Water and Pasture are the real triggers of the conflict in Darfur
I worked in Darfur for five years from the late sixties to early seventies. My work was with the newly established Rural Water Corporation. Its main task was to provide and improve water supplies for the rural communities and their ever increasing animal wealth of cattle, camels, sheep and goats. It was apparent at the time that this increasing number of animals is causing great stress on the limited pastures which were also dwindling due to the decreasing rainfall. The declining rainfall pattern and its erratic nature affected the water and pasture availability for the Baggara, Rizeigat, Hebaniya and other nomadic Arabs in the south and the Hebala Rizeigat camel herding in the north. In between in the central areas the Fur and Zaghawa and other small African tribes were living in semi-sedentary villages along alluvial channels flowing from the Jebel Marra massif. The shallow aquifers were just enough to supply them with water for their small number of sheep and goats and irrigation of small batches of vegetables and legumes. The migratory patterns of the camel herders from the north who have their customary problems with the settled Meidob and Zaghaw started to have other problems with the settlers around Wadi Kutum one of the well established irrigation areas from the alluvial aquifers. Few Arab tribes settled in between the Africans in the western J. Marra water shed.
Great effort was made to establish water points along the migratory routes. New water points were also created in virgin areas of the Qoz Dango in the south west of Darfur, along the Kutum, Wadi Howar, Libya road in the north-west and also along the Mellit, Malha, Meidob areas in the north-east. But, by the early seventies and due to decreasing rainfall and the failure of the millet crop for several years; the Meidob, Zaghwa and other tribes started to migrate south.
Major towns and cities become overcrowded with the unsettled villagers. El Fasher, Nyala, Zalingei, Genina, Daein, Buram, Abu Gabra and Abu Materig were facing major water problems even before the great invasion of the refugees. These places will never have adequate water supplies; groundwater aquifers are not replenished, alluvial aquifers are used to dryness, surface water dams, haffirs and fulas never fill up as they used to do in the past except in very wet years. Water shortage will become the norm and inhabitants will have to live on rations and quota, and as pastures would have been overgrazed, animal numbers will be dramatically reduced.
I am not an Arab and I am not a Muslim, I worked with both when Darfur used to be the most peaceful place in Africa. I used to travel with my pickup all over Darfur, sleep anywhere under the starry sky, share Arabs, Fur, Meidob, or Zaghwa their meals. Conflicts were easily solved by peaceful discussions around the fire in the evening. Bores, dams and haffirs were decided based on population distribution migratory routes and pasture availability. I can clearly see that the conflict has nothing to do with Arabs against Africans, or between Africans or between Arabs. It all has to do with the water and pasture resources. If the problem is not solved along these lines, it will never be solved. If the people are fighting for discovered or yet to be discovered oil or mineral resources, I think their fight is in vain.