Water: Gilbel Gibe III Dam

Question 1

location

Answer 1

Omo River, Ethiopia

Question 2

key facts

Answer 2

cost: US$1.8 billion

began in 2008

started to generate electricity in 2015

third largest hydro-electricity plant in Africa

more than 200,000 people rely on the Omo River below the dam for subsistence agriculture and they are dependent on seasonal floods to replenish the soils for planting

Question 3

conflict

Answer 3

the project is controversial because of local negative environmental and social impacts

the environmental impact assessment was not published until two years after construction started.

the dam had devastating impacts on the indigenous population as it will prevent seasonal floods, threatening their livelihoods and survival

many tribespeople are armed to defend themselves against neighbouring tribes, and there are fears that water shortages could cause violent conflict

critics claim that irrigated plantations for cash-crops (from the Omo river) will benefit only Ethiopian state-owned companies, and there are reports of human rights violations by the Ethiopian army against locals who oppose the sugar plantations in the lower Omo Valley

Question 4

environmental concerns

Answer 4

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee called for the construction of the dam to be halted because its impact on Lake Tukana (natural World Heritage Site) which could reduce up to 10 metres, affecting up to 300,000 people as well as the wildlife.

This could increase the salinity of the water threatening the drinking water supply, the fishing industry and the lake ecosystem.