Within the Nile Basin, groundwater is a vital resource. More than 70% of the rural population depends on it for domestic use and livestock watering. There is an increasing use of groundwater for economic activities such as irrigation, mining, industries. Groundwater is also important for buffering the effects of climate change and variability. Despite its importance, the interaction between ground and surface water systems (rivers, wetlands, lakes) is not adequately understood in the region.
Groundwater Project Overview
NBI is implementing a five-year (2020 – 2025) project: “Enhancing conjunctive management of surface and groundwater resources in selected transboundary aquifers: Case study for selected shared groundwater bodies in the Nile Basin”.
The focus is on three shared aquifers: Kagera aquifer (Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda); Mt Elgon aquifer (Kenya, Uganda), and Gedaref-Adigrat aquifer (Ethiopia, Sudan).
NBI is supporting Member States to monitor groundwater; improve the knowledgebase and capacity as well as put in place cross-border mechanisms for joint management and sustainable utilization of shared aquifers. Countries will also be supported in addressing the water related Sustainable Development Goals.
Component 1: Enhance current understanding and the knowledge on the resources base, threats and options for sustainable management and utilization of shared aquifers
Component 2: Develop action plans on groundwater resources governance, management, and protection for inclusion in national, sub-basin frameworks: –including issues of surface water/groundwater conjunctive use.
Component 3: Target pilot projects to explore conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, and links to biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation.
Component 4: Further strengthen capacity to address groundwater issues at the national and regional levels. The project will strengthen the capacity for groundwater management at both national and regional levels.
Component 5: Communications and awareness raising about the benefits, challenges, opportunities of groundwater as well as the environmental issues and the threats of climate change on the ecosystem and biodivers
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1. Baseline assesment report GET REPORT
2. Climate Services Policy Brief GET REPORT
3. NELSAP climate change guidelines GET REPORT
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Vulnerability & Risk Assesment
As part of the Climate Service for infrastructure investment project three risk assessment workshops were implemented. The objective of the first workshop was to identify cases in Nile Equatorial and Eastern Nile Region for climate risk assessment. Accordingly Mara Valley project in Kenya and Tanzania was selected for the Nile Equatorial region and Tams hydropower project was selected for the Eastern Nile Region. In addition the participants of the workshop were trained on the Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee (PIEVC) risk assessment methodology by Canadian Engineers.
During the second climate risk assessment workshop, the participants identified Infrastructure components, defined performance responses of the identified project and Infrastructure thresholds for climate risk assessment. They also carried out the first steps of PIEVC climate risk assessment in the two case studies. In addition, during the workshop existing knowledge on historical and future climate of the case study sites documented and provided direction for the preparation of climate proofing guideline for the Nile basin countries. The third climate risk assessment workshop for water infrastructure in the Nile Basin was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from April 8-12, 2009. The workshop was a follow up of the previous two climate risk assessment workshops. The workshop achieved the following: Identified relationships between infrastructure, climate and other factors leading to vulnerability; Identified elements of the case study water infrastructure likely to be sensitive to changes in specific climate parameters; priority list of climate-infrastructure interactions of the case studies produced; qualitative assessment on infrastructure’s vulnerability to climate carried out and existing knowledge on historical and future climate of the case study sites documented
Climate Services For Infrastructure Forum
The Nile Basin Secretariat (NILE-SEC) organized a forum on Climate Services for Infrastructure that took place 5-8 February 2018 in Entebbe, Uganda with the theme: “Climate Services for Infrastructure within the Nile Basin Region: Current status, Challenges & Opportunities”. The main objective was to provide an avenue for providers and users of climate related services to meet, discuss, learn and share ways of enhancing the use of climate services for infrastructure investment, development, protection and management. The forum will then lead to a validation of a baseline assessment on the current status of climate services for infrastructure in the region with the results expected in Q1 of 2018.
The four (4) day forum had an outline that focused on Awareness and Training on Day 1 and Day 2, while Day 3 and Day 4 was used to learn about climate services in NBI countries through presentations that each country had to make; and also choose two case studies for project implementation. Thereafter, a baseline assessment would be carried out to focus on current status of climate services availability in NBI countries and their uses in water infrastructure planning and operation. Further, the forum was also used to identify key capacity building needs to enhance climate services.
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