ENSAP Countries | Ethiopia |
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Ethiopia lies in the eastern part of the basin. The flows of the Blue Nile (Abbay), the largest of the basin’s tributaries, and of several other important tributaries are generated in the country. These rivers join the White Nile in Sudan to form the main Nile, contributing in average over 85 percent of the flow arriving at Aswan in Egypt (according to different estimates). The Nile Basin covers about 32 percent of the national land area, but accounts for a higher proportion of the total water resources. Official Name: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia  Capital: Addis Ababa Head of Government: Prime Minister Meles Zenawi Currency: Ethiopian Birr Total Population: 68.6 million GDP (US$): 6.6 billion GNI per Capita: (US$) 90 Total Land Area: 1,116,100 sq.km Source: The Worldbank World Development Indicators Database and the CIA factbook www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook. In the past water resources development was carried out in an ad hoc and uncoordinated manner. Recently, there has been an extensive period of study and development of water policy and regulations. A new water policy is now available to guide water resources development activities. Important issues are listed below.
Policy. The Federal Water Resources Management Policy was ratified in 1999. It aims to enhance national efforts towards the efficient, equitable, and optimal utilization of the available resources for significant socio-economic development on a sustainable basis. Water resources regulations have also been developed and were approved by parliament in 2000. The government’s strategy for water resources, which is needed to implement the new policy, is currently under development. It is expected that it will be finalized and ready for implementation by late 2000. Planning and development. The sector still has important problems, including for example low rates of irrigation efficiency and high losses in water supply systems. Project planning is hampered by the lack of guidelines to define the process in a systematic manner. Other important issues relevant to water resources development include lack of skilled manpower and implementation capacity, poor management of water resources schemes, (especially small-scale schemes), traditional irrigation, inadequate legislation to govern conflicts between different sectors and users of the common resource, and lack of effective monitoring and evaluation of projects and programs. Environment. Much past experience in water development projects shows failure in environmental protection, and it is now realized that sustainable development and environmental protection have to be closely linked. Environmental impact assessments have become mandatory for all national water resources projects. Deforestation and soil erosion are very significant environmental problems. Data and information. There is a lack of adequate mapping information of the country. Hydro-meteorological data are inadequate. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 12 November 2008 ) |
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