Papers by Wondwosen Michago Seide
Water Alternatives , 2023
ABSTRACT: This paper aims to foreground the importance of emotions in water diplomacy in general ... more ABSTRACT: This paper aims to foreground the importance of emotions in water diplomacy in general and in Nile water diplomacy in particular. Water diplomacy does not operate from a clean slate, but in a socio-hydropolitically mediated context which is, in turn, imbued with emotions. The existing water diplomacy approach primarily operates with the assumption that the riparian state is a rational actor. However, we argue that emotions have underpinned water diplomacy, including the ongoing Nile negotiations. These emotions are neither acknowledged nor negotiated but are dismissed as irrationality in both the theoretical understanding and practice of water diplomacy. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has been a bone of contention between, and evoked deep emotions in, Ethiopia and Egypt. Even if they are often unacknowledged by water policy makers, diplomats, and engineers in negotiations on how to fill and operate the GERD, these actors are inevitably negotiating emotions such as fear of water insecurity, anger over water injustice, harm aversion, impact minimisation, and threat diffusion. Conclusions point to the understanding of emotions as one important element influencing the process and outcome of water negotiations in general and on the Nile River in particular. To achieve effective cooperation among riparian states, an assessment of the issues’ emotional impacts may be necessary.
CDRC DIGEST, 2017
In the past, any description of the Nile, no matter how brief, could not fail to mention Egypt. N... more In the past, any description of the Nile, no matter how brief, could not fail to mention Egypt. Nowadays, any talk regarding the Nile cannot avoid discussing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam—the GERD. The GERD has become the Nile, and vice versa. In fact, the GERD has almost become larger than the river itself. It is the defining element of the Nile, changing the Nile Basin landscape to the point of no return.
CURRENT AFRICAN , 2017
Ethiopia has shown encouraging economic development in the past years. The swirls of economic bub... more Ethiopia has shown encouraging economic development in the past years. The swirls of economic bubbles are impacting the different regions of the country. At the moment, there are several national and regional development projects being implemented in
the Gambella Region in Western Ethiopia. However, being part of the development scheme of the federal state does not necessarily guarantee that this peripheral region will be integrated and brought closer to the political, cultural and economic core. This report is an attempt to contribute to this debate by focusing
on two major themes: large-scale agriculture and the villagization programmes. It examines the dynamics of Gambella’s political economy and the process of incorporating the region – and the Nuer transhumant communities in particular – into the national
economy. Specifically, it explores how processes of commercial farming investments and the villagization programme impact Nuer pastoralists. A policy recommendation to be concluded from this research is to acknowledge the nexus between two pastoral development approaches – pastoral area development vs. pastoralism development – so as to make them run in tandem without one excluding the other. By recognising them as mutually reinforcing, pastoralism could be promoted while resources are developed.
Final Report World Bank Water Resources Management Unit Africa Region, 2013
The overall purpose of the NBTF was to assist in the preparation and/or implementation of the NBI... more The overall purpose of the NBTF was to assist in the preparation and/or implementation of the NBI Strategic Action Program comprised of the Shared Vision Programme (SVP) and the two Subsidiary Action Programmes (SAPs). In addition funding was provided to the Institutional Strengthening Project (ISP), building on the results of the SVP. Over the NBTF period from January 2003 to December 2012, the ten participating development partners pledged and provided USD 191.74 million to the NBI
Fortune Newspaper, 2010
To the disappointment of many, the negotiations held two weeks ago in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to ... more To the disappointment of many, the negotiations held two weeks ago in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to form a commission on the Nile Basin, has failed, with member countries divided seven to one. However, in the process, there was seen a shift in the power balance, whereby Egypt would no longer command veto power. Wondwosen Michago Seide, a graduate of Oxford in Water Science, Policy, and Management and former researcher in the Ethiopian Nile Basin Dialogue Forum, observes that Ethiopia's use of soft power has begun to pay off in making Egypt less reasonable in the eyes of the international community.
The Journal of Development Studies , Apr 17, 2014
ABSTRACT Despite much research on large land deals for plantation agriculture in Africa, reliable... more ABSTRACT Despite much research on large land deals for plantation agriculture in Africa, reliable data remain elusive, partly because of limited access to information and practical and methodological challenges. International debates are still shaped by misperceptions about how much land is being acquired, where, by whom, how and with what consequences. This article aims empirically to test some common perceptions through an analysis of findings from research conducted in three African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania. The article presents new evidence on the scale, geography, drivers and features of land deals, relates findings to data from earlier research and international efforts to monitor land deals, and outlines possible ways forward for ongoing monitoring of the deals.
Book, Land and Hydropolitics in the Nile River Basin: Challenges and new investments, 2016
The global food, fuel, and financial crises in 2007/2008 have led to the rush to land and water r... more The global food, fuel, and financial crises in 2007/2008 have led to the rush to land and water resources for agricultural production in Gambella. Land and water are intrinsically linked. There is no large-scale agricultural farm without reliable water resources. An overview of different land lease agreements in Ethiopia reveals that water in Gambella is either vaguely mentioned or is implicitly given out together with land. In Gambella, there is almost no study on the impact of land acquisition on transboundary water resources and its implication on the ‘hydropolitics’ of the Nile River Basin, an international river with eleven riparian countries. This research, therefore, tries to explore the hydropolitics at the cross-border or Basin level by analyzing the land and water acquisition in the Gambella and along the Baro-Akobo River, which is a tributary of the Nile River.
The Nile conflict is not solely tied to the Nile waters but also to the conflicting narratives be... more The Nile conflict is not solely tied to the Nile waters but also to the conflicting narratives behind it. Misperception, myths, parochial sentiments, and unsubstantiated claims and counter-claims continue to overshadow concrete scientific findings and the reality that regional/shared approaches result in greater benefits for all basin states. Until these divergent hydro-mentalities are bridged, there will be no end to tension surrounding the Nile waters. These divergent conceptions threaten sustainable utilization of the Nile waters and result in no winners but only losers.
Rapid Response Briefing, Institute of Development Studies, 2013
A new strategic landscape is emerging in the Nile Basin. In February 2011, the late Ethiopian Pri... more A new strategic landscape is emerging in the Nile Basin. In February 2011, the late Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, made the calculated political decision to announce the construction of a 6000 MW dam on the main stem of the Blue Nile ata time when Egypt was undergoing the most serious political upheaval for more than50 years. It was a calculated decision based on the fact that his own influence was increasing in tandem with Egypt and Mubarak’s loss of prestige in sub-Saharan Africa. The diplomatic rift between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Grand Ethiopian RenaissanceDam’s (GERD) construction shines an important light on how a wider re-balancingof power is occurring within the Nile Basin. The challenge now is to consider the impact of these shifts on broader development in the Basin and determine what kindsof accommodation can be reached between the riparian states.
Book,Handbook of Land and Water Grabs in Africa Foreign direct investment and food and water security, 2012
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Papers by Wondwosen Michago Seide
the Gambella Region in Western Ethiopia. However, being part of the development scheme of the federal state does not necessarily guarantee that this peripheral region will be integrated and brought closer to the political, cultural and economic core. This report is an attempt to contribute to this debate by focusing
on two major themes: large-scale agriculture and the villagization programmes. It examines the dynamics of Gambella’s political economy and the process of incorporating the region – and the Nuer transhumant communities in particular – into the national
economy. Specifically, it explores how processes of commercial farming investments and the villagization programme impact Nuer pastoralists. A policy recommendation to be concluded from this research is to acknowledge the nexus between two pastoral development approaches – pastoral area development vs. pastoralism development – so as to make them run in tandem without one excluding the other. By recognising them as mutually reinforcing, pastoralism could be promoted while resources are developed.
the Gambella Region in Western Ethiopia. However, being part of the development scheme of the federal state does not necessarily guarantee that this peripheral region will be integrated and brought closer to the political, cultural and economic core. This report is an attempt to contribute to this debate by focusing
on two major themes: large-scale agriculture and the villagization programmes. It examines the dynamics of Gambella’s political economy and the process of incorporating the region – and the Nuer transhumant communities in particular – into the national
economy. Specifically, it explores how processes of commercial farming investments and the villagization programme impact Nuer pastoralists. A policy recommendation to be concluded from this research is to acknowledge the nexus between two pastoral development approaches – pastoral area development vs. pastoralism development – so as to make them run in tandem without one excluding the other. By recognising them as mutually reinforcing, pastoralism could be promoted while resources are developed.