A regional workshop on the ecohydrology and climatology of the Nile Basin under extreme conditions of drought and flooding will be conducted. The project has the goal of developing and strengthening collaborations with partners from the Nile Basin countries, identifying research and education thrust areas and forming working groups for a follow up formulation of research and educational plans. The team will launch an integrated national and basin scale collaborative research program that will provide the scientific and technological bases for transboundary policy development and management. The PIs have identified Addis Ababa University (AAU), Amhara Region Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI), Arbaminch University (AMU), Bahir Dar University (BDU), Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) Offices, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)- East Africa, Mountain Research Group, and Avallo-Agro-Tech as the main partner organizations. BDU will provide workshop facilities, and coordinate workshop logistics. The four-day workshop will be offered in Bahir Dar, at the headwaters of the Blue Nile. The workshop will include technical presentations from each of the participating Nile Basin countries and internationally-recognized technical experts, plenary and group work sessions, and technical field trips. Outputs from the workshop will be published proceedings and a web page, a strategy document, ongoing and research collaboration and educational exchanges.The assembled project team has extensive experience, expertise, and influence in river basin eco-hydrology and climatology in the Nile River basin and in the United States. The proposed workshop will enhance and advance the understanding of fundamental processes governing water budgets within the Nile Basin using state-of-the-art research in order to develop a new capability to predict vulnerabilities. Furthermore, transboundary water problems represent serious global challenges and creating an opportunity for genuine communication and research collaboration among affected nations could lead to jointly acceptable management principles, thereby promoting economic and political stability. Collaborative research projects stemming from this workshop will add knowledge to the fields of eco-hydrology and climatology, and addresses transboundary management, land-use/cover changes, and policy impact on basin-wide water resources that may be applied to river systems world-wide.
