What could have been strictly technical negotiations have turned into a political deadlock. We do know that Ethiopia is already seeing longer droughts and worse floods. Practically from the outset, the World Bank and international donors withdrew funding due to a lack of transparency, driven home when it was learned that the construction had begun without a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency in Ethiopia. Because Ethiopia has been so cavalier with regard to the technical aspects of its dams, portions of them have also caved in soon after they began operation. Terms in this set (10) how long and high is the dam? 4. Many historical grievances and distrust remain on the Ethiopian side regarding Egypt (Gebreluel, 2014), with some Ethiopian journalists assessing the 'Declaration of Principles' as being more in favour of Egypt than Ethiopia (Zegabi East Africa News, 2015). The Blue Nile is Ethiopias largest river, with high potential for hydropower and irrigation. (2014). Ethiopia is pinning its hopes of economic development and power generation on the dam. The Nile waters have historically been governed by the Nile Waters Treaties. These colonial-era agreements comprise (i) the 1902 Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty (with the UK representing modern-day Sudan); (ii) the 1929 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty (with the UK representing modern-day Kenya and Uganda) and (iii) the 1959 Egypt-Sudan Treaty (with the UK now absent as a result of decolonisation). The 6,000-megawatt Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, shown here in May 2016, is scheduled to begin producing electricity in 2017. That seems unlikely given that the DoP concerns the Dam alone and was agreed only between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan; whereas the Nile Waters Treaties concern the whole Nile Basin and involve many more states. The Danger of Multi-Party Democracy and Free Elections in Plural Societies Recognizing the Muslim Brotherhood as a Legitimate Player in Egyptian Politics was a Big Mistake Ethiopian Partnering with ASKY to Establish West African Cargo Hub Ethiopia and China's ZTE singed $800 million mobile deal H and M to build factories in Ethiopia Second, regarding the 1902 Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty, although Ethiopia was a party and although that instrument does deal with the flow of water on the Nile, its terms are strictly limited. As noted above, the instrument concedes for the first time that Ethiopia has legitimate interests over the Nile. 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. Ultimately, all the water is allowed to pass downstream such that there is no net loss of flow (with the exception of water lost to evaporation). What are the disadvantages of the Aswan Dam? Ethiopia and Sudan are currently developing and implementing water infrastructure developments unilaterally - as Egypt has done in the past and continues to do. At 6,000 MW, the dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa when completed at 2017(IPoE, 2013). Downstream countries Egypt and Sudan have expressed concerns over the impacts of the dam on their water supply. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the Ethiopian Challenge of The official narrative is that Ethiopia can uproot poverty and bring about a definitive end to social and economic underdevelopment by means of the construction of a series of mega-dams combined with the development of the national energy infrastructure. 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. In July of 2021, the second filling of the dam was completed. Governing the Nile River Basin: The Search for a New Legal Regime. 67K views 6 months ago ETIOPIA The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, on the Blue Nile, is located around 14 km upstream of the Ethiopian-Sudan Border, at around 700 km from the Capital. Test. Ethiopian Renaissance Dam & Its implications on Egypt Monday January 2, 2017. Churning waters: Strategic shifts in the Nile basin. The New Arab (2020b). According to present plans, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) now under construction across the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia will be the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa, and one of the 12 largest in the world. Egypt, fearing major disruptions to its access to the Nile's waters, originally intended to prevent even the start of the GERD's construction. In the imperialist age, Ethiopian emperors threatened to alter the course of the Nile and stop its flow to Egypt. The other riparian states can then be brought in, either through the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) or some other regional framework, to secure an agreement that is binding on all the states. According to this narrative, the Blue Nile, or Abay in Amharic, is a purely Ethiopian river. when did construction of the dam begin? The Government of Egypt, a country which relies heavily on the waters of the Nile, has demanded that Ethiopia cease construction on the dam as a preconditions to negotiations, sought regional support for its position, and some political leaders have discussed methods to sabotage it. Already, the United States has threatened to withhold development aid to Ethiopia if the conflict is not resolved and an agreement reached. Location l Formerly called as project x then known as the Millennium Dam then it renamed to Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. (PDF) Benefit of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Project (GERDP) for Ethiopian Yearbook of International Law 2017. At that point, the lake that . Article 7 provides that watercourse states must take all appropriate measures to prevent significant harm to other watercourse States and that, where harm does occur, there shall be consultations to discuss the question of compensation. Finally, Article 8 requires that watercourse states cooperate on the basis of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, mutual benefit and good faith.. Construction on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam began in 2011 and it is currently nearing completion. Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam - ArcGIS StoryMaps Second, the upstream riparian states must recognize and accept Egypts near total dependence on the waters of the Nile River. Copyright 2023, JURIST Legal News & Research Services, Inc. Elliot Winter | New Castle University (UK), Egyptian Water Security and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Why Ethiopia has the Upper Hand, Vienna Convention on the Succession of States, history of copyright in the United States. Note that, under Article 62(2) VCLT, territorial treaties are excepted from the change in circumstances rule. Consequently, it suits Egypts interests in this context to argue that the DoP is binding, that it precludes any net loss of flow and therefore that the use of the Dam for irrigation purposes is prohibited. Disadvantages of the grand ethiopian renaissance dam jobs According to Baradei, hydropower dams create immense turbulence in the water, where chemical reactions such as dissolved oxygen can destroy fauna and flora. Chinese banks provided financing for the purchase of the turbines and electrical equipment for the hydroelectric plants. Indeed, Principle II notes that the purpose of the [Dam] is for power generation and regional integration through generation of sustainable and reliable clean energy supply. This is crucial given that hydroelectricity generation simply involves holding water back behind a dam for a period of time, and then releasing it again in a managed manner so that the electric turbines can spin consistently. L'Europe en Formation, 365(3), 99-138. 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. Helping Egypts cause, during the preparation of the VCSS, the International Law Commission stated that treaties concerning water rights or navigation on rivers are commonly regarded as candidates for inclusion in the category of territorial treaties. However, it must be noted that this would represent a generous interpretation of the territorial treaty exception. India dispatch: Supreme Court limits DNA paternity testing in divorce proceedings, prioritizing childrens privacy rights, US dispatch: Texas case could limit access to abortion medication, Copyright infringement made federal crime. 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. Match. Indeed, Egypt has called the filling of the dam an. Match facts: Egypts Ahly v South Africas Mamelodi Sundowns (CAF Champions.. 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Nevertheless, Egypt must not use sympathy for its water vulnerability as a weapon to frustrate the efforts of the other riparians to secure an agreement that is balanced, fair, and equitable. Egypt Forced to Negotiate on Nile Dam. However, it also makes useful concessions to Egypt which it may wish to press. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Ethiopias strategy for dam construction goes far beyond developmental goals. But this did not rule out eruptions of tension, not just between local communities and the central government, but also between Ethiopia and its neighbours. Therefore, a negotiated position that favours Ethiopia is likely to be reached once it becomes politically palatable enough inside Egypt. Egypt says. Another impressive snippet of information is that the Government of Ethiopia is financing the entire project, along with loans mainly from China. The Friends of Lake Turkana, an NGO representing indigenous groups whose livelihoods are dependent on the Lake, filed a suit to halt the construction of the dam. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a 6000 MW hydropower project on the Blue Nile, which the Ethiopian government plans to build to fulfill the country's energy needs. khadsyy Plus. Neither the Egyptian nor the Ethiopian governments received positive domestic feedback on their agreement. Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Agreement within Reach, Under-Secretary Given these considerations, it seems that Ethiopia has all but won the dispute. In an effort to forestall potential water conflicts such as the one brewing around the Dam, an increasing number of bilateral and multilateral water agreements have been concluded in recent decades. Today, however, Ethiopia is building the Grand Renaissance Dam and, with it, Ethiopia will physically control the Blue Nile Gorgethe primary source of most of the Nile waters. His research indicates that rapid filling of the reservoir could lead to severe economic losses, though he notes that expanding groundwater extraction, adjusting the operation of Egypt's Aswan High Dam, and cultivating crops that require less water could help offset some of the impact. Although Khartoum initially opposed the construction of the GERD, it has since warmed up to it, citing its potential to improve prospects for domestic development. for seepage and evaporation, but afforded no water to Ethiopia or other upstream riparian statesthe sources of most of the water that flows into the Nile. Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam: Ending Africa's Oldest Geopolitical Rivalry? It could be a treaty or merely a political declaration as the name implies. One question that keeps coming up is: Will Ethiopia be willing to release enough water from the reservoir to help mitigate a drought downstream? However, another trend stresses the need to approach the question from a broader and more holistic perspective. It can be demand-driven, typically caused by population growth, and supply-driven, typically caused by decreasing amounts of fresh water often resulting from climate change or a result of societal factors such as poverty. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) constitutes a real crisis for the Egyptian regime, where Ethiopia several times blamed Egypt for the failure of negotiations conducted between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia on the dam. The Untold Story of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam The failure of the latest talks over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has intensified tensions between Ethiopia and downstream states Egypt and Sudan. Already, on June 19, 2020, Egyptian authorities called upon the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to intervene after tripartite talks had failed to secure an agreement on the filling schedule for the GERD. However, the Convention took almost twenty years to enter into force (from 1997 to 2014) due to the lack of necessary ratifications by states. 2. In response, Ethiopia threatened military force to defend the dam and protect its interests (The New Arab, 2020a). Solar and wind power could break the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam The dispute over the GERD is part of a long-standing feud between Egypt and Sudanthe downstream stateson the one hand, and Ethiopia and the upstream riparians on the other over access to the Niles waters, which are considered a lifeline for millions of people living in Egypt and Sudan. 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. On March 4, 1909, the Copyright Act of 1909 became law, making infringement of a copyright a federal crime for the first time. The United States is Committed to Egypt's Water Security and Advancing There are suggestions that Egyptian officials in the World Bank managed to precipitate a policy that funds would only be awarded for non-contentious water projects, thus precluding funding for the Dam. Ultimately, however, Egypt did not sign the CFA (nor did Sudan) hence it does not resolve the dispute. The piece (i) gives a brief history of the Dam; (ii) outlines the role of the Watercourses Convention; (iii) explains the significance of the Nile Waters Treaties; (iv) sets out the main legal arguments for Egypt and (v) provides the main legal arguments for Ethiopia. Negotiations resumed three weeks after Al-Sisi took office in June 2014, and an agreement was made to resume negotiations - an achievementhailed by both Egypt and Ethiopia as a new chapter in relations between Egypt and Ethiopia based on openness and mutual understanding and cooperation (Omar, 2014). This is on the basis of the principles of State succession as outlined in the Vienna Convention on the Succession of States (VCSS). The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Source of cooperation or - USGS . 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 . Salman, S.M.A. The Ethiopian government has always availed itself of its power to transfer local populations off land it decides to declare a public resource. AFRICANGLOBE. The grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam (eg) - SlideShare Why the Nile could see a 'water war'. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is estimated to cost close to 5 billion US dollars, about 7% of the 2016 Ethiopian gross national product. Ethiopia - Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) - Hydropower These two factors could become serious problems. We shall begin with the former. Turning then to Ethiopia. One senior advisor to former Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi alluded to it when he said that Ethiopia will supply the electricity, Sudan the food, and Egypt the money. To which we might add, and South Sudan will supply the oil.. Despite the fact that newly independent Sudan in the late 1950s was literally forced by a dominant Egypt into a highly asymmetrical water-sharing arrangement, Sudan has rarely challenged this arrangement. Since then, there has been a constant stream of complaints regarding the social and environmental impacts on downriver areas, including large displacements of local populations. Ethiopia has never 'consumed' significant shares of the Nile's water so far, as its previous political and economic fragility in combination with a lack of external financial support, due to persistent Egyptian opposition to projects upstream, prevented it from implementing large-scale projects. Third, Egypt should abandon continued references to its so-called natural historical rights (i.e., the water rights granted Egypt by the 1929 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty and the 1959 Agreement between Egypt and Sudan). International rights organisations have reported that many cases of displacement were not voluntary and that entire communities were driven from their villages. Who Is Financing Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam? The $4 billion hydroelectric dam . Washington Must Act Now to Save Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam While this means new opportunities to develop extended irrigation-based agriculture for the Sudanese, it represents also a new threat for Egypts current Nile water utilisation (Whittington et al., 2014). The Tripartite National Council (TNC) was then established, consisting of members from each of the three countries with the aim of carrying through the IPoE's recommendations (Attia & Saleh, 2021). grand ethiopian renaissance dam. The researchers looked at the dynamic interactions between the Nile's hydrology and infrastructure and Egypt's economy. These run from rising rivalry between Egypt and Ethiopia to a festering border war between Ethiopia and neighboring Sudan. Both countries are concerned that without a clear and binding agreement with Ethiopia, the latter will have full control of the passage of water from the GERD during droughts, which would be devastating to the lives of millions in Egypt and Sudan. It provides clear benefits to all three riparian, such as flood control, reduced flood damages and sediment control. Further, it means that this figure should be used to assess the impact of the Dam on the Egyptian economy for the purposes of calculating compensation resulting from loss of flow. The dam will flood 1,680 square kilometers of forest in northwest Ethiopia (an area about four times the size of Cairo), displace approximately 20,000 people in Ethiopia, and create a reservoir that will hold around 70 billion cubic . More alarmingly, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak allegedly even considered bombing the Dam. On the surface, the 558 ft tall dam Africa's biggest hydropower project belies Ethiopia's financial muscle. The controversy over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam - Brookings In particular, the DoP takes a very strict approach to the no significant harm rule. In my opinion, this should be negotiable, to fill the lake over a longer period, and only when the river is sufficiently full. This is hardly a revelation, as this strategy has long been foremost in the minds of the ruling elites in Addis Ababa and supported by the international powers. A regional framework for the management of the Nile already existsthe Nile Basin Initiative mentioned abovewhich is a partnership among the Nile riparian states that was launched in 1999. As a consequence, Ethiopia has not been able to make significant use of the rivers waters. Egypts original goal was to have the project purely and simply cancelled. It signifies that Egypts de facto veto power on major upstream dams has been broken, and it clearly demonstrates the political will of Ethiopia to develop its water infrastructure even in the absence of a comprehensive basin agreement. Link, P.M. et al. The drying up of this in Central Asia has been called the worlds worst environmental catastrophe. Omar, A. Afraid that a drought might appear during the filling period, Egypt wants the filling to take place over a much longer period. Search for jobs related to Disadvantages of the grand ethiopian renaissance dam or hire on the world's largest freelancing marketplace with 22m+ jobs. The dispute has prompted numerous international interventions, including by Gulf Arab states, which have issued political statements and led mediation efforts. Zegabi East Africa News (2015). The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is a Big Deal - BORGEN Water Politics and the Gulf States: The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam After announcing the dam's construction, and with a view to the increasing tensions, the Ethiopian government invited both Egypt and Sudan to form an International Panel of Experts (IPoE) to solicit understanding of the benefits, costs and impacts of the GERD.

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