Your search found 33 records
1 Elsebaie, I. H.; Attia, B. 1999. Applying system modelling techniques and conceptual rainfall-runoff models on the Blue Nile Basin. In Seventh Nile 2002 Conference - Comprehensive water resources development of the Nile Basin: The vision for the next century - Proceedings, March 15-19, 1999, Cairo, Egypt. pp.EGY-30:1-16.
Rainfall-runoff relationships ; Hydrology ; Models ; Soil moisture ; Forecasting ; Simulation ; Calibration / Egypt / Blue Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: 333.91 G232 SEV Record No: H024489)
2 Waterbury, J.; Whittington, D. 1998. Playing chicken on the Nile?: The implications of microdam development in the Ethiopian highlands and Egypt’s New Valley Project. Natural Resources Forum, 22(3):155-163.
Dams ; River basin Development ; Land reclamation ; Settlement ; Development projects ; Water resources development ; Water costs ; Irrigation canals / Africa / Egypt / Sudan / Ethiopia / Uganda / Tanzania / Eritrea / Syria / Nile River / Blue Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: P 6996 Record No: H035293)
3 Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; McCartney, Matthew; Ibrahim, Y.; Shiferaw, Y. S. 2008. Evaluation of water availability and allocation in the Blue Nile Basin. 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.6-10.
River basin management ; Water resources development ; Water allocation ; Water use ; Irrigation programs ; Dams ; Water power ; Evapotranspiration ; Runoff / Egypt / Ethiopia / Sudan / Blue Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.91 G000 HUM Record No: H041748)
http://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/3708/IFWF2_proceedings_Volume%20III.pdf?sequence=1
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H041748.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H041748.pdf
(4.879MB)
4 Haileslassie, A.; Hagos, Fitsum; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Peden, D.; Gebreselassie, S.; Negash, F. 2008. Indicators of environmental degradation in the Blue Nile Basin: exploring prospects for payment for environmental services. Paper presented at the Second Nile Development Forum, Khartoum, Sudan, 17-19 November 2008. 37p.
Environmental degradation ; Erosion ; Sedimentation ; Water productivity ; Farming systems ; Mixed cropping ; Cereals ; Maize ; Sorghum ; Barley ; Wheat ; Irrigated farming ; Rainfed farming ; Livestock ; Pastoralism ; Farmers attitudes ; Poverty / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H041755)
(0.86 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.
5 Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; McCartney, Matthew; Steenhuis, T. S.; Ahmed, A. A. 2008. A review of hydrology, sediment and water resource use in the Blue Nile Basin. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 81p. (IWMI Working Paper 131) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3910/2009.312]
River basin management ; Erosion ; Sedimentation ; Reservoirs ; Hydrology ; Flow ; Models ; Water use ; Water demand ; Water supply ; Climate ; Rain ; Evapotranspiration ; Irrigation programs ; Water power / Africa / Sudan / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 551.483 G100 AWU Record No: H041833)
(1 MB)
This working paper has been prepared as one of the outputs of the 'Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian Highlands and its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile' project, supported by the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF). It provides a comprehensive literature review; identifies types, sources and provides geo-referencing of data in the basin; compiles information of hydrology, sediment, and water resources and its uses. It also provides a review of applicable models for watershed and water allocation simulation, research methods, past studies and published material related to the Blue Nile. Extensive reference material and previous studies are compiled.
6 Haileslassie, A.; Peden, D.; Gebreselassie, S.; Amede, Tilahun; Wagnew, A.; Taddesse, G. 2009. Livestock water productivity in the Blue Nile Basin: assessment of farm scale heterogeneity. Rangeland Journal, 31(2):213-222. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ09006]
Livestock ; Feeds ; Water productivity ; Farming systems ; Crop management ; Evapotranspiration ; River basins ; Land use ; Poverty ; Water depletion ; Households ; Surveys / Ethiopia / Egypt / Sudan / Blue Nile Basin / Gumera Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 636 100 AME Record No: H042281)
(0.37 MB)
A recent study of the livestock water productivity (LWP), at higher spatial scales in the Blue Nile Basin, indicated strong variability across regions. To get an insight into the causes of this variability, we examined the effect of farm households’ access to productive resources (e.g. land, livestock) on LWPin potato–barley, barley–wheat, teff–millet and rice farming systems of the Gumera watershed (in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia). We randomly selected 180 farm households. The sizes of the samples, in each system, were proportional to the respective system’s area. Then we grouped the samples, using a participatory wealth ranking method, into three wealth groups (rich, medium and poor) and used structured and pretested questionnaires to collect data on crops and livestock management and applied reference evapotranspiration (ET0) and crop coefficient (Kc) approaches to estimate depleted (evapotranspiration) water in producing animal feed and food crops. Then, we estimated LWPas a ratio of livestock’s beneficial outputs to water depleted. Our results suggest strong variability of LWP across the different systems: ranging between 0.3 and 0.6 US$ m3 year1. The tendency across different farming systems was comparable with results from previous studies at higher spatial scales. The range among different wealth groups was wider (0.1 to 0.6 US$ m3 year1) than among the farming systems. This implies that aggregating water productivity (to a system scale) masks hotspots and bright spots. Our result also revealed a positive trend between water productivity (LWPand crop water productivity, CWP) and farm households’ access to resources. Thus, we discuss our findings in relation to poverty alleviation and integrated land and water management to combat unsustainable water management practices in the Blue Nile Basin.
7 Derib, S. D.; Descheemaeker, Katrien; Haileslassie, A.; Amede, Tilahun. 2011. Irrigation water productivity as affected by water management in a small-scale irrigation scheme in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia. Experimental Agriculture, 47(Supplement S1):39-55. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0014479710000839]
Irrigation schemes ; River basins ; Evapotranspiration ; Canals ; Water loss ; Statistical methods ; Water productivity ; Crop production ; Irrigation efficiency ; Mixed farming ; Livestock / Africa / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin / Guanta Small-Scale Irrigation Scheme
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043513)
(0.38 MB)
In Ethiopia, irrigation is mainly implemented in small-scale irrigation schemes, which are often characterized by low water productivity. This study reports on the efficiency and productivity of a typical small-scale irrigation scheme in the highlands of the Blue Nile, Ethiopia. Canal water flows and the volume of irrigation water applied were measured at field level. Grain and crop residue biomass and grass biomass production along the canals were also measured. To triangulate the measurements, the irrigation farm management, effects of water logging around irrigation canals, farm water distribution mechanisms, effects of night irrigation and water losses due to soil cracking created by prolonged irrigation were closely observed. The average canal water loss from the main, the secondary and the field canals was 2.58, 1.59 and 0.39 l s-1 100 m-1, representing 4.5, 4.0 and 26% of the total water flow respectively. About 0.05% of the loss was attributed to grass production for livestock, while the rest was lost through evaporation and canal seepage. Grass production for livestock feed had a land productivity of 6190.5 kg ha-1 and a water productivity of 0.82 kg m-3 . Land productivity for straw and grain was 2048 and 770 kg ha-1, respectively, for teff, and 1864 kg ha-1 and 758 kg ha-1, respectively, for wheat. Water productivities of the crops varied from 0.2 to 1.63 kg m-3. A significant volume of water was lost from small-scale irrigation systems mainly because farmers’ water application did not match crop needs. The high price incurred by pumped irrigation positively affected water management by minimizing water losses and forced farmers to use deficit irrigation. Improving water productivity of small-scale irrigation requires integrated interventions including night storage mechanisms, optimal irrigation scheduling, empowerment of farmers to maintain canals and proper irrigation schedules.
8 Umer, Y. M.; Demissie, Solomon Seyoum; Tadele, K. 2010. Climate change impact assessment on soil water availability and crop yield in Blue Nile Basin: case study Anjeni Watershed, Ethiopia [Abstract only]. Paper presented at the Annual Tropical and Subtropical Agricultural and Natural Resource Management (Tropentag) Conference on World Food System - a contribution from Europe, Thematic scientific session on Water management, Zurich, Switzerland, 14 -16 September 2010. 1p.
Models ; Climate change ; Soil water ; Water availability ; Crop yield ; Watersheds ; River basins / Ethiopia / Anjeni Watershed / Blue Nile Basin / South Gojam Sub Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043610)
http://www.tropentag.de/2010/proceedings/node123.html#3109
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H043610.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H043610.pdf
(0.09 MB)
9 Derib, S. D.; Descheemaeker, Katrien; Haileslassie, A.; Amede, Tilahun; Tischbein, B. 2010. Water productivity as affected by water management in a small-scale irrigation scheme in the Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia [Abstract only]. Paper presented at the Annual Tropical and Subtropical Agricultural and Natural Resource Management (Tropentag) Conference on World Food System - a contribution from Europe, Thematic scientific session on water management, Zurich, Switzerland, 14 -16 September 2010. 1p.
Water productivity ; Irrigation systems ; Water use ; Irrigated farming ; Land productivity ; Plant production / Ethiopia / Blue Nile basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043611)
(0.09 MB)
10 Hagos, Fitsum; Haileslassie, A.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Mapedza, Everisto; Taffesse, T. 2011. Land and water institutions in the Blue Nile Basin: setups and gaps for improved land and water management. Review of Policy Research, 28(2):149-170. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-1338.2011.00487.x]
Institutions ; Diffusion of information ; Policy ; Water resource management ; Land management ; Environmental management ; Watershed management / Africa / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin / Tana Sub-basin / Beles Sub-basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043700)
(0.42 MB)
This study undertook an assessment and gap analysis of the institutional arrangements for improved land and water management in the Tana and Beles Sub-basins highlands of the Blue Nile Basin. We explored the mandates and design features of the major land- and water-related institutional arrangements. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a literature review were used in the analysis.The results of our work reveal that a lot of progress has been made in creating an institutional framework for improved land and water management and the policies and laws hitherto developed reflect global policy changes consistent with the widespread adoption of the integrated water resources management (IWRM) principles. There are also cases where informal institutions replace formal institutions. Judged by their enforcement, the water resources management, pollution control standards, and regulations and land use rights are not enacted effectively because of poor enforcement capacity. Overall there is a tendency to focus on command-and-control type policies. There is a need to strengthen traditional institutions by drawing lessons from their strengths and establish the legitimacy of these institutions. There is also a need to improve formal policy design, developing policies with specific objectives, goals, targets, and overall institutional changes and resources through active adaptive management to maximize the level and effectiveness of institutional learning. Finally, more focus needs to be given to incentive-based policies through increased use of positive incentives and more emphasis needs to be given to self-enforcement rather than third-party enforcement.
11 Tsehayu, K. 2008. Baseline survey of irrigation and rainfed agriculture in Blue Nile Basin. In Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Loulseged, Makonnen; Yilma, Aster Denekew (Comps.). Impact of irrigation on poverty and environment in Ethiopia: draft proceedings of the symposium and exhibition, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 27-29 November 2007. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.37-46.
River basins ; Irrigated farming ; Rainfed farming ; Irrigation schemes ; Agricultural trade ; Surveys ; Maps / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H044066)
(0.56 MB)
This paper discusses issues and challenges of agricultural developments in the Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia. The crop land in the basin can not sustain the population unless agricultural productivity increases. Due to climatic factors and low yield rainfed agriculture can not support the high population in the basin. Up to date the land under irrigation is very small. Like most Nile Basin countries though agriculture dominates the economy of Ethiopia much was not done in the irrigation agricultural resources development. Irrigated agriculture is the largest draw on the waters of the Nile in Egypt and Sudan. But the others 8 Nile countries agriculture is mainly rainfed and they are not using even 2% of Nile water. Ethiopia is contributing more than 85% of the Nile water annual discharge and yet is not using even 1 % of it. In near future the water scarcity in agricultural development of the Nile Basin can be affected by ever increasing population, unpredictable climate, soil infertility, uncertainty of surface water allocations, unexplored groundwater resources, low water availability, infrastructure etc. Agriculture is by far the main user of water in the Nile basin and therefore requires due attention in future investments. Ethiopia does not achieve food security until it utilizes Nile water for irrigation.
12 Zemadim, Birhanu; McCartney, Matthew; Sharma, Bharat R.; Abeyou, W. 2011. Integrated rainwater management strategies in the Blue Nile Basin of the Ethiopian highlands. International Journal of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, 3(10):220-232.
Rainwater ; Water management ; Water harvesting ; River basins ; Highlands ; Watersheds ; Irrigation ; Catchment areas ; Crops / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin / Diga District / Fogera District / Jeldu District
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H044453)
http://www.academicjournals.org/ijwree/PDF/pdf%202011/21%20Oct/Zemadim%20et%20al.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H044453.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H044453.pdf
(1.05 MB) (1.06MB)
This paper describes one component of the research that International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and partners are undertaking as part of the challenge program on water and food (CPWF) Nile Basin Development Challenge (NBDC). The objective of the NBDC is to increase understanding of how to plan successful rainwater management strategies (RMS) and identify how these can be effectively implemented in the Ethiopian highlands of the Blue Nile Basin. The project focuses on integrated rainwater management strategies – technologies, institutions and policies but the work described in this paper relates solely to the biophysical components of the study. Three districts, Jeldu, Fogera and Diga, have been identified for the study. These were selected because they represent farming systems that are common in the Ethiopian Highlands. Within each, nested sites have been identified for learning and research at a variety of physical scales. In this paper we describe the “action research catchments” that have been identified in the three districts. These catchments are small representative catchments that are to be monitored to provide insights into hydrological processes and water fluxes at different scales. The objective of this monitoring is to provide baseline data for evaluating RMS, and water-use and water productivity in different landscape components. The baseline status of the three study sites and critical constraints for adoption of integrated RMS are included in this paper. The paper also provides a justification for the research being conducted in Ethiopia and describes common practices and lessons learned from experience in India. Differences in the socio-economic and biophysical context mean that care is needed in transferring approaches between countries. Nevertheless, it is believed that knowledge gained from the extensive Indian experience can usefully inform practices in Ethiopia.
13 Eguavoen, I.; Derib, S. D.; Deneke, T. T.; McCartney, Matthew; Otto, B. A.; Billa, S. S. 2012. Digging, damming or diverting?: small-scale irrigation in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia. Water Alternatives, 5(3):678-699.
Small scale systems ; Irrigation schemes ; Irrigation scheduling ; River basins ; Water storage ; Water rights ; Land rights ; Land use ; Dams ; Wells ; Ponds ; Plains ; Case studies ; Water user associations ; Water allocation ; Agricultural production ; Farmer-led irrigation ; Gender / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H045113)
http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=186
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H045113.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H045113.pdf
(0.98 MB) (0.98MB)
The diversity of small-scale irrigation in the Ethiopian Blue Nile basin comprises small dams, wells, ponds and river diversion. The diversity of irrigation infrastructure is partly a consequence of the topographic heterogeneity of the Fogera plains. Despite similar social-political conditions and the same administrative framework, irrigation facilities are established, used and managed differently, ranging from informal arrangements of households and 'water fathers' to water user associations, as well as from open access to irrigation schedules. Fogera belongs to Ethiopian landscapes that will soon transform as a consequence of large dams and huge irrigation schemes. Property rights to land and water are negotiated among a variety of old and new actors. This study, based on ethnographic, hydrological and survey data, synthesises four case studies to analyse the current state of small-scale irrigation. It argues that all water storage options have not only certain comparative advantages but also social constraints, and supports a policy of extending water storage 'systems' that combine and build on complementarities of different storage types instead of fully replacing diversity by large dams.
14 Zemadim, Birhanu; McCartney, Matthew; Langan, Simon; Sharma, Bharat. 2013. A participatory approach for hydro-meteorological monitoring in the Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia. In UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education. Conference on New Nile Perspectives Scientific Advances in the eastern Nile Basin, Khartoum, Sudan 6-8 May 2013. Advance copy of extended abstracts. Delft, Netherlands: UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education. pp.97-101.
River basins ; Hydrometeorology ; Monitoring ; Participatory approaches ; Watersheds ; Rain ; Soil moisture ; Stakeholders / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046104)
(0.21 MB)
15 Erkossa, Teklu; Haileslassie, A.; MacAlister, Charlotte. 2014. Enhancing farming system water productivity through alternative land use and water management in vertisol areas of Ethiopian BlueNile Basin (Abay). Agricultural Water Management, 132:120-128. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2013.10.007]
Water productivity ; Water management ; Waterlogging ; Highlands ; Farming systems ; Rainfed farming ; Crop production ; Biomass ; Livestock ; River basins ; Drainage ; Soils / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046214)
(0.93 MB)
Until recently, the Ethiopian government’s investment did not systematically target high potential areas for agricultural intensification, limiting the potential productivity gains. Waterlogged vertisols, whichcover about 2.7 million hectares in the Ethiopian part of the Blue Nile Basin, are among the high potential soils where management interventions could result in positive impacts. This study utilized soil, climate,crop and livestock productivity data and models to demonstrate intensification strategies which canincrease crop-livestock system productivity. To understand the effects of alternative land use and water management interventions on water productivity, the areas have been classified into three drainagestatus depending on slope classes. Accordingly, non-drainable (0–2%), drainable (2–5%) and naturally drained (>5%) respectively, represented areas where artificial drainage is not feasible, where drainage using broad bed and furrows (BBF) is recommended, and areas where waterlogging is not a problem and no intervention is needed. Early planting of wheat (Triticum spp.) on BBF instead of the traditional late planting on flat beds in drainable areas and rice (Oryza sativa) cultivation instead of the traditional extensive grazing or growing grass-pea (Lathyrus sativus) on the flat areas provide viable alternative cropping options. Yield data of the crops and biomass of the native grass were obtained from research stations inthe area while the effective rainfall and crop water requirement were estimated using CROPWAT Model. The value of the native grass and crop straw as livestock feed was estimated based on previous works.With respect to effective rainfall, the water productivity increase due to BBF over the control ranged from 5% to 200%, with an average increase of 57%. Despite higher water consumption of rice, feeding itsresidues to livestock enhanced the overall economic water productivity of the system as compared to thenatural grazing or grass-pea cultivation. This can be accounted for by higher rice biomass productivity and the greater demand for its grain. The study demonstrated that draining the excess water when the slope allows, growing suitable high value crops on non-drainable areas, and integration of livestock into improved land and water management enhance overall agricultural system water productivity.
16 Wudneh, A.; Erkossa, Teklu; Devi, P. 2014. Sediment and nutrient lost by runoff from two watersheds, Digga district in Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia. African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 8(9):498-510. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5897/AJEST2014.1747]
Watersheds ; Soil conservation ; Sedimentation ; Erosion ; Runoff ; Soil fertility ; Nutrients ; Phosphorus ; Nitrogen ; Chemical contamination ; Catchment areas ; River basins ; Farmers ; Crop yield ; Maize ; Water conservation / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin / Digga District
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046645)
http://www.academicjournals.org/article/article1410538863_Wudneh%20et%20al.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H046645.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H046645.pdf
(1.06 MB) (1.6 MB)
The study was conducted in two sub watersheds in the Upper Blue Nile Basin in Ethiopia to determine the quantity, quality of sediment lost and its onsite costs in terms of crop yield. Two monitoring stations at the outlets were selected. Discharges were estimated and depth integrated daily runoff samples were collected during the rainy season in 2011. The sediment concentration and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) content was analyzed and related to crop yield using a nutrient response equation for maize (Zea mays). The result shows statistically significant differences in sediment concentration of the two watersheds. Suspended sediment concentration was strongly correlated with the discharge from Chekorsa River (R2 = 0.7) but it was very weak for Dapo. There was higher concentration of nutrients in the sediment than the surface soil in both watersheds. Particularly, sediment enrichment ratio of available P was 2.7 and 9 for Dapo and Chekorsa Rivers, respectively. The estimated yield reduction of maize due to N and P loss was about 950 and 1420, and 1015 and 665 kgha-1 from Dapo and Chekorsa catchments, respectively. Such results are equivalent to an onsite cost to farmers of about 190 and 285 USD ha-1 for Dapo, and 203 and 133 USDha-1 for Chekorsa catchments in that order. This monetary value can alert farmers and decision makers to take soil and water conservation measures.
17 Fenta, A. A.; Rientjes, T.; Haile, Alemseged Tamiru; Reggiani, P. 2014. Satellite rainfall products and their reliability in the Blue Nile Basin. In Melesse, A. M.; Abtew, W.; Setegn, S. G. (Eds.). Nile river basin: ecohydrological challenges, climate change and hydropolitics. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. pp.51-67.
Satellite observation ; Radar satellite ; Satellite imagery ; Meteorological stations ; River basins ; Rain ; Measurement ; Remote sensing ; GIS ; Precipitation ; Case studies / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046898)
(0.37 MB)
In the Upper Blue Nile (UBN) basin, there is very sparse and uneven distribution of ground-based meteorological stations which constrain assessments on rainfall distributions and representation. To assess the diurnal cycle of rainfall across the UBN basin, satellite observations from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) were used in this study. Data of 7 years (2002–2008) of Precipitation Radar (PR) and TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) were processed, with analyses based on geographic information system (GIS) operations, statistical techniques, and harmonic analysis. Diurnal cycle patterns of rainfall occurrence and rain rate from three in-situ weather stations are well represented by the satellite observations. Harmonic analysis depicts large differences in the mean of the diurnal cycle, amplitude, and time of the amplitude across the study area. Diurnal cycle of rainfall occurrence has a single peak in Lake Tana, Gilgel Abbay, and Jemma subbasins and double peaks in Belles, Dabus, and Muger subbasins. Maximum rain rate occurs in the morning (Gilgel Abbay, Dabus, and Jemma), afternoon (Belles, Beshilo, and Muger), and evening (Lake Tana and along the river gorges). Results of this study indicate that satellite observations provide an alternative source of data to characterize diurnal cycle of rainfall in data-scarce regions. We noticed, however, that there are a number of constraints to the use of satellite observations. For more accurate assessments, satellite products require validation by a network of well-distributed ground stations. Also, we advocate bias correction.
18 Akawka, A. L.; Haile, Alemseged Tamiru. 2014. Regionalisation of conceptual rainfall-runoff model parameters for predicting stream flows of ungauged catchments in the Blue Nile Basin [Abstract only] In Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office (ENTRO). Second New Nile Conference on New Nile Opportunities: Scientific Advances Towards Prosperity in the eastern Nile Basin, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 8-9 December 2014. Book of abstracts. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office (ENTRO). pp.29.
River basins ; Catchment areas ; Calibration ; Rain ; Runoff ; Models ; Forecasting ; Hydrology ; Case studies / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046924)
(0.06 MB)
Better utilization of water resources depends on the level of understanding of the hydrology of a river basin. The understanding of the hydrology also depends on the extent to which the catchment is gauged. There are many catchments in the Blue Nile basin for which there are very little or no monitoring data available, thus the question as to whether it would be possible to extend and/or generalize model parameters obtained through calibration of gauged watersheds to ungauged catchments within the same region. This study explored the possibility of developing regionalized model parameter sets for use in ungauged catchments. The Blue Nile in the Ethiopian part is sub divided in to 16 sub-basins. In this study, except Dinder and Rahd the remaining 14 sub-basins were considered in the regionalization procedure. The HBV-96 rainfall-runoff model is used to perform the rainfall-runoff analysis. We calibrated HBV model for a number of gauged catchments in the basin. Among the calibrated catchments, 25 catchments were selected for regionalization purpose based on the criteria of relative volume error and Nash Sutcliffe values. For gauged and ungauged catchments, physical catchment characteristics (PCC) were extracted to establish a relationship with the model parameters (MPs) and develop regional model for estimating streamflow for ungauged catchments. The HBV-96 model is used to simulate the runoff from the ungauged catchments. Results from this study indicate that regionalized parameter sets for the HBV model can be obtained and used for making satisfactory hydrologic response predictions in ungauged catchments.
19 Gebregziabher, Gebrehaweria; Rebelo, Lisa-Maria; Langan, Simon. 2016. Interdependence in rainwater management technologies: an analysis of rainwater management adoption in the Blue Nile Basin. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 18:(2)449-466. [doi: https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s10668-015-9656-8]
Rain water management ; Water harvesting ; Technology ; River basins ; Highlands ; Land degradation ; Erosion ; Agricultural production ; Food security ; Water conservation ; Soil conservation ; Farmers ; Households ; Watersheds / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046954)
(0.56 MB)
In the Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopian highlands, rainfall distribution is extremely uneven both spatially and temporally. Drought frequently results in crop failure, while high rainfall intensities result in low infiltration and high runoff causing soil erosion and land degradation. These combined factors contribute to low agricultural productivity and high levels of food insecurity. Poor land management practices coupled with lack of effective rainwater management strategies aggravate the situation. Over the past two decades, however, the Government of Ethiopia has attempted to address many of these issues through a large-scale implementation of a number of soil and water conservation measures. Despite the success of interventions, uptake and adoption remains low. The conceptual framework of this study is based on the premise that farmers are more likely to adopt a combination of rainwater management technologies as adaptation mechanism against climate variability and agricultural production constraints. This contrasts the previous work that typically examined a single technology without considering the interdependence between technologies. Data used in this study come from household survey in seven watersheds in the Ethiopian Blue Nile Basin. A multivariate probit model was used to account for the potential correlation and interdependence of various components of rainwater management technologies. Our results suggest that rainwater management technologies are related with each other; hence, any effort to promote the adoption of rainwater management technologies has to consider such interdependence of technologies, or failure to do so may mask the reality that farmers face a set of choices in their adoption decisions.
20 Erkossa, Teklu; Wudneh, A.; Desalegn, B.; Taye, G. 2015. Linking soil erosion to on-site financial cost: lessons from watersheds in the Blue Nile Basin. Solid Earth, 6:765-774. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-765-2015]
Erosion ; Financing ; Costs ; Watersheds ; Water management ; Water conservation ; River basins ; Plant nutrition ; Sediment ; Runoff ; Crop yield ; Farmers ; Land use ; Land management ; Highlands ; Farmers ; Case studies / Ethiopia / Blue Nile Basin / Dapo Watershed / Meja Watershed / Mizewa Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047071)
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The study was conducted in three watersheds (Dapo, Meja and Mizewa) in the Ethiopian part of the Blue Nile Basin to estimate the on-site cost of soil erosion using the productivity change approach, in which crop yield reduction due to plant nutrients lost with the sediment and runoff has been analysed. For this purpose, runoff measurement and sampling was conducted during the main rainy season of 2011 at the outlet of two to three sub-watersheds in each watershed. The sediment concentration of the runoff, and N and P contents in runoff and sediment were determined. Crop response functions were developed for the two plant nutrients based on data obtained from the nearest Agricultural Research Centres. The response functions were used to estimate crop yield reduction as a result of the lost N and P assuming there is no compensation through fertilization. The results show a significant yield reduction and resultant financial loss to the farmers. Considering only grain yield of maize (Zea mays), farmers at Dapo annually lose about USD 220 ha-1 and 150 ha-1 due to the loss of N and P, respectively. In view of the importance of the crop residues, including as feed, the loss can be even greater. The study demonstrated that in addition to the long-term deterioration of land quality, the annual financial loss suffered by farmers is substantial. Therefore, on farm soil and water conservation measures that are suitable in biophysical and socio-economic terms in the landscapes and beyond need to be encouraged.
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