The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Why the Dam is Being Built

The GERD. Source: webuild

Construction began in 2011 and in 2020 they began filling the dam, with the fourth filling occurring in September 2023. With this, Ethiopia has said that they have finished filling the reservoir (BBC News, 2023). The main aim of this dam is electricity production, with this being the biggest hydroelectric power plant in Africa, it also cannot be used for irrigation because the region doesn’t have the capacity for development in irrigated agriculture (Salman, 2016). The dam could double the production of electricity in Ethiopia, which would have a significant impact on the economy as currently roughly only half of the population have access to electricity. This increase in electricity output will hopefully increase both social development and economic, as more businesses and households gain reliable access to electricity. So, whilst this dam will make significant positive change for Ethiopia, it has inevitably created tensions with Sudan and Egypt, who are worried that flow downstream will change, and be notably worse in periods of drought. 

Conflicts over the Dam

The conflicts between the countries stem from the fact that the Ethiopian highlands provide at least 85% of water that flows into the Nile and they believe they have the right to use this to reduce poverty and improve the countries economy and standards of living. However, because of Egypt’s reliance on the Nile for freshwater, for both residential and commercial uses, the dam has been seen as a danger to Egypt’s water security in the long term. Over the past 12 years since construction started there have been several failed talks between the countries, all ending in failed negotiations because of the different priorities held by Ethiopia and the downstream countries. The continued deadlock in talks has meant that Egypt weren’t able to slow the timetable for filling the reservoir. Now the main issue facing the countries is coming to an agreement about how to safely manage resources in times of drought and whether Ethiopia will release enough water in times of water scarcity. 

 An article on emotions in water diplomacy suggested that since The GERD project started it has ‘evoked deep emotions in Ethiopia and Egypt’ and discusses the idea that policy makers are negotiating out of fear and anger over water insecurity. Looking at the negotiations through this lens it's easy to see why talks haven’t led to any substantial progress in how to manage the dam and the water resources it holds. Historically, Egypt had the most power over the Nile, so Ethiopia see this dam as taking back power of a water source that originates from their highlands, as a way to better their country, and set right a ‘water injustice’ in the management of the Nile Basin (Seide and Fantini, 2023). Expanding on this blog in the next, I will go deeper into the conflicts between Ethiopia and Egypt and how political tensions have risen, whilst also keeping in mind the ideas from this article.