The Nile Basin
Summary of basin characteristics
H A N D O U T
Sustainability of engineered rivers in arid lands:
Outlook to 2060
January 13-16, 2014
Texas, USA.
Lars Ribbe
Professor for Integrated Land and Water Resources
Management in the Tropics and Subtropics.
CONTENTS
Geography ....................................................................................... Page 3
Climate ............................................................................................... Page 4
Water Resources ............................................................................. Page 5
Water demand ................................................................................ Page 6
Other river functions ........................................................................ Page 7
Demographics and economy ...................................................... Page 8
Planned water resources projects ............................................... Page 9
Water management agencies and policies ........................... Page 10
Transboundary agreements ........................................................ Page 12
Key Problems .................................................................................. Page 13
Current knowledge about impacts of climate change and reservoir
sedimentation ................................................................................. Page 14
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GEOGRAPHY
Location of the Nile Basin and the shared
countries
`page 3 of 15
CLIMATE
Rainfall regimes over the Nile basin (base period
is 1961 to 1990).
.
`page 4 of 15
WATER RESOURCES
Nile flow at key locations
Interannual variability of Nile flow at High Aswan
Dam
`page 5 of 15
WATER DEMAND
Water Stress
In a few years from now, the coming water scarcity reaches most of
Africa. Almost all sub-Saharan countries will be below the level at which
water supply is enough for all. Even worse, most of them will be in a state
of water-stress or scarcity.
`page 6 of 15
OTHER RIVER FUNCTIONS
The existing reservoirs are used for irrigation,
hydropower and flood regulations. The natural
lakes and reservoirs are also used as source of
fishes. The Sudd wetland acts like a giant
sponge, retaining water and releasing it slowly
throughout the year. In this way, it regulates the
flows of the White Nile. It is considered as highly
biodiverse ecosystem. Due to cataracts and
bends, the Nile River is not entirely navigable.
Historic Water transportation system
`page 7 of 15
DEMOGRAPHICS AND ECONOMY
Data source: FAO (2011) and FAOSTAT (2013)
Source: ITT Nile Group (2013)
Population
The population of the Nile Basin countries was estimated around 372
million in 2005 with 54% of the total population lives within the Nile basin.
ECONOMY
Riparian Countries’ GDP Growth Rate in 2012
`page 8 of 15
WATER RESOURCES PROJECTS
Planned Hydropower Scheme
Planned Irrigation Scheme
Existing hydropower schemes (MW):
High Aswan Dam (2100), Merowe (1250),
Tekeze (300), Roseries (280), Owen falls (270),
Bujagali (250), Tana-Beles (219), Fincha (134),
Tis Abay (84), Jebel Aulia (28), Kashim El-Girba
(18), Sennar (15).
Hydropower scheme under construction (MW):
GRED (6000, Ethiopia), Karuma (250, Uganda)
Existing irrigation schemes (´000 ha):
Downstream of High Aswan Dam including
delta (4100), Toshka (500), Suki (30), Upstream
Sennar (78), Downstream Sennar (167), Gezira
and Managil (882), Rahad (148), Fincha (8,
Ethiopia) and Upstream of Lake Tana (7,
Ethiopia).
Existing dams on the Nile
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WATER MANAGEMENT AGENCIES
AND POLICIES
Nile Basin Strategic Action Program
At present Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) is operational as the transitional
institutional mechanism after TECCONILE. Water ministers of the following
countries participate since 1999: Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Egypt,
Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda while Eritrea has observer
statuser.
“NBI serves as a (transitional) institutional framework for managing
transboundary trade-offs and opportunities, such as sharing hydropower
benefits, stronger integration in agriculture markets and exploiting
opportunities for regional trade.
The NBI developed a Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement
containing 44 articles clearly defining the intension, utilization,
sustainability, optimization, benefit sharing and cost sharing principles of
Nile riparian states.
NBI Strategy:
`page 10 of 15
WATER MANAGEMENT AGENCIES
AND POLICIES…
Managing water resources under conflict
situation:
By coming together to jointly manage their shared water resources,
countries build trust and prevent conflict. In the face of potential conflict
and regional instability, the Nile basin countries continue to seek
cooperative solutions.
Water management schemes must promote equitable use for current
and future users, increase access, share benefits, and encourage broad
participation.
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TRANSBOUNDARY AGREEMENTS
Nile Basin treaties overview:
Source: ITT Nile Group (2013) The use of the Nile River has for centuries been monopolized by the lower
riparian countries that claim ‘historic right’ over the waters. The hegemony
over the Nile Waters has been under these countries, thus building tensions
among the riparian countries. The upper riparian countries which are
sources of the water were for long alienated from their own vital resource.
Also, none of the past treaties and agreements dealing with the use of
Nile waters signed during the colonial period involved all the riparian
countries and they did not deal equitably with the interests of these
riparians. Also they did not take in to account the impact of water
development on the basin social and biophysical environment.
Despite a long history of conflicts over Nile waters, yet currently there is no
basin-wide agreement or governing body ratified by all riparian states.
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KEY PROBLEMS
Current Observed Issues:
 Population growth and rapid
development
 Drought
 Strong socio-economic
dependency on water
 Absence of basin-wide
management
 Complex hydrology
 Environmental hazards
 Livelihoods issues
 Conflict and inequity
 Power imbalance and mistrust
 Uncertainty an lack of transparency
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SEDIMENTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Standardized anomaly indices of
annual mean temperatures of the
Eastern Nile Basin
The largest sediment contribution (61%)
comes from the Blue Nile (Abay)
catchment, followed by (36%) from the
`page 14 of 15
REFERENCES
FAO (2011). Farming Systems Report Synthesis of the Country Reports at the level of the Ni
Basin. Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations, Rome.
307–334, Springer, Dordrecht,The Netherlands.
Aquastat dams database (2008). AQUASTAT – Geo - referenced database on African da
Original 5 April 2006 , revised 14 March 2011 , revised 2 Ju ly 2013. From
http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/dams/index.stm
Camberlin, P. (2009) Nile Basin climates, in The Nile, H. J. Dumont (ed.), Monographiae
Biologicae 89,
ITT Nile Group (2013): A research group on the Eastern Nile Basin http://www.tt.fh-koeln.de
Mohamed, Ahmed and Jagannathan, N. Vijay (2009), Egypt: Water Sector Public Expend
Review. In: Jagannathan, N. V. Mohamed, Ahmed S. and Kremer, Alexander(Ed), Water i
Arab World Management Perspectives and Innovations. (pp. 37-57), Washington, DC USA
International Bank of Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank Middle East and
Africa (MENA) Region Publishing
NBI (2012): State of the River Nile Basin Report. Nile Basin Intiative (NBI) Publishing.
UNEB (2008): Vital Water Graphics An Overview of the State of the World’s Fresh and Mar
Waters - 2nd Edition – 2008. From http://www.unep.org/dewa/vitalwater/article83.html
UNEP. (2013). “Adaptation to Climate-change Induced Water Stress in the Nile Basin: A
Vulnerability Assessment Report”. Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA). United
Nations Enviroment Programme (UNEP). Nairobi, Kenya.
Waterwatch (2009): The Nile basin: Irrigation water management. Retrieved from:
http://www.waterwatch.nl/publications/posters/nile-basin-irrigation-water-management.
on 8/1/2014
Zeitoun, Mark, J.A. (Tony) Allan, Yasir Mohieldeen (2010): Virtual water ‘flows’ of the Nile B
1998–2004: A first approximation and implications for water security Original Research Arti
Global Environmental Change, Volume 20, Issue 2, May 2010, Pages 229-242.
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