DD: Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Top Down)

Question 1

What is the purpose of the dam?

Answer 1

• Slows down the rate of water that flows - has gates that allow small streams of water to pass through
• Creates a reservoir - fishing & tourism

Question 2

What were the pros of the dam?

Answer 2

• Reservoir - fishing & tourism
• Water security

Question 3

What were the cons of the dam?

Answer 3

• Poor planning
• Water security concerns
• Environmental concerns (general)

Question 4

How does poor planning affect the residents of Ethiopia?

Answer 4

• Will impact Ethiopians and downstream neighbours who cannot critique the project
• 20,000 people had to be resettled & moved because they were living on the flood plans
• Damaging a shared river goes against best practices for managing shared rivers
• Numerous important gaps in the project documentation - basic and not at a level of detail and reliability that would benefit development of this magnitude

Question 5

How does water security concerns affect the residents of Ethiopia?

Answer 5

• Dam will give upstream country greater control over rivers flow
• Will affect water security in Egypt - Nile flow could be cut by 12-25% during filling period