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printGibe III Dam - Ethiopia location
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Terri Hathaway, International Rivers, United States working partners
Ikal Angelei, Friends of Lake Turkana, Kenia ![]() In the Gibe 3 affected area
sector
dams
description
The Omo River is a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of indigenous people in southwest Ethiopia and northern Kenya. In the Lower Omo Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an estimated 500,000 farmers, fishers and herders depend on the river’s annual flood to support riverbank cultivation and grazing lands for livestock. The Gibe III hydropower dam, already under construction since 2006, will dramatically alter the Omo River’s flood cycle, affecting ecosystems and livelihoods all the way down to the world’s largest desert lake, Kenya’s Lake Turkana. The dam, if not stopped, will cause food insecurity, chronic hunger, poor health, food aid dependence, conflicts among the local communities for the control of the already scarce natural resources and a general unraveling of the economy and social safety net throughout the all region. The 1,870 MW Gibe III Dam is Ethiopia’s largest investment project. Flawed preparation has exacerbated the dam’s economic and technical risks. In its rush to construction, the Ethiopian government neglected to properly assess virtually every aspect of the project, violating domestic laws and international standards. The government is now seeking international financing to complete the project. But evidence is mounting that the dam could be a development disaster for Ethiopia and the region. The US$1.75 billion Gibe III project, located 240 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa, includes a 240-meter-tall rockfill dam, tunnel, distribution and water diversion works and a powerhouse. The project's anticipated completion date is 2013 or 2014. Ethiopia wants to make hydropower a major national export, but climate change and ecological degradation could cause the nation’s hydropower dams to generate far less power than hoped. current status (Jun 15, 2010)
In June 2010 Friends of Lake Turkana appealed to the Kenyan nation's high court to prevent the government and an energy company from buying power produced by the vast Gibe 111 hydropower dam in neighbouring Ethiopia. They called on the court to freeze the proposed purchase of 500 megawatts, agreed between Kenya and Ethiopia in 2006, until the impact of the project on local communities is fully understood. A hearing date has not yet been set. In May 2010, Ethiopia and a Chinese hydropower company signed a $459 million agreement for work on the Gibe III hydropower project, with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China providing a loan for the construction costs. The cost for electro-mechanical and hydraulic steel structure works is $495 million. 85 Percent of the cost will be covered by the ICBC loan. Funding to cover the full US$1.75 billion construction of the project has not yet been secured, and against a background of opposition from local and international lobbyists, both the World Bank and the African Development Bank have withheld funding until an environmental impact report is received. companies involved
Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) is a state-owned utility responsible for development of the Gibe 3 Dam, including project oversight. EEPCo awarded the project’s no-bid construction contract in July 2006. The Italian firm Salini Costruttori S.p.A. is the primary project contractor. Salini was awarded a no-bid construction contract worth €1.55b by EEPCo. Salini also worked on the Gilgel Gibe Dam. Salini is currently constructing two additional hydro projects for EEPCo, the Gilgel Gibe 2 (a tunnel scheme near the original dam), and Tana Beles Dam. The Chinese Dongfang Electric Corporation (DEC) will carry out the hydro-mechanical and electro-mechanical part of the project. dodgy aspects
social impact
Indigenous peoples in the Lower Omo Valley are placed at great risk due to the dam’s regulation of the river flow, which will lead to the elimination of the river’s natural flood cycle. Downstream farmers cultivate the river’s banks after the annual flood, a practice known as flood retreat cultivation. The annual flood also supports the renewal of grazing lands for herders, and signals migratory fish species to begin spawning. Without adequate mitigation, the dam will cause food insecurity, chronic hunger, poor health, food aid dependence, and a general unraveling of the region’s economy and social safety net. The dwindling of resources caused by the dam would increase conflicts between local ethnic groups. -readmore- The project proposes an artificial flood to mitigate these impacts. However, the proposed flood would last only 10 days, while the natural flood builds gradually over several months, until it peaks in August or September. A truncated 10-day flood would not reach all the areas now nurtured by annual flooding, and would likely fall far short of supporting current agricultural productivity. The artificial flood would also depend on the goodwill of the dam operator. This would create a conflict of interest, since the artificial flood would eat into the operator’s profits. Even if implemented, the artificial flood is so inadequate that it would fail to maintain the local ecology, livelihoods and economy. The dwindling of resources caused by the dam would increase conflicts between local ethnic groups. Firearms are already omnipresent amongst the region’s communities. But the dam is just one factor in a perfect storm rapidly descending on the Lower Omo Valley. The government of Ethiopia is exploring the area for oil and minerals and planning large-scale agricultural and biofuel schemes, which could further fuel conflicts over traditional land and water resources. The area is also home to the Ilemi Triangle, a volatile area of disputed national borders between Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan. As traditional resources diminish and government land use increases, latent tensions could erupt. environment
The Omo River and Lake Turkana constitute the Omo-Turkana Basin, shared by Ethiopia and Kenya. The Gibe 3 Dam poses serious hydrological risks to Lake Turkana, which receives up to 90% of its water from the Omo River. An oasis of biodiversity in a harsh desert, Lake Turkana supports 300,000 people and rich animal life. Hundreds of thousands of fisherfolk and pastoralists will be affected if the lake’s fragile ecosystem is stressed to the brink of collapse. Over recent years, the lake has been shrinking and becoming progressively more salty, leaving the region highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. If the water level continues to fall, the lake’s fragile balance could be destroyed. human rights
Project-affected people, NGOs and academics perceived as critical of Gibe 3 risk government-sanctioned retaliation. The poor consultation process, coupled with extreme marginalization of many affected groups, has greatly reduced the chance for critical concerns to be raised and addressed. Project developers have made virtually no information publicly available in Ethiopia to date, leaving Ethiopian civil society uninformed about the project’s potential risks and impacts. Local media coverage has only emerged after critical international coverage appeared in March 2009. Lack of democratic space gender aspects
The World Commission on Dams found that women and ethnic minorities were disproportionately affected by dam projects. As women are often responsible for ensuring the sustainable livelihoods of their families, impacts on these livelihoods through destruction of fisheries, flooding of agricultural land and forests, and displacement often result in women bearing a disproportionate share of the costs. It is women who are often left with the burden of caring for their families, finding alternative land and water sources and alternative livelihoods when these are taken away through the development of destructive dam projects. other issues Transboundary Impacts Violation of national and international standards Gibe 3 construction began in 2006. In its rush to construction, the government of Ethiopia neglected to properly assess economic, technical, environmental and social risks, violating domestic laws and international standards. Ethiopia’s Hydro Dependence financial institutions involved
multilateral development banks
African Development Bank
European Investment Bank (EIB)
banks
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
- profile
what must happen
The Gibe 3 Dam project should be halted until: Taking these steps would result in a more transparent and objective consideration of whether the Gibe 3 project is the best choice for Ethiopia’s electricity sector. Untill these steps have been taken commercial banks and other (financial) institutions should refrain from financing this project. |
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