GreenWatch

B. McPherson Ethiopia has a rich resource in the Omo River and Lake Turkana. Fertile lands fed by annual floods provide a renewal of the agricultural land each rainy season. The Omo River falls from the highlands to Lake Turkana providing opportunities for hydro-electric production. The only obstacle to rapid development of hydro-electricity and massive plantations is that the land is occupied and has been occupied for thousands of years. The people there who have lived peacefully and self sufficiently are being forcibly removed from their traditional areas and herded into small reservations. They will lose their cattle and lose their agricultural lands. The government of Ethiopia has partly finished the Gibe III Dam which, when finished will be the largest in Africa. The impoundment of water will end the seasonal renewal of the land. On the other hand, electricity generated by the dam will be able to power electric lights in Adis Ababa with enough power left over to ...

By B. McPherson Survival International is highlighting the plight of the native people of the Omo Valley in Ethiopia. The Omo River is in the process of being dammed. The dam, Gibe III, of questionable legality, is being built in conjunction with an Italian firm. When it is complete, it will hold back the lifeline to as many as 100 000 people and prevent the annual flood which renews the cropland. When this mega project is completed, there will be a series of five dams along the Omo River, changing it forever. The series of dams will generate large amounts of electricity, with enough surplus to export energy to neighbouring Kenya, Sudan and Somalia. The expected sale of the electricity when the dam is operational is expected to bring in over $4 million in foreign money each year to the Ethiopian economy. In addition to the people who will be displaced by the flooding of the land behind the dam, a further 200 000 are expected to have their already harsh lives made more difficult by the...