Nile Water Security and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

 The Jurist published on 1 February 2023 an analysis titled "Egyptian Water Security and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Why Ethiopia Has the Upper Hand" by Elliot Winter, New Castle University. 

This article considers water security in the context of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).  It provides a brief history of the GERD; outlines the role of the Watercourses Convention, which neither Ethiopia nor Egypt has signed; explains the significance of the Nile Waters Treaties; sets out the main legal arguments for Egypt; and provides the main legal arguments for Ethiopia.  It concludes that Ethiopia's legal position is far stronger and that a negotiated agreement in its favor is the most likely outcome of the dispute.  

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Questions Answered

 The Conversation published on 6 March 2022 a commentary titled "Nile Basin At a Turning Point As Ethiopian Dam Starts Operations" by John Mukum Mbaku, Weber State University.

The author answers 5 question about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile that is now operating one of its 13 turbines.

Comment:  The author makes a common mistake when he says that the Blue Nile provides more than 85 percent of the water that flows into the Nile River.  ALL Ethiopian tributaries contribute about 85 percent of the water reaching the White Nile or Nile Rivers.  The percentages vary from year to year, but the Blue Nile on average contributes 60 to 70 percent of the water flow.

An Ethiopian Response to the Nile Water Dispute

Ethiopia Insight posted on 8 December 2019 a commentary titled "Sink or Swim: Unlocking the Nile Impasse" by Mahemud Tekuya, University of the Pacific.

The author, an Ethiopian, argues that if the current effort to resolve differences between Ethiopia and Egypt fails over the fill rate behind the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile, Ethiopia should not agree to accept mediation by the United States and the World Bank as both tend to favor Egypt. He suggests that the Nile Basin Initiative or the African Union would be a more neutral mediator. Alternatively, Ethiopia could ask the International Court of Justice to rule on the validity of the 1902, 1929, and 1959 treaties that govern Nile water allocation but were never agreed to by Ethiopia.