The Omo-Turkana Basin
Cooperation for Sustainable Water Management
Earthscan Series on Major River Basins of the World Series

This book provides a comprehensive examination of water resource management in the Omo-Turkana Basin, linking together biophysical, socioeconomic, policy, institutional and governance issues in a solutions-oriented manner.

The Omo-Turkana Basin is one of the most important lake basins in Africa, and despite the likely transboundary impacts associated with the management of dams, it is the largest lake basin in Africa without a cooperative water agreement. This volume provides a foundation for integrated decision-making in the management of development in the Lake Turkana Basin. Chapters cover water-related conditions, hydropower, agriculture, ecosystems, resilience and transboundary governance. The final chapter proposes ways forward in light of the potential benefits that can be achieved through cooperation, and practical realities that cooperation is slow and may take time to achieve.

This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of water and natural resource management, environmental policy, sustainable development and African studies. It will also be relevant to water management professionals.

1. Introduction 2. Climate, water and land resources: diversity, uses and changes 3. Hydropower development: economic and environmental benefits and risks 4. Agriculture, food and nutrition security 5. Ecosystem services in changing social-ecological systems 6. Resilience dynamics in a rapidly changing social-ecological system: shifting inequalities in Ethiopia’s Lower Omo Valley 7. Pathways to enhanced cooperation 8. First steps toward cooperative basin management

Jonathan Lautze is the Research Group Leader for Integrated Management of Basins and Aquifers at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Matthew McCartney is the Research Group Leader for Sustainable Water Infrastructure and Ecosystems at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Julie Gibson is a PhD Researcher at the University of Strathclyde, UK.