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The Nile and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Is There a Meeting Point between Nationalism and Hydrosolidarity?

Abdelhady, Dalia LU orcid ; Aggestam, Karin LU orcid ; Andersson, Dan-Erik LU ; Beckman, Olof LU ; Berndtsson, Ronny LU orcid ; Broberg Palmgren, Karin LU orcid ; Madani, Kaveh LU ; Ozkirimli, Umut LU ; Persson, Kenneth M LU and Pilesjö, Petter LU (2015) In Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education 155(1). p.73-82
Abstract
The soon-to-be completed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which will be the largest hydroelectric power plant and among the largest reservoirs in Africa, has highlighted the need for expanding traditional integrated water resources management to better include the cultural, social, and political complexities of large water infrastructure in development projects. The GERD will store a maximum of 74 billion cubic meters of water corresponding to approximately the average annual outflow of the Nile from the Aswan high dam. Undoubtedly, the GERD will be vital for energy production and a key factor for food production, economic development, and poverty reduction in Ethiopia and the Nile Basin. However, the GERD is also a political... (More)
The soon-to-be completed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which will be the largest hydroelectric power plant and among the largest reservoirs in Africa, has highlighted the need for expanding traditional integrated water resources management to better include the cultural, social, and political complexities of large water infrastructure in development projects. The GERD will store a maximum of 74 billion cubic meters of water corresponding to approximately the average annual outflow of the Nile from the Aswan high dam. Undoubtedly, the GERD will be vital for energy production and a key factor for food production, economic development, and poverty reduction in Ethiopia and the Nile Basin. However, the GERD is also a political statement that in one stroke has re-written the hydropolitical map of the Nile Basin. The GERD has become a symbol of Ethiopian nationalism or “renaissance” (hidase in Amharic). A contrasting concept to nationalism is hydrosolidarity. This concept has been put forward to better stress equitable use of water in international water management challenges that would lead to sustainable socioeconomic development. We use the opposing notions of nationalism and hydrosolidarity at three different scales, everyday politics, state policies, and interstate and global politics to analyse some aspects of the new hydropolitical map of the Nile Basin. We argue that nationalism and national interests are not necessarily negative standpoints but that there may instead be a meeting point where regional and national interests join with hydrosolidarity principles. We believe that this meeting point can maximize not only the common good, but also the good from a national interest point of view. For this, it is important not increase collaboration instead of being locked in to the historical narrative of nationalistic culture and historical discourse. This would benefit and improve future sustainability. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Nile, Egypt, Hidase, Ethiopian Nationalism, Conflict, Transboundary, Water
in
Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education
volume
155
issue
1
pages
73 - 82
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • wos:000211990800008
ISSN
1936-704X
DOI
10.1111/j.1936-704X.2015.03197.x
project
Lund Human Rights Research Hub
Hydrosolidarity - Theme, Pufendorf IAS
Hydrosolidarity and the Nile River Basin
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
28b8a1c1-0154-4c0a-ac20-6a566c714d71 (old id 8227944)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:53:01
date last changed
2023-08-17 15:43:23
@article{28b8a1c1-0154-4c0a-ac20-6a566c714d71,
  abstract     = {{The soon-to-be completed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which will be the largest hydroelectric power plant and among the largest reservoirs in Africa, has highlighted the need for expanding traditional integrated water resources management to better include the cultural, social, and political complexities of large water infrastructure in development projects. The GERD will store a maximum of 74 billion cubic meters of water corresponding to approximately the average annual outflow of the Nile from the Aswan high dam. Undoubtedly, the GERD will be vital for energy production and a key factor for food production, economic development, and poverty reduction in Ethiopia and the Nile Basin. However, the GERD is also a political statement that in one stroke has re-written the hydropolitical map of the Nile Basin. The GERD has become a symbol of Ethiopian nationalism or “renaissance” (hidase in Amharic). A contrasting concept to nationalism is hydrosolidarity. This concept has been put forward to better stress equitable use of water in international water management challenges that would lead to sustainable socioeconomic development. We use the opposing notions of nationalism and hydrosolidarity at three different scales, everyday politics, state policies, and interstate and global politics to analyse some aspects of the new hydropolitical map of the Nile Basin. We argue that nationalism and national interests are not necessarily negative standpoints but that there may instead be a meeting point where regional and national interests join with hydrosolidarity principles. We believe that this meeting point can maximize not only the common good, but also the good from a national interest point of view. For this, it is important not increase collaboration instead of being locked in to the historical narrative of nationalistic culture and historical discourse. This would benefit and improve future sustainability.}},
  author       = {{Abdelhady, Dalia and Aggestam, Karin and Andersson, Dan-Erik and Beckman, Olof and Berndtsson, Ronny and Broberg Palmgren, Karin and Madani, Kaveh and Ozkirimli, Umut and Persson, Kenneth M and Pilesjö, Petter}},
  issn         = {{1936-704X}},
  keywords     = {{Nile; Egypt; Hidase; Ethiopian Nationalism; Conflict; Transboundary; Water}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{73--82}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education}},
  title        = {{The Nile and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Is There a Meeting Point between Nationalism and Hydrosolidarity?}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1936-704X.2015.03197.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/j.1936-704X.2015.03197.x}},
  volume       = {{155}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}