'WHAT AM I GOING TO EAT?'

Previously, I explored the wider impacts of building the Gibe III dam on the hydrology and ecology of lake Turkana. One of the reasons why the dam was built was not to not only generate hydropower, but to be used for irrigating large-scale plantations, which I will investigate here and its impact on the indigenous people in Kenya.

 KURAZ SUGAR PLANTATION

The function of the Gibe III dam is intricately linked to the commercially irrigated agricultural plantations that are being extended in the lower Omo basin. The Gibe III will control floods and increase dry season flows, establishing more consistent flows that are a source for irrigation (Fong 2014). The development of the Kuraz Sugar plantations -projected to cover 161,285hectares (ibid) -illustrates the Ethiopian Government’s Growth and Transformation Plan, prioritising the cultivation and processing of sugarcane. The development of the plantations, as well as proposed cotton schemes, are expected to further reduce the levels of lake Turkana due to increased abstraction for irrigation (Hodbod et al. 2019). The Kuraz sugar plantations may require 50% of the Omo river, varying according to the efficiency of irrigation, which inextricably impacts lake Turkana because of reduced flows (Avery 2012).

Research studying the changing aspects of pesticide concentrations and physicochemical parameters discovered that for many of the physiochemical parameters -pH, potassium and iron, over 50% of the values were found above the determined threshold under Ethiopian standards for drinking water (Teklu et al. 2018). A risk assessment was also carried out that found that a chemical in pesticides posed a high acute risk to aquatic organisms (ibid). As you can see here, not only is the construction of the dam itself harmful to the ecosystem of the lake, but also the use of the dam for irrigation of large-scale plantations. As aforementioned, the reduction in ecology effects the vulnerable indigenous agro-pastoralists in Kenya that are heavily dependent on the Omo-Turkana basin.

PEOPLE OF THE OMO VALLEY

Source: YonatanLora (2019, October 23) 'Imprisoned Waters - The Gibe III dam, plantations, and the people of the Omo Valley, Ethiopia'

Watching this short documentary put into perspective that effects that occurred due to the cultivation of the Omo valley. The lowlands of the Omo valley is home to approximately 100,000 people whose livelihoods depend on pastoralism, fishing and food-retreat and rainfed farming (Turton 1988) and are now greatly affected by the infrastructural developments of the dam, plantations, and associated infrastructures.

Indigenous agro-pastoralists rely on Turkana’s waters to provide fish for food as the regular droughts in this desert region make it difficult to sustain productive land for livestock.  However, as I mentioned in the last blog, dam construction reduced fisheries populations. Fish rely on flood pulses to breed and transport key nutrients, but the hydro-ecological impacts of the Gibe III mean that nutrients concentrations declined and there are less pulses due to more consistent flows, limiting the population of fisheries that the locals are so reliant on (Spruill 2019). Collective consequences of low flows and irrigation for the plantations will cause a dramatic decline in the land available for fishing, livestock and farming for all the different subsistence, indigenous groups. In fact, Felix Horne, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated “the predicted drop in the lake levels will seriously affect food supplies in the [Omo-Turkana basin], which provide the livelihoods for half a million people in both Kenya and Ethiopia.”

RESETTLEMENT?

Source: Tribes of the Omo Valley [Ivy Gordon]

Having unheeded to research into the ramifications of development-forced dislocation and resettlement of these indigenous tribes, the Ethiopian government went ahead with ‘resettlement’ plans, jeopardising possible environmental and social disasters (Turton 2018). The already scarce resources of this desert are becoming more and more scare, with repercussions of the dam’s construction drastically impacting the food supply for more than 100,000 people (and that is just the indigenous people). This will likely result in conflicts in the area which can already been seen with the agricultural regions shrinking from the plantations meaning the tribes are having to work with less land (Carr 2012).

A 73-page report details how the Ethiopian government’s security forces are displacing communities from their traditional lands using brutality and coercion techniques sin compensation. The YouTube documentary even details the bloodshed of bullets, the violence against children and especially females by the security forces.

The establishment of sugar plantations, accompanying infrastructure and the construction of the dam created disastrous ramifications for the indigenous tribes in the Omo-Turkana basin. Not only are they being violently displaced from their traditional lands, but the hydro-ecological effects of the dam’s construction and irrigation abstractions are causing extreme consequences for fisheries populations, access to clean drinking water, and water for their own small-scale irrigation for livestock and pastoralism. The impacts of mismanagement within transboundary basins are clear. While local populations benefit from the hydropower, indigenous populations’ livelihood is being challenged, threatening their ability to eat. An Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) scheme would fare better, including all stakeholders in discussions with full autonomy over themselves. IWRM is a ‘way of looking at problems with a view to solving them through transparent and inclusive decision-making processes’ (Van Der Zaag 2005:867). A fellow blogger wrote an interesting piece that delves into IWRM that I think you should read.