The Nile basin opportunities, challenges and research priorities - NBI - IWMI joint planning meeting

The Nile Basin Opportunities, Challenges,

and Research Priorities

CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) Nile Basin Regional Focal Program

NBI-IWMI Joint Planning Meeting

The Nile Basin

•Longest River, 6700km•Basin Area: 3.2 million sq.km, 10% of Africa• Basin shared by 11 Basin countries: Burundi, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda• Population of over 400 million; > 200 mill. in the basin•Rich natural and environmental assets•Rich historical heritage

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Kagera (@ fery); 6.3 BCM/y

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Nile (at Dongola); 80 BCM/y

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Atbara (at Mouth); 11.1 BCM/y

4Blue Nile (@ Khartoum); 48.3 BCM/y

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3White Nile (@ mogren); 11.1 BCM/y

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Lake Victoria (@ outflow); 28.6 BCM/y

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Sobat(@ Hillet Dolieb); 13.5 BCM/y

The Nile Basin at a glance

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Bahr el -Jebel (@ Mongala); 36 BCM/y15

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Sudd outflow; 16.5 BCM/y9

Lake Victoria basin

• A transboundary lake

• 2nd largest freshwater lake and largest in Africa

• Lake area: 68,000 km2

• Catchment area: 250,000 sq km;

• Lake offers major regulation of flow

• Major source of water for Urban use, irrigation, fishery, navigation, waste disposal,

• Key challenges: lake level decline, water quality; land degradation

The Sudd Wetlands •One of the largest tropical wetlands in the world (RAMSAR)• Complex hydrology; regulates flow and serves as filter (WQ)• Nearly half of incoming river flow lost to ET • Home to some endemic fish, birds, mammal and plant species. • Major source of water for domestic, livestock, and wildlife use and an important source of fish. • Low level of water infrastructure development; new nation – lots of water infrastructure needs• Major interest to conserve water lost by evaporation (Jonglei Canal)

The Blue Nile

• A major tributary of the Nile that originates in Ethiopian highlands

• Contributes about 60 per cent of annual flow at Aswan, Egypt

• Very seasonal; nearly 70 per cent of flow occurs in 4 months

• Highly eroded watershed – soil loss through erosion

• Low level of water infrastructure development

• Has huge potential for hydropower development; excellent cites for flow regulation

• Opportunities for regional cooperation

The Nile Delta, Egypt

• Nile fully regulated (Aswan High Dam

• Very little rainfall; No significant locally generated river flow

• Well developed water resources infrastructure

• Main challenges: decline in per capita water availability, declining water quality, sea level rise, soil salinization,

• Potential impact of upstream developments on water availability ?

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the Nile Basin Countries…Facing rapidly changing economies and population

Source: World Bank; World Development Indicator database

- Increased water demand- Increased energy demand - More effluent flows into water

bodies water quality concerns - More encroachments into

floodplains Increased risk to floods

the threat of climate change….

Upstream economies:- Agriculture is backbone of

economy- hostage to climatic

variability?

Water Storagethe ability to mitigate against variability through the simple principle of storing water from times of plenty for use in times of scarcity.

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North America - 6150 m3/personAustralia - 4729China - 2486

Artificial storage – m3 per person

and a massive infrastructure gap

the Nile Delta

• Nile fully regulated (Aswan High Dam

• No significant locally generated river flow

• Main challenges: decline in per capita water availability, deterioration of water quality are, sea level rise, soil salinization,

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and dependency on upstream riparians

Preemptive control of water or

Collaboration?

Opportunities for cooperation• Flood risks management: data sharing; early warning systems,

preparedness and mitigation.

– Ethiopia – Sudan; Uganda – South Sudan; Ethiopia – South Sudan

• Hydropower development and power trade:

– Rusumo falls (Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania)

– Ethiopia – Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania

• Agricultural trade

• Joint management of water storage facilities:

– E.g. Lake Victoria (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda)

– Ethiopia – Sudan – Egypt

• Managing Risks (e.g. climate change, pollution, sedimentation)

• Managing scarce water resources:

– Supply development

– Demand side management 9

Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) Launched in 1999

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Shared Vision:

Sustainable socio-economic development through equitable utilization of, and benefit from, the common Nile Basin water

resources.

Three Core Functions:- Facilitation of Cooperation- Water Resources Management - Water Resources Development

Facilitating Cooperation (basin-wide)

Lead Centre: NBI Secretariat

• Program Objective: To facilitate, support and nurture cooperation amongst the Nile Basin countries so as to promote timely and efficient joint actions for securing benefit from the common Nile Basin water resources.

• Program Description:

Providing and operating a unique platform for inter-country dialogue and negotiation on issues of sustainable water management and development.

Facilitating regional liaison among water-related interests and provision of strategic information.

Water Resource Management (basin-wide)

Lead Centre : NBI Secretariat

Program Objective: To assess, manage and safeguard the water resource base that supports the peoples of the Nile Basin through applying the principles of knowledge-based IWRM to water development planning and assessment.

Focus areas:

• Development, maintenance and administration of analytic systems and capacity

• Technical analysis on strategic water resources management issues

• Knowledge management

• River basin monitoring

• Transboundary policy formulation and advisory support

Water Resource Development (sub-basin)

Lead Centre: SAP Centres (NELSAP-CU and ENTRO)

Program Objective: To identify, prepare and facilitate investment in transboundary water development projects and programs whilst avoiding negative impacts on the health of the Nile Basin’s resources through applying the principles of IWRM.

Program Description: Assisting its member countries to achieve joint water development projects and management programs through supporting the identification of development opportunities, the preparation of projects and facilitation of investment to enable member countries to implement the projects.

Key achievements of NBI

• Brings all riparians together and provide the form for dialogue

• Through technical cooperation, generated wealth of knowledge on the Nile Basin water resources system

• Improved mutual understanding among riparian states and non-governmental stakeholders of the fragility, sensitivity, hydro-politics, of the Nile

• Prepared joint projects and initiated implementation

• Mobilized major international support

• Contributed towards reducing information/knowledge asymmetry among riparian countries

• Succeeded to bring the cooperation agenda high in all riparian countries

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How the research community can helpAreas for Applied Research

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- Exploring ways for enhancing efficiency in agricultural water use: - Where are the hope spots for improvement- What is possible – how much water can be ‘reclaimed’? - How much would it ease stress on the water resources

- Demand side management and its potential for alleviating pressure on the Nile water resources

- Ecological flows:- Cause-effect relationship with water – use sectors - Estimation of environmental flows

- Rainfed Agriculture- What are the risks due to climate change? And what adaptation

mechanisms are available; blue water – green water; - Transboundary Water Resources Managing water scarce river basin

– lessons from other basins

How the research community can helpAreas for Applied Research

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- Salinity:- Combined water and salt balance development for the Nile-

Delta- Evaluation of scenarios for managing salinity (water application

technology and impacts on salinity, impacts of upstream water resources development)

- Tradeoffs - Benefits of cooperation and risks of non-cooperation - Policy research: policy gaps, impacts of policy applications, ..- Science - policy/decision making interface – what best practices are

available out there?- Groundwater resources