BRIEFING NOTE:Supporting Integrated Water Resources Development in Tana and Beles, EthiopiaNihal Fernando (Senior Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank), Habab Taifour (Operations Analyst, World Bank)

Between May 2009 and September 2010, the Hydrology Expert Facility (HEF) provided sup-

port1 to the project team implementing the $69.85 million Tana and Beles Integrated Water

Resources Development Project (TBIWRDP, see box). The project is focused on improving the

management of water resources in the Tana and Beles sub-basins of Ethiopia. Its aim is to help

solve issues that are hampering sustainable development in the area, such as inadequate insti-

tutional capacity; a policy framework that hinders the coordination of sub-basin planning, devel-

opment, and management; and lack of technical expertise in lake and watershed management.

HEF support has yielded concrete results in several key areas of the project:

The overall thrust of HEF support to the TBIWRDP has been to include the involved communi-

ties in the decision-making and planning process through a communication and consultation

strategy. Communities and local research institutions are organized in river basin organizations

that are also involved in monitoring lake water quality. The Water (basin) Information System,

which is currently being implemented, will be operated and managed by these river basin or-

ganizations.

The TBIWRDP team has requested additional HEF support to build on this success.2 In ad-

dition, the government of Ethiopia has indicated its desire to expand some of the activities to

other river basins.

HEF

HEF Briefing Note 1 / May 2011

HYDROLOGY EXPERT FACILITY

The Tana and Beles Integrated Water Re-sources Development Project (TBIWRDP)

The $69.85 million TBIWRDP, started in 2008 and expected to close in 2013, includes a $45 million World Bank loan. Its aim is to improve the manage-ment of water resources in the Tana (15,054 km2) and Beles (14,200 km2) sub-basins in the 200,000 km2 Abbay (Blue Nile) Basin.

With 157 out of 162 microwatershed plans complet-ed and 14,000 ha out of 80,000 ha treated, the proj-ect marks an important first step in Ethiopia’s new water management strategy. The two sub-basins are a perfect pilot zone for this new strategy because the area has great potential for sustainable growth. Lake Tana and its sub-basins provide water for fish-ing, irrigation, hydropower, and industry, and the area also offers opportunities for tourism and recreation.

However, the sub-basins are currently facing many economic, social, and environmental challenges. To address these challenges, the aim of the project is to develop institutions and carry out activities for the integrated planning, management, and development in the sub-basins, benefiting more than 173,000 persons in over 43,000 households.

The Hydrology Expert Facility (HEF) is one of the Expert Support Teams (EST) of the Water Partnership Program (WPP) that merged into the Wa-ter Expert Team (WET) as of January 2011. The HEF provided short-term on-demand high level expertise to address complex hydrology and water resource management problems. The WET continues this support with an expanded scope.

Increased community participation in the watershed management subcomponent led to

thestablishment of 80 additional community committees (for a total of 86 committees) that

are currently actively participating in planning for their watershed. This increase in community

participation was the direct result of the work of 21 community facilitators.

The Project Coordination Unit has successfully planned the design of a Basin Information

System (BIS) covering all water-related topics. The Minister of Water Resources is now con-

sidering expanding it to other river basins.

Appropriate lake management planning has been integrated into sub-basin water resource

planning and management activities, including the involved communities in the decision-mak-

ing and planning process.

Information systems and watershed and lake management have been integrated into one

institutional framework to manage the Abbay River Basin Authority (ARBA) and its branch

offices for the Tana and Beles sub-basins.

The government of Ethiopia has adopted fully the institutional framework that was developed

with HEF support. The 165 required staff positions that were identified will become part of

the civil service structure.

1 HEF support was provided through four assignments totaling about USD 96,000. 2 The Water Expert Team (WET), into which HEF merged as of Jan. 2011, will provide additional support (approx. USD 25,000).

Hydrological microwatershed boundary map of the Zefie com-munity, used as a guide by community facilitators to visually depict the microwatershed and begin raising awareness of soil and water conservation activities. (Photo & map: TBIWRDP)

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HEF Support to Address Key Con-

straints in TBIWRDP

The Tana and Beles project aims to support

the government in finding solutions to the

problems that hamper sustainable develop-

ment in the region, including inadequate insti-

tutional capacity and lack of technical exper-

tise in lake and watershed management. In

particular, additional assistance is needed to

bring in new knowledge, experiences, and in-

novative approaches (in line with international

best practices), as well as bring knowledge to

the community level and assist with the initial

implementation of the project. In order to ad-

dress these issues, HEF was asked to focus

its support on four areas: watershed manage-

ment, hydrological information systems, lake

management, and institutional improvement.

Watershed Management: This component in-

cluded a broad range of issues with immedi-

ate and critical impacts for affected commu-

nities, ranging from sustainable agricultural

practices to rules for managing forests. How-

ever, local communities were not involved in

the planning and implementation of water-

shed management activities. The TBIWRDP

team requested that HEF assist by working

with the Bureau of Agriculture and Rural De-

velopment (BoARD) of the Amhara region

to review the implementation of watershed

management programs. HEF helped to as-

sess the component’s technical content, and

reviewed implementation, monitoring, and

evaluation plans.

With HEF support, watershed development

(the TBIWRDP’s largest activity) has become

the project’s best performing area. The active

involvement of the Hydrology Expert Facility

has helped to boost both government and

community interest in the project.3 One of

the Facility’s key contributions was to help

introduce the concept of community facilita-

tors (CFs). CFs are trained professionals who

live and work in the community and teach its

members the skills they need to engage in

soil and water conservation activities. By liv-

ing in the communities for extended periods,

the CFs can mobilize community members

and make them sensitive to the needs of their

watershed, as well as advise them on how

best to organize to bring about change. By

the end of 2010, twenty-one CFs had been

hired, and each one supported work in sev-

eral micro–watersheds. Community feedback

was extremely positive.

HEF also helped to identify the need for bet-

ter training at the community level to make

informed decisions about managing wa-

tersheds. Training women is especially im-

portant because they perform most of the

agricultural work in these communities. Fol-

lowing HEF suggestions, a training program

was introduced in the fall of 2009. Before

the HEF became involved, Community Micro-

watershed Committees (CWCs) existed in

only 6 micro-watersheds. By late 2010, with

encouragement from the CFs and the intro-

duction of training programs, 86 communities

had CWCs in place and were actively partici-

pating in planning for their watershed.4 The

success of these innovative features not only

increased community awareness of conser-

vation issues, but also encouraged regional

project staff to introduce them in other areas.

Hydrological Information Systems: HEF sup-

port was requested to facilitate the estab-

lishment of the project’s Water Resources

Information Systems Development sub-

component. With HEF support, the Project

Coordination Unit has successfully planned

the design for a Basin Information System

(BIS) covering all water-related topics to

provide an organized data and information

base for dissemination to all users. The BIS

includes an upgraded hydrological system

(HIS) for the entire Abbay Basin (not only

2 / www.worldbank.org/hef

3 Community contribution has been significantly higher than envisioned and the capacity created in the implementation team ensures the sustainability of project implementation and support to be given to these activities by the Government of Ethiopia after project completion.

the Tana and Beles sub-basins). The HIS will

gather data on real-time rainfall, groundwa-

ter and surface water quality, and aquatic

biodiversity. HEF assisted the unit in drafting

detailed terms of reference for hiring a con-

sultant to design and implement this system

(work is expected to begin shortly). Given its

potential, the Minister of Water Resources is

now considering expanding the BIS to other

river basins. The government also has plans

to incorporate BIS into the Program for Ac-

celerated and Sustained Development to End

Poverty (PASDAP), a program that is used

extensively by the World Bank’s Country As-

sistance Strategy (CAS) in formulating sup-

port programs.

While reviewing the needs of the BIS sys-

tem, HEF also helped to identify several

gaps in the knowledge base that impede

informed decision-making about the wa-

tersheds. These gaps included the lack of

a bathymetric survey of Lake Tana, and ad-

equate characterization of the groundwater

resources of the Tana-Beles Sub-basin. The

groundwater study began in March 2010 and

the bathymetric survey is nearing completion.

Establishment of a weather-monitoring radar

system in the area (that will serve as a pilot

project for a larger network of radar systems)

is in the final stages of project planning and

is being carried out in collaboration with Bahir

Dar University.

Lake Management: HEF supported the in-

tegration of appropriate lake management

planning into sub-basin water resource plan-

ning and management. The first step was

to assess the management of Lake Tana in

the context of lake management throughout

Ethiopia. Key areas of concern for Lake Tana

were identified and addressed as a result of

this study, including water balance and use

impacts on navigation, tourism and fisheries,

regulation of fisheries, watershed degrada-

tion and sedimentation, eutrophication, lake

water quality, and wetlands and biodiversity.

HEF support was also sought in the design

of a bio-chemical monitoring program for

Lake Tana that will be undertaken by the

Tana Sub-basin Organization in coordination

with Bahir Dar University (which will provide

training, analysis, and outreach).

HEF support has been critical in advanc-

ing plans for the management of Lake Tana.

Several issues were identified, including low

water levels, overfishing, local blooms of

blue-green algae, and use of the lake as a

sink for pollutants. Potential problems for the

lake were pinpointed, including eutrophica-

tion, contaminants in fish, and decreases in

biodiversity, which could be exacerbated by-

planned construction of dams, large commer-

cial farms, and industrial projects in the area.

Drawing on successful examples from similar

lakes around the world, HEF assisted the in-

terim Tana Sub-basin Organization (TaSBO)

to draw up a detailed plan for responding to

these concerns. The lake monitoring plan,

which was designed to support sustainable

development in the basin, contained many

concrete solutions, such as proposals for

legislation that would preserve almost all

shoreline wetlands. The plan also stressed

the importance of more formal cooperation

between federal and local agencies to help

manage Lake Tana. Based on this plan, TaS-

BO staff began water monitoring activities in

May 2010, just prior to the opening of the Ta-

na-Beles hydropower plant. The timing of the

start of the monitoring was critical because

the initial data will provide a baseline to evalu-

ate the effect of the plant on the lake system.

Institutional Development: The objective of

HEF support for institutional development

was to review the status of the establishment

of the Abbay Basin and the Tana and Beles

sub-basin organizations, and provide a real-

istic time-bound framework for their opera-

tionalization. The project is expected to help

develop enabling institutions for integrated

planning, management, and development in

these sub-basins, and accelerate sustain-

SUPPORTING INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IN TANA AND BELES, ETHIOPIA / 3

4 The Community Micro-watershed Committees (CWCs) create and implement micro-watershed plans that include all types of soil and water conservation activities (e.g. construction of check dams, forestation, etc.) as well as income generating activities (such as the operation of small flour mills, basket weaving, beekeeping, etc.). These efforts are carried out together with project staff and receive technical support from community facilitators and government staff.

Sekela District Community members working to construct a series of “eyebrow” terraces to protect highly denuded common land from further erosion (left). A check dam constructed by Dera District community members as part of the soil and water conservation activities they agreed upon through their microwatershed planning process (right). (Photos: TBIWRDP Team)

able growth. The HEF was asked to offer

recommendations for building an appropri-

ate knowledge base, analytical capacity, and

structured stakeholder consultation program

that would facilitate the development of a

shared vision for the sub-basins.

After an extensive analysis of the responsi-

bilities of the basin and sub-basin organiza-

tions, HEF helped to develop a conceptual

framework for an institutional structure that

would allow the basin and sub-basin organi-

zations to work together to accomplish the

integrated water resource management that

will be critical to the project’s success. The

framework has laid the foundation for future

sub-basin organizations in Ethiopia.

The government has fully adopted the institu-

tional framework, and the required 165 staff

positions that were identified will be desig-

nated as government staff rather than con-

tractual positions. There have been problems

in finding qualified candidates to fill these

positions, and the government has requested

further HEF support in identifying those key

positions that are critical to start up the basin

and sub-basin organizations and develop wa-

ter resources management plans.

Looking Forward

HEF support proved to be instrumental as

a catalyst for the ongoing work of the TBI-

WRDP. It helped to underscore the impor-

tance of structured stakeholder consultation

and participation to empower the commu-

nities and facilitate the development of an

ownership-based shared vision for the sub-

basins. It also helped to show that shared

knowledge was the critical missing link for

that to happen (and that shared knowledge

is vital to improving the integrated manage-

ment of the Tana and Beles sub-basins). Sci-

entists and technicians need to collect more

data about the basin, managers need to have

a fuller understanding of the implications of

their plans, and communities need to know

more about how their actions affect the basin.

HEF work has helped to plant the seeds for

the growth of this knowledge base in a par-

ticipatory manner. Both the TBIWRDP team

and the government of Ethiopia are keen to

build on these results, as evidenced by the

request for additional HEF support, as well as

by current plans to replicate these approach-

es in other basins.

The overall thrust of HEF support to the TBIRDP has been the inclusion of the involved communities in the decision-making and planning process.

SUPPORTING INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IN TANA AND BELES, ETHIOPIA / 4

The Water Partnership Program (WPP) is a program funded by the governments of the Netherlands, Denmark and

the United Kingdom ($23.7 million for the first 3-year phase). The WPP aims to enhance the World Bank’s performance

on reducing poverty through the mainstreaming of pragmatic approaches for Water Resources Management and devel-

opment, and the improvement of quality and effectiveness of Water Service Delivery. The WPP supports activities – in

all World Bank Borrowing Member Countries and across all water sub-sectors – through nine Windows: six Regional

Windows managed by the Bank’s Regional water units, a Global Window, a World Bank Institute Window, and the Expert

Support Team Window. The WPP is coordinated by a Program Management Team in the Water Anchor of the Transport,

Water, and Information & Communication Technology (TWI) Department of the World Bank.

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Resources Development Project, Sub-Component

A1: Water Resources Information System Develop-

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ton, DC.

Crerar, S. 2009. “Tana and Beles Integrated Water

Resources Development Project, Sub-Component

A-2, Resource Planning and Management Ca-

pacity-building, Consultancy Report.” World Bank,

Washington, DC.

Horne, A. 2009. “Tana and Beles Integrated Water

Resources Development Project, Sub-Component

A-2, Resource Planning and Management, Invest-

ments—Sustainable Watershed Development in the

Lake Tana Basin, Consultancy Report.” World Bank,

Washington, DC.

Seth, A. 2009. “Tana and Beles Integrated Water

Resources Development Project, Sub-component

B1: Watershed Development, Consultancy Report.”

World Bank, Washington, DC.

World Bank. 2009. “Tana & Beles Integrated Wa-

ter Resources Development Project (TBIWRDP:

P096323)” Internal World Bank mission reports,

Washington, DC.

World Bank. 2008. Project Appraisal Document

on a Proposed Credit in the Amount Of Sdr 27.4

Million (US$45 Million Equivalent) to the Federal

Democratic Republic of Ethiopia for The Tana &

Beles Integrated Water Resources Development

Project. World Bank, Washington, DC.