The Nile and its main tributaries flow through a large variety of ecosystems, each of great relevance for biodiversity conservation and human livelihoods, and providing important regional and local ecosystem services. The continued provision of these ecosystem services is heavily dependent on a minimum water flow, or environmental flows.
The NBI supports its Member States in sustaining and enhancing Environmental Flows (or E-Flows) in the Nile Basin in a cooperative manner. Environmental Flows describe the quantity, quality and timing of water flows required to sustain freshwater and related ecosystems, as well as the human livelihoods and wellbeing that depend on these ecosystems. Environmental Flows are important for the maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem services provided by the river, including provisioning (e.g. water as a basic human right, livelihood through fisheries), regulating (e.g. water quality and quantity), cultural and supporting services. To maintain these services, water needs to be allocated to sustain the functioning of the river ecosystem and avoid flow alterations where negative effects are foreseen.
NBI has developed a seven-phase Nile Basin Environmental Flows Framework to provide orientation for establishing and managing environmental flows in the basin. It also collects and compiles best practice examples from within the region and around the world, and carries our environmental flow assessment, as a foundation for national and transboundary water allocation plans.
The NBI Strategy for the Management of Environmental Flows was adopted by the NBI Member States in 2016 with the overarching goal “to facilitate and develop a culture of incorporation of collaborative, best practice E-flow management into the water resource planning, management and policies of the countries who share the Nile Basin (short term) to ultimately result in the establishment of an integrated, basin scale E-flows management system (long term)”.
Considering the many development activities in the Nile basin, eflow requirements urgently need to be established in order to ensure sustainable development and holistic planning of the use of water resources. NBI has carried out a coarse, rapid, and holistic assessm...
Coarse E-Flow Assessments
Considering the many development activities in the Nile basin, eflow requirements urgently need to be established in order to ensure sustainable development and holistic planning of the use of water resources. NBI has carried out a coarse, rapid, and holistic assessment of the consequences of altered flows and other important non-flow environmental drivers of change in the Nile basin, to a range of socio-ecological endpoints. It has also collected best practice examples of methodologies for assessment environmental flow requirements.
The natural assets of the Masai Mara / Serengeti, through which the Mara flows, require continued water flows to sustain the ecosystems and people that rely on them. NBI’s NELSAP carried out an environmental flow requirements assessment from which Tanzania developed ...
E-flows on the Mara
The natural assets of the Masai Mara / Serengeti, through which the Mara flows, require continued water flows to sustain the ecosystems and people that rely on them. NBI’s NELSAP carried out an environmental flow requirements assessment from which Tanzania developed an allocation plan for its portion of the shared waters of the Mara river, to benefit the ca. 1 million inhabitants of the Mara region. A short film by Deutsche Welle highlights the central role of ‘science-driven negotiations’ for the present and future benefit of the Mara’s people and ecosystems in both Kenya and Tanzania.
NBI has collected studies carried out on environmental flow requirements across the Nile Basin and compiled them in a database. It provides users with an overview of data and methodologies available in the region.
E-Flow Database
NBI has collected studies carried out on environmental flow requirements across the Nile Basin and compiled them in a database. It provides users with an overview of data and methodologies available in the region.
This course will introduce participants to the concept of environmental flows, discuss different environmental flow methods that can be applied, and go through each step in the Nile E-flows Framework in detail, as well as showcase current applications. The informatio...
E-Learning course
This course will introduce participants to the concept of environmental flows, discuss different environmental flow methods that can be applied, and go through each step in the Nile E-flows Framework in detail, as well as showcase current applications. The information presented here will provide a foundation for those looking to implement environmental flow within their own sub-basin and provide context on how to incorporate their work with other E-flows efforts in the Nile River Basin.