fish, but in the context it used, reporting catches in the reservoir, the fish names will not necessarily mean anything to a reader and distract from the overall messages of the article. There are other sections, such as “Water

Quality” and “Effects in the Reservoir Area” where some technical terms are thrown in (White,

1988, p.11 & p. 7). On one hand, the use of this kind of language can give White credibility and power – he knows what he is talking about and if the reader does not, the reader may be more willing to trust White because he knows information that the reader does not. On the other hand, as in the fish example, these terms can distract from the rest of the article. Despite instances like those, White’s (1988) article is written in an accessible way, as is Walton’s (1981), which indicates that these pieces are intended for a wide audience.

Walton (1981) and White’s (1988) pieces are doing different things, but they are both a part of the wider activity of scrutinizing large development projects. Walton’s (1981) article is summarizing a study, the United States-Egyptian River Nile and Lake Nasser Research Project, and is using the study to point out the negative impacts that the dam has had. The negatives are consistently emphasized over the positives, such as when some benefits of the dam are listed and then are followed by this statement: “These gains involve some negative tradeoffs” (Walton,

1981, p. 32). Another example is in the section “Pluses and Minuses” (Walton, 1981, p. 31) where the dam’s benefits are summarized and then immediately followed by a list of negative tradeoffs, which are expanded upon in the rest of the piece.

White’s (1988) article is more careful in its assessment and provides information about the dams impact, points out the holes in research, and is trying to rationalize why it is important DAM DISCOURSE 27 to study the Aswan Dam. Phrases such as “Most of the side effects were anticipated,” (White,

1988, p. 37) show that White does not want to necessarily attack the dam and vilify it. However, he does not shy away from pointing out the shortcomings in the planning and handling of the

Aswan Dam. He mentions that “almost no attention was paid to water quality effects,” (White,

1988, p. 37) and explains two other areas that were largely overlooked, including a flood outlet above the dam and the reduction in brick making material.

Although these two pieces display different attitudes and are trying to accomplish different goals, they are both part of a larger practice of being critical of and scrutinizing large development projects to better understand them. Walton (1981) hopes that “such studies will encourage officials in Egypt and elsewhere to include plans for controlling the negative effects of their new water schemes in the original projects” (p. 36). Walton makes a call for future action while White (1988) explains that “heavy investment in monitoring and research is required” to fully understand “the extent that the physical, biological, and social processes… are perturbed”

(p. 38). The Aswan Dam “demonstrates the difficulty on scientific grounds of making a definitive evaluation of the full consequences” (White, 1988. p. 38) of large projects that affect many different realms, but this is just a challenge, not a reason that such evaluations should not be done. The complexity of the impacts is why research is needed.

Benefits and Praise

The articles “Aswan Dam Revisted” (Biswas, 1993a) and “Egypt’s High Aswan Dam”

(Abu-Zeid & El-Shibini, 1997) discuss the necessity of the Aswan Dam and praise its successes.

If Walton (1981) and White’s (1988) articles were much more critical of the dam and large water projects in general, then Biswas (1993a) and Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) provide a different perspective. The latter are much more in favor of the Aswan Dam and value the effects the dam DAM DISCOURSE 28 has had on the economy and society over the effects that the dam has had on the natural environment. They also tend to view environmental problems as being issues that are not beyond the capabilities of human control and capability; they are issues that can be prevented by careful monitoring and even controlled or mitigated with technology.

The context of each article must be considered. “Aswan Dam Revisited” was published in the UNESCO Courier in the January issue of 1993. The archives for the UNESCO Courier go from 1989 through 2001 and around fifteen articles, including this one, were published during this time concerning dams. Considering the fact that this periodical was released monthly, the subject of dams made a sporadic appearance. Only one other article published was specifically about the Aswan Dam and the author, Asit K. Biswas, published one other article in the

UNESCO Courier during this time. It was “Crisis in the south,” published in May of 1993 and more broadly discusses water management issues in the developing world (Biswas, 1993b).

The article “Aswan Dam Revisted” is framed as a report that is based on a study, ongoing at the time, by the Third World Centre for Water Management (Biswas, 1993a). This article focused specifically on the Aswan Dam, although the scope of the study was larger. The Ataturk

Dam in Turkey and the Bhakra-Nangal Dam in India were also a part of the research (Biswas,

1993a). The author, Asit K. Biswas, was the founder of the Third World Centre for Water

Management and was the president of this institution at the time this article was published

(Biswas, 1993a; “BISWAS, Asit”). Their mission statement is:

to promote efficient water management and equitable water use, considering not

only today’s problems but also tomorrow’s issues, within the overall context of

international development and poverty alleviation, based on a global view of

solidarity, of an era of globalization. (“About TWCWM,” ¶ 2) DAM DISCOURSE 29

Asit Biswas is or has been involved in many international organizations concerned with water management besides his own institution: he was the president of the International Water

Resources Association and is still a member of this association, was a member of the World

Commission on Water, was a senior advisor to the Executive Director of the United Nations

Environment Programme, and is a member of the Global Agenda Council on Water Security of the World Economic Forum (Biswas, 1993a; “BISWAS, Asit”; “Fellow members”). In an interview about water use in Egypt, Biswas stated, “People have been saying we face a water scarcity issue. I say this is a bunch of baloney, the fundamental problem is us. The solutions are there but we are not using them” (Zayed, 2010, ¶ 7).

Asit Biswas was also the founder and editor in chief of the International Journal of Water

Resources Development, and currently serves as editor (“Biswas, Asit,” 2013; “Editorial board”). This is the journal in which “Egypt’s High Aswan Dam” (Abu-Zeid & El-Shibini, 1997) was published. The journal aims to cover “all aspects of water resources policy, management, development and governance. It is an interdisciplinary journal that focuses on water resources and their economic, financial, social and environmental-related impacts” (“Aims & scope,” ¶ 1).

A search in Academic Search Premier yielded six total articles in the journal concerning the

Aswan Dam (the journal is published quarterly and has been released every year since 1995).

One of the authors, Abu-Zeid, has co-authored another article published in this journal. From this article, it is stated that Abu-Zeid was, at the time, the chairman of the Water Research Center in

Cairo (Abu-Zeid, M., Charlie, W. A., Sunada, D. K., & Khafagy, A., 1995).

The report in Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini’s (1997) article is based on findings from a 1993

Executive Meeting of the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD). This organization holds a meeting each year and they are concerned with “dam safety, monitoring of performance, DAM DISCOURSE 30 reanalysis of older dams and spillways, effects of ageing and environmental impact” (“History,”

¶ 3). In 1993, the ICOLD released a bulletin on the geophysical impacts of dams; these issues may have been primed in the minds of those discussing the Aswan Dam in 1993. With the context of these articles in mind, the content of the articles will now be examined.

The social goods at stake in the articles of Biswas (1993a) and Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini

(1997) are water, scientific truth, economic prosperity, agricultural prosperity, and human health.

There are a few different values associated with water: water availability, control of water, and water quality. Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) make it clear that water control is about

“protecting and safeguarding Egypt from devastating floods and the perils of droughts, famines and starvation,” and that these are all “an asset of the HAD [High Aswan Dam],” (p. 217).

Biswas (1993a) appeals to the past, saying that “throughout history, the Egyptians have harnessed the water of the Nile” (p. 25). Being able to control the Nile’s water is not only essential now, but it has always been a part of life along the Nile.

Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) provide their summary of the main outcomes that construction of the Aswan Dam was supposed to have. Among these are “regulation of the discharge [of the Nile] downstream of the dam to match the actual water needs for different requirements,” “generation of cheap and clean hydroelectric power,” and “change in the system of basin irrigation (one crop per year), to perennial irrigation (two or more crops per year)”

(Abu-Zeid & El-Shibini, 1997, p. 210). Water availability is the first outcome listed, and its specific applications are part of the last two outcomes listed. Biswas (1993a) highlights another aspect of water availability: water storage in the dam’s reservoir, Lake Nasser. Biswas (1993a) asserts:

It is not difficult to see what would have happened to the Egyptian economy and DAM DISCOURSE 31

its social-political conditions if the Dam had not been there to protect the country

from first, the potentially catastrophic impact of nine years of continued drought.

(p. 26)

The things that are now possible because of a better ability to control the Nile’s flow and because of the ability to store large quantities of water are valued over any impacts this redistribution of water may have on river and riparian ecosystems as well as other potentially negative environmental consequences.

Biswas (1993a) does mention the potential water quality issue of water-borne diseases such as schistosomiasis and highlights a successful health program that has managed to lower prevalence rates since pre-dam times. Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini also discuss schistosomiasis

(though they refer to it as bilharzia, another name for the same disease) and more vaguely state that the disease has been controlled (1997). Biswas (1993a) gives some statistics, but both give the overall impression that the Aswan Dam has not increased water-borne disease because the government implemented successful measures to prevent this from occurring.

Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) have a section of their article titled “Water Quality” (p.

215) that discusses the total dissolved solids in the reservoir and the Nile downstream of the dam. They present some numbers for the Nile pre-dam and after dam construction, but there is no indication of what these numbers mean. For example, it is stated, “the TDS [total dissolved solids] are in the range of 185 mg/l” (Abu-Zeid & El-Shibini, 1997, p. 215). It is unclear how large this range is or what that number indicates. They assure that “a programme for continuous water sampling by specialists from the Ministry of Public Works and Ministry of Health is carried out to monitor the water quality” (Abu-Zeid & El-Shibini, 1997, p. 215). In the cases of DAM DISCOURSE 32 schistosomiasis and dissolved solids, it is trusted that the Egyptian government is attentive to water quality.

Scientific truth as a way of understanding and evaluating the dam is important in both of these articles. Biswas (1993a) includes a section in his article about the Cold War politics of the

Aswan Dam, in which he presents the dam as being a “victim” (p. 25). In summary, the U.S. initially intended to finance the dam but withdrew support. The Soviet Union, the U.S.’s rival, stepped in and gave financial support. Then, “soon after the dam was constructed, several

American journalists published a series of articles condemning it” (Biswas, 1993a, p. 25). He then says that no environmental studies had been conducted at the time of these articles and that

“accordingly, all these published opinions were at best only conjectures” (Biswas, 1993a, p. 25).

In the introduction, he describes the Aswan Dam as “the most vilified dam in the world”

(Biswas, 1993a, p. 25) and establishes the beginning of this view of the Aswan Dam as being based on politics and opinion, not objective scientific study. Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) also present this view, saying that “criticisms and opposition to the project were groundless, and most of the conflicts were inspired by political, ideological and emotional disputes, and unbalanced or lack of objectivity and knowledge” (p. 210). Their respective articles are then framed as being based on scientific work from objective points of view. This is valuable because they believe that mainstream views of the Aswan Dam are guided by misinformation and that people should have access to information gained from scientific study to inform their views.

Both articles value scientific truth and they also value the economic benefits that the

Aswan Dam has brought to Egyptian people. This seems to be the true measure of the dam’s success. Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) state that “the success in building and operating the

HAD represents to the Egyptian people their dignity, insistence, will and determination to their DAM DISCOURSE 33 benefits and interests” (p. 217). Examples of evidence given for this statement in the article are that “Farmers were assured of having their water demands met at the right time… giving a very high yield of crop production in spite of poor yield of the catchment during those years,” and

“the yield production per feddan (acre) has increased tremendously since construction of the

HAD” (Abu-Zeid & El-Shibini, 1997, p. 211). Economic prosperity and agricultural prosperity are tied together, but agriculture is not the only area that has contributed to economic benefits.

The dam’s hydropower capabilities have “encouraged an increasing pace of industrialization,” and “navigation along the river has been improved… this has resulted in an increase in the efficiency of transport economics” (Abu-Zeid & El-Shibini, 1997, p. 212). Tourism in Aswan and a new fishing industry in Lake Nasser are also cited as economic benefits (Abu-Zeid & El-

Shibini, 1997).

Biswas (1997) reserves a specific section in his article to discuss the dam’s economic benefits. The cost of the Aswan Dam is presented, and then estimated values of returns from agriculture, hydropower, flood protection, and improved navigation are listed. He says, “At the time of its construction, total cost… amounted to Egyptian £450 million. This is estimated to have been recovered within only two years, since its annual return… was estimated at E£255 million” (Biswas, 1993a, p. 26). In this way, Biswas ties economics and agriculture too, only reporting the monetary return from agriculture without listing any details about crop production

(he does not report on this anywhere in the article). Agriculture is alluded to when he discusses floods and droughts that the Aswan Dam helped Egypt weather (Biswas, 1993a).

Biswas (1993a) and Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) both point out that the Aswan Dam has not caused water-borne diseases such a schistosomiasis to spread. Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini

(1997) say that the disease was expected to spread to Upper Egypt, where it is not as common as DAM DISCOURSE 34 in Lower Egypt. Both articles discuss the fact that the Egyptian government, as well as some international groups, took preventative action that has paid off, with rates of schistosomiasis being lower now than they were before the dam was built. Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini also discuss malaria and say that no cases have been reported at the reservoir (1997). They do not discuss why this would be a problem (it can be inferred that a new, large body of mostly stagnant water might have provided a suitable habitat for mosquitos), but it is clear that they value human health and do not believe that the dam has caused any problems with disease.

The social goods at stake in these articles are about direct benefits to humans and the connections that the authors choose to make, and to ignore, display this further. Both Biswas

(1993a) and Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) make references to Egypt’s past and human interaction with the Nile. Biswas (1993a) says that “Throughout history, Egyptians have harnessed the water of the Nile,” (p. 25) while Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) refer to the

“dams, branch and main canals and annual small storage-capacity reservoirs,” (p. 209) that had been built prior to the Aswan Dam. The Aswan Dam is presented as the latest project of many that have been constructed throughout history to make use of the Nile. Since the history of civilization in Egypt goes back thousands of years, it is a powerful case to make.

As mentioned earlier, Biswas (1993a) envisions what might have happened to Egypt during years of floods and droughts had the dam not been there. Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) do the same, discussing drought and saying “It is also worth noting that… the Egyptian Nile

Valley and Delta were completely safeguarded against the perils of inundation due to the high floods of 1964, 1975, and 1988” (p. 211). Connecting the dam with events in the past, in this case the more recent past that may be memorable to some, presents a strong case in favor of the

Aswan Dam. DAM DISCOURSE 35

These connections and the social goods that the Aswan Dam is associated with make compelling arguments in favor of the dam, but there are some missing or ignored connections that must be examined to understand what the authors want readers to pay attention to. For example, Biswas (1993a) and Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) both discuss the fact that nitrate fertilizers are being used to compensate for the loss of silt that used to be deposited over the land by floods. This connection pays attention to what people have been able to do to compensate for a loss created by the Aswan Dam’s operation, but neither discuss the potential problems that using nitrate fertilizers can create, such as build-up of nitrates in the water, something that is dangerous for human health, which was a concern in both articles. Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini

(1997) do discuss the fact that water quality is being monitored, but they do not specify for what.

Another interesting connection concerns the fishing industry. Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini

(1997) say “fisheries have developed rapidly in Nasser’s lake” (p. 213). Biswas (1993a) notes that the fish catch in the Mediterranean fell after the dam’s construction and then “the High Dam

Lake created a completely new source of fish, and, by 1982, was producing 32,000 tonnes annually, more than compensating for the loss in the Mediterranean” (p. 27). The loss of fishing in the Mediterranean is made irrelevant with the introduction of this new source, but it glosses over the problem created for fishing in the Mediterranean; those reaping the benefits of the Lake

Nasser fishing may not be those who have lost some of their catch from the Mediterranean.

Fishing is one instance where a potential problem created by the Aswan Dam is looked at from a different perspective to make it seem less important. Another instance is the discussion of environmental problems. Biswas (1993a) says, “Although the Dam has contributed to some environmental problems, these have proved to be less severe than was generally expected, or currently believed by many people” (p. 27). Biswas (1993a) does admit that there are problems, DAM DISCOURSE 36 but these problems are rendered less intense and less important because reality does not reflect what he says is popular opinion. Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) have a slightly different take on environmental problems. In the intro to a section titled “Other Environmental Considerations” they discuss environmental issues and “how they were controlled and dealt with” (Abu-Zeid &

El-Shibini, 1997, p. 213). Here the focus is on human benefits and what humans can do. They also admit that there have been environmental issues that construction and operation of the

Aswan Dam has created, but from their view human action has been enough to mitigate these problems. They use the phrase “dealt with,” (Abu-Zeid & El-Shibini, 1997, p. 213) insinuating that there are no longer environmental issues presently because humans have found the solutions.

Later in the article some of the solutions they mention, such as the use of nitrate fertilizers, are not explored fully, as the solutions may have other consequences themselves or ignore structures outside of the Aswan Dam, such as in the discussion of seismic activity. It is reported that “the possible effects of seismicity triggered by the reservoir are insignificant to the seismic safety of the HAD” (Abu-Zeid & El-Shibini, 1997, p. 216). It is important the dam itself is safe from seismic activity, but local seismic activity will not only affect the dam. There is a population of people living on Lake Nasser and there are other structures located near the Aswan Dam. There is no information about how seismic activity affects anything else in the area.

An interesting connection that Biswas (1993a) makes is when he refers to the Nile River, post-dam, as “a glorified canal” (p. 26). This image is of a tame body of water that contrasts with the picture of the dangerous Nile that both Biswas (1993a) and Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) present in their introductions. Biswas perhaps wants the Nile to be thought of less as a natural force and more as a tool and resource that humans have fully tapped in to and are using DAM DISCOURSE 37 exclusively for human benefit. This is a river that is no longer subject to nature’s unpredictability, but to human need.

The connections that the authors make can sometimes render certain information unimportant or irrelevant. The way connections are made or not made are just as important as what knowledge the authors assume the reader has. Certain information presented in the articles may be unclear without certain background knowledge, which can make arguments weaker or more difficult to understand. In Biswas’s article (1993a), it is important that the reader be familiar with the Cold War in general. It is explained how Cold War politics specifically relate to the Aswan Dam, but why the United States and the Soviet Union would take actions to actively undermine or discredit the other is left for the reader to fill in. At the time this article was published, the Cold War would have been a recent event that people reading this article would more likely be aware of. That may not be the case in the present day. Context may affect how salient the points Biswas makes are.

There are some other cases where the authors are not clear or detailed enough. Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) discuss the people that were resettled because of the creation of the reservoir. They say, “the social impact on the migrants has been viewed remarkably positively by the population concerned” (Abu-Zeid & El-Shibini, 1997, p. 213). There is no information given about what these positives are. Previous to that statement, Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) say that “the new settlement area was not far from the areas they used to live in,” and that the new villages “were built in the same order as beforehand” (p. 213). There is no evidence of any positives or benefits, nothing to substantiate the use of the word “remarkable.” Biswas (1993a) is unclear when he says, “appropriate measures have been taken, or are being implemented, to DAM DISCOURSE 38 mitigate the effect of coastal erosion” (p. 27). There is no evidence or mention of any specific project to back up this claim; the reader must rely on the author’s authority.

Another instance where context matters is when Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) say that the Aswan Dam was discussed at the Executive Meeting of the International Commission on

Large Dams (ICOLD) “by worldwide experts, who gave support to the HAD as a vital achievement in a documented report and certificate of excellency” (p. 210). Those unfamiliar with the ICOLD do not have any hint as to who these experts are. Are they engineers or environmental scientists or politicians or economists? The “certificate of excellency” (Abu-Zeid

& El-Shibini, 1997, p. 210) is also vague; what are the criteria for it? Someone familiar with the

ICOLD may understand what these statements mean and imply, but to others it could be unclear.

What kind of language these articles are written with can also influence how the articles present the Aswan Dam. The use of technical language versus everyday language makes the information more or less accessible to different people. Biswas’s (1993a) article is not written with a lot of technical language. He even uses some embellishment in his writing, such as when he discusses “the myths surrounding the Aswan Dam” and then describes the dam as being

“remarkably successful” (Biswas, 1993a, p. 26). He also describes the Aswan Dam as “one of the best dams in the world,” and says that without it, “Egypt would have been in dire economic straits” (Biswas, 1993a, p. 26). Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) use similar language in their article, describing the Aswan Dam as “the cornerstone in Egypt’s economic and social development,” (p. 210) and calling it “one of the landmarks in Egypt’s struggle for social and economic development” (p. 217). Abu-Zeid and El-Shbini (1997) go even further than Biswas

(1993a), calling the Aswan Dam “the only active heart, for Egypt, that continues round the clock DAM DISCOURSE 39 pumping purified blood (water) into the arteries of… canals that feed every inch of the irrigated land” (p. 217).

The use of such metaphors and stronger, more vibrant language is interesting within articles that are asking for objectivity and reexamination of the Aswan Dam. In Abu-Zeid and El-

Shibini’s (1997) article, this language contrasts at times with more technical language. They discuss some specifications of the dam, including its storage capacity and hydroelectric power capacity as well as some physical attributes of the dam, not only including size but materials it is made of: “it is a rockfill dam with grout curtain and clay core” (Abu-Zeid & El-Shibini, 1997, p.

210). This information may be meaningless to those who are not familiar with dam engineering and cannot think of the Aswan Dam in context or comparison with other dams – whether the

Aswan Dam is average or unusual in these aspects is not given. They also later discuss “iso- salinity contour lines,” (Abu-Zeid & El-Shibini, 1997, p. 215), give numbers for dissolved solids, and discuss the amount of “useful Azote” present in soils (Abu-Zeid & El-Shibini, 1997, p. 215).

Those not familiar with the study of hydrology, soils, or maps might not be able to use this information to understand the Aswan Dam. It is interesting to note that “Azote” (Abu-Zeid & El-

Shibini, 1997, p. 215) is another word for nitrogen and is used more commonly in languages other than English.

Both Biswas and Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini are doing several things with their articles.

Overall, both articles are showing support for the Aswan Dam and, by doing so, attempting to undermine any negative stances on the dam. Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) say that “criticisms and opposition to the project were groundless, and… inspired by political, ideological and emotional disputes,” (p. 210) while Biswas (1993a) says that, “An objective evaluation of the

Impacts of the Aswan High Dam…indicates that it has been overwhelmingly positive” (p. 27). DAM DISCOURSE 40

Their support for the dam is presented as being more objective, framing opposing views as not being based on science and undermining their credibility. Biswas (1993a) goes at length to discuss the Aswan Dam within the context of the Cold War, presenting it as a victim of Cold

War politics.

Both Biswas (1993a) and Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) recognize that the Aswan Dam has caused environmental problems, but they believe that the benefits that the dam has brought both socially and economically outweigh these environmental problems; these problems are the price they are willing to pay. Benefits to the people are emphasized; Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini

(1997) state, “Luckily the Egyptian leadership and decision makers, supported by solid justification for the vitality and importance of the project for the welfare of the Egyptian people, decided to go ahead in constructing the project” (p. 210).

Biswas (1993a) and Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) also seem to believe that any problems that the Aswan Dam has created can be solved. Preventing these problems by not building the Aswan Dam would have been “potentially catastrophic” for the Egyptian people

(Biswas, 1993a, p. 26). When Biswas (1993a) presents problems, such as reduction in soil fertility and coastal erosion, a solution or the way these problems are being handled is presented.

Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) do the same in their article, making sure that readers are aware that loss of water due to evaporation from Lake Nasser is within the design considerations and that the government has numerous ways in which aquatic weeds are being controlled. The dam’s problems have either been foreseen or are fixable and within human capability to control. Focus is being directed away from the Aswan Dam’s problems and towards its benefits.

These articles are part of the larger activity of supporting larger-scale development projects. The fact that the Third World Centre for Water Management conducted the study in DAM DISCOURSE 41

Biswas’s article and that Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini’s article was published in the International

Journal of Water Resources Development supports this, as these institutions are invested in water development projects. They encourage better water management strategies for the sake of social and economic development. It makes sense that they would want achievements in these areas highlighted in dams such as the Aswan Dam.

It is not clear how involved officials from the Egyptian government were in either of the studies that these articles discuss, but the Egyptian government would have an interest in promoting the successes of development projects, considering that they put resources into construction of the Aswan Dam. Other developing nations would also be interested in knowing about the economic benefits of dams like the Aswan Dam, especially when the environmental cost is not the only focus.

Finally, these articles might represent the larger interests of engineers of dams. Dams being presented as humans shaping the natural world for their own needs, and as being carefully thought out to avoid environmental disasters, is a better picture than that of dams as evil and ecologically destructive. In countries where agriculture relies upon irrigation from surface waters, such as Egypt, making use of their resources is especially important. Governments must serve their people and the Aswan Dam was constructed as a means to do just that.

Discussion

This research was conducted to find how different articles written about the Aswan Dam construct it as a positive project or not. There were two main ways that the articles framed the dam: as a social/economic success and as creating negative consequences for the natural environment. Success of the Aswan Dam was usually put in terms of the social and economic benefits that the Aswan Dam has made possible for Egypt, while approaching environmental DAM DISCOURSE 42 problems and natural disturbances as issues that do exist, but have been distorted or exaggerated and are within human capability of fixing. The articles more skeptical of the Aswan Dam’s success tend to focus on the environmental problems as well as the solutions to these problems that themselves might cause other issues for Egypt in the future. The articles’ two main messages are that the issues the Aswan Dam has caused are outweighed by its benefits or that the benefits of the Aswan Dam are not benefits long term because the dam is causing environmental issues now that could worsen over time and undermine the positives Egypt has gained from the dam.

All of the articles have similar social goods at stake, such as water, human health, and scientific knowledge. The approaches to these different values and the problems that are framed differ between the skeptical articles and the supportive articles. In the case of water, for example,

Walton (1981) and White (1988) are more concerned with water quality, while Biswas (1993a) and Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) consider water quality, but are more focused on what the water availability has done for Egypt (irrigation all year round, land reclamation, etc.). The same subjects get different treatment depending on the point of view. Walton (1981) and White (1988) call for assessments of the dam based on scientific studies, as do Biswas (1993a) and Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997), who argue that studies done on the dam have been biased against it from the outset.

The connections the authors chose to make in their articles tended to ignore aspects of situations they describe. Claiming that experts had already predicted those problems or neglecting to discuss what the dam as a source of hydroelectric power production has done for the Egyptian people deemphasized environmental problems. Although none of the articles reviewed were written with consistent technical language and jargon, they all neglected to explain certain mechanisms that could have strengthened their arguments. It was clear that DAM DISCOURSE 43

Walton (1981) and White (1988) were concerned with the unpredictability and potential long- term effects that the Aswan Dam could have, making them hope for more comprehensive evaluations of water projects, especially before the construction. Biswas (1993a) and Abu-Zeid and El-Shibini (1997) want a different look at the Aswan Dam beyond its environment effects and consider all of the changes it has made that have benefitted the Egyptian people, the reason it was built in the first place.

This research shows how specific articles are constructed to present different views of the

Aswan Dam. One limitation of this research is that only one specific discourse analysis framework was employed to examine the articles. Other frameworks in existence may provide different insights and see different aspects of the language and discourses that this framework may ignore. Another limitation is that it cannot gauge how readers actually interpret these discourses. The effectiveness of the strategies and choices employed in the articles is an interesting topic that could be answered by further research, using focus groups to understand how the different discourses and choices made by the authors influence people’s views of the dam.

A different way to further this research could be to go beyond the words of the articles; many of them included pictures and diagrams as well. I chose to focus on the language, but language is not the only tool used and an analysis of images could give even more insight into how the articles work to construct an image of the Aswan Dam.

This research shows that discourse analysis can be an insightful and different way of doing research on the physical environment. The way that the world is perceived can shape human actions and policies, so an examination of language used to discuss the physical environment could be valuable. There is an emerging field of research in geography called DAM DISCOURSE 44 critical physical geography that engages with and promotes ideas and questions like the ones asked in this research. It “embraces the unity of social and physical landscape change,” (Lave et al., 2014, p. 7) and is “work that combines critical attention to relations of social power with deep knowledge of biophysical science or technology in the service of social and environmental transformation” (Lave et al., 2014, p. 2).

DAM DISCOURSE 45

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Appendix A

Tools (Gee, 2011)

The Fill In Tool

For any communication, ask: Based on what was said and the context in which it was said, what needs to be filled in here to achieve clarity? What is not being said overtly, but is still assumed to be known or inferable? What knowledge, assumptions, and inferences do listeners have to bring to bear in order for this communication to be clear and understandable and received in the way the speaker intended?

The Frame Problem Tool

After you have completed your discourse analysis – after you have taken into consideration

(filled in) all the aspects of the context that you see as relevant to the meaning of the data – see if you can find out anything additional about the context in which the data occurred and see if this changes your analysis. If it doesn’t, your analysis is safe for now. If it does, you have more work to do. Always push your knowledge of the context as far as you can just to see if aspects of the context are relevant that you might at first have not thought were relevant.

The Doing and Not Just Saying Tool

For any communication, ask not just what the speaker is saying but what he or she is trying to do, keeping in mind that he or she may be trying to do more than one thing.

The Activities Building Tool

For any communication, ask what activity (practice) or activities (practices) this communication is building or enacting. What activity or activities is this communication seeking to get others to recognize as being accomplished? Ask also what social groups, institutions, or cultures support DAM DISCOURSE 50 and set norms for whatever activities are being built or enacted. (The Doing and Not Just Saying

Tool… deals with actions; this tool deals with activities/practices.)

The Politics Building Tool

For any communication, ask how words and grammatical devices are being used to build

(construct, assume) what count as social goods and to distribute these to or withhold them from listeners or others. Ask, as well, how words and grammatical devices are being used to build a viewpoint on how social goods are or should be distributed in society.

The Connections Building Tool

For any communication, ask how the words and grammar being used in the communication connect or disconnect things or ignore connections between things. Always ask, as well, how the words and grammar being used in a communication make things relevant or irrelevant to other things, or ignores their relevance to each other.

The Sign Systems and Knowledge Building Tool

For any communication, ask how the words and grammar being used privilege or de-privilege specific sign systems (e.g., Spanish vs. English, technical language vs. everyday language, words vs. images, words vs. equations, etc.) or different ways of knowing and believing, or claims to knowledge and belief.

The Situated Meaning Tool

For any communication, ask of words and phrases what situated meanings they have. That is, what specific meanings to listeners have to attribute to these words and phrases given the context and how the context is construed?

The Big “D” Discourse Tool DAM DISCOURSE 51

For any communication, ask how the person is using language, as well as ways of acting, interacting, believing, valuing, dressing, and using various objects, tools, and technologies in certain sorts of environments to enact a specific socially recognizable identity and engage in one or more socially recognizable activities. Even if all you have for data is language, as what

Discourse is this language part of, that is, what kind of person (what identity) is this speaker or writer seeking to enact or be recognized as. What sorts of actions, interactions, values, beliefs, and objects, tools, technologies, and environments are associated with this sort of language within a particular Discourse?

DAM DISCOURSE 52

Appendix B

Discourse Analysis Blank Worksheet

Article:

The Fill In Tool •

The Frame Problem Tool •

The Doing and Not Just Saying Tool •

The Activities Building Tool •

The Politics Building Tool •

The Connections Building Tool •

The Sign Systems and Knowledge Building Tool •

The Situated Meaning Tool •

The Big “D” Discourse Tool •

Notes to be categorized •