Your search found 51 records
1 Gebregiorgis, A. S.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Moges, S. A. 2007. Regional flood frequency analysis for Blue Nile River Basin: Part II – Selection of best fit parent distribution. Journal of Hydrological Sciences, 18p.
River basins ; Hydrology ; Flow measurement ; Floods ; Statistical analysis ; Time series ; Models / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 551.483 G136 GEB Record No: H040548)
2 Kim, U.; Kaluarachchi, Jagath J.; Smakhtin, Vladimir. 2008. Generation of monthly precipitation under climate change for the upper Blue Nile River Basin, Ethiopia. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 44(5):1231-1247.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 551.483 G136 KIM Record No: H041629)
3 Alemayehu, B.; Hagos, Fitsum; Haileslassie, A.; Mapedza, Everisto; Gebreselasse, S.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Peden, D. 2008. Prospects for payment for environmental services: the case of Blue Nile. In Humphreys, E.; Bayot, R. S.; van Brakel, M.; Gichuki, F.; Svendsen, M.; Wester, P.; Huber-Lee, A.; Cook, S. Douthwaite, B.; Hoanh, Chu Thai; Johnson, N.; Nguyen-Khoa, Sophie; Vidal, A.; MacIntyre, I.; MacIntyre, R. (Eds.). Fighting poverty through sustainable water use: proceedings of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food, 2nd International Forum on Water and Food, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 10-14 November 2008. Vol.3. Water benefits sharing for poverty alleviation and conflict management; Drivers and processes of change. Colombo, Sri Lanka: CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food. pp.56-60.
Environmental protection ; User charges ; Households ; Sedimentation ; Flooding ; Watershed management ; Cost benefit analysis ; Farmers attitudes ; Stakeholders ; Land management ; Water management ; River basins ; Econometric models / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River Basin / Gumera watersheds / Koga watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.91 G000 HUM Record No: H041696)
http://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/3708/IFWF2_proceedings_Volume%20III.pdf?sequence=1
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H041696.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H041696.pdf
(4.879MB)
4 Desalegn, D. T.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Moges, S. A. 2008. Blue Nile (Abay) hydropower potential, prioritization and tradeoffs on priority investments. In Abtew, W.; Melesse, A. M. (Eds.). Proceedings of the Workshop on Hydrology and Ecology of the Nile River Basin under Extreme Conditions, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 16-19 June 2008. Sandy, UT, USA: Aardvark Global Publishing. pp.294.
River basins ; Water power ; Energy resources / Africa / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River Basin / Abbay River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H041749)
Ethiopia is among countries which has very low modern energy sources. The topographic feature and the available water of Ethiopia permit to have a large hydropower potential. However, as the available runoff in rivers has very high hydrological variability, tapping in to this potential require investment on storage to smooth the temporal hydrological variability. In this paper, first the behaviour of this hydrological variability and implication of water resources development is discussed. Secondly, various documents and reports provide varying values of hydropower potential of Ethiopia and Abbay. To close the information gap, topographical and hydrological site evaluation for the selected hydropower potential sites have been carried out, for 129 possible potentials sites which are identified by WAPCOS in 1990 and having total capacity of 13,845 MW. After evaluations these sites 91 possible sites with potential of 12,148 MW are identified and mapped under various sub-basins. Dabus sub-basin stands first among the 16 sub-basins by 13 hydropower potential sites and these sites give 3524MW. In order to exploit the available hydropower potential in the country, it is crucial to rank these sites. The ranking of these sites have been carried out based on cost per kilowatt hour of the hydropower potential (HP) sites. Furthermore, the paper discusses the benefits and tradeoffs for four priority development identified by ENTRO as Eastern Nile fast track projects.
5 Haileslassie, A.; Hagos, Fitsum; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Peden, D.; Gebreselassie, S.; Negash, F. 2008. Production systems in the Blue Nile Basin: implications for environmental degradation and upstream and downstream linkages. Paper presented at the Ethiopia National Nile Development Forum, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 20-21 March 2008. 37p.
River basins ; Environmental degradation ; Erosion ; Sedimentation ; Water productivity ; Farming systems ; Cropping systems ; Double cropping ; Cereals ; Maize ; Sorghum ; Barley ; Wheat ; Livestock ; Pastoralism ; Farmers attitudes ; Economic aspects / Sudan / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H041754)
(478KB 0.32 MB)
The Blue Nile Basin (Abay in Ethiopia) covers wide range landscapes and climatic zones in Ethiopia and Sudan. Different agricultural production systems, in the basin, evolved in response to those diverse landscapes and climatic zones, and the attendant human decision dynamics that responds to changing livelihood opportunities. Many production systems studies recognized only mixed agriculture in the highlands and pastoralism in the lowland areas. Now it is widely recognized that several other factors such as land-use, vegetation cover, and different land and water management practices are important in defining production systems. These study approaches help to capture the diverse water and land related livelihoods of the farming communities in upstream and downstream parts of the basin and their impact on their respective environments. In this review, we follow a similar approach but focus at the basin scale to define and characterize major production systems and associated subsystems specifically: small grain cereals-based mixed crop-livestock and maize-sorghum-perennials systems and their associated subsystems. We then focus on water management practices in rainfed and irrigated systems. We also synthesized impacts of those production systems on the environment and upstream-downstream linkage using erosion, sedimentation, livestock and crop water productivity, soil nutrient balances as indicators. Evidences suggest that natural ecosystem services (e.g. regulation services such as nutrient recycling and redistribution) are severely threatened in the Blue Nile basin. On-site and off-site effects of pedogenic processes like sediment removal, transportation, redistribution and attendant environmental impacts (e.g. nutrient balances and water productivity) are highly correlated with dominant farming practices and attendant anthropogenic interventions. Indicators such as water productivity and soil nutrient depletion and farmers’ activities to replenish the lost nutrients are also strongly related to the degree of the farmers’ resource endowments. In view of initiating the upstream community to invest more on land and water management, options for payment for environmental services (PES) must be sought and, interventions that enhance sustainable ecosystem management must use integrated approaches and farming system/subsystems as entry point.
6 Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; McCartney, Matthew; Shiferaw, Y. S.; Mohamed, Yasir Abbas. 2008. Hydrological water availability, trends and allocation in the Blue Nile Basin. In Abtew, W.; Melesse, A. M. (Eds.). Proceedings of the Workshop on Hydrology and Ecology of the Nile River Basin under Extreme Conditions, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 16-19 June 2008. Sandy, UT, USA: Aardvark Global Publishing. pp.293.
River basins ; Hydrology ; Water availability ; Analysis ; Water use / Ethiopia / Sudan / Blue Nile River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H041756)
Rainfall varies significantly with altitude and is considerably greater in the Ethiopian highlands than on the Plains of Sudan with in the Blue Nile river. The river is the principal tributary of the main Nile River providing 62% of the flow (approximately 50 billion m3 per year) reaching Aswan. Both the temporal and spatial distribution of rainfall is governed by the movement of air masses associated with the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The variation of flow is extreme, and any meaningful development centering water therefore requires considerable investment on water control and management to offset variability. Ethiopia currently utilizes very little of the Abay water. In contrast, Sudan uses significant volumes both for irrigation (currently in excess of 1,1 million ha) and for hydropower production. However, there remains significant potential for additional exploitation and both Ethiopia and Sudan have plans to further develop the water resources of the river. In Ethiopia, major irrigation schemes with a total area of approximately 164,000ha are planned for completion by 2010 and 815,000ha in long term. In addition, several hydropower dams, including four located on the main stem of the river, are being contemplated. In Sudan, it is planned to develop 889,000ha of additional irrigation by 2025. This paper provides an overview of the basin characteristics, hydrology of Blue Nile, brief evaluation of the current and future status of water resource development. The future development in Ethiopia for consumptive water use, limited by land potential, is an order of magnitude of 5-6km3, net water, about 10% of its runoff contribution. Similar analysis for Sudan shows possible use of 9km3. The analysis helps policy makers to base their decision on an informed basis.In Ethiopia, several major irrigation schemes, with a total area of approximately 164,000 ha, are planned for completion by 2010. In addition several hydropower dams, including four located on the main stem of the river, are being contemplated. In the Sudan, no additional hydropower is being considered, but it is planned to develop an additional 889,000 ha of irrigation by 2025. In this study the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model was used to investigate both the current situation and future water demand scenarios. Time series of flows were generated (on a monthly time-step) to determine inter-annual and seasonal variability in water availability in the major tributaries. Existing water use, related to irrigation and hydropower, was estimated from actual data. Future development scenarios were based on information obtained from commissioned projects and the national water resource master plans. This paper illustrates the value of scenarios, and the application of a relatively simple model, to assess the implications of proposed water resource development.
7 Mapedza, Everisto; Haileselassie, A.; Hagos, Fitsum; McCartney, Matthew; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Tafesse, T. 2008. Transboundary water governance institutional architecture: reflections from Ethiopia and Sudan. In Humphreys, E.; Bayot, R. S.; van Brakel, M.; Gichuki, F.; Svendsen, M.; Wester, P.; Huber-Lee, A.; Cook, S. Douthwaite, B.; Hoanh, Chu Thai; Johnson, N.; Nguyen-Khoa, Sophie; Vidal, A.; MacIntyre, I.; MacIntyre, R. (Eds.). Fighting poverty through sustainable water use: proceedings of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food, 2nd International Forum on Water and Food, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 10-14 November 2008. Vol.1. Keynotes; Cross-cutting topics. Colombo, Sri Lanka: CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food. pp.77-80.
Water governance ; Water resource management ; International agreements ; River basins ; International cooperation ; International relations / Ethiopia / Sudan / Blue Nile River Basin / Limpopo River Basin / Zambezi River Basin / Volta River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.91 G000 HUM Record No: H041780)
http://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/3706/IFWF2_proceedings_Volume%20I.pdf?sequence=1
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H041780.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H041780.pdf
(7.964MB)
8 Haileslassie, A.; Hagos, Fitsum; Mapedza, Everisto; Sadoff, Claudia W.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Gebreselassie, S.; Peden, D. 2008. Institutional settings and livelihood strategies in the Blue Nile Basin: implications for upstream/downstream linkages. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 75p. (IWMI Working Paper 132) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3910/2009.313]
River basins ; Water policy ; Institutions ; Institutional development ; Farming systems ; Mixed farming ; Cereals ; Sorghum ; Irrigated farming ; Vegetables ; Pastoralism ; Poverty ; Water supply ; Sanitation ; Labor ; Ecosystems ; Energy ; Water power ; Watershed management ; Water harvesting ; Legal aspects ; Environmental policy ; Water user associations ; Irrigation programs / Africa / Ethiopia / Sudan / Egypt / Blue Nile River Basin / Koga Irrigation Project
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.3 G100 HAI Record No: H041835)
(474.57KB)
Through rapid assessment of existing literature and review of policy and other official documents, the report synthesizes the existing knowledge and gaps on policies and institutions and identifies key research issues that need in-depth study. The report provides an overview of the range of key livelihoods and production systems in the Blue Nile Basin (BNB) and highlights their relative dependence on, and vulnerability to, water resources and water-related ecosystem services. It also makes an inventory of current water and land related policies and institutions in the BNB, their organizational arrangements, dynamics and linkages and key policy premises. It highlights the major problems in institutional arrangements and policy gaps and makes suggestions for an in-depth Policy and Institutional Studies to be done as part of the Upstream-Downstream Research project.
9 Amede, Tilahun; Norton, B. E.; Bossio, Deborah. (Eds.) 2009. Livestock water productivity. Rangeland Journal, 31(2):169-265. Special issue with contributions by IWMI authors.
Livestock ; Water productivity ; Crops ; Feeds ; River basins ; Water balance ; Water harvesting ; Sloping land / Africa / Africa South of Sahara / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 636 100 AME Record No: H042383)
(0.05 MB)
10 Humphreys, E.; Bayot, R. S. (Eds.) 2009. Increasing the productivity and sustainability of rainfed cropping systems of poor smallholder farmers: proceedings of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food, International Workshop on Rainfed Cropping Systems, Tamale, Ghana, 22-25 September 2008. Colombo, Sri Lanka: CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food. 311p.
Rainfed farming ; Cropping systems ; Productivity ; Agroforestry ; Tillage ; Climate change ; River basins ; Supplemental irrigation / Africa / Kenya / South Africa / China / Eritrea / Zimbabwe / Bangladesh / Ethiopia / Ghana / Southern Africa / Olifants RiverBasin / Limpopo River Basin / Yellow River / Blue Nile River Basin / Karkheh River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 631 G000 HUM Record No: H042437)
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/r4d/PDF/Outputs/WaterfoodCP/CPWF_Proceedings_Rainfed_Workshop%5B1%5D.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H042437.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H042437.pdf
(5.17 MB) (8.92MB)
11 Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Tenaw, M. 2009. Micro watershed to basin scale impacts of widespread adoption of watershed management interventions in the Blue Nile Basin. In Humphreys, E.; Bayot, R. S. (Eds.). Increasing the productivity and sustainability of rainfed cropping systems of poor smallholder farmers: proceedings of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food, International Workshop on Rainfed Cropping Systems, Tamale, Ghana, 22-25 September 2008. Colombo, Sri Lanka: CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food. pp.223-231.
Watershed management ; Sedimentation ; Erosion ; Runoff ; Rainfall runoff relationships ; Models / Africa / Sudan / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River Basin / Gumera River Watershed / Ribb River / Addis Zemen
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 631 G000 HUM Record No: H042442)
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/r4d/PDF/Outputs/WaterfoodCP/CPWF_Proceedings_Rainfed_Workshop%5B1%5D.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H042442.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H042442.pdf
(0.63 MB) (8.92MB)
High population pressure, inappropriate agricultural policies, improper land-use planning, Over-dependency on agriculture as a source of livelihoods and extreme dependence on natural resources are inducing serious problems in many parts of the Blue Nile River Basin. These problems include deforestation, overgrazing, expansion of agriculture to marginal lands and steep slopes, declining agricultural productivity, and resource-use conflicts. Poor agricultural and other practices affect runoff characteristics and result in increased erosion and siltation and reduced water quality in the basin. The result is a downward spiral of poverty and food insecurity for millions of people both within the upper catchment and downstream across international borders. Quantification of erosion and sedimentation and evaluation of the impacts of interventions are difficult tasks. We studied rainfall-runoff and sediment-runoff relationships in the Gumera watershed, and calibrated the SWAT model for this watershed. The analysis shows that rainfall, runoff and sediment load are highly variable in both time and space. The amount of sediment in the river systems is strongly related to the onset of rainy season. The hydrographs show that the peak sediment concentration occurs first, followed by the peaks for rainfall and then runoff. Furthermore, the cumulative sediment load curve shows that most of the sediment enters the river in the first three months of the rainy season. The results show that both runoff and sedimentation can be reasonably simulated using the SWAT model (R2=0.82 and 0.79, respectively). The study demonstrated, that by undertaking spatial analysis using topographic, soil and land use parameters with the SWAT model, that it is possible to identify the high sediment risk sub-watersheds. The modelling studies showed that use of vegetative filters with widths of 5 and 10 m in high erosion risk watersheds reduced sediment yield by 52% and 74% respectively.
12 Yilma, Aster Denekew; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele. 2009. Characterization and atlas of the Blue Nile Basin and its sub basins. In Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Erkossa, Teklu; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Fernando, Ashra (Comps.). Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands: its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile. Intermediate Results Dissemination Workshop held at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5-6 February 2009. Summary report, abstracts of papers with proceedings on CD-ROM. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 236p.
Maps ; River basins ; Watersheds ; Topography ; Climate ; Evapotranspiration ; Rain ; Evaporation ; Hydrology ; Land cover ; Meteorology ; Population / Africa / Ethiopia / Sudan / Blue Nile River Basin / Abbay Basin / Tana Sub Basin / Jemma Sub Basin / Muger Sub Basin / Guder Sub Basin / Beles Sub Basin / Dabus Sub Basin / Didessa Sub Basin / Fincha Sub Basin / Anger Sub Basin / Wenbera Sub Basin / Beshelo Sub Basin / Welaka Sub Basin / North Gojam Sub Basin / South Gojam Sub Basin / Dinder Sub Basin / Rahad Sub Basin / Gilgel Abay Watershed / Gumera Watershed / Anjeni Micro Watershed / Andit Micro Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.9162 G100 AWU Record No: H042502)
(57.34 MB)
13 Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Erkossa, Teklu; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Fernando, Ashra. (Comps.) 2009. Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands: its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile. Intermediate Results Dissemination Workshop held at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5-6 February 2009. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 310p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2011.0014]
River basin management ; Watershed management ; Farming systems ; Water balance ; Reservoirs ; Water supply ; Irrigation requirements ; Irrigation programs ; Simulation models ; Sedimentation ; Rainfall-Runoff relationships ; Erosion ; Soil water ; Water balance ; Soil conservation ; Institutions ; Organizations ; Policy ; Water governance ; International waters / Africa / Ethiopia / Sudan / Nile River / Blue Nile River Basin / Abbay River Basin / Roseires Reservoir / Gumera Watershed / Lake Tana Sub Basin / Volta Basin / Koga Watershed / Gumera Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.9162 G100 AWU Record No: H042503)
(6.52 MB)
This proceeding provides the papers and discussion results of a two-day workshop that was organized at International Water Management Institute (IWMI) office in Addis Ababa during the period of February 6-8, 2009 in relation to CPWF Project 19 – Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian Highlands and its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile. Short title: Upstream Downstream (USDS) in the Nile. The project is being under implementation during the last one and half years in partnership with various institutions that include International Livestock Research Institute, Cornell University, Omdurman Islamic University-UNESCO Chair in Water Resources, Addis Ababa University, Bahir Dar University, Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute and Forum for Social Studies. The main aims of the workshop had been: Bring together key stakeholders relevant to the project; Present, debate and validate the intermediate results of the project; Disseminate key results to wider audiences through workshop participating stakeholders; Follow up on the progress of the project and plan remaining tasks of the project. The workshop focus themes were: General characterization of the Blue Nile Basin; Watershed modeling and analysis; Water demand and allocation modeling and simulation; Policy and institutions of the water management in the Blue Nile basin.
14 Wubet, F. D.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Moges, A. 2009. Analysis of water use on a large river basin using MIKE BASIN Model: a case study of the Abbay River Basin, Ethiopia. In Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Erkossa, Teklu; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Fernando, Ashra (Comps.). Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands: its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile. Intermediate Results Dissemination Workshop held at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5-6 February 2009. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.70-77.
River basins ; Water use ; Water allocation ; Simulation models ; Irrigation programs ; Water power / Ethiopia / Abbay River Basin / Blue Nile River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.9162 G100 AWU Record No: H042508)
(0.61 MB)
The purpose of this study is to simulate water allocation for major activities (existing and planned) in the Abbay Basin using up-to-date water allocation and simulation models. The model, MIKE BASIN, is used to gain an insight into the potential downstream consequences of the development of physical infrastructure and water abstraction in a number of different future development scenarios. Seventeen irrigation projects covering an area of 220,416 hectares (ha) of land have been selected from different gauged catchments of the sub-basin in addition to 4,800 megawatt (MW) hydropower projects on the main stream of the study area (Ethiopian part of Blue Nile). From the analysis, the total water extracted for these irrigation projects was estimated to be 1.624 billion cubic meters (BCM) annually. A reduction in the border flow volume as a result of the implementation of these irrigation projects under the reservoir scenario is 3.04% of the estimated mean annual flow of 50.45 BCM. Similarly, from the analysis, the total power generated due to the development of the major hydropower projects on the main stream, having an installed capacity of 4,800 MW, is 18,432 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year. This implies, while these interventions provide significant opportunities with respect to interventions and energy generations, their impact on downstream water availability is minimal.
15 McCartney, Matthew; Ibrahim, Y. A.; Sileshi, Y.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele. 2009. Application of the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) Model to simulate current and future water demand in the Blue Nile. In Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Erkossa, Teklu; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Fernando, Ashra (Comps.). Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands: its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile. Intermediate Results Dissemination Workshop held at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5-6 February 2009. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.78-88.
River basin development ; Simulation models ; Planning ; Evaluation ; Water demand ; Reservoirs ; Dams / Africa / Ethiopia / Sudan / Blue Nile River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.9162 G100 AWU Record No: H042509)
(0.44 MB)
The riparian countries of the Nile have agreed to collaborate in the development of its water resources for sustainable socioeconomic growth. Currently there is significant potential for expansion of hydropower and irrigation in the Blue Nile River in both Ethiopia and Sudan. However, the likely consequences of upstream development on downstream flows have not been fully assessed and the water resource implications of development in both countries are unclear. Against this background, the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) model was used to provide an assessment of both the current situation and a future (2015) scenario. The future scenario incorporated new irrigation and hydropower schemes on the main stem of the Nile and its principal tributaries. Data for all existing and planned schemes were obtained from the basin master plans as well as from scheme feasibility studies. Water use was simulated over a 32-year period of varying rainfall and flow. Preliminary results indicate that currently irrigation demand in Sudan is approximately 8.5 Bm3y-1 for 1.16 million hectares (mha). This compares to a total irrigation demand in Ethiopia of just 0.2 Bm3y-1. By 2015, with many existing schemes being extended in Sudan and new schemes being developed in both countries, irrigation demand is estimated to increase to 13.4 Bm3y-1 for 2.13 mha in Sudan and 1.1 Bm3y-1 for 210 thousand hectares (tha) in Ethiopia. The flow of the Blue Nile is estimated to decline from an average of 46.9 Bm3y-1 to 44.8 Bm3y-1 at the Ethiopia-Sudan border and from a current average of 43.2 Bm3y-1 to 36.2 Bm3y-1 at Khartoum (including evaporation from all reservoirs). Although total flows are reduced, greater regulation results in higher dry season flows at both locations.
16 Betrie, G. D.; Mohamed, Yasir Abbas; van Griensven, A.; Popescu, I.; Mynett, A. 2009. Modeling of soil erosion and sediment transport in the Blue Nile Basin using the Open Model Interface approach. In Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Erkossa, Teklu; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Fernando, Ashra (Comps.). Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands: its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile. Intermediate Results Dissemination Workshop held at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5-6 February 2009. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.132-140.
Erosion ; Highlands ; Sedimentary materials ; Simulation models ; River basin management ; Reservoirs / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River Basin / Roseires Reservoir / Sennar Reservoir
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.9162 G100 AWU Record No: H042513)
(0.41 MB)
Rapid land use change due to intensive agricultural practices in the Ethiopian Highlands, results in increasing rates of soil erosion. This manifested in significant impacts downstream by reducing the storage capacity of reservoirs (e.g., Roseires, Sennar), and high desilting costs of irrigation canals. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a better understanding of the process at basin scale. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to model soil erosion in the upper catchments of the Blue Nile over the Ethiopian Plateau. The SWAT output forms the input sediment load for SOBEK, a river morphology model. The two models integrated using the principles of the Open Model Interface (OpenMI) at the Ethiopia-Sudan border. The Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient was found to be 0.72 and 0.66 for results of SWAT daily sediment calibration and validation, respectively. The SOBEK results also show a good fit of the simulated river flows at Roseires and Sennar reservoirs, both for calibration and validation. The results of the integrated modeling system showed 86 million tonnes/year of sediment load from the Upper Blue Nile, while SOBEK computes on average 19 Mm3/year of sediment deposition in the Roseires Reservoir. The spatial variability of soil erosion computed with SWAT showed more erosion over the northeastern part of the Upper Blue Nile, followed by the northern part. The overall exercise indicates that the integrated modeling is a promising approach to understand soil erosion, sediment transport, and sediment deposition in the Blue Nile Basin. This will improve the understanding of the upstream-downstream interdependencies, for better land and water management at basin scale.
17 Steenhuis, T. S.; Taylor, J.; Easton, Z.; Collick, A.; van de Giesen, N.; Liebe, J.; Ahmed, A. A.; Andreini, Marc. 2009. Rainfall-discharge relationships for monsoonal climates. In Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Erkossa, Teklu; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Fernando, Ashra (Comps.). Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands: its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile. Intermediate Results Dissemination Workshop held at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5-6 February 2009. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.141-151.
Runoff ; Water balance ; Models ; River basins / Africa / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River Basin / Abay Blue Nile basin / Volta Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.9162 G100 AWU Record No: H042514)
(0.60 MB)
Methods for estimating runoff that have been developed for temperate climates may not be suitable for use in the monsoonal climates of Africa, where there is a distinct dry season during which soils dry out to a considerable depth. This has a distinct effect on runoff generation that is not captured by “the temperate climate” models. The scope of this tool is to develop a simple water balance method for predicting river discharge. Water balance models have been shown to better predict river discharge in regions with monsoonal climates than alternative methods based on the United States Department of Agriculture-Soil Conservation Service (USDA-SCS) curve number. The latter is an empirical-based model developed in the USA that does not apply to monsoonal climates with distinct dry and wet periods.
18 White, E. D.; Easton, Z. M.; Fuka, D. R.; Collick, A. S.; McCartney, Matthew; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Steenhuis, T. S. 2009. A water balance-based Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) for improved performance in the Ethiopian highlands. In Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Erkossa, Teklu; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Fernando, Ashra (Comps.). Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands: its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile. Intermediate Results Dissemination Workshop held at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5-6 February 2009. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.152-158.
Hydrology ; Simulation models ; Water balance ; Soil water ; Infiltration ; Runoff ; Highlands / Africa / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River Basin / Abay Blue Nile / Gumera Basin / Laka Tana
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.9162 G100 AWU Record No: H042515)
(0.62 MB)
The Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a watershed model widely used to predict water quantity and quality under varying land use and water use regimes. To determine the respective amounts of infiltration and surface runoff, SWAT uses the popular Curve Number (CN). While being appropriate for engineering design in temperate climates, the CN is less than ideal when used in monsoonal regions where rainfall is concentrated into distinct time periods. The CN methodology is based on the assumption that Hortonian flow is the driving force behind surface runoff production, a questionable assumption in many regions. In monsoonal climates water balance models generally capture the runoff generation processes and thus the flux water or transport of chemicals and sediments better than CN-based models. In order to use SWAT in monsoonal climates, the CN routine to predict runoff was replaced with a simple water balance routine in the code base. To compare this new water balance-based SWAT (SWAT-WB) to the original CN-based SWAT (SWAT-CN), several watersheds in the headwaters of the Abay Blue Nile in Ethiopia were modeled at a daily time step. While long term, daily data is largely nonexistent for portions of the Abay Blue Nile, data was available for one 1,270 km2 subbasin of the Lake Tana watershed, northeast of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, which was used to initialize both versions of SWAT. Prior to any calibration of the model, daily Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiencies improved from -0.05 to 0.39 for SWAT-CN and SWAT-WB, respectively. Following calibration of SWAT-WB, daily model efficiency improved to 0.73, indicating that SWAT can accurately model saturation-excess processes without using the Curve Number technique.
19 Hagos, Fitsum; Haileslassie, A.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele. 2009. Assessment of local land and water institutions in the Blue Nile and their impact on environmental management. In Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Erkossa, Teklu; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Fernando, Ashra (Comps.). Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands: its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile. Intermediate Results Dissemination Workshop held at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5-6 February 2009. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.185-231.
Institutions ; Organizations ; Water policy ; River basins ; Water management ; Land management ; Watershed management / Africa / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River Basin / Abay River Basin / Tana Sub Basin / Beles Sub Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.9162 G100 AWU Record No: H042518)
(0.69 MB)
Land and water institutions play a vital role in managing and sustaining land and water resources as well as enhancing economic development and poverty alleviation efforts. While a lot has been done in terms of understanding the micro-determinants of farmers’ decisions in land and water conservation, there is little attempt to understand the broad macro-institutional and organizational issues that influence land and water management decisions. The objective of the study was to assess institutional arrangements and challenges for improved land and water management in the Ethiopian part of the Blue Nile Basin (Tana and Beles subbasins). Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were held in Amhara and Benishangul Gumuz regions with important stakeholders such as the bureaus of Agriculture and Rural Development, Water Resources Development, Environmental Protection and Land Use Administration (EPLUA), National Agricultural Research Systems, and important NGOs, operating in the area of land and water management, and selected community members. As the major findings in this study, we outlined major land and water-related institutional arrangements that are currently in place and their design features, in order to identify those institutions related to superior performance. We highlighted major institutional and policy gaps and actions that are required to respond to emerging issues of environmental degradation, upstream/downstream linkages and climate change. Such analysis of institutions and their design features provides useful insights and contributes to the debate on institutional reform for improved land and water management in the Blue Nile Basin, in general. By doing so, it identifies the gaps in institutional arrangements and policies and potential remedies.
20 Mapedza, Everisto; Haileslassie, A.; Hagos, Fitsum; McCartney, Matthew; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Tafesse, T. 2009. Transboundary water governance institutional architecture: reflections from Ethiopia and Sudan. In Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Erkossa, Teklu; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Fernando, Ashra (Comps.). Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands: its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile. Intermediate Results Dissemination Workshop held at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5-6 February 2009. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.246-253.
Water governance ; Institutions ; International waters ; International cooperation ; River basin management / Africa / Ethiopia / Sudan / Blue Nile River Basin / Abbay River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.9162 G100 AWU Record No: H042520)
(0.35 MB)
Transboundary water resource governance is premised on equitable water and water-related benefit sharing. Using the case of the Blue Nile (Ethiopia and Sudan), we explore the conceptual issues that need consideration in the crafting of cross-border cooperation within the water sector. First, drawing on global experiences with transboundary water management, we evaluate how upstream and downstream concerns are addressed by transboundary water management institutions. Second, we explore the kinds of institutional design and the issues which need to be considered to result in ‘win-win’ scenarios for both upstream and downstream users, as well as the mechanisms of benefit sharing negotiated amongst different stakeholders. Third, we examine ways of addressing equity and livelihoods in transboundary institutional arrangements. Finally, we attempt to assess how transboundary institutions can address broader historical, political and economic issues and their implications for sustainable transboundary water governance. This paper raises key issues that need to be addressed in establishing transboundary governance institutions.
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