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2017 | Buch

The Nile River

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Über dieses Buch

This volume offers up-to-date and comprehensive information on various aspects of the Nile River, which is the main source of water in Egypt. The respective chapters examine the Nile journey; the Aswan High Dam Reservoir; morphology and sediment quality of the Nile; threats to biodiversity; fish and fisheries; rain-fed agriculture, rainfall data, and fluctuations in rainfall; the impact of climate change; and hydropolitics and legal aspects. The book closes with a concise summary of the conclusions and recommendations provided in the preceding chapters, and discusses the requirements for the sustainable development of the Nile River and potential ways to transform conflicts into cooperation. Accordingly, it offers an invaluable source of information for researchers, graduate students and policymakers alike.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter
Nile River Biography and its Journey from Origin to End
Abstract
The Nile Basin covers an area of 3.18 million km2, nearly 10 % of the African continent, and is shared by 11 countries. The Nile Basin can be divided into two subbasins: The first is the Eastern Nile subbasin or Ethiopian Highland which is considered as the main resource of the Nile water, sharing 85 % of the total Nile water. It is characterized by seasonal steady flow during the summer and autumn months (June–November). The second subbasin is the Great Equatorial lakes which shares only 15 % but with steady flow over the year. From Jinja in Uganda, the White Nile emerges from Lake Victoria and is thusly named the “Victoria Upper Nile.” It travels northward toward Lake Kyoga and then through the Victoria Lower Nile to reach the lake of Albert. The river reemerges from Lake Albert as the Albert Nile and journeys northward to the Nimule; the first city in the South Sudan to carry a new name of Bahr el Jebel flows over the Fula rapids, and then the Nile losses and diapers in the biggest swamp in the world “Sudd” (means a “wall or block” in Arabic language) because of the very small gradient in this area. From Lake “No” at the north end of the Sudd swamp, the river turns eastward and at this point is named the “White Nile”; after a short distance, it receives the stream of Sobat River coming for southwest Ethiopia in their east bank and then continues its northward descent to meet with the Blue Nile at Khartoum, Sudan capital. The Blue Nile originates in Lake Tana in Ethiopia; it is joined by a number of tributaries, the main ones being the Rahad and Dinder, both originating in the border of Ethiopia. From Khartoum the combined rivers of the Nile flow northward and are joined by the Atbara (330 km north of Khartoum, originating in northeast Ethiopian Highlands). The Main Nile continues traveling northward and flows into Lake Nasser/Nubia, a major man-made reservoir on the border between Sudan and Egypt that provides interannual regulation for Egypt. The Nile Basin has several lakes such as Victoria, Kyoga, Albert, George, Edward, and Tana in addition to six cataracts. Six cataracts and Nine dams are distributed through the river. These dams are: Owen, Kiira, Jebal al-Aulia, Khashm el-Girba, Sinnar, Roseires, Grand Ethiopian Renaissance, Tekeze, and the Aswan High Dam. The cataracts were count from Egypt (1) to Sudan (6).
Dams through the Nile River (the reference below the map)
The Nile Basin is characterized by high climatic diversity and variability, a low percentage of rainfall reaching the main river, and an uneven distribution of its water resources. Climate changes are expected to affect the upper stream Nile by reducing the precipitation by 70 %.
Nader Noureldeen Mohamed
Estimating the Life Time Span of Aswan High Dam Reservoir Using Numerical Simulation of Nubia Lake
Abstract
It is expected that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will be completed and put into operation within few years. The pattern of sedimentation will be affected as well as the amount of sediment accumulation in the Aswan High Dam Reservoir (AHDR). Also, the life time span of AHDR will be greatly affected. In this chapter, a two-dimensional numerical model CCHE2D is applied to study the scouring and silting processes in AHDR from km 500 to km 350 upstream Aswan High Dam (AHD). The sediment transport is simulated in terms of the depth-averaged sediment concentration. The different cross sections along Nubia Lake (Sudanese part of the reservoir) are predicted for the year 2010 and the year 2020. Statistical indicators showed that the model results are accurate enough to be used to predict the morphological changes and the life time span of AHDR. The results show that the life time span of dead zone (LTSDZ) is 254 years, while life time span of life zone (LTSLZ) is 964 years.
Abdelazim M. Negm, Tarek Abdel-Aziz, Mohamed Nassar, Ismail Fathy
A Satellite Remote Sensing Approach to Estimate the Lifetime Span of Aswan High Dam Reservoir
Abstract
Aswan High Dam Reservoir (AHDR) is vital to Egypt. It is the main source of freshwater for Egypt. The main objectives of the present study are to assess the sedimentation rate and to determine the reduction in the reservoire storage capacity for the live and dead zones of AHDR using remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS). These results will be used to compute the lifetime span (LTS) of both the dead and live storage zones. The computed values using RS and GIS are compared with those of the cross-section method computed adopted by the Aswan High Dam Authority (AHDA). The present study indicated that the annual sediment deposition rate in the AHDR is 147.29 × 106 m3/yr of which 65.49 × 106 and 81.80 × 106 m3/yr in dead and live storage zones, respectively. This implies that the annual reduction rates in the dead and live storage capacities of this reservoir are 0.208% and 0.121%, respectively. Moreover, the results showed that the computed value of LTS of the dead zone is 482 years while the LTS of the live zone is 830 years. As a consequence, the sediment trap (dead zone) efficiency of AHDR will be decreased by 20.75% every 100 years of operation of the AHD. Furthermore, the AHDA estimated that the dead storage and live storage zones would be filled with sediments in 487 and 835 years, respectively. This indicates that the results of the present study and the AHDA approach are very close.
Abdelazim Negm, Mohamed Elsahabi, Kamal Ali
Estimating the Sediment and Water Capacity in the Aswan High Dam Lake Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques
Abstract
Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) is responsible for monitoring the changes in the Aswan High Dam Lake’s (AHDL) capacity, which is of special importance after the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The AHDL capacity is affected directly by the changes in the lake’s bed surface. Thus, it is of the utmost importance for Egypt to properly understand these changes (sedimentation and erosion), to monitor the decrease in the storage capacity of the lake. Consequently, the main focus of this paper is to detect the changes in AHDL bed surface (practically sediment accumulation) during the period 2000–2012 using remote sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques by building a 3D profile of the lake. Moreover, this study is concerned with developing relationships between water volume or capacity/surface area/water level for the active sedimentation zone of AHDL for the years from 2000 to 2012; both individually and collectively. These relationships are estimated by establishing the developed rating curves (volume/level) and (area/level). The present computations are compared by the method of cross sections that was adopted by the Aswan High Dam Authority (AHDA) to detect the amount of sedimentation in the study area. The results indicate that the present approach overestimates the sedimentation capacity by about 4.3% compared to the results of the method used by AHDA. The measured velocity patterns are mapped, analyzed, and 2-D profiles are correlated to the erosion and sedimentation patterns. Moreover, the accuracy of the developed relationships is assessed by comparing the results with the observed data and the existing rating curves for the lake. The root mean square error is found to range between 5–10% and 2–4% for (a) the relationship between the lake capacity and the level, and (b) the lake surface area and the level relationship, respectively.
Abdelazim Negm, Mohamed Elsahabi, Sommer Abdel-Fattah
Water Quality Assessment of Aswan High Dam Reservoir
Abstract
Egypt is highly dependent on the River Nile as the main source of freshwater. The Aswan High Dam (AHD) was constructed to control the River Nile. AHD reservoir was formed due to the construction of the dam; it is considered as one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. There is currently rising awareness regarding the water quality status of River Nile and in particular the AHD reservoir, the sole reservoir in Egypt. In this work, a comparative study to assess the water quality and trophic state of the southern part of AHD reservoir, Lake Nubia, has been done during low flood periods of 3 successive years (2006–2008). Two water quality indices (NSF WQI and CCME WQI) and two trophic status indices (Carlson TSI and LAWA TI) were used. The results show that the water quality status of Lake Nubia ranges from excellent (according to the Egyptian water quality standards for surface fresh waterways) to good, while the trophic status of the reservoir is eutrophic. A spatial change in results can be noticed due to the morphological and hydrological characteristics of the reservoir. It is recommended that the reservoirs’ different zones should be assigned to different water uses based on comprehensive water quality studies.
M. Elshemy, G. Meon
Morphological Variation of the Nile River First and Second Reaches Using RS/GIS Techniques
Abstract
The Nile River morphology has changed in the last century, due to the geological, topographical and climatological conditions, as well as due to the human impacts. The main focus of the present study is to detect the surface morphological changes in the first and second Nile River reaches (south of Egypt). For this purpose, several Landsat images acquired at different dates are utilized and analysed based on Remote Sensing (RS) and GIS techniques. Different satellite-derived indices including Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Water Ratio Index (WRI) and Automated Water Extraction Index (AWEI) are applied to generate the (land-water) maps from Landsat data and to create the maps of changes in order to detect the changes in the water surface areas. The results indicated high performance of NDWI in generating the (land-water) maps and creating the maps of changes in both studied reaches of Nile River. For the first reach, NDWI has the highest overall accuracy (about 99.23%) and the lowest absolute error when applied for surface change detection. For the second reach, the NDWI index gave an overall accuracy of 99.13% which indicate the effectiveness and superiority of this index in detecting the surface morphological changes. Moreover, the results for the first reach of the Nile River showed a slightly change in the water surface area during the period 1984–2011. The Nile River in the considered reach lost about 2.3% of its surface area. Meanwhile, the results for the second reach indicated an intense decreasing in the water surface area in the period 1984–2010 (about 13% of the water area in the year 1984), and the utmost of this decreasing occurred over the period from the year 2005 to the year 2010 (about 8.3%).
Abdelazim Negm, Mohamed Elsahabi, Reham El-Sayed, Neama Abd El-Basset, Shenouda Ghaly, Kamal Ali
Bed Morphological Changes of the Nile River DS Major Barrages
Abstract
Despite being the longest alluvial river in the world with longest path of sediment, the River Nile has received the least attention regarding the bed morphological changes especially downstream large man-made hydraulic structures such as barrages. Flow sediment interaction is expected to cause a wide range of bed geomorphologic changes in the River Nile affecting river navigation and major hydraulic structures on course. This chapter aims at providing an example of the extent of bed morphological changes downstream of the new Naga-Hammadi barrage as a result of controlled flow releases using 2D numerical modeling. A stochastic procedure is further presented that deals with the uncertainty emerging from scarcity of available measured data for sediment in the River Nile.
Ahmed M. Abdel Sattar
Distribution of Natural Radioactivity in the Egyptian Part of the Nile River from Aswan to El-Minia
Abstract
Ionizing radiation has sufficient energy to ionize molecules and has different forms such as electromagnetic waves (gamma and X-rays) and high-energy particles (alpha and beta). Background radiation is the natural level of radioactivity from the environment such as from cosmic radiation. According to the IAEA, soil typically contains the following four natural radioisotopes: 40K as single occurrence, 226Ra, 238U, and 232Th as radioactive series. Different measurements of natural radioactivity were executed in the sediments of the Upper Egypt part of the Nile River. The ranges and average activity concentrations of the detected radionuclides 226Ra (238U), 232Th, and 40K were 3.82–34.94 (16.3), 2.88–30.10 (12.9), and 112.31–312.98 (200.21) Bq/kg, respectively, during 2007 according to El-Gamal and his group. Also, their ranges and concentrations were 13–42 (29), 10–67 (45), and 74–139 (123) Bq/kg, respectively, during 2012 according to El-Taher and Abbady and 7–188 (50.6), 8–117 (41.3), and 47–412 (242.8) Bq/kg, respectively, during 2013 according to Issa and his group. El-Gamal and his group detected the range of the total absorbed dose rates during 2007 from 12.71 ± 0.96 to 38.17 ± 1.55 nGy/h with average 24.17 ± 7.3 nGy/h.
Ayman A. El-Gamal
Assessment of Water Quality and Bed Sediments of the Nile River from Aswan to Assiut, Egypt
Abstract
The Nile River water quality and its bed sediments were studied for two successive years (2011 and 2012) at ten sites along the Nile River from Aswan to Assiut during low and high flow conditions. Physical and chemical water quality parameters were measured according to the standard methods, such as temperature, turbidity, water electrical conductivity (EC), total suspended solids (TSS) and total dissolved solids (TDS), pH value, dissolved oxygen (DO), nutrients, biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC), major anions and cations, hardness, heavy metals, and fecal coliform bacteria. The water quality along the Nile in the study area is classified as medium to good quality. It changes from low to high flow and from one place to another according to human activities. The water pollution was higher during the low flow than the high flow except for the nutrients due to low agricultural activities during low flow periods. However, in general, the Nile River water quality was suitable for human consumption and other domestic uses according to the WHO standards. The bed-sediment samples were used for grain size analysis, pH measurements, organic matter content, phosphates, nitrates, and heavy metals (lead, cadmium, nickel, zinc, iron, manganese, copper, and barium). This chapter inspects the water quality of the Nile River and pollution of its bed sediments in Egypt.
Abbas Sharaky, Talaat Salem, Ayman Abdel Aal
Morphology of the Nile River due to a Flow Rate over the Maximum Current: Case Study Damietta Branch
Abstract
Damietta branch is one of the two branches of the Nile River. It is the main source of water for water supply for both domestic and industrial activities, irrigation and navigation purposes in the Nile Delta region and its fringes, Egypt along with the Rosetta branch. Field investigations proved that scour, deposition, and bank erosion occurred along the course of the branch. Also, encroachment by people on the flood plain during the last three decades led to a reduction in its carrying water capacity. Therefore, this chapter aims at presenting the results of a numerical investigation on the effect of passing a higher future discharge more than the maximum current flowing discharge. Two-dimensional hydrodynamic mathematical model (CCHE2D) was used to simulate the morphological changes in Damietta branch due to an additional excess flow of 20 Mm3/day. Also, the CCHE2D was used to predict the effect of high flows on water velocities and geometrical changes at different cross sections. Comparisons between cross sections under the scenario of increasing the discharge from 60 to 80 million m3/day were carried out. Moreover, the side effects on the navigational channel and overtopping problems had been investigated. Consequently different solutions were suggested to increase the ability of Damietta branch to convey higher discharges.
Abdelazim Negm, Tarek M. Abdel-Aziz, Mohamed N. Salem, Wessam Yousef
Nile River Bathymetry by Satellite Remote Sensing Case Study: Rosetta Branch
Abstract
Remote sensing (RS) has many applications including bathymetry mapping in shallow water areas. It is considered a useful reconnaissance tool to save time and cost to be used in the preliminary survey. In many regions, natural water stream depth changes because of erosion and sedimentation processes and thus bathymetry must be updated regularly. There are several factors to be taken into account when derived water depth using satellite images in shallow water, especially rivers. These factors include the degree of water transparency, water turbidity, nature of river bottom, and reflections from surrounding areas. This chapter aims to assess the performance of three models to determine the bathymetry of Rosetta branch of the Nile River using Landsat-8. The models are tested on a study area that covers 5 km of Rosetta branch. In-situ measurements were acquired by the Nile Research Institute and data are registered to the satellite imagery spatial reference. Landsat-8 image bands are first pre-processed to carry out atmospheric corrections and to mask out land areas and remove scattering and sun specular effects. The tested models are the generalized linear model (GLM), 3rd order polynomial, and the artificial neural networks (ANN). The three models are applied to the pre-processed Landsat-8 image to derive the Rosetta branch bathymetry at the study area. Results showed that the ANN model results are more accurate than both GLM and nonlinear 3rd order polynomial models. However, the results of the three models are not well satisfactory as the root mean square error (RMSE) is about 2 m. The high turbidity of the Rosetta water is one of the main reasons affecting the performance of the three models.
Abdelazim Negm, Saleh Mesbah, Tarek Abdelaziz, Omar Makboul
Toward a Dynamic Stability of Coastal Zone at Rosetta Promontory, Egypt
Abstract
Rosetta promontory, Egypt, experiences coastal problems such as severe erosion along the shoreline and siltation problem at the outlet. This is due to the lack of water and sediment resources as a side effect of constructing the High Aswan Dam (HAD) and other water control structures along the Nile River. The shoaling inside the outlet leads to hindering the navigation process of fishing boats and negative impacts to estuarine and salt marsh habitat and decrease the efficiency of the cross section to transfer the flow during emergencies to the sea. Although protection works have been constructed to mitigate shoreline erosion and a frequent dredging has been carried out to overcome the siltation problem inside the outlet, the situation is still unstable as there is no enough attention to the severe erosion in front of the seawalls and that dredging causes instability in River Nile abatement. An integrated solution for both problems has not been achieved yet.
This study investigates different alternatives of hard and soft measures attempting to find an optimal solution for these problems (erosion and accretion) to enhance the stability of the promontory. The used integrated approach includes developing a calibrated/validated hydrodynamic and particle tracking model based on the 2D Coastal Modeling System software package (CMS).
Ali Masria, Abdelazim Negm, Moheb Iskander
Ecosystem and Biodiversity in the Nile Basin “Case Study: Lake Nasser”
Abstract
The Nile Basin consists of a number of ecological zones between two extreme opposites: the rainforest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Sahara desert, which receives almost no rain. Some regions receive most or exclusively all of their water from the Nile, while others receive most of the water from rain, or from a combination of water sources. Still, it is the water in the Nile which links the otherwise different ecological zones together. It is the rains in the DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia which provide the Nile with water so the river can flow and give life to barren and desert areas in Sudan and Egypt. Some places become drier and experience more droughts, whereas others are more regularly flooded or experience more fluctuations in precipitation patterns. These are overall climatic premises, but there are also human factors. The richness of species depends partly on climate variables such as temperature and rainfall patterns but also on population pressure and human activities and their interaction with the environment.
This chapter describes aspects of environmental issues of ecosystem and biodiversity, endangered species, and threats to biodiversity in the Nile Basin countries to provide a partial illustration of the diversity of ecosystem and the habitat types that exist to support a variety of living organisms. In addition, the chapter describes the case study of Lake Nasser. The study showed that there are several problems that can reduce the species biodiversity in the Nile Basin countries. Some of these problems are, but not limited to, inefficient water use, water pollution, population pressure and land degradation, deforestation and soil loss, over hunting and fishing, and sedimentation. In addition, the study concluded that the main sources of biodiversity degradation in Lake Nasser are development of land, expansion of agricultural land, and disappearance of habitat from excessive grazing or application of agrochemicals, and also habitats are being polluted and hunting, fishing, and tourism activities are disturbing the natural habitat especially within the shoreline zone.
Mohamed Abdel-Meguid
Impact of Water Quality on Ecosystems of the Nile River
Abstract
The Nile River is the most important freshwater resource for life and the main source for drinking and irrigation along the basin from its origin until its estuary in Northern Egypt. In order to secure water from African countries located on the Nile River, the sustainable use of water and maintenance of its good quality is a fundamental objective. The pollution status of the water of the Nile River is an important indicator of water quality. In this chapter, the different pollutants of the Nile River are discussed in relation to the biotic and abiotic factors that affect water quality and the aquatic ecosystem. Human activities and increase in population have had a large impact on water quality, for example, through discharge of treated and untreated sewage, manufacturing, mining, construction, agricultural wastes, and transportation and oil spills. Other toxic substances which can be secreted by certain types of algae and cyanobacteria can affect the water quality and are expressed by deterioration in color and taste of water. The Nile River in Egypt is considered the principal artery of life in Egypt, and its water quality is characterized by high nutrient concentrations such as nitrates, nitrite, ammonia, nitrogen, phosphates, sulfates, and silicates. Heavy metals from industrial wastewater and other sources may affect the distribution and growth of some undesired microorganisms. Heavy metals also affect the aquatic organisms especially fish which affects the human health. The Nile River is subjected to different organic pollution levels from human activities. These organic pollutants may derive from industrial, agricultural, or domestic wastewaters in the Delta region where the industrial and agricultural activity increase due to the increase of population. The industrial wastewater contains organic matter, suspended materials, heavy metals, as well as oils and other pollutants which include chemicals, fertilizers, insecticides, sugar, aluminum, steel, soap and paper, and oil spills from navigation and other activities. The water quality assessment methods as well as water characteristics are discussed. The effect of fish cages and fish farming on the water quality and freshwater aquatic ecosystem of the Nile River is also discussed in relation to pollutants secreted by the fish and the feed. Monitoring the Nile River water regularly and continuously can help to achieve an understanding of how this system functions which in turn can help to identify the sources and fates of contaminants to inform how to keep the water quality within safe limits for different uses.
Mostafa Mohamed El-Sheekh
Fish and Fisheries in the Nile Basin
Abstract
Fish landing from inland fisheries in the Nile Basin countries represent a major component of total fisheries production. In 2013, inland fish production in these countries reached 1,503,429 tonnes, representing 70–100% of total fisheries production. Types of fisheries, fishing gear and methods are described in this chapter. Aquaculture in Nile Basin countries, except in Egypt, Uganda and Kenya, is still in the infancy stage. In 2013, aquaculture production in the Nile Basin reached 1,228,352 tonnes. Over 89% of this production comes from a single country: Egypt followed by Uganda (8%).
More than 800 fish species have been estimated in the Nile Basin, wetlands and rivers; 128 of them belonging to 27 families inhabit the River Nile. The majority of these species belong to families Cichlidae, Cyprinidae, Mormyridae and Mochokidae. Cichlid species dominate the fish fauna of Nile Basin lakes and rivers. The fish fauna in Lake Tana is dominated by the cyprinid genera Barbus and Labeobarbus. Nile perch Lates niloticus and Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus were introduced into Lake Victoria, the largest freshwater lake in Africa, in the 1950s and 1960s. The predation by Nile perch, excessive fishing and habitat deterioration caused a decline in many endemic cichlid (haplochromine) and non-cichlid species, while Nile perch and Nile tilapia stocks increased. As a result, the multispecies fishery of Lake Victoria has shrunk and is limited to Nile perch, Nile tilapia and sardine-like cyprinid dagaa (Rastrineobola argentea). Lake Victoria is the main source of fish stocks for Lake Kyoga. Therefore, most of the endemic fishes of Lake Kyoga are conspecific with those of Lake Victoria. About 48 species belonging to 14 families occur in Lake Albert. Endemic species are represented by one endemic cyprinid, one centropomid and four haplochromine cichlid species. The lake shares the families Polypteridae, Citharinidae, Malapteruridae and Centropomidae with the River Nile. Lake Albert also has relatively high numbers of species belonging to the families Alestiidae and Bagridae. Over 78 fish species, belonging to 8 families, have been recorded in lakes Edward and George. These fish fauna are dominated by the family Cichlidae with more than 60 species. Other fish groups include lungfish and African catfish. In Lake Nasser, 56 species belonging to 17 families have been reported.
The major challenges and threats facing fisheries resources in the Nile Basin are species introductions; degradation of aquatic habitats and biodiversity; unsustainable fishing practices; and pollution and eutrophication resulting from human populations and invasive weeds. Management plans and necessary measures have been suggested.
Abdel-Fattah M. El-Sayed
Trend Analysis of Precipitation Data: A Case Study of Blue Nile Basin, Africa
Abstract
Implementation of water management policies requires decision support system tools in order to evaluate available water resources and create awareness of possible threats such as floods and droughts. Modelling is one of these decision support tools. However, in developing countries, they do not lack only appropriate tools and personnel to develop and maintain water resources model, but they do not have sufficient data to build, calibrate and validate models. For instance, the rain gauge network is too sparse to produce reliable areal rainfall estimation. Blue Nile Basin is one of the basins that suffer from this problem. Consequently, it can effect on the drainages countries like Sudan and Egypt if it is not managed. In order to develop management, different sources other than ground collected data should be used. Radar technology for topography is not feasible based on the high cost. Another alternative is remote sensed data and its derivatives. This chapter gives an assessment for the availability and quality of remote sensed and global rainfall data as one of the important forcing data which should be used to set up a hydrological model.
Osama Ragab, Abdelaziem Negm
Recent Trends and Fluctuations of Rainfall in the Upper Blue Nile River Basin
Abstract
During the last decades, water resource managers are facing severe challenges all over the world, and the trends of temperature and precipitation intensify this situation. Knowledge of the spatial variability and temporal trends of rainfall is essential for efficient management of water resource and agriculture. Rainfall plays a crucial role in the process because its variations, coupled with changes in extreme events, can influence water resources, on natural environments and human activities, as well as on human health and safety. In this chapter, an investigation of the rainfall variability of the Upper Blue Nile River Basin, the main source of the Nile River, was carried out by means of a daily rainfall data set of 22 meteorological stations with 48 years of observation. The nonparametric Mann–Kendall test and the Sen’s slope estimator were used to identify the existence of trends and slope magnitude in rainfall at seasonal and annual scale. Results revealed that although there was a mix of positive and negative trends, they were statistically insignificant except at one station. In contrast, the trend and change point analyses of annual series found that 21 of the tested 22 rainfall stations did not show statistically significant changes. Furthermore, analyses of rainy seasonal series (June–September) showed significant changes only at 1 out of 22 stations. The spatial analysis of the trend in the Upper Blue Nile River Basin for several time scales showed that the negative trends are in western side and the positive trends are on the eastern side of the basin.
Mosaad Khadr
Productivity of Rainfed Agriculture of the Upper Nile River
Abstract
The importance of rainfed agriculture varies regionally but produces most of the food for poor communities in developing countries. Rainfed agriculture is the source of the bulk of world food and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future. Irrigation plays a very important role; irrigated agriculture worldwide represents only 20% of the agricultural land but produces 40% of world food. The rainfed agriculture is employed by the majority of the world’s 1.1 billion farmers (of which 95% live in developing countries). Their share of global agriculture is very large, amounting to 60% of the world food production. Rainfall over the Basin is characterized by highly uneven seasonal and spatial distribution. Most of the Basin experiences only one rainy season – typically in the summer months. Only the equatorial zone has two distinct rainy periods. The reliability and volume of precipitation generally decline moving northward, with the arid regions in Egypt and the northern region of Sudan receiving insignificant annual rainfall. The high temporal variability of rainfall in the Basin is demonstrated by the monthly rain records. Broadly speaking, there are three patterns of seasonal rainfall variation: (1) a single rain peak in June–October, with little or no rainfall in other months, which is experienced in sub-basins of Eastern Nile (Eretria, Ethiopia) and the main Nile (Sudan); (2) a fairly evenly distributed rainfall, with a single peak from April to October, found in northern Uganda and South Sudan; and (3) a twin-peaked distribution, peaking in March–May and September–November, with considerable but lower rain in other months. More than 87% cultivated land in the Nile Basin is using rainfed agriculture, on which the livelihood of the large rural populations of the upper riparian depends. The most important rainfed production systems are as follows: mixed smallholder subsistence rainfed, mixed highland smallholder subsistence rainfed, forest based, mechanized rainfed, nomadic and seminomadic, lowland smallholder subsistence rainfed, and finally shifting rainfed cultivation or agropastoral.
Nader Noureldeen Mohamed
Impacts of the Upper Nile Mega Projects on the Water Resources of Egypt
Abstract
This chapter explores the potential impacts of the River Nile mega projects on water resources of Egypt. The addressed mega projects are located on the White Nile, the Blue Nile, and the Main Nile up to Lake Nasser. The mega projects are mainly categorized as Irrigation; Canalization (streaming); and Power generation projects (Dams). The impacts on the water resources of Egypt were thoroughly investigated in different but interrelated dimensions. The main impact is the shortage of water reaching the most arid zone on the Nile in Egypt. Such shortage of water will create a chain reaction influencing at large all the environmental activities in Egypt (total environmental impact). The impacts include crop and fish production and farmers income, present and future reclaimed land (other developments), salt water intrusion, soil salinity, supply intakes and intakes for water treatment plants, main canals and rayahs, ecological imbalance, tourism industry, health risks, generation of hydropower, Dam failure impacts, and socio-economic impacts.
Alaa El din M. Elzawahry, Hesham Bekhit M. Bekhit
Nile Basin Climate Changes Impacts and Variabilities
Abstract
Global climate is changing and this is apparent across the Nile basin countries in a wide range of observations. The global warming of the past 50 years is primarily due to human activities, climate change is already affecting the Nile basin people in far-reaching ways. Certain types of extreme weather events with links to climate change have become more frequent and/or intense, including prolonged periods of heat, heavy downpours, and, in some regions, floods and droughts. In addition, warming is causing sea level to rise and oceans are becoming more acidic as they absorb carbon dioxide. These and other aspects of climate change are disrupting people’s lives and damaging some sectors of our economy. So this chapter presents the climate changes and variability all over the basin and sub-basins. It structures around historical climatology and hydrology of Nile basin, variability of Nile climate, in addition to the Impacts of Climate Change on Growth and Development.
Khaled Khir-Eldien, Sherien Ahmed Zahran
Climate Changes Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity
Abstract
Climatic changes have affected and will continue to affect human health, water supply, agriculture, transportation, energy, coastal areas, and many other sectors of society, with increasingly adverse impacts on the Nile Basin Riparian economy and quality of life.
Observed and projected climate change impacts vary across the regions of the Nile Basin. Selected impacts emphasized in the region are shown, and many more are explored in detail in this chapter. Water quality and quantity are being affected by climate change. Such changes in precipitation and runoff, combined with changes in consumption and withdrawal, have reduced surface and groundwater supplies in many areas. These trends are expected to continue, increasing the likelihood of water shortages for many uses. Water quality is also diminishing in many areas, particularly due to sediment and contaminant concentrations after heavy downpours. Sea level rise, storms and storm surges, and changes in surface and groundwater use patterns are expected to compromise the sustainability of coastal freshwater aquifers and wetlands. In most of the basin regions, water resources managers and planners will encounter new risks, vulnerabilities, and opportunities that may not be properly managed with existing practices. Meanwhile, using scientific information to prepare for climate changes and different climate models techniques in advance can provide economic opportunities, and proactively managing the risks can reduce impacts and costs over time. All of these items have been addressed in this chapter.
Khaled Khir-Eldien, Sherien Ahmed Zahran
The Hydropolitics of the Nile River Basin
Abstract
The history of water relations in the Nile River basin indicates the existence of cooperation as well as conflict since the 1950s. Recently, there has been negative escalation of disputes regarding the hydropolitical interactions within the regional system of the Nile Basin region; reaching a critical level after the failure of negotiations of the Framework Convention for the Nile Basin (Entebbe). The situation grew further strained after Ethiopia embarked on the construction of the renaissance dam without prior notification to downstream Egypt and Sudan.
This study aims to analyze the hydropolitical interactions in the Nile Basin with a focus on conflictual interactions. This study is based on the hydropolitical framework, which means the analysis and interpretation of international political phenomena, both conflictual or cooperative, in the context of water issues in the Nile Basin. This framework is related to some analytical concepts such as: Hydrostrategic, Hydro-Hegemony, hydropolitical flexibility.
The study analyzes three issues: (1) the dimensions of the water conflict in the Nile Basin, with a focus on the contradictory attitudes of the countries upstream and downstream; with a focus on the Ethiopian Hydropolitical behavior towards the Renaissance Dam; (2) the role of the external factors in regional and international actions in the Nile Basin; and (3) the potential scenarios of the hydropolitics (conflict and cooperation) in the Nile Basin.
Mohamed Salman Tayie
The Legal Aspects of the International Rivers: The Nile River as a Case Study
Abstract
International laws concerning rivers has remained in the shadows until recently. Consequently, there have been a limited number of agreements that organize maritime regulation in international rivers. Yet, in the light of technological and scientific progress, onshore states’ interest did not focus only on navigation in mutual international rivers but also on other uses such as power generation, fishing, establishment of dams, and diversion of river streams.
Such an issue raises many questions regarding the rights of every state amongst the other onshore states, as far as international rivers are concerned, and the mutual obligations among them. If each state possesses equal rights, then how would the benefits of the river be evenly distributed? What are the obligations that restrict the riverine states in comparison to other states regarding the usage? To what extent is each state responsible internationally regarding the defects resulting from this usage? To what extent are states keen to cooperate, consult, and notify others regarding future projects? Is there a sole riparian state that has the priority to use the river more than the others? And to wh3at extent are the specific legal rules developed to solve any water disputes in a peaceful manner?
The River Nile is an explicit example. Although there are over ten Nile water agreements, they are either bilateral or trilateral agreements. Hence, there is no all-inclusive agreement between the countries of the Nile Basin. Therefore, the absence of an organizing legal framework can increase the potential international conflicts among the Nile Basin states.
This study is based on the legal analytical methods in analyzing the legal dimensions of international rivers on the Nile River. This aim is achieved through covering the following points: regulations of the uses of the international rivers, and consequently the rights of riparian states, the No-Harm Rule, the principle of equitable and reasonable utilization, and legal status of the Nile River.
Mohamed Salman Tayie
The Nile River: Conclusions and Recommendations
Abstract
Instead of being a source of cooperation for sustainable development, it becomes a source of conflict. It is the Nile River which is the longest river in the world, although its discharge is less than 1.5% of the Amazon River discharge. The Nile River volume of the Handbook of Environmental Chemistry describes in detail several important aspects of the river. These aspects include the Nile journey from origin to end, the water and sediment qualities, the morphology and the stability of its promontory at its end, rainfed agriculture and fish and fisheries in the Nile Basin, climate change variability, vulnerability, mitigation and adaptation measures, legal and international aspects and its hydropolitics. These contents are covered in 23 chapters. On the other hand, the most highlighted conclusions and recommendations of the 23 chapters of the Nile River volume are presented in this chapter.
Abdelazim M. Negm
Erratum to: Estimating the Sediment and Water Capacity in the Aswan High Dam Lake Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques
Abdelazim Negm, Mohamed Elsahabi, Sommer Abdel-Fattah
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
The Nile River
herausgegeben von
Abdelazim M. Negm
Copyright-Jahr
2017
Electronic ISBN
978-3-319-59088-2
Print ISBN
978-3-319-59086-8
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59088-2