Similarly, both the final agreement between the riparian states for the allocation of the water and resources of the Nile should include a dispute resolution mechanism. This is on the basis of the principles of State succession as outlined in the Vienna Convention on the Succession of States (VCSS). Even in 2023, there are only 46 state parties, with key actors such as the US, Canada and Brazil remaining outside the Conventions regime. For example, Ethiopians and Egyptians are more likely to understand and appreciate the challenges that they face, particularly in the areas of water security, climate change, food production, and poverty alleviation, if they regularly interact with each other and engage in more bottom-up, participatory and inclusive approaches to the resolution of their conflicts. GIGA Focus No. Zegabi East Africa News (2015). Cairo . Article IV of the DoP provides that the parties shall utilize their shared water resources in their respective territories in an equitable and reasonable manner and Article III provides that the parties shall take all appropriate measures to prevent the causing of significant harm in utilizing the Blue/Main Nile. Ethiopia can make a strong case that the operation of the Dam complies with each principle. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 56(4), 687-702. July 26, 2022. l located on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia .
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam | International Rivers On Feb. 26, Ethiopia temporarily suspended its . Egypt, which lies 1,600 miles downstream of the Dam, believes its operation will reduce the amount of fresh water available to it from the Nile. These countries should return to the NBIs Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA), which was concluded in 2010, try to resolve the disagreements that caused Egypt and Sudan to decline to sign the CFA, and use it as a model for a future binding legal regime. [35] The disadvantages for Egypt and Sudan are the possibility of reduced river flow, although this is only really a problem during the years of filling the dam. The Ethiopian government has always availed itself of its power to transfer local populations off land it decides to declare a public resource. In order to sustain this benefit in the long run, Ethiopias neighbouring countries will have to continue to purchase hydroelectric energy, and rainfall will have to fall at the same rate on the Ethiopian Plateau. Egypt and Ethiopia have once again locked horns over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile. It is perhaps the most glaring demonstration of environmental or climate injustice that the youngest continent (60 percent of the population is below the age of twenty-five) is also the one that has historically least contributed to the industrial emissions of greenhouse gases yet is likely the one that will be hardest affected by meteorological Hence, the customary law argument might be too ambitious.
497 Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images Link, P.M. et al. Misplaced Opposition to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD): Update. Sudan and Egypt, which rely most heavily on the . The decisions that this group renders must be binding on all riparian states. For more on the background and history of these important relationships, see my book with former AGI Director Mwangi S. Kimenyi, Governing the Nile River Basin: The Search for a New Legal Regime., not be filled without a legally binding agreement, when the flow of Nile water to the dam falls below 35-40 b.c.m.
Ethiopia completes third filling of Blue Nile mega-dam reservoir These run from rising rivalry between Egypt and Ethiopia to a festering border war between Ethiopia and neighboring Sudan. Afraid that a drought might appear during the filling period, Egypt wants the filling to take place over a much longer period. However, as a result of the ability and willingness of Ethiopians at home and abroad to invest in the dam project, the government was able to raise a significant portion of the money needed to start the construction of the GERD.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Africa's Water Tower The Chinese donors who have agreed to fund it have performed no independent social or environmental impact reviews. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG, 79-110. The colonial powers have departed and so to continue to enforce treaties agreed based around their interests would be irrational. The Tendaho, Tekeze, and the Gibe series are only a few examples from that period. Ethiopia's determination to build a major new dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), for hydropower purposes has been the flashpoint of current conflicts in the Eastern Nile Basin (Gebreluel, 2014). Given the advancement of the dam construction - the GERD being, as of March 2015, 40% complete, according to Ethiopia - Egypt had good reason to reconsider its position (RANE, 2015). Finally, Ethiopia could make a strong case that the operation of the Dam is in alignment with the core principles of international water law, namely equitable utilisation and no significant harm. These are found in Articles 5 and 7 of the Water Courses Convention respectively and, despite the scepticism outlined above, arguably form part of customary international law. Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam: Ending Africa's Oldest Geopolitical Rivalry? However, it also makes useful concessions to Egypt which it may wish to press.
A Grand New Dam on the Nile - NASA The Nile riparians must understand that the river is a common resource whose effective management must be approached from a basin-wide perspective. It has also expressed concerns about the potential impact the initial filling of the dam will have on areas downstream. Test. These parallel developments appear to be elements of a bigger hydro-political strategy wherein the riparian countries aim to increase their water utilisation to put facts on the ground (and underpin legal claims based on those uses) and increase their bargaining position for renegotiations of volumetric water allocations. The US has revived diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute sparked by Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project on the Nile. (2012). It too has legal arguments it could adduce in support of its position that the Dam is permitted under international law. Although Ethiopia has argued that the hydroelectric GERD will not significantly affect the flow of water into the Nile, Egypt, which depends almost entirely on the Nile waters for household and commercial uses, sees the dam as a major threat to its water security. Learn. Construction of the 6,000-megawatt, US $5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) began . To African commentators in recent decades, massive investments in mega-energy and irrigation projects were emblematic of the African economic emergence, and Ethiopia at that time vaunted itself as one of the fastest-growing economies in the region. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and hydroelectric project is located 700 km northeast of the capital city Addis Abeba, in the Benishangul--Gumaz region of Ethiopia, along the Blue Nile River. The strategy and its surrounding narrative have attracted large influxes of foreign investment in the Ethiopian agrarian sector, with multi-million dollar leases of agricultural land to foreigners generally linked to irrigation projects planned in tandem with the construction of the dam. This is a matter of acute concern given that Egypt depends on the Nile for about 97% of its irrigation and drinking water. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will increase energy generation and development in Ethiopia, but it may have unwanted consequences for other Nile River users. Moreover, with GERD, Ethiopia opts for a hydropower expansion strategy on the Blue Nile, and not an irrigation strategy.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is the new - The Conversation The Blue Nile is Ethiopias largest river, with high potential for hydropower and irrigation. Egypt relies on the river for as much as 90 percent of its freshwater and sees the new dam as an existential . Egypt wants control and guarantees for its share of Nile waters. This dam, set to be the largest in Africa in terms of power capacity, continues to cause disagreement between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt on filling and operation strategies. I agree with the delivery of the newsletter. Even then, the initial studies did not extend beyond the borders with Kenya. Here, for the first time, Egypt recognised Ethiopias right to use the Nile for development purposes. In: Yihdego, Z. et al.
If the relevant parties can agree to these goals, the agreement, in the end, will need to include technical language that ensures equitable sharing of the Nile. It also created a counter message to Egypts powerful the Nile is Egypt narrative that is familiar around the world. On March 4, 1834, the town of York in the British colony of Canada was incorporated as the City of Toronto. Yet, Ethiopia is fully aware of Somalias economic dependence on the rivers originating from Ethiopias highlands.
Impacts of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on Downstream Countries Although talks chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa on behalf of the African Union have resolved many issues associated with the filling of the GERDs reservoir, there is still no agreement on the role that the dam will play in mitigating droughts.
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam - Wikipedia The Eastern Nile Basin comprises Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. Ethiopia, whose highlands supply more than 85 percent of the water that flows into the Nile River, has long argued that it has the right to utilize its natural resources to address widespread poverty and improve the living standards of its people. While the water will return to its normal state before reaching Egypt, the damage to these populations will be permanent. The Dam is being built by Ethiopia on the Nile River and is fiercely opposed by Egypt. In the imperialist age, Ethiopian emperors threatened to alter the course of the Nile and stop its flow to Egypt. Cairo - U.S. Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Ambassador Mike Hammer met with senior Egyptian government officials on July 25 to advance a diplomatic resolution on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) that supports the water needs, economy, and livelihood of all Egyptians, Sudanese, and Ethiopians. It also codified the principles of equitable and reasonable utilisation and no significant harm (essentially importing from the Watercourses Convention). Ethiopia needs regional customers for its hydropower to ensure the economic feasibility of the GERD. It seeks to build an infrastructure for regional water hegemony, positioning it, at the very least, in such a way that it can exchange water for oil.
Egypt fears Ethiopia Renaissance Dam threatens water supply Egypt has taken various efforts in a bid to secure its water security in the context of the Nile River. Despite the intense disagreements, though, Ethiopia continues to move forward with the dam, arguing that the hydroelectric project will significantly improve livelihoods in the region more broadly. The dispute has prompted numerous international interventions, including by Gulf Arab states, which have issued political statements and led mediation efforts. Thus, as with the Watercourses Convention and the CFA, the DoP does not offer a clear legal resolution to the dispute. Perhaps the most significant project in the 2003 plan was the Chemoga-Yeda Hydroelectric Project, a series of five small dams on Blue Nile tributaries and two dams on the Genale River with a couple more envisioned for a later phase. In March 2015, a 'Declaration of Principles' was signed by the leaders of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, setting the foundations for an initial cooperation (Salman, 2017). A more recent trilateral meeting mediated by the African Union in mid-July, however, appeared to diffuse the situation with all three countries reaching a major common understanding towards achieving an agreement (Al Jazeera, 2020).
Ethiopia - Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) - Hydropower In the relatively unlikely scenario that the above points failed, Ethiopia could argue that there has been such a change of circumstances since the Nile Waters Treaties were concluded that they ought to be terminated. This is good news for Egypt and Sudan as hydropower means little actual water withdrawal. IDS (2013). Ethiopia announced in April 2011 that it intends to build four large dams on the Nile, including one of the largest in the world, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (formerly known as Project X or the Grand Millennium Dam).This huge dam will flood 1,680 square kilometers of forest in northwest Ethiopia, near the Sudan border, and create a reservoir that is nearly twice as large as Lake Tana . Sudan is caught between the competing interests of Egypt and Ethiopia. In turn, Egypt water policy and management should be changes or modified to overcome the great challenges. In terms of the current status of talks, in 2019, US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin began facilitating negotiations between Egypt and Ethiopia which led to some tentative progress. The disadvantages for Egypt and Sudan are the possibility of reduced river flow, although this is only really a problem during the years of filling the dam. But with a generation capacity of 6.45GW, the Ethiopian government quoted the project as vital to the country's economic growth. 2011. how much does the reservoir contain? This paper discusses the challenges and benefits of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which is under construction and expected to be operational on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia in a few years. Political instability in Egypt played an important role as the announcement of the project coincided with the resignation of President Mubarak during the Arab Spring. L'Europe en Formation, 365(3), 99-138. The current global energy crisis may help in this regard in the sense that Egyptians may find the allure of discounted hydroelectric energy stronger than ever before. This article quantifies the major benefits of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Project for Sudan and Egypt based on GERDP technical design and quantitative analysis. The significance of Gulf involvement was highlighted by the .
Impacts of Grand Renaissance Dam on Economic Development in Ethiopia Water Policy, 16(4), 595-608.
Factbox: Key facts about Ethiopia's giant Nile dam | Reuters Therefore, all the water is eventually released downstream with the effect that there is no net loss of water to downstream states.