Prof Bakimchandra highlights integration pathways at Ethiopian Water & Energy Week
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, November 01 2025: The 2nd Ethiopian Water and Energy Week was successfully held at Addis Ababa Science Museum, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from October 27-31, 2025.The 2nd Ethiopian Water and Energy Week themed "Harnessing Water and Clean Energy for Sustainable Growth", brought together Ministers, scientists, and development partners from across Africa and beyond.

Prof Bakimchandra Oinam from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Manipur, delivered an influential expert talk during the Grand Panel Discussion on "The Contribution of Ethiopia's Green Legacy Initiative (GLI) to Water Resources Management, Food Security, and Climate Resilience".

In his address, Prof Bakimchandra emphasized that Ethiopia's large-scale tree-planting effort offers far more than carbon sequestration - it provides a foundation for restoring degraded watersheds, enhancing infiltration, reducing sedimentation, and stabilizing base flows.

He explained that trees act as "natural infrastructure for water security", capable of regulating flow regimes, reducing flood risks, and sustaining groundwater recharge.

Drawing parallels from successful initiatives such as India's Namami Gange Programme and Urban Miyawaki Micro-Forest Projects, he illustrated how strategic restoration can revive the hydrological integrity of entire basins.

Prof Bakimchandra underscored the importance of mainstreaming GLI within national water governance frameworks, ensuring that restoration activities become integral to Ethiopia's river basin management strategies.

Addressing the technical aspect of his third theme, Prof Bakimchandra highlighted the challenges in monitoring and quantifying the hydrological benefits of restoration- such as infiltration gains, runoff reduction, and groundwater recharge.

He noted that data scarcity, natural variability, and fragmented institutional responsibilities make it difficult to isolate the direct water impacts of tree-planting efforts.

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