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Concepts of Environmental Flow Assessment and Challenges in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia

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Nile River Basin

Abstract

The degradation of riverine ecosystems, resulting from changes in natural flow regimes, is increasingly recognized as being amongst the most significant negative effects of hydraulic structures. Environmental flows are managed releases from a reservoir intended to mitigate these impacts. Numerous techniques have been developed to estimate environmental flows but, for a variety of reasons, these methods are rarely applied in developing countries. The Ethiopian Government is planning major hydropower and irrigation development in the catchment of the Blue Nile River. This paper reports the findings of a first attempt to rigorously quantify environmental flows in the Blue Nile River. Three desktop hydrological methods, the Global Environmental Flow Calculator, the Desktop Reserve Model, and the Tennant Method, were applied at three locations. With reasonable consistency they indicate that 21–28% of the mean annual flow may be sufficient to sustain basic ecological functioning. The results, which are low-confidence estimates, need to be confirmed with much more detailed studies, but provide a basis for discussion and can contribute to the early phases of planning.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Biology and Geography, Applied Hydrogology/Hydrobiology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Bianca Reitberger

  2. International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Matthew McCartney

Authors
  1. Bianca Reitberger
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  2. Matthew McCartney
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bianca Reitberger .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Environment, Florida International University, Modesto A. Maidique Campus, 33199, Miami, Florida, USA

    Assefa M. Melesse

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Reitberger, B., McCartney, M. (2011). Concepts of Environmental Flow Assessment and Challenges in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia. In: Melesse, A.M. (eds) Nile River Basin. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0689-7_17

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