Your search found 7 records
1 Dile, Y. T.; Tekleab, S.; Ayana, E. K.; Gebrehiwot, S. G.; Worqlul, A. W.; Bayabil, H. K.; Yimam, Y. T.; Tilahun, S. A.; Daggupati, P.; Karlberg, L.; Srinivasan, R. 2018. Advances in water resources research in the Upper Blue Nile Basin and the way forward: a review. Journal of Hydrology, 560:407-423. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.03.042]
Water resources ; Research ; Water conservation ; Soil conservation ; Erosion ; Climate change ; Land use ; Catchment areas ; Water balance ; Hydrology ; Models ; Economic development ; Agriculture ; Remote sensing / Ethiopia / Upper Blue Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048798)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169418302087/pdfft?md5=fd653f0a22b3bbc8ecfa4c346eb5cfc9&pid=1-s2.0-S0022169418302087-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H048798.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H048798.pdf
(1.32 MB) (1.32 MB)
The Upper Blue Nile basin is considered as the lifeline for ~250 million people and contributes ~50 Gm3 / year of water to the Nile River. Poor land management practices in the Ethiopian highlands have caused a significant amount of soil erosion, thereby threatening the productivity of the Ethiopian agricultural system, degrading the health of the aquatic ecosystem, and shortening the life of downstream reservoirs. The Upper Blue Nile basin, because of limited research and availability of data, has been considered as the "great unknown." In the recent past, however, more research has been published. Nonetheless, there is no state-of-the-art review that presents research achievements, gaps and future directions. Hence, this paper aims to bridge this gap by reviewing the advances in water resources research in the basin while highlighting research needs and future directions. We report that there have been several research projects that try to understand the biogeochemical processes by collecting information on runoff, groundwater recharge, sediment transport, and tracers. Different types of hydrological models have been applied. Most of the earlier research used simple conceptual and statistical approaches for trend analysis and water balance estimations, mainly using rainfall and evapotranspiration data. More recent research has been using advanced semi-physically/physically based distributed hydrological models using high-resolution temporal and spatial data for diverse applications. We identified several research gaps and provided recommendations to address them. While we have witnessed advances in water resources research in the basin, we also foresee opportunities for further advancement. Incorporating the research findings into policy and practice will significantly benefit the development and transformation agenda of the Ethiopian government.
2 Abraham, T.; Liu, Y.; Tekleab, S.; Hartmann, A. 2023. Climate change potentially induces ecological change in the Ethiopian Rift Valley Lakes Basin. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 50:101543. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2023.101543]
Climate change ; Stream flow ; Rift valleys ; Watersheds ; Indicators ; Ecological factors ; Climate models ; Environmental flows ; Riparian environments ; Precipitation ; Evapotranspiration ; Uncertainty / Ethiopia / Rift Valley Lakes Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052439)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581823002306/pdfft?md5=af3d1b3295086854cc7849eb78491dc7&pid=1-s2.0-S2214581823002306-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052439.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052439.pdf
(9.12 MB) (9.12 MB)
Streamflow regime management is critical for preserving species in riverine and riparian habitats. Quantifying flow-ecology relationships can help to characterize the effect of flow regime change on species; however, dealing with this in ungauged catchments is challenging. By regionalizing simulation of streamflow to ungauged catchments, the Indicators of Hydrological Alterations (IHA) are calculated and used as a proxy for quantifying ecological impacts. High-resolution Regional Climate Models are used to derive the future streamflow in both gauged and ungauged catchments of the Ethiopian Rift Valley Lakes Basin (RVLB). Consequently, 32 IHAs representing the magnitude, duration, frequency, rate, and timing of streamflow events during their historical and future periods are calculated. The number of cases for future IHAs deviating from their historical range is calculated, which is called the non-attainment rate of future IHAs. A threshold value for the non-attainment rate is set to classify the impact as no-impact, low, medium, or high. The non-attainment rate for the future period indicates that, high ecological impact resulted in October, which is the local high flow month. Spatially, a shift towards a later date of the Julian date indicating the maximum flow resulted in a high ecological impact. This approach can be adapted to other regions with reliable regionalization results and suitable future climate models, which would be useful for the quantification and management of ecological impacts in ungauged regions.
3 Haile, Alemseged Tamiru; Haileslassie, Amare; Mekuria Bori, Wolde; Tekleab, S.; Dejen, Z. A.; Goshime, D. W.; Siegfried, T.; Ragettli, S. 2024. Addressing challenges of water allocation planning (WAP) for sustainable water management in the Ziway-Shala Lakes Sub-Basin (ZSSB), Ethiopia. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 8p.
Water management ; Sustainable development ; Water resources ; Water allocation ; Planning ; Lakes ; Water use ; Wetlands ; Water balance ; Water levels ; Water extraction ; Water demand ; Decision-support systems ; Degradation ; Freshwater ecosystems / Ethiopia / Ziway-Shala Lakes Sub-Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052758)
(683 KB)
There is an increasing awareness about the threats posed to the water resources of the Ziway-Shala lakes sub-basin (ZSSB) due to uncontrolled water use and the resulting ecological degradation. To respond to these threats, there are ongoing collaborative efforts to prepare and implement Water Allocation Plans (WAP) for the sub-basin. However, the success of these efforts is being undermined by several barriers, including a lack of sound scientific knowledge, data, tools, inadequate water governance, and socioeconomic challenges. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and other members of the SaWeL (Safeguarding Sahelian Wetlands for Food Security) consortium conducted studies to address these sets of challenges. These studies included the identification of data gaps and opportunities for hydrological monitoring, water balance and water allocation. A framework for ecologically sustainable agricultural water management was developed, and training as well as other capacity-building activities were conducted. The findings of these studies indicate the need to strengthen existing hydrological monitoring, realize opportunities provided by emerging data sources, follow a conflict-sensitive approach to WAP, and follow innovative and collaborative approaches to capacity building of the basin administration office. Ongoing WAP preparation and implementation efforts for the sub-basin would greatly benefit from the knowledge, data and tools generated by the SaWeL consortium members and other efforts. This brief highlights the key challenges of the WAP process and the evidence generated, thereby presenting key recommendations to improve implementation of WAP.
4 Taye, Meron Teferi; Seid, Abdulkarim H.; Tilaye, R.; Tekleab, S.; Mohammed, M.; Berhanu, B. 2024. Improving water and climate data and decision support tools for climate-smart water management in Ethiopia. Synthesis report prepared by the Prioritization of Climate-smart Water Management Practices project. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 28p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2024.205]
Water management ; Climatic data ; Decision-support systems ; Climate change ; Water resources ; Water availability ; Water use ; Monitoring ; Groundwater ; Climate services ; Databases ; Early warning systems ; Weather forecasting ; Institutions / Ethiopia / Awash Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052695)
(15.4 MB)
Water is the medium through which most impacts of climate change on people’s livelihoods and ecosystems are transmitted. Climate change can lead to increasing scarcity of water, intensify variability in rainfall and, thereby, river discharge; and exacerbate the severity of flood, drought and heatwave extremes. Reducing climate-induced water scarcity and enhancing climate resilience to water-related hazards requires well-thought-out actions that include water infrastructure development, putting in place adaptive institutional frameworks, and increasingly developing and employing innovations and future-oriented climate and water data and decision support systems. This report is one of the outputs of the study conducted by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) as part of the project Prioritization of Climate-smart Water Management Practices. The aim of the study has been to develop recommendations for addressing two of the critical gaps identified for improving climate resilience of water resources management in Ethiopia, namely, (1) inadequate data and information on key hydrological variables that have led to a lack of recent knowledge on water availability, actual water use, water source types and potentials; and (2) a lack of decision support tools that would provide strategic and operational level information and capacity for risk-based planning and management of water resources. The report is based on an analysis of collected data, information gleaned through stakeholder consultations and a review of existing literature on climate and water data, and decision support tools in use in the Awash River Basin and at national level in Ethiopia. This synthesis report focuses on the technical aspects of climate and water data and decision support tools, while the institutional aspects are presented in Sanchez Ramirez et al. 2024.
This study conceptualizes climate-smart water management as having three reinforcing objectives: maximize the goods and services that can be produced from the limited water resources; minimize the impact of climate extremes — floods and droughts at multiple scales; curtail the impact of rainfall variability across scales, including small-scale agricultural producers, and enhance water resources planning and management at the basin scale.
Key challenges that have been identified include inadequate spatial coverage of hydrometeorological networks; short and, very often, intermittent river discharge data; almost nonexistent water use monitoring; fragmentation of data and inadequate capacity of skilled personnel. There are a number of ongoing efforts by the Ministry of Water and Energy with the aim of addressing these challenges. Weather forecasts are made regularly by the Ethiopian Meteorology Institute (EMI) with attempts to translate these forecasts into their potential impacts on agriculture, water and health. These forecasts and their translation into sector-specific implications need to be improved to make them actionable at lower spatial scales. There is also a need to improve the interoperability of databases and systems to minimize data fragmentation and ensure timely sharing of data.
This report presents a conceptual architecture of improved water and climate data and decision support tools, together with specific recommendations for improving hydrometeorological data collection networks, monitoring of agricultural water use, communication of information across scales and decision support tools. The recommendations are intended to provide input for ongoing discussions on improving climate and water data and decision support tools for climateresilient water resources management in Ethiopia.
This study conceptualizes climate-smart water management as having three reinforcing objectives: maximize the goods and services that can be produced from the limited water resources; minimize the impact of climate extremes — floods and droughts at multiple scales; curtail the impact of rainfall variability across scales, including small-scale agricultural producers, and enhance water resources planning and management at the basin scale.
Key challenges that have been identified include inadequate spatial coverage of hydrometeorological networks; short and, very often, intermittent river discharge data; almost nonexistent water use monitoring; fragmentation of data and inadequate capacity of skilled personnel. There are a number of ongoing efforts by the Ministry of Water and Energy with the aim of addressing these challenges. Weather forecasts are made regularly by the Ethiopian Meteorology Institute (EMI) with attempts to translate these forecasts into their potential impacts on agriculture, water and health. These forecasts and their translation into sector-specific implications need to be improved to make them actionable at lower spatial scales. There is also a need to improve the interoperability of databases and systems to minimize data fragmentation and ensure timely sharing of data.
This report presents a conceptual architecture of improved water and climate data and decision support tools, together with specific recommendations for improving hydrometeorological data collection networks, monitoring of agricultural water use, communication of information across scales and decision support tools. The recommendations are intended to provide input for ongoing discussions on improving climate and water data and decision support tools for climateresilient water resources management in Ethiopia.
5 Wabela, K.; Hammani, A.; Tekleab, S.; Taky, A. 2024. Farmers’ perception on technical and irrigation water user associations (IWUAs) performance of selected small-scale irrigation schemes in the Ethiopian Rift Valley. Sustainable Water Resources Management, 10(9):11. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-023-00989-x]
Small-scale irrigation ; Irrigation schemes ; Irrigation water ; Irrigation management ; Irrigated farming ; Water user associations ; Farmers ; Institutions ; Rift valleys ; Water allocation ; Household surveys ; Water distribution systems ; Water scarcity ; Food security / Ethiopia / Twelve River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052744)
(0.80 MB)
Local irrigation institutions are crucial for effectively managing and sustaining irrigation schemes. This study assessed the farmers' perceptions on technical and irrigation water user associations' (IWUAs) management performance of selected irrigation schemes in the Ethiopian Rift Valley. Four small-scale irrigation (SSI) schemes, namely, Furfuro, Murtute, Bedene Alemtena (hereafter referred to as Bedene), and Sibisto, were selected for this study. Data were collected using scheme performance reports, household surveys, key informant interviews (KII), focus group discussions (FGD) with various stakeholders, and field observations. Results showed that the reliability and water delivery performance of Furfuro and Sibisto were rated as good by 52% and 41% of respondents, respectively, and poor by 22% and 25%. In Murtute and Bedene, 73% and 51% of respondents, respectively, said that the reliability and water delivery performance were poor, and 11% and 21% rated them as good. Similarly, in Murtute and Bedene, 32% and 37% of respondents, respectively, said that the water allocation was seriously unfair, and 50% and 43% said that they occasionally see unfairness. Although the severity of the problems varies between schemes, the operation, maintenance, and water allocation systems of all schemes were unsatisfactory. The general observation of participants in FGD, KII, and household surveys indicated that the IWUAs were unable to manage the schemes based on the outlined rules and regulations. Lack of training and financial constraints affected the IWUA's ability to manage the schemes properly. In general, poor market access, high input costs, and inefficient irrigation management systems impacted the irrigation production in the study area.
6 Wabela, K.; Hammani, A.; Taky, A.; Tekleab, S.. 2024. On-farm performance evaluation of small-scale irrigation schemes in the Ethiopian Rift Valley: internal and external performance process approach. Irrigation and Drainage, 13p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.2960]
Small-scale irrigation ; Irrigation schemes ; Irrigation water ; Water management ; Water demand ; Water use ; Water supply ; Indicators ; Sustainability ; Irrigated farming ; Food security ; Rainfall ; Crop water use ; Wheat ; Onions ; Tomatoes ; Water requirements / Ethiopia / Wulbareg / Wera / Rift Valley
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052766)
(1.34 MB)
This study evaluated the on-farm performance of two small-scale irrigation schemes, Furfuro and Bedene Alemtena (hereafter referred to as Bedene), in the Ethiopian Rift Valley. Two sets of performance indicator parameters were used. The first group was internal performance indicators, which included conveyance, water application and application uniformity. The water flow velocity through canals was monitored using the floating method. The amount of irrigation water applied to the fields was measured using a cutthroat flume. The second group was external performance indicators, including agricultural performance, water use performance and physical sustainability indicators. The results indicated that Furfuro had average conveyance, application and uniformity efficiencies of 84%, 59% and 50%, respectively, while that of Bedene were 79%, 63% and 55%, respectively. The overall efficiencies for both schemes were about 49%, which is lower than the minimum permissible values. The outputs per irrigation supply and consumed water for Furfuro were 0.14 and 0.16 US$/m3, respectively, and they were 0.11 US$/m3 for Bedene. The relative irrigation and total water supply of Furfuro were 1.21 and 1.20, respectively, indicating the presence of excess water in the command area during the study season. The relative irrigation and water supply of Bedene was 0.81, which indicated that the scheme was water deficient. Irrigation water management practices need improvement in the two schemes.
7 Taye, Meron Teferi; Seid, Abdulkarim H.; Tekleab, S.; Tilaye, R.; Abebe, S.; Admassu, W.; Bitew, A.; Abdulkadir, O.; Mohammed, M.; Berhanu, B. 2024. Multi-scale water resources assessment in Awash Basin, Ethiopia. Synthesis report prepared by the Prioritization of Climate-smart Water Management Practices project. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 34p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2024.211]
Water resources ; water management ; Water demand ; Water use ; Assessment ; River basins ; Hydrology ; Groundwater ; Climate change ; Vulnerability ; Climate resilience ; Decision-support systems ; Watersheds ; Water availability ; Institutions / Ethiopia / Awash River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052839)
(23.9 MB)
Water resources management under a changing climate requires a multi-scale water resources understanding of a given basin. The Awash River Basin of Ethiopia is experiencing various water management challenges due to its complex hydro-climatological conditions and a range of water users, hence understanding the anthropogenic impacts on hydrological changes is complex. The study is aimed at improving the climate resilience of water management practices at multiple spatial scales. This report is a synthesis of the multi-scale water resources assessment of the Awash Basin. The objectives are: (1) characterization of the basin’s distribution and availability of water; (2) identification of the existing water resources planning and management practices; (3) challenges at multiple scales; and (4) developing recommendations to address observed gaps. The approach used to meet these objectives is a water resources assessment from the landscape to the basin-scale. This is to understand the current practices on water management through field observation, stakeholder consultations, and the analysis of existing data and literature on water resources of the basin. Field observations were conducted on selected learning watersheds in three sub-basins: Borkena, Mille and Awash Terminal. The specific watersheds are Felana, Lake Maybar and Gelana, and Ewa and Afambo. The key challenges to water resources management that were observed at basin, sub-basin and watershed levels are: (1) inadequate data and information on key hydrological variables that led to a lack of recent knowledge on water availability, actual water use, types and potentials of water sources; (2) lack of decision-support tools that would provide strategic and operational level information for risk-based planning and management of water resources (3) lack of appropriate water infrastructure and context-specific technologies that can support small-scale producers (SSPs) and basin-level water managers; (4) lack of well-coordinated institutions to govern and manage water resources from catchment to basin levels; and (5) lack of technical skills and knowledge on how to monitor water availability, water use, and the application of tools. The implications of these challenges are visible in water scarcity observed during dry seasons for different sectors; low agricultural productivity; upstream-downstream tension on water; flooding damages in peak rainfall seasons; and deterioration in water quality that impacts agriculture and drinking water supply. This study finds out that the practice of water resources management in the basin requires substantial strengthening to make it climate resilient. The study proposes strategies that would help in making climate-smart water resources management practices in the basin. Climate-smart water resources management is defined as the practice that would maximize the goods and services that can be produced from limited water resources; minimize the impact of climate extremes - floods and droughts at multiple scales; curtail the impact of rainfall variability on small-scale producers, and enhance water resources planning and management at the basin-scale. To achieve these goals, the study proposes to utilize five strategies which are: (1) improving availability and access to timely and context-specific climate and water information services that are well coordinated across sectors; (2) enhancing water use efficiency and productivity at multiple scales and sectors; (3) promoting integrated water storage use and management; (4) improving climate-resilient water governance; and (5) multilevel and inclusive capacity development. The adoption and implementation of these strategies are envisaged to facilitate effective sustainable water resources management in the Awash Basin.
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