Ecohydrological status of Lake Tana — a shallow highland lake in the Blue Nile (Abbay) basin in Ethiopia: review

This paper is based on a country report for Ethiopia prepared as a part of the ecohydrology component of IHP-UNESCO's FRIEND/Nile-phase II Project. It reviews past and current research in the Lake Tana sub-basin around the lake. The objective of the study was to determine the ecohydrological status of the Lake as a tool for integrated water resource management in improving the sustainability of the quantity and quality of freshwater resources in the Nile basin. The preliminary results show that reduced lake water level with its annual fluctuations and seasonal floods associated with high flows are becoming amplified and frequent, and the total average annual sediment load of the four major tributaries shows an increasing trend. Source pollution from urban waste and rural agriculture, and degradation of biota in the catchment are the two main environmental threats for the lake ecosystem. Knowledge gaps were identified and future research needs were recommended along with suggestion of some potential phytotechnologies to be applied in the study area.