The Nile River Basin in Crisis Webinar Series
Lecture series co-organizers Mekonnen Gebremichael and Edmond Keller

The Nile River Basin in Crisis Webinar Series


Water Sharing and Transboundary Conflict or Cooperation

The UCLA African Studies Center and Samueli School of Engineering are pleased to announce a 10-part webinar series on the Nile River Basin crisis.


The Nile River Basin in Crisis
Water Sharing and Transboundary Conflict or Cooperation
— Webinar Series —
October 2021 - March 2022

The UCLA African Studies Center and Samueli School of Engineering are pleased to announce a 10-part webinar series on the Nile River Basin crisis. Ethiopia has recently begun to fill its newly-built Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile River; it now needs to become fully operational. However, a crisis has emerged involving disagreement between Ethiopia and downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan, on the sharing of the Nile waters, the dam filling period, and water allocation during and after filling the dam. There is an urgent need to consider the formation of a solution to the resulting tensions among the states that depend on the water resource of the Nile River. Organized by Mekonnen Gebremichael and Edmond Keller, this webinar series will bring together scholars and practitioners to present research and policy papers on various aspects of this issue, and carefully consider alternative solutions to the Nile River dispute.

 

Mekonnen Gebremichael, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Samueli School of Engineering at University of California-Los Angeles.

 

Edmond Keller, Ph.D. is a Professor and former chair of Political Science and former Director of the Globalization Research Center-Africa and the James S. Coleman African Studies Center at the University of California-Los Angeles.

Schedule of Online Events
All times are in Pacific Time (i.e. Local time in California).

October 13
(7:00 – 8:30 am PDT)

The Nile River from Colonial to the Immediate Post-Colonial Era
Tereje Tvedt, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Geography, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

October 27
(8:00 – 9:30 am PDT)

Post-Colonial Interstate Relations in the Nile Basin
Marina Ottaway, Ph.D., Middle East Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center

November 10
(8:00 – 9:30 am PST)

Interstate Security Issues in the Nile Basin after GERD
William Davison, Senior Analyst, Ethiopia, International Crisis Group

November 23
(8:00 – 9:30 am PST)

Current Uses of the Nile Water, and Impacts of GERD
Yohannes Gebretsadik, Ph.D., Regional Water Resources Analyst, Nile Basin Initiative
Hani Sewilam, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Engineering Hydrology, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Ageel Bushara, Hydrologist, Zuhair Fayez Partnership Consultants, Saudi Arabia

December 8
(8:00 – 9:30 am PST)

The Nile flows towards the Red Sea and not the Mediterranean
Ana Elisa Cascão, Ph.D., Independent Consultant and Researcher

January 12
(8:00 – 9:30 am PST)

The Role of Nile Water Resources in the Economic Development of Egypt and Ethiopia and the Potential Impacts of the GERD Filling Policies
Kenneth Strzepek, Climate, Water and Food Specialist, MIT Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab; Research Scientist, MIT Center for Global Change Science; Visiting Fellow, Martin School, University of Oxford; Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado, Boulder

January 26
(8:00 – 9:30 am PST)

The GERD Dam Filling Impact and Mitigation Strategies
Kevin Wheeler, Ph.D., Oxford Martin Fellow at the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford

February 9
(8:00 – 9:30 am PST)

Nile Basin Reservoir Management and Operation Tools
Mohammed Basheer, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, U.K.
Hisham Eldardiry, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

February 23
(8:00 – 9:30 am PST)

Successful River Basin Agreements in Other Basins Similar to the Nile
Susanne Schmeier, LLM, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Water Law and Diplomacy, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education

March 9
(8:00 – 9:30 am PST)

Towards Long-term Solutions and Management Options for the Nile States
John Mbaku, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Economics, Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution


Published: Monday, November 8, 2021