Soil erosion/sedimentation is an immense problem that has threatened water resources development in the
Nile river basin, particularly in the Eastern Nile (Ethiopia,
Sudan and Egypt). An insight into soil erosion/sedimentation
mechanisms and mitigation methods plays an imperative role
for the sustainable water resources development in the region. This paper presents daily sediment yield simulations in
the Upper Blue Nile under different Best Management Practice (BMP) scenarios. Scenarios applied in this paper are (i)
maintaining existing conditions, (ii) introducing filter strips,
(iii) applying stone bunds (parallel terraces), and (iv) reforestation. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was
used to model soil erosion, identify soil erosion prone areas
and assess the impact of BMPs on sediment reduction. For
the existing conditions scenario, the model results showed
a satisfactory agreement between daily observed and simulated sediment concentrations as indicated by Nash-Sutcliffe
efficiency greater than 0.83. The simulation results showed
that applying filter strips, stone bunds and reforestation scenarios reduced the current sediment yields both at the subbasins and the basin outlets. However, a precise interpretation of the quantitative results may not be appropriate because some physical processes are not well represented in the
SWAT model