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Ethiopia: Lake Tana Watershed Management

As the headwaters of the Blue Nile, Lake Tana is of strategic importance for water management in Ethiopia and for its downstream neighbors in the Nile Basin. Lake Tana is also one of 250 lakes identified by LakeNet as having globally significant biodiversity.

In November 2003, LakeNet staff conducted a reconnaissance visit to Lake Tana and awarded a small grant to the Bahir Dar Lake Tana Resource Management Research Center (LTRMRC), with funding from USAID, for a technical cooperation project. LTRMRC will use the grant to organize the first-ever national lake symposium in Ethiopia. Grant funds will also be used to strengthen the capacity of the Center and to support its resource management work in the Lake Tana watershed. LakeNet president David Read Barker also signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Bahir Dar University and the LTRMRC to work jointly on conservation and sustainable development initiatives for Lake Tana and its watershed.

During the LakeNet visit to Ethiopia in 2003, Barker and Borre visited the Tis Abay (Blue Nile) Falls on a Sunday afternoon and discovered the same situation as IMAX film crew did when they arrived in the country for filming. See "News" for a story by one member of the crew: "Stealing the Nile: famous falls no longer." The December 17, 2003 MSNBC story reports on reduced water flows over the world-famous Blue Nile Falls in Ethiopia. A photo of the falls on the day of LakeNet's visit is included in the photo gallery above.

In September 2004, Bahir Dar University will hold a Lake Tana Symposium, bringing together stakeholders from throughout the watershed.

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Updates

9/23/2004 - Lake Tana Symposium to be Held in Bahir Dar, 24-25 September 2004
Bahir Dar University is hosting a two-day symposium to create awareness and common understanding among stakeholders for the integrated management of Lake Tana and its watershed and to develop strategies for sustainable management. The symposium is sponsored by LakeNet with funding from USAID.

11/13/2003 - Bahir Dar University, Lake Tana Resource Management Research Center and LakeNet Agree to Cooperate
The heads of Bahir Dar University, the Lake Tana Resource Management Research Center (LTRMRC) and LakeNet signed a Memorandum of Cooperation today on the shores of Lake Tana in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. The groups will work together on lake basin management and sustainable development in the Lake Tana watershed.

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Documents

I want to provide feedback on a posted draft document.

Lake Tana Symposium Address by David Read Barker  LakeNet. 11/24/2004.

Memorandum of Cooperation Between Lake Tana Resource Management Research Center and LakeNet  (PDF) Partnership Agreement. 11/13/2003.

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Participating Lakes

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Participating Organizations

The following organizations are participating in this program:

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