Egypt casts about for ways to protect fisheries from GERD effects
Egypt is concerned Addis Ababa’s controversial dam on the Blue Nile will harm its fish resources and is pursuing ambitious projects to protect the national resource.
Water scarcity is not the only danger Egypt fears from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Egypt and Sudan are both concerned the GERD will undermine their agricultural sector and affect their food security. The African Union-sponsored talks on the GERD were suspended earlier this month.
A study published in July by the Egyptian Institute of National Planning indicated that 12 fish species endemic to the Nile River, lakes and fish farms in Egypt could become scarce or even extinct due to the GERD.
The study, titled “The potential implications of the GERD on fish production in Egypt and means of mitigating its effects,” found that the fish production in Lake Nasser, the Nile River and its tributaries and other waterways and freshwater fisheries is threatened by the GERD.
Former Egyptian Minister of Irrigation Mohammed Nasr Allam told Al-Monitor that the GERD will greatly affect Egypt and regional stability in general. He explained that it will turn large Egyptian agricultural areas into wastelands, decrease the groundwater, cause seawater to flow into the Nile Delta and increase pollution of the Nile, canals and drains.
