The Gibe III dam began producing energy to support the Ethiopian economy. But the environmental and social impacts are more severe than expected. A few of these impacts are forced transfers, water scarcity and Lake Turkana in danger of extinction. And Gibe IV is on the way.
No access. Permission not guaranteed. Mails unanswered. Areas inaccessible for safety reasons. Embassy staff is discouraged from venturing into the region. Getting information on what is happening in Ethiopia’ s Omo Valley is not easy. Ethiopian authorities are nervous, and have closed access to the area. Tensions between the central government and the people of Oromia and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’ s Region have led to a blockade on movement in the region – including for journalists. Especially journalists.
The little news that does filter out comes from NGOs and their local partners. Stories surface about military abuses on local ethnic groups, like Daasanach, Konso and Mello, as the military tries to convince them to relocate and make room for large infrastructure projects and agribusiness. Increasing internal migration has also caused inter-tribal conflicts, land takeovers and watergrabbing. The task for various human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch, Survival and Re:Common, is tough.
According to Luca Manes from Re:Common, “the Lower Oma Valley tribes are violently evicted from their ancestral homes. Meanwhile, their pastures and agricultural lands have been turned into industrial plantations of sugar cane, cotton and agro-fuels. There is talk of beatings, abuse and general intimidation – not to mention unspeakable violence from Ethiopian soldiers.
Safe behind Omo Valley’ s turmoil stands one of the largest and most controversial African hydroelectric projects ever made: the Gibe III dam. To-date, the dam is the largest in Ethiopia. The dam is the kind of infrastructure project that can change a country’ s destiny: at 240 meters high, 630 meters wide at the ridge, it has a 150 km long dock to power turbines with a 1,870 megawatt capacity.
The dam’ s “big sister,” the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a 6400 megawatt giant, is under construction along the Blue Nile (and a source of tension between the Egyptian and Sudanese governments). The Grand, along
with Gibe III, is the most important part of the Ethiopian government’ s aggressive strategy of energy investments. With growth increased to almost 10 percent, strongly supported by China, and a population of over 100 million people, Ethiopia aims to become a newly industrialized country. The government aims to transition from a strongly rural economy to an industrial and service-based economy. An ambitious goal, yes, but an attainable one.
It’ s a goal that is strongly supported by the incumbent Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. He is the successor to Meles Zenawi, who first saw hydroelectricity as the future for Ethiopia’ s development. Salini-Impregilo, the multinational Italian construction company for the two mega-dams, shared in a note that “Gibe III will significantly increase the electrical output of the East African country, with the goal of modernizing its economy and becoming a regional energy hub.