Comprehensive Assessment for the Potential Environmental Impacts of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Downstream Countries: Itaipu Dam in the Rearview Mirror

Abstract

This article provides a comparative environmental assessment for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) learning from Itaipu dam experience. The article gives a full insight about the potential political and technical concerns that may affect the downstream countries as a result of the construction of GERD and proposed a solution and way forward for the negotiation based on joint collaboration perspective. Based on the analytical comparison conducted between GERD and Itaipu, the results showed that the total annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions expected to be released from the GERD during the operation is 3,927 tCO2eq, while other secondary emissions were estimated to be 16.17 tons, mainly of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. Also, the ratio of power generation to reservoir capacity of the GERD was questionable, since Ethiopia has announced that the dam is built only for power generation and that there is no intention to utilize water from the dam reservoir. On the other side, the water quality - represented in turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), dissolved oxygen (DO), total phosphorus (TP), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) - behind the GERD is expected to deteriorate dramatically. Also, an increase in total nitrogen (TN) is expected to occur depending on human activities. Accordingly, the article discussed thoughtfully the potential adverse impacts of the GERD on downstream countries and the possible mitigation options. The article also extended to discuss proposals for practical solutions that pave the road for joint collaboration between the three countries to achieve a transparent resolution and a fair resources utilization.

Urban Wastewater Treatment in African Countries: Evidence from the Hydroaid Initiative

“…71 participants came from 20 African countries. The African countries with the highest number of participants were: Ethiopia (11), Tanzania (10), Malawi (8), Kenya (5), Rwanda (4), Egypt (3), and Zambia (3).…”

“…Concerning water management, water balance in Egypt will probably be affected by the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). This project is generating conflicts, as Egypt jointly with Sudan recently took the GERD dispute file to the United Nations Security Council [11].…”

“…Concerning water management, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project, whose construction started in 2011, will probably boost the water and energy availability of the country. However, according to Morsy et al [11], an environmental impact assessment of the GERD project is presently absent. The same authors also highlight that infrastructure of such magnitude will cause significant social and environmental impacts, like involuntary displacement, general detriment of water quality, and loss of biodiversity.…”

Ecohydrology and flood risk management under climate vulnerability in relation to the sustainable development goals (SDGs): a case study in Nagaa Mobarak Village, Egypt

“…Because of climate change, the incidence of flash flood in Egypt has become more frequent, causing loss of life, destruction of agricultural lands, and property damage (Mashaly and Ghoneim 2018;Youssef and Hegab 2019;Prama et al 2020). Additionally, the country is currently facing water scarcity challenges because of rapid population growth and reduced river flow, which will inevitably result from the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Abdelhafez et al 2020;Yassen et al 2020;Abdelrady et al 2020;Morsy et al 2020a, b;Morsy et al 2021). To alleviate these effects, developing a national plan for sustainable flood management is essential to protecting areas and lives from flood danger, maximizing stormwater benefits, and redirecting runoffs into the nearest surface water system for irrigation and groundwater recharge (Mostafa et al 2016;Wakode et al 2018;Spiliotis and Skoulikaris 2019;Freni and Liuzzo et al 2019;Rajasekhar et al 2020 ;Golian et al 2020;Ostad-Ali-Askari et al 2019).…”

Farmers’ Perceptions about Irrigation Roles in Climate Change Adaptation and Determinants of the Choices to WUE-Improving Practices in Southern Ethiopia

“…Agricultural production systems, mainly under rain-fed conditions, old technologies, and smallholder farmers, are more vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change (FAO, 2015; World Bank, 2017). On the other hand, irrigation improves the resilience of farmers to the impacts of climate change through increasing agricultural productivity and household asset accumulation (Tesfay, 2021; Todkari, 2012), improving nutrition and health (Hanjra et al, 2009; Negash et al, 2020), reducing migration in response to drought, and sustaining environmental health and biodiversity (Aspe et al, 2016; Morsy et al, 2021). About 70% of global freshwater (surface and ground) withdrawals are for agriculture; thrice more than 50 years ago and would increase by 19% by 2050 (Global Agriculture, 2021).…”