It is becoming acknowledged that water is likely to be the most pressing environmental concern of the next century. Difficulties in river basin management are only exacerbated when the resource crosses international boundaries. One critical aid in the assessment of international waters has been the Register of International Rivers a compendium which listed 214 international waterways that cover 47% of the earth's continental land surface. The Register, though, was last updated in 1978 by the now defunct United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The purpose of this paper is to update the Register in order to reflect the quantum changes that have taken place over the last 22 years, both in global geopolitics and in map coverage and technology. By accessing digital elevation models at spatial resolutions of 30 arc seconds, corroborating at a unified global map coverage of at least 1:1 000 000, and superimposing the results over complete coverage of current political boundaries, we are able to...

International River Basins of the World

The role of ‘virtual water’ in efforts to achieve food security and other national goals, with an example from Egypt

Changes in water resources availability can be expected as consequences of climate change, population growth, economic development and environmental considerations. A two-stage modeling approach is used to explore the impact of these changes in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. An advanced, physically based, distributed, hydrological model is applied to determine the internal and external renewable water resources for the current situation and under future changes. Subsequently, a water allocation model is used to combine the renewable water resources with sectoral water demands. Results show that total demand in the region will increase to 393 km3 yr−1 in 2050, while total water shortage will grow to 199 km3 yr−1 in 2050 for the average climate change projection, an increase of 157 km3 yr−1. This increase in shortage is the combined impact of an increase in water demand by 50 percent with a decrease in water supply by 12 percent. Uncertainty, based on the output of the nine GCMs applied, reveals that expected water shortage ranges from 85 km3 yr−1 to 283 km3 yr−1 in 2050. The analysis shows that 22 percent of the water shortage can be attributed to climate change and 78 percent to changes in socioeconomic factors.

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Water resources trends in Middle East and North Africa towards 2050

Increased energy demand has led to plans for building many new dams in the western Amazon, mostly in the Andean region. Historical data and mechanistic scenarios are used to examine potential impacts above and below six of the largest dams planned for the region, including reductions in downstream sediment and nutrient supplies, changes in downstream flood pulse, changes in upstream and downstream fish yields, reservoir siltation, greenhouse gas emissions and mercury contamination. Together, these six dams are predicted to reduce the supply of sediments, phosphorus and nitrogen from the Andean region by 69, 67 and 57% and to the entire Amazon basin by 64, 51 and 23%, respectively. These large reductions in sediment and nutrient supplies will have major impacts on channel geomorphology, floodplain fertility and aquatic productivity. These effects will be greatest near the dams and extend to the lowland floodplains. Attenuation of the downstream flood pulse is expected to alter the survival, phenology and growth of floodplain vegetation and reduce fish yields below the dams. Reservoir filling times due to siltation are predicted to vary from 106-6240 years, affecting the storage performance of some dams. Total CO2 equivalent carbon emission from 4 Andean dams was expected to average 10 Tg y-1 during the first 30 years of operation, resulting in a MegaWatt weighted Carbon Emission Factor of 0.139 tons C MWhr-1. Mercury contamination in fish and local human populations is expected to increase both above and below the dams creating significant health risks. Reservoir fish yields will compensate some downstream losses, but increased mercury contamination could offset these benefits.

The potential impact of new Andean dams on Amazon fluvial ecosystems.

“This study of the Eastern Nile Basin is an essential reading for anyone interested in a comprehensive analysis of conflicts about Nile water use. Water quantity and quality data are judiciously set in relation to the national and international water management strategies of Egypt and Sudan to highlight present developments in the Basin. The innovative Dialogue Workshop methodology demonstrates how direct stakeholder interaction can enhance cooperation in international river basins.” Alexander J.B. Zehnder, Professor, Director of the Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (EAWAG)

From conflict to cooperation in the Nile Basin

History tells us that Egypt's fertile land is the gift of the Nile However,for the first time in history, full control of the Nile water was achieved in 1970 after the construction of the High Aswan Dam (HAD) The HAD is a multipurpose project for sustainable irrigation development,hydropower,navigation improvement etc Different schools of thought appeared before and after the HAD project-optimistic,pessimistic and neutral However, the anticipated benefits and side-effects have provided clear and obvious facts in response to the different ideas after more than 25 years of operationThe HAD saved Egypt twice during the project's life (a) from a dangerousflood series which occurred in the late 1970s,and (b) from severe droughtsin the mid-1980sAs with other large projects, some side-effects have occurred, as anticipated, but the benefits far exceed these side-effects There is no doubt that the HAD is the cornerstone for Egypt's sustainable agricultural plans and many other developmentsIn this 

F. Z. El-Shibini

Papers

Egypt's High Aswan Dam