Using a nexus approach to support development and environmental planning in Ethiopia

This discussion brief describes a collaborative project led by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) applying a water-energy-food nexus toolkit to the Lake Tana and Beles River basins in the Upper Blue Nile region of Ethiopia. The project uses integrated modelling to help policy-makers manage trade-offs between national development goals—such as increasing hydropower production fivefold by 2015 and boosting agricultural production by over 8%—and the sustainable management of natural resources.

• Ethiopia's national development strategies, specifically the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) 2011–2015 and the 2011 Climate-Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy, set ambitious targets that create resource pressures. These include a goal to increase hydropower production fivefold by 2015 and a target to boost agricultural production by more than 8% through an agriculture-led industrial development strategy.
• The application of the SEI nexus toolkit—which links the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system with the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) system—in the Lake Tana and Beles River basins has identified critical sectoral trade-offs. Specifically, increased water withdrawals for upstream irrigation can reduce the water available for downstream environmental requirements and hydropower generation.
• Initial analysis suggests that win-win outcomes are possible through operational adjustments. Modifying hydropower dam operation rules could allow Ethiopia to meet both energy production goals and environmental flow requirements, though this may result in slightly larger inter-annual variations in energy production. Additionally, allowing higher downstream flows from upstream irrigation dams during the dry season would benefit both hydropower and environmental flows.
• There is a significant link between energy transitions and agricultural productivity. The reliance on traditional biomass for cooking causes a loss of nutrients and organic matter from agricultural soils, hindering productivity. Conversely, agricultural intensification requires more energy for mechanization, fertilizer production, and irrigation.
• Social network analysis conducted as part of the project indicates that there is a necessity for benefit-sharing mechanisms and bridging institutions to operate across different scales and sectors.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2014). Using a nexus approach to support development and environmental planning in Ethiopia. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/SEI-DB-2014-Nexus-Blue-Nile.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Using a nexus approach to support development and environmental planning in Ethiopia. 2014. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/SEI-DB-2014-Nexus-Blue-Nile.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Using a nexus approach to support development and environmental planning in Ethiopia |date=May 2014 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/SEI-DB-2014-Nexus-Blue-Nile.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2014using, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Using a nexus approach to support development and environmental planning in Ethiopia}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2014}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/SEI-DB-2014-Nexus-Blue-Nile.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }