The River Congo - Africa's sleeping giant: regional integration and intersectoral conflicts in the Congo Basin

Making greater of use of the waters of the Congo could boost development across - and beyond - the region, but threatens to favour particular users’ interests at the expense of others. Within its enormous catchment area, the Congo is the dominant transport network and the lifeblood of the African rain forest, upon which millions depend for their livelihoods. Tapping the river's resources could significantly improve the region’s water and food supplies, while its hydro-energy potential could theoretically satisfy the electricity needs of the entire continent. Plans to construct more major dams at the Inga Falls demonstrate that the ten Congo Basin states are pursuing common goals - but also having to deal with sharpening intersectoral conflicts. An inconsistent line on dam-building makes it harder for Germany to play a constructive role in these development processes. (author's abstract

Water as weapon: IS on the Euphrates and Tigris: the systematic instrumentalisation of water entails conflicting IS objectives

In the course of its territorial expansion, Islamic State (IS, ISIL or ISIS) has brought under its control strategically significant water resources and large parts of the water infrastructure in Syria and Iraq. It has seized several important dams on the Euphrates and Tigris as part of its expansion strategy and, particularly since 2014, has used water as a weapon in a number of ways. This practice has disastrous consequences, and it is virtually impossible for external actors to prevent it. And yet, even IS’s room for manoeuvre is limited since a functioning water and electricity supply in the areas that it has captured is of existential importance for the militia. However, the anti-IS coalition’s intensified military interventions since the Paris attacks put the militia under severe pressure. Should IS be forced into extensive withdrawals, then whole regions will be at risk of dramatic and wide-spread flooding. (author's abstract

Egypt's Nile water policy under Sisi: security interests promote rapprochement with Ethiopia

Under Abdel Fatah al-Sisi Egypt has moderated its stance in the Nile water dispute with Ethiopia, the most important state upstream. In the conflict over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Cairo is now seeking cooperation rather than conflict. But this rapprochement is not driven by any fundamental reversal in Egypt’s Nile water policy. Instead, Cairo recognises that its options are restricted by the advanced state of dam construction. In addition it sees Ethiopia as an increasingly important partner, especially in matters of regional security. While Egyptian-Ethiopian conflict over distribution and usage of the water is currently on the back-burner, the issue is by no means resolved. (Autorenreferat

Another Drop in Water Vapor

In 2000 a sudden severe drop in stratospheric water vapor levels interrupted the supposed long-term increase of this greenhouse gas, an important contributor to global warming and climate variability. Satellite sensors observed a recovery in the following years, hidden behind a large variability. More recently, during 2011 and 2012, measurements revealed another severe drop in stratospheric water vapor concentrations

Modelling the descent of nitric oxide during the elevated stratopause event of January 2013

Using simulations with a whole-atmosphere chemistry-climate model nudged by meteorological analyses, global satellite observations of nitrogen oxide (NO) and water vapour by the Sub-Millimetre Radiometer instrument (SMR), of temperature by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), as well as local radar observations, this study examines the recent major stratospheric sudden warming accompanied by an elevated stratopause event (ESE) that occurred in January 2013. We examine dynamical processes during the ESE, including the role of planetary wave, gravity wave and tidal forcing on the initiation of the descent in the mesosphere-lower thermosphere (MLT) and its continuation throughout the mesosphere and stratosphere, as well as the impact of model eddy diffusion. We analyse the transport of NO and find the model underestimates the large descent of NO compared to SMR observations. We demonstrate that the discrepancy arises abruptly in the MLT region at a time when the resolved wave forcing and the planetary wave activity increase, just before the elevated stratopause reforms. The discrepancy persists despite doubling the model eddy diffusion. While the simulations reproduce an enhancement of the semi-diurnal tide following the onset of the 2013 SSW, corroborating new meteor radar observations at high northern latitudes over Trondheim (63.4$^{\circ}$N), the modelled tidal contribution to the forcing of the mean meridional circulation and to the descent is a small portion of the resolved wave forcing, and lags it by about ten days

Nile conflict: compensation rather than mediation; how Europeans can lead an alternative way forward

The conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia over the distribution and use of the Nile water has entered a new phase. Questions about how and over what period of time the reservoir of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will be filled are taking centre stage. Against this backdrop, the USA launched a new mediation attempt at the end of 2019. However, initial hopes of a swift agreement have not materialized. The longer substantial results are postponed, the more apparent it becomes that ex­ternal mediation alone will not suffice to resolve the dispute. In order to defuse the conflict, it might be necessary for Egypt to compensate Ethiopia for concessions on the GERD. Germany and its European partners should provide Egypt with financial support for creating a compensation mechanism. This would promote stability in Europe’s conflict-ridden neighbouring region, and reduce migration pressure. But Europeans should tie financial contributions to clear conditions vis-à-vis Cairo, aimed at improving water management and overall governance. (author's abstract

Schlafender Riese Kongo-Fluss: Wassernutzung zwischen regionaler Integration und sektoralen Zielkonflikten

Der Ausbau der Wassernutzung am Kongo könnte der Region einen Entwicklungsschub verschaffen, droht aber mit der Begünstigung partikulärer Nutzungsinteressen einherzugehen. In seinem weitläufigen Einzugsgebiet ist der Fluss das wichtigste Verkehrsnetz und die Lebensader des afrikanischen Regenwalds, der wiederum die Existenzgrundlage von Millionen Menschen sichert. Die Wasser- und Nahrungsmittelversorgung der Region ließe sich mit seinen Ressourcen deutlich verbessern, die Hydroenergiepotentiale könnten den Strombedarf des gesamten Kontinents decken. Der geplante Bau weiterer Großdämme an den Inga-Fällen zeigt, dass die zehn Anrainerstaaten gemeinsame Ziele verfolgen, aber auch, dass sich Konflikte zwischen einzelnen Sektoren verschärfen. Die inkonsistente Haltung Deutschlands in heiklen Grundsatzfragen der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit und Wasseraußenpolitik erschwert es, diese Prozesse konstruktiv zu begleiten. (Autorenreferat