http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lori-pottinger/ethiopia-pushes-river-bas_b_4811584.html
Lori Pottinger
Africa Campaigns, International Rivers
Ethiopia Pushes River Basin Toward Hydrological Disaster
Posted: 02/20/2014 4:12 pm EST Updated: 02/20/2014 4:59 pm EST
In a remote part of East Africa, the Ethiopian government is furtively
transforming a pastoral landscape populated by indigenous agro-pastoralists
into an industrial powerhouse of dams and plantations. While the government
says these developments are intended to reduce poverty, those on the ground
see their land and water being taken from them, their homesteads bulldozed,
their choices narrowed. Impacts will be felt all the way to Kenya.
The developments in the Lower Omo Valley pivot on the construction of the
huge Gibe III Dam, a hydropower project that also regulates river flows to
support year-round commercial agriculture. The dam's reservoir could begin
filling in May, bringing major changes to the Omo's flow. A new film by
International Rivers, A Cascade of Development on the Omo River, reveals
the hydrological havoc that could ensue.
The biggest hydrological risks actually come from what is happening on the
land. A government plan to convert hundreds of thousands of hectares of
land to irrigated plantations could be devastating to people and ecosystems
downstream. Information is hard to come by on these land conversions, so
Human Rights Watch (HRW) used high-tech tools to document the changes.
HRW's new analysis of satellite images reveals that the Ethiopian
government continues to clear land used by indigenous groups to make way
for state-run sugar plantations in the Lower Omo. The group reports that
virtually all of the traditional lands of the 7,000-member Bodi indigenous
group have been cleared in the past 15 months. Human rights abuses have
accompanied the land grabs.
These massive developments will usurp the vast majority of the water in the
Omo River basin, potentially devastating the livelihoods of the 500,000
indigenous people who directly or indirectly rely on the Omo's waters for
their livelihoods.
Most significantly, the changes in river flow caused by the dam and the
irrigation schemes could cause a huge drop in the water levels of Kenya's
Lake Turkana, the world's largest desert lake and a UNESCO World Heritage
site. The lake, which receives 90 percent of its water from the Omo River,
is projected to drop by about two meters during the initial filling of the
dam. If current plans to create new plantations continue to move forward,
the lake could drop as much as 16 to 22 meters. The average depth of the
lake is just 31 meters.
The Big Dry Begins
This will be the first year that river flow past the Gibe III Dam is almost
completely blocked. Reservoir filling is expected to take up to three
years, and during this time the Omo River's annual flow could drop by as
much as 70%. After this initial shock, regular dam operations will continue
to devastate ecosystems and local livelihoods. Changes to the river's
flooding regime will harm yields from flood-recession agriculture, prevent
the replenishment of important grazing areas, and reduce fish populations
-- all critical resources for livelihoods of local indigenous groups.
In a positive first step, the Ethiopian government has agreed to discuss
joint management of the Omo Basin with the Kenyan government. To give this
process weight and greater legitimacy, organizers should ensure that
affected people are able to directly voice their concerns.
Although the dam seems to be a fait accompli, there are still options for
managing the river in a way to reduce the risk that Lake Turkana becomes
the planet's next Aral Sea. A process to devise a dam-management system of
more natural flows (called "environmental flows") could reduce the worst
social and environmental impacts of the dam and irrigation schemes.
To show it is serious about sustainable management of this important
lifeline, the Ethiopian government should halt water withdrawals until a
cumulative environmental-impact assessment of all developments in the Lower
Omo is carried out by internationally reputable experts. Ethiopia should
also commit to abiding by the assessment's findings on how much water the
river needs to keep Lake Turkana healthy.
A large percentage of Ethiopia's budget comes from Western donors. These
donors must play a bigger role in monitoring the situation now unfolding in
the Lower Omo, and be prepared to put forth sticks along with the carrots
if significant progress isn't made in resolving these problems. To turn a
blind eye would make them complicit in large-scale human rights violations
and environmental destruction.
Received on Thu Feb 20 2014 - 19:03:22 EST