Articles | Volume 374
https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-374-3-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-374-3-2016
17 Oct 2016
 | 17 Oct 2016

A regional approach to climate adaptation in the Nile Basin

Michael B. Butts, Carlo Buontempo, Jens K. Lørup, Karina Williams, Camilla Mathison, Oluf Z. Jessen, Niels D. Riegels, Paul Glennie, Carol McSweeney, Mark Wilson, Richard Jones, and Abdulkarim H. Seid

Abstract. The Nile Basin is one of the most important shared basins in Africa. Managing and developing the water resources within the basin must not only address different water uses but also the trade-off between developments upstream and water use downstream, often between different countries. Furthermore, decision-makers in the region need to evaluate and implement climate adaptation measures.

Previous work has shown that the Nile flows can be highly sensitive to climate change and that there is considerable uncertainty in climate projections in the region with no clear consensus as to the direction of change. Modelling current and future changes in river runoff must address a number of challenges; including the large size of the basin, the relative scarcity of data, and the corresponding dramatic variety of climatic conditions and diversity in hydrological characteristics. In this paper, we present a methodology, to support climate adaptation on a regional scale, for assessing climate change impacts and adaptation potential for floods, droughts and water scarcity within the basin.

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Short summary
The Nile Basin is one of the most important shared basins in Africa. Managing it's water resources, now and in the future, must not only address different water uses but also the trade-off between developments upstream and water use downstream, often between different countries. This paper presents a methodology, to support climate adaptation on a regional scale, for assessing climate change impacts and adaptation potential for floods, droughts and water scarcity within this basin.