Between ambivalence and necessity in the Nile Basin: Occlusions on the path towards a basin-wide treaty

“Watersheds come in families; nested levels of intimacy. On the grandest scale the hydrologic web is like all humanity. ... The big river is like your nation, a little out of hand. The lake is your cousin. The creek is your sister. The pond is her child. And, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, you are married to your sink.” 1