Colloquium: Hydro-diplomacy of the Blue Nile River Basin: Technical and Diplomatic Perspectives

* POSTPONED *

Due to the latest COVID measures restricting physical presence for events and gatherings, we regret to inform you that this colloquium has been postponed until further notice.

Abstract

The talk will give a clear picture of the recent developments concerning the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiation between the Blue Nile riparian countries (Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt). An assessment of the situation will be presented pointing to the technical and political challenges and the opportunity to apply a comprehensive and sustainable agreement which provides win-win solutions.

Given that the actual political approach is based on the ”Harmon Doctrine” of absolute territorial sovereignty, which will lead to a unilateral management of the Blue Nile Basin, the Hydro-diplomacy and the Water-Energy-Food Nexus concepts based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the principles of Ecosystem preservation would be a unique opportunity to ensure environmental sustainability while at the same time defusing the current conflictual situation.

About the Speaker

Fadi Georges Comair is a professor of applied hydrology, Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), and infrastructure and is currently the Director of EEWRC (Energy, Environment, Water and Research Centre) of the Cyprus Institute. Dr. Comair has been the Chairperson of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP) since 2019. Between 1993 and 2021, he has served as Head Department at the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches de l'Industrie du Beton (CERIB) in France (1987-1993) and as the President of the Litani River Authority (LRA) and Director General of Water Resources (1993-2021) in Lebanon.

He is the founder of the Water-Energy Environment Research Center (WEERC) at Notre Dame University (NDU). He also contributed to the design and execution of several projects in the field of water management and hydraulic engineering infrastructure. He acted as the Vice-President of the Euro-Med Water Information System (EMWIS) and the President of the Mediterranean Network of Basin Organizations (MENBO) from 2009 to 2011, developing important activities and partnerships to promote IWRM. He actively contributed to the water strategy of UfM and also the one of UNESCO IHP –IX, which is entitled" Science for a Water Secure World in a Changing Environment," for the next decade ( 2022-2029) Prof. Comair is a water diplomat (DWRE) from the American Academy of Water Resource Engineers (AAWRE) and an international negotiator specialized in Transboundary water in the MENA region.

In addition, he initiated the concept of Hydrodiplomcy based on his negotiation experience related to the Jordan River Basin, the Orontus, The Nile, and the Tigres and Euphrates. He has published around 200 scientific publications, among them authored several books. He is a member of the Academie des Sciences d'Outre-Mer and the Academie de l'Eau in France. He graduated from France, the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées(ENPC) and Claude Bernard Lyon I University, with a Ph.D. in Applied Hydraulics and Energy System Engineering.
  

 

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