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dam-l Editorial/Namibian/Epupa (fwd)
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From owner-irn-safrica@igc.org Mon Oct 6 20:43:53 1997
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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 1997 17:06:08 +0100
From: lori@irn.org (Lori Pottinger)
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Subject: Editorial/Namibian/Epupa
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Epupa May Need Tradeoffs
By Moses Maurihungirire
>From The Namibian, October 3 1997
DAM-building for hydroelectricity and water has been very controversial in
many countries.
In India the construction of the proposed Tehri Dam has engaged
environmental activist Shri Sunderlal Bahuguna in dramatic protests, one
leading to a fast of more than 45 days. Eventually, the Prime Minister of
the country agreed to review the construction of this dam. California's
Auburn Dam is another good example on the "war" against damming, the
controversy around this dam was resolved by a federal government vote.
On several occasions dam building has been met with defiant criticism,
because they are mostly built in areas of established human settlement and
thus result in inundation of these settlements. Retention of the water by
the constructed dams results in changes to the pattern of riparian
vegetation and biotic living conditions due to changed rates of flow and
seasonal temperature cycles. Since the 1960s conservationists were prompted
to speak against destruction of habitats and decimation of species. In the
1980s environmentalists first raised the worrying issue that when forests
are cut, when meadows are paved, when rivers become sewers, species with
both economic and amenity value are destroyed.
SOCIAL ISSUES
Denmark's International Working group for Indigenous Affairs estimated that
out of the 35,000 Ovahimbas, about 23% will be directly affected by the
proposed scheme. The lifestyles of all will be significantly altered by the
pre- and post construction phases.
In several other cases, long established cultures have been destroyed by
development of well intended economical schemes that ignored or did not
meet the needs of the people. It might be argued that this anthropological
cultural loss is as devastating as losses of global biodiversity. One
African tribe was displaced from its ancestral homeland in creation of the
Kidepo National Park in Uganda; its culture soon disintegrated . The
Waliangulu people of Kenya, traditional elephant hunters, likewise suffered
cultural disintegration when the Tsavo National Park was established .
The course of the river will be altered to result in upstream overwash of
some villages and graves of the Ovahimbas. These people practice a culture
of ancestor worship and believe that their deceased forefathers are the
ones guarding them against any kind of misfortune.
They visit the graves during some ritual events where they ask for luck and
prosperity. Thus, tampering with these burial grounds can cause a serious
precedent. Right at the onset of consultations the tribal headman
responsible for the area under discussion indicated his defiance against
the proposed scheme. It is likely that diseases like malaria,
schistosomiasis will thrive in the newly created habitat of standing water.
Possibilities of eruption of venereal diseases, alcoholism and prostitution
can't be ruled out as well, after the advent of the dam builders. Even if
the government plans to compensate those who lose homes, land or livelihood
by the construction of the scheme, it will be extremely difficult to
compensate for the traditional, social and cultural losses incurred by the
affected Ovahimba people.
PERCEIVED ADVANTAGES
The project will bring essential developmental and economic spin-offs for
the Kunene region and the country as whole. It is speculated that the dam
will create up to 5000 jobs; local people will get first priority and
receive specialized training. Investors will be attracted by rural
electrification and aid in creation of jobs, thus reducing poverty. Hydro
power is one of the cheapest suppliers of electricity; it is normally free
of pollution. The benefits of this system will have ramifications in other
regional countries, which may provide a means of livelihood to people
directly or indirectly affected.
The dam can also serve the purpose of recreation which can contribute to
economic and social expansion of the region. Road infrastructure will be
improved by the construction and operation of the scheme. The currently
unpopular northwestern region of Namibia, due to a lack of accessibility,
may then be common and accessibility to Angola for investment purposes will
also be easy from the southern and central regions. Construction of the dam
is an effective means of water storage, water that could otherwise have
been lost to the ocean can now be effectively used for consumption during
years of reduced precipitation.
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
The rare endemic Black faced impala might lose habitat and consequently
become extinct in this region if the relatively pristine area becomes
intruded by roads and destruction of the riparian habitat. It is a fact
that the aquatic environment downstream from the dam will be physically
changed, thereby contributing to negative consequences to biota. At the
mouth of the Cunene river a large number of green turtles are found
attracted by the warmer water current of the river; these turtles may be
affected negatively by the cooler waters downstream if the dam is
constructed. Also found in this region is a freshwater prawn which migrates
upriver as far as the Epupa falls to spawn . The dam in this case may be a
physical obstruction and might impede the spawning cycle of the freshwater
prawn, which eventually may lead to genetic extinction if not total
extinction in the Cunene ecosystem. Species extinction is a fundamental
threat to biological diversity. The disappearance of an entire species is
an irreversible process in which both the basic form and reproductive
potential are lost. Species extinction is naturally spontaneous, but human
and relatedactivities can accelerate the process.
The ecosystem under consideration is an important stopping ground for
migratory birds, its alteration by damming can cause detrimental effect to
these international creatures.
The environmental status of Namibia is better than that of developed
countries because of less industrialization. The authorities should take
advice from developed nations. Politicians and economists might accuse
foreign environmental and conservation biologists (from industrialized
nations) for criticizing the Epupa hydro electrical scheme after their
respective countries have the water and power from a zillion dams.
However, these nations have destroyed wetlands and fragmented large areas
of high biological richness, impacting all manners of life forms. Their
rivers are polluted and cannot flush themselves of pollutants, due to
reduced flow as a consequence of dams. Once productive fisheries are just
now a memory in many places. Many freshwater species are now on the verge
of extinction. Namibia, an arid country with limited freshwater resources
need not tamper with one of its only two perennial rivers for the sake of
energy that can be derived from other possible sources. The country can
reap great benefits in the short term but there will be great environmental
degradation costs in the long run which may make us pay dearly for cheap
power.
Retention of a river 's flow behind a dam changes its dynamics: its muddy
floods, its speed at the onset of rains. Floods bring water and deposit
sediments. The dam will reduce the amount of nutrient-rich sediments
deposited and channel the timing and size of the flood, both of which could
lead to a change in floodplain habitats. In a dryland region like Namibia,
the effects of flow regulation are ecologically catastrophic at every
level, simply because the biota of dryland rivers is adapted to unregulated
regimen. Relatively low turbulence through the dam may ultimately lead to
reduced dissolved oxygen concentration in the water. Higher eutrophication
levels are normally easily attained due to a lack of constant replacement
of water bodies in the dam. Seasonal temperature anomalies are frequent.
All these conditions affect aquatic biota negatively and can lead to
extinction of certain vulnerable species from this ecosystem.
ALTERNATIVE ELECTRICITY
Plans for hydroelectric dams must present an analysis of the relative
benefit and costs of alternative means of electricity generation and energy
conservation.
The just announced developments between NamPower and Eskom and Shell
Exploration and Production BV to construct a 750 megawatt gas power plant
in the southwestern region of Namibia is a suitable alternative for the
current controversial Epupa scheme. It is projected that natural gas power
generation would be three times cheaper than electricity from Epupa,
however there will also be some risks involved with natural gas, as is the
case with oil extraction. About 240 megawatts in total can also be
generated by the 75% operationally disabled (by war in Angola) Ruacana Dam.
APPROPRIATE MANAGEMENT
The government is responsible for facilitating and regulating guidelines
that will be in the interest of current generations of all living biota in
the region under development. Government should be inclined to take
directives that avoid irreversibilities in the Cunene River ecosystem, and
in the condition of local, regional and global environments.
Economic development is a preferable national state, but will be useless
when it tampers with social and ethical values of people. It is a fact that
the Namibian people at large will gain tremendously if the Epupa scheme
fully materializes; however the social and ethical loss that is going to be
incurred by the affected Ovahimba people and other aspects are not easily
measured on an economic scale, and can have irreversible consequences with
grave negative economic ramifications.
It is projected that the Epupa-hydroelectric operation when in full
operation will be responsible for meeting the energy demands in Namibia.
However, associated with this need for electricity are social, cultural and
environmental trade-offs with substantial consequences. The ideal is to
improve the local people living conditions while safeguarding their
cultural, social, and environmental conditions. Unemployment and lack of
food are strong agitators to exploitation of whatever resources available,
regardless of their denoted level of protection. A pristine landscape will
only be protected from exploitation when local economies are sound and
people's basic needs are satisfied.
In the past, costs and benefits were the only criteria used in determining
trade-offs between different exploitable resources. Recently, however,
societal values have shifted the focus of resource management from economic
to ecological objectives. Major environmental and conservation experts call
for inclusion of biological, ecological and social factors in evaluation of
proposed dam projects, as opposed to the traditional engineering and
economic viability only of schemes. It will be in the interests of Namibia
if the leadership is inclined to meld its political approach in matters
concerning natural resource exploitation with a preservationist inclination
in order to approach the controversies of preservation versus development
through careful observation and quantification rather than through
emotional appeals.
As in all international development programs, a pre-feasibility study was
executed by technical experts who furnished their findings and
recommendations to the government. Normally decision making is a political
process involving the weighting of the various national or regional
criteria that are served by resource policies. When certain levels of
decisions are left to the technical specialist, politicians may disagree
with the decisions being made or information presented to them. At times,
dissatisfaction with technical results will lead to political interference
with the methods of technical analysis. A possibility may exists were
technical experts often become self -serving by catering to special
interest groups and presenting heavily biased economic, environmental and
social analyses to the decision makers. Unless technical experts use the
most appropriate scientific methods and politicians are willing to make
decisions on the basis of unbiased, publicly available data, the
application of cost-benefit analyses, social impact analyses, and
environmental impact statements will be a sham.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is important to identify and deter disaccord during the planning stages
of the scheme through active inclusion of the various user groups,
especially the local Ovahimba community. They know the area , and they will
be affected by the outcome of the scheme; communication with such people is
not only pragmatic, but ethically proper.The consideration of local
residents who have been living in this region for centuries should be a
priority, and not just be ignored in the name of economic development for
the region and the country at large. They should be encouraged to use the
prevailing natural resources sustainably, and the continuation of their
normal mode of life should be encouraged as well. If lifestyle
modifications are necessary to meet the economic goals of the proposed
scheme, these need to be introduced cooperatively rather than in a
confrontational manner.
Factually, voluntary adoption is much more likely to succeed than will
enforced changes. Implementation of such modifications will require
educational and economic programs, and any other assistance necessary to
smooth the transition with minimal interruption of traditional lifestyles.
Confrontation is often inescapable, but should be approached with an
understanding and appreciation of local culture, with every attempt made to
accommodate the concerns and fears ofthe local community.
The affected people must have meaningful political means for vetoing the
project. Building a dam is on a par with constructing a nuclear power
plant: you get immediate benefits, but also long term environmental
degradations. In addition to the startling social costs a dam can leave a
permanent legacy of environmental destruction that will take generations to
correct.
These costs are inadequately depicted into the cost of building a dam.
Development is crucial today and if a dam is to be build; site C (40 km
downstream) will be the best compromise option to take. A scheme built
there will affect fewer people and less severe environmental destruction
will take place, although the energy output will be less than at site B
(most severe impact of 3 sites). It is unfair either for the affected
people to ban any kind of dam building in the Cunene or for the government
to built at the most harmful site. Trade-offs should be made for the sake
of economic development, environmental protection and social values
safeguarding.
-end-
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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