The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: a benefit-sharing project in the Eastern Nile?

ABSTRACT

Negotiations over the GERD have not transformed the debate in the Eastern Nile from sharing water to sharing benefits. Nationalistic discourse used by the three governments, the political sensitivity of the Nile issue, cautious Egyptian approach towards Eastern Nile cooperation beyond the project, divisions within policy circles in Egypt on dealing with the project and with the NBI as a framework of cooperation, the failure of Egypt to adapt its water policies to expected changes in the post-GERD era, and the new power asymmetries in the Eastern Nile have affected, and will continue to affect, positions in ongoing negotiations, making it more difficult to reach a benefit-sharing deal.

KEYWORDS:

• GERD
• benefit sharing
• transboundary rivers
• Eastern Nile

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Ana Cascão and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the first draft of this article.