CGIAR Research Program on Water Land and Ecosystems (WLE) attempts to help meet development potential in East Africa through research for development strategies in the Nile basin. The 1st Regional Design Workshop for the Nile Basin will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from October 17-19, 2013.

1. 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

2. 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

3. 1
2
20
Kagera (@ fery); 6.3 BCM/y
1
Nile (at Dongola); 80 BCM/y
2
Atbara (at Mouth); 11.1 BCM/y
4
Blue Nile (@ Khartoum); 48.3 BCM/y
3 4
3
White Nile (@ mogren); 11.1 BCM/y
19
Lake Victoria (@ outflow); 28.6 BCM/y
10
Sobat(@ Hillet Dolieb); 13.5 BCM/y
The Nile Basin at a glance
9
10
15
Bahr el -Jebel (@ Mongala); 36 BCM/y15
19
20
Sudd outflow; 16.5 BCM/y
9
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 ?

4. 4
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

5. the threat of climate change….
Upstream economies:
- Agriculture is backbone of
economy
- hostage to climatic
variability?

6. Water Storage
the ability to
mitigate against
variability
through the
simple principle
of storing water
from times of
plenty for use in
times of scarcity.
11
47
114
139
142
307
363
370
492
788
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Lesotho
Ethiopia
Kenya
Algeria
Tanzania
Nigeria
Namibia
BurkinaFaso
Morocco
SouthAfrica
storage/capita
North America - 6150 m3/person
Australia - 4729
China - 2486
Artificial storage – m3 per person
and a massive infrastructure gap

7. 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,
7

8. 8
and dependency on upstream riparians
Preemptive control
of water or
Collaboration?

9. 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

10. Nile Basin Initiative (NBI)
Launched in 1999
10
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

11. 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.

12. 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

13. 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.

14. 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
14

15. How the research community can help
Areas for Applied Research
15
- 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

16. How the research community can help
Areas for Applied Research
16
- 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