East Africa and the Eastern Nile research

 

All FutureDAMS journal articles, working papers, pre-prints and briefings specific to the East Africa and Nile basin case study are available below.  All other papers can be found on the publications page

Wherever possible, we make our research open access, but if you’re unable to download a paper, please contact us.

East African and the Eastern Nile research

  Title/downloadSummary
01/2021Working paperPowering development: the political economy of electricity generation in the EPRDF’s Ethiopia
This paper examines the political economy of electricity generation planning in Ethiopia during the EPRDF era (1991–2019), highlighting the importance of power relations between politicians and the bureaucracy, the political interests of the ruling party and the dominant ideas shaping politics and the electricity sector.
01/2021Journal article / webinarPerformance of large-scale irrigation projects in sub-Saharan AfricaFutureDAMS researchers quantified the performance of 79 African irrigation schemes.
10/2020Journal articleUnderstanding and managing new risks on the Nile with the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance DamThis new research uses historical data from Nile measurements over extended wet, average and dry periods to understand the risks of filling and operating the dam, and the potential impacts of a long-term drought.
10/2020Working paper / webinarResettlement of Gumuz communities around Ethiopia's Blue Nile damThis working paper explores the programme of resettlement of Gumuz farmers and others living at low altitude along the Nile and Beles rivers, whose home areas are expected to be flooded on completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and filling of a new reservoir.
09/2020Journal articleFilling Africa’s Largest Hydropower Dam Should Consider Engineering RealitiesThis research points out that some negotiated strategies for filling Ethiopia’s new GERD dam could be infeasible in critical river flow conditions due to the limited ability of the dam to release water at low water levels.
08/2020Working paperThe contradictions of an aspiring developmental state: energy boom and bureaucratic independence in RwandaWhat factors drive countries’ economic development? Is it still possible for Africa to follow the trajectory of the Asian states that saw rapid industrialisation in the latter half of the 20th century? This working paper analyses these issues in Rwanda. They focus on debates about the role of the state in development.
03/2020Journal articleIdeology matters: Political machinations, modernism, and myopia in Rwanda's electricity boomA detailed case study of new hydropower and fossil fuel plants in Rwanda to understand the boom in constructing electricity infrastructure.
08/2019Journal articleContinuity or Change in the Infrastructure Turn? Reform of the Technicians’ Realm in a World Bank DamHow are new projects planned and constructed? Are we seeing the underestimation of economic, environmental and social costs? Have past critiques changed infrastructure building in the twenty-first century? A case study of Rusumo Falls on the Rwanda-Tanzania border.
06/2019Working paperWhat holds back dam building? The role of Brazil in the stagnation of dams in TanzaniaThis paper examines this puzzle of resurrected projects being actively planned but not built by looking at two dams in Tanzania between 2009-2017 the Stiegler’s Gorge and Mnyera dams.
05/2019Working paperDam building by the illiberal modernisers: ideology and changing rationales in Rwanda and TanzaniaThis paper presents research on the ideological drivers for the return of dam building. The paper focuses particularly on Rwanda and Tanzania, but situates this against a broader continental trend that includes Ethiopia, Sudan, Angola, Uganda and Ghana.

Blogs, news and research highlights 

 

Nature Communications editorial highlight 2021: FutureDAMS environmental social science paper

'Collaborative management of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam increases economic benefits and resilience' has been selected by Nature Communications Earth Team as an editorial highlight of 2021. The team selected 32 articles to celebrate contributions to original...

Keynote seminar: Integrating water-energy-food-environment planning for climate adaptation and resilience

Julien Harou Chair in Water Engineering, University of Manchester Claudia Ringler Deputy Director of Environment and Production Technology Division, IFPRI John Matthews Executive Director, AGWA Chair: James Dalton Director, IUCN Global Water Programme FutureDAMS is...

New research: Increased economic benefits and resilience with collaborative management of the Nile’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

New research linking water resources and economic analysis shows coordinated filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) would increase economic benefits and resilience.

Nile Talk Forum: Understanding the potential impact of the GERD dam on floods in Sudan

Join the Nile Talk Forum's Global webinar series to learn from FutureDAMS researcher Mohammed Basheer who will be part of the discussion on 'Understanding the potential impact of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on floods in Sudan'. 17th May 2021, 13:00 GMT / 15:00...

Irrigation schemes in sub-Saharan Africa are consistently falling short of their promises

Irrigation schemes in sub-Saharan Africa don’t measure up to their plans. They are consistently delivering a much smaller area of irrigation or are completely broken. And things aren’t improving. Large-scale irrigation infrastructure projects are back on the...

Filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is unlikely to significantly affect Egypt, but coordinated drought planning is essential, finds risk analysis

Near-term concerns about the impact of The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on water availability for Egypt and Sudan are unlikely to materialise, but drought preparedness will require careful coordination, suggests research published today by researchers from...

Filling Africa’s largest dam risks political tension if engineering realities are ignored

A hydro dam currently under construction in Ethiopa is set to be the largest hydropower plant in Africa, but could be heading towards controversy for international agreements on water sharing. New research from FutureDAMS points out that some negotiated strategies for...

Resettlement of Gumuz Communities around Ethiopia’s Blue Nile Dam: NEW open access research

Read the FutureDAMS working paper 'Resettlement of Gumuz Communities around Ethiopia’s Blue Nile Dam'. This working paper explores the programme of resettlement of Gumuz farmers and others living at low altitude along the Nile and Beles rivers, whose home areas are...

NEW working paper – The role of the state in development: Rwanda

By Barnaby Dye What factors drive countries’ economic development? Is it still possible for Africa to follow the trajectory of the Asian states that saw rapid industrialisation in the latter half of the 20th century? A new working paper by Benjamin Chemouni and...

FutureDAMS lecture video: ‘Impacts of the Gibe III, Ethiopia: A social-ecological systems approach’

In December 2019, FututreDAMS welcomed Dr Jenny Hodbod to present 'Impacts of the Gibe III, Ethiopia: A social-ecological systems approach'. Jenny Hodbod is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Sustainability, Michigan State University, where she...

FutureDAMS lecture: Have irrigation developments in Africa delivered the benefits they promised?

Tom Higginbottom presents 'have irrigation developments in Africa delivered the benefits they promised?'. Tom is a Postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering at the University of Manchester. His research uses...

New Working Paper: What holds back dam building? The role of Brazil in the stagnation of dams in Tanzania

By Barnaby Dye Africa has experienced a dam boom since the mid-2000s with projects across the continent being built by the so-called rising powers like China, ‘traditional donors’ (e.g. the USA and Germany) and established international development organisation such...

New research: idealogical drivers of Rwanda’s electricity boom

By Barnaby Dye A boom in constructing electricity infrastructure is underway in Africa – whether in generation plants or power lines. However, there aren’t many studies explaining why this building wave is taking place. My new paper  presents a detailed case study of...

FutureDAMS lecture – Anna Mdee

'The missing middle: addressing tensions in interdisciplinary 'solutions-focused' water research projects' The latest FutureDAMS seminar was delivered by Dr Anna Mdee, Associate Professor in International Development in the School of Politics and International Studies...

New Research: Continuity or Change in the Infrastructure Turn?

Development is undergoing an infrastructure turn, no more so than in resurgent dam building. But how are new projects planned and constructed? Are we seeing the underestimation of economic, environmental and social costs? Have past critiques changed infrastructure...

Workshop with the Kenyan Water Resources Authority

By Anthony Hurford On 8 May I travelled to Embu in Kenya to conduct training for Water Resources Authority (WRA) staff on the benefits of water resources system simulation modelling within a browser-based interface. Partners from Jomo Kenyatta University of...

Software co-development in Kenya

On 1 March, Anthony Hurford conducted a FutureDAMS modelling and software co-development session at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agricultural Technology (JKUAT) at the invitation of Prof. Bancy Mati and Dr. James Messo. Participants in the session were JKUAT faculty,...

Watch: The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and Nile controversies in the media

Dr. Emanuele Fantini, Senior Lecturer at the IHE Delph Institute for Water Education, recently outlined the initial findings of his research project on media narratives and trans-boundary cooperation in the Nile basin, as part of the FutureDAMS lecture series....

Dam building by the illiberal modernisers: ideology and changing rationales in Rwanda and Tanzania

The FutureDAMS working paper series has begun! Barnaby Dye, a research associate on the project, has produced the first of these papers, focusing on the resurgence of dams. Barnaby’s work analyses the why of this notable infrastructure-building trend. Taking...