Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in the Nile Basin

The Nile is of utmost importance for many countries. This importance will increase even more due to rising water demands for domestic and agricultural use as well as for electricity generation in the riparian countries. Climate change is an important factor for the future cooperation of the basin states, as the quantity and quality of available water resources in the river will be affected by changes in precipitation and increasing evaporation due to rising temperatures. The exact consequences are uncertain, however, and the discussion on appropriate adaptation measures within the cooperative water resource management of the Nile riparians is still at the beginning.

Due to the potential importance of this topic for the cooperation of Nile Basin countries in the framework of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ) has contracted adelphi to produce a study on the potential impacts and risks of climate change in the Nile basin. The study will include a review of current projects aiming to increase adaptive capacities on regional and national levels, as well as policy recommendations for the NBI.