MIT Study on Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently published a study titled "The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: An Opportunity for Collaboration and Shared Benefits in the Eastern Nile Basin" by 17 scientists known as the International, Non-partisan Eastern Nile Working Group.

The study supported Ethiopia's right to develop its water resources for the well-being of the Ethiopian people, and argued that water storage facilities on the Blue Nile are economically and financially attractive investments.  However, in order to maximize mutual gains of the GERD and other future reservoir developments, four principal issues must be addressed:

1.  Need for an agreement on the coordinated operation of the GERD with the Aswan High Dam.
2.  Technical issues regarding design of the GERD.
3.  Need for an agreement on the sale of hydropower from the GERD.
4.  Potential downstream impacts on Egyptian and Sudanese agriculture. 

Egypt's Nile Delta Slowly Disappearing

The Inter Press Service news agency published a brief article on 29 January 2014 titled "Nile Delta Disappearing Beneath the Sea" by Cam McGrath.  It points out that the highly productive Nile Delta of Egypt is disappearing for three reasons: coastal erosion, saltwater infiltration, and rising sea levels.  Much of the problem is due to the construction of the Aswan Dam on the Nile River above the Delta, which now blocks about 120 million tons of silt annually from reaching and replenishing the Nile Delta.  Most of this silt comes from the Blue Nile and other tributaries in Ethiopia.