Events Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Expert Workshop
November 13-14, 2014 MIT Organizer: J-WAFS
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Info Sheet
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Info Sheet
On November 13-14, 2014 the International, non-partisan Eastern Nile Working Group conducted a workshop at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA), to discuss the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and its implications for regional cooperation and economic development in the Nile basin. The workshop included the Working Group, other non-governmental participants from all Eastern Nile countries, and local academics with an interest in the Nile Basin. It was convened by J-WAFS as part of its mission to address broad, high-level questions in water and food-supply scarcity and to coordinate the efforts of MIT's faculty, labs, and centers to work in partnership with other institutions, foundations, industry, and governments to develop regionally appropriate solutions for water security for sustainable development. Participants at the meeting included individuals with many decades of experience working on water resource issues in the Nile basin, as well as MIT faculty with broad knowledge of global water resources policy and management.
The discussions over the two days were wide ranging, covering technical aspects of the design of the GERD; the potential advantages of water storage in Ethiopia for regional economic development; filling and operating strategies for the reservoir; potential downstream consequences of the GERD for Sudan and Egypt; and opportunities and risks for future basin-wide cooperation and economic development.
On the basis of these discussions, the group prepared an amicus brief to the three riparian governments, which was shared with them in early February 2015. The brief, titled "The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: An Opportunity for Collaboration and Shared Benefits in the Eastern Nile Basin," highlights opportunities and also several issues of technical concern which are of relevance to policy makers in the region.
