World Bank criticised for approving Kenya – Ethiopia line

23 July 2012 - The World Bank's approval of a US$684 million loan for a new electricity transmission link between Kenya and Ethiopia which would source power from projects such as Ethiopia’s Gibe III dam project has drawn strong protest from various international NGOs.

Human Rights Watch, Friends of Lake Turkana, International Rivers, Survival International, and the Bank Information Centre say that the World Bank has undermined the rights of indigenous peoples and the environment with its approval of the loan. The World Bank's board of directors approved the loan without applying the bank's social and environmental standards to the Gibe III dam under construction in southern Ethiopia which according to these organisations has been linked to serious human rights abuses and environmental concerns.

They say that Gibe III could devastate ecosystems that support 500,000 indigenous peoples in the Lower Omo Valley in Ethiopia and around Kenya's Lake Turkana. In 2011, the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee called on the Ethiopian government to immediately halt all construction on the dam, which will impact several sites of universal cultural and ecological value.

"The World Bank is lowering its standards and assuming serious reputational risk by taking on this project," Joshua Klemm, Africa manager of the Bank Information Center, says. "Financing the transmission line sends a signal to Ethiopia that it can ignore massive impacts of damming its rivers, and still get rewarded."

The transmission project marks the first phase of a regional East Africa power integration program which is likely to cost US$1.3 billion at completion, eventually benefiting 212 million people living in five countries with a combined GDP of US$107 billion, the World Bank says. In addition to the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the French Agence Française de Développement (AFD) are also funding the project.

"Currently, only one in three Africans has access to electricity in their communities so boosting power sharing between countries is an essential step toward addressing Africa's needs," Makhtar Diop, World Bank vice president for the Africa region points out.

Ethiopia embraces geothermal power - UPI.com

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, July 5 (UPI) -- The Ethiopian Geological Survey wants to increase the country's geothermal power generation.

EGS director Masresha Gebreselassie said Ethiopia is interested in generating 450 megawatts of electricity from geothermal power in Abaya, Alto, Fentale, Kerbito, Tendaho and Tulu Moye by 2019.

In early May Ethiopia received a $50 million grant from the Climate Investment Fund after Ethiopia's investment plan, submitted to the CIF's Scaling Up Renewable Energy Program for Low Income Countries, was approved by CIF committee members, the Ethiopian News Agency reported Wednesday.

The African Development Bank, as the implementing agency of the Climate Investment Fund, represented African interests at the meetings held in Washington.

Ethiopia's investment plan calls for the African Development Bank to offer investment and technical support to execute Phase II of the country's Aluto Langano geothermal and Assela Wind Farm projects. Under the terms of the CIF's Scaling Up Renewable Energy Program for Low Income Countries, the ADB is expected to inject $23 million in investment for the Aluto Langano and Assela projects.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2012/07/05/Ethiopia-embraces-geothermal-power/UPI-43771341503360/#ixzz1zmQLnY63

Brazil tribes occupy hydroelectric dam project - YouTube

Brazil tribes occupy hydroelectric dam project - YouTube: ""

'via Blog this'

Norway pledges $141m for clean energy in Ethiopia, Kenya and Liberia | Omoh Gabriel's Business Blog

Norway is to provide 850 million Norwegian crowns to fund clean energy projects in Ethiopia, Kenya and Liberia, finance that could unlock private sector investment in new types of carbon markets, the country’s government said on Monday. The African countries will get the cash as part of the Norway-led Energy+ Partnership, which aims to give the world’s poorest countries access to energy and encourage a new market-based system to limit emissions from global energy generation. Efforts to promote new means of financing cleaner energy in developing countries come at a time when investment in current U.N. mechanisms is shrinking fast.
“Part of the motivation for this funding is to develop pilot projects that could be eligible for future new market mechanisms and attract sufficient investment from the carbon market by 2015,” said Hans Olav Ibrekk, a policy director with Norway’s foreign ministry. Through the terms of the deal, which was signed last week at the Rio+20 climate talks, Ethiopia will get NOK 500 million to invest in low carbon energy, forests and agriculture.
Kenya has been pledged NOK 250 million to cut emissions from paraffin-based lamps and cookstoves, while Liberia could receive NOK 100 million to fund a 64-MW hydropower project to supply its capital Monrovia with low-carbon electricity. The Norwegian government said the finance to the three countries would only be made available as results are achieved, and is part of a wider NOK 1.8-billion a year contribution. The sectors targeted by the Norwegian investment could in theory be eligible to earn carbon credits through financing mechanisms that have yet to be elaborated or agreed at U.N. climate talks.

Stop Ethiopian destructive "Death Dam" (one) - YouTube

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (one) - YouTube: ""

'via Blog this'

Millennium Dam: Necessary for Integrating Interests of Nile Basin StatesSudan Vision Daily - Details

Sudanese Engineering Association in Khartoum held last week a symposium titled: Ethiopian Millennium Dam and Future of Development in Sudan, attended by many experts, consultants in the field of Nile waters and irrigation, namely the Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources and Sadiq Al-Mahdi.
The symposium dealt with analysis and debating the Millennium Dam, being constructed 12klm away east of Sudanese borders with Ethiopia, benefits and economic and environmental effects of the Dam on the states of Nile Basin.
Sudan is aware of the benefits and effects of the Dam
Professor Saifuddine Hamad Abdallah, the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources, said his ministry conducted various studies in all fields and the Nile Basin states for 25 years to come and that it has a complete vision for what is going on now in respect of the Millennium Dam and strategy for dealing with the new situation and proposed dams in these countries. The Minister said Sudan would make maximum use of this dam, which would reduce clay, whose removal costs millions of dollars, adding that the dam will provide waters at fixed levels that will help in irrigated agriculture, especially in the wake of shortages of rain across the regions of the country.
The minister said that shortage of electricity power will be compensated from new proposed dams or purchase from Ethiopia which sells power for 50 US cents per kilowatt, which far less than production cost for a kilowatt in Sudan. He stated that the dam will have many benefits for Egypt for it will reduce amount of alluvium in the basin of the High Dam and evaporation, adding that the Ethiopians side always welcomes proposals by Sudan and Egypt in the interest of all parties.

Necessity for Nile Basin States to participate in constructing the Dam


Professor Mohamed Akod Osman, the Dean of Faculty of Engineering, University of Khartoum, stated that the Millennium Dam would have positive impact on Sudan if agreement on how to operate it was reached to achieve development and self-sufficiency because it would supply water at stable rate throughout the year.  In his paper, the Professor said the dam would reduce alluvium for Sudan by 100 million meter cubic. He underscored the importance of taking into account international legal legislations to tap on the Nile Basin waters, adding that the Millennium Dam will change the level of Nile waters for the Basin States.
Akod demanded Sudan and Egypt contribute to the cost of construction estimated at $50billion in US dollars to ensure common interests, adding that the Dam will provide huge amount of electricity that can be utilized in development for the Nile Basin states. 
Dr. Osman Al-Tom Hamad, advisor to the Ministry of Water Resources, explained that the construction of the Millennium Dam was especially aimed at power generation not agricultural production due to the nature of Ethiopian mountainous lands. He added that the Dam is located 12kllm from Sudan and would be finalized in 2017 and that construction has now reached 10 per cent. He said the Dam would affect electricity production in Sudan during summer, but would improve during winter because waters would be available during this period. However, Ethiopia offered to Sudan purchasing power at 50 cent per a kilowatt, far cheaper than that produced in Sudan. He said that some sandy island would disappear and annual accumulation of alluvium would reduce, which would increase cost of electricity production due to scarcity of this alluvium.  He called for the necessity for Sudan to make use of the available waters in agricultural and working for agricultural integration in the Nile Basin States.

The Nile will suffice all Nile Basin States


Dr. Ahmed Adam Osman, advisor to the Ministry of Water Resources, affirmed that the Nile Basin states can benefit from waters if agreement satisfactory to all parties is reached, adding that Ethiopia has the feeling that it is not benefiting from these waters, adding that Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia are suffering poverty, climate change and accumulating alluvium along the Nile stream, and that this Dam will block waters above and therefore will reduce alluvium and help in precipitation, which in turn will reduce amount of evaporation. He called for joint work so that Ethiopia may not control the Nile Waters.

Environmental effect


Dr. Merghani Taj Assied added that any heedlessness in political relations will affect the flow of Nile waters in the member states in the coming period and that the constructing of the Dam would affect food security in Egypt and Sudan, fish resources and the Nile level will go below average levels, which require longer pipes and additional cost for farming along the Nile for farmers. However, said the construction of the Dam will reduce soil erosion on the banks.

Integration of Nile Basin states


Sadiq Al-Mahdi said that lack of agreement among the Nile Basin member states will lead to grave political crisis, adding that holding out by any party would encourage others to take more fundamental positions and create cold war among them. he called for the necessity to review the agreement on the Nile waters in such a way to make other members states feel fair distribution of cottas, adding that any military solution is useless in this issues, but the solutions rests with the recognition of the need of the Basin state and accepting their opinions on the agreement signed during the colonization and taking into account the desire of the Basin states for benefiting from the Nile waters. Al-Mahdi called for a collective conference for all Sudanese so that they have their say and determines their fate regarding the Nile waters; in addition to integrating the interests of the Nile Basin member States because Sudan is blessed with arable lands while Ethiopia has potentials for electricity production and Egypt manufacturing expertise.

By Ibrahim Al-Jack, 20 hours 4 minutes ago 

Dams & State Sugar Project Harming Ethiopian Tribes, Rights Group Says - Businessweek

Human Rights Watch said tens of thousands of semi-nomadic people in southern Ethiopia may be forced off their land to make way for state-owned sugar cane plantations. The government denied any displacement would occur.

Last year, Ethiopia’s state-run Sugar Corp. began building six processing factories and clearing as much as 175,000 hectares (432,000 acres) in the Lower Omo Valley area to produce the sweetener. The government denied the Kuraz Sugar Development Project would displace anyone and instead will bring infrastructure, services and jobs.

“There is a real risk that the livelihoods of 500,000 people may be endangered, tens of thousands will be forcibly displaced, and that the region will witness increased inter- ethnic conflict as communities compete for scarce resources,” the New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

Ethiopia, sub-Saharan Africa’s second most populous nation, is in the middle of a five-year plan to boost agriculture and industry and create sustainable growth. The Horn of Africa nation’s economy grew 7.5 percent last year and expansion averaged 10.5 percent annually in the five years to July 2010, the International Monetary Fund said.

Plantations covering 245,000 hectares will deprive the eight ethnic groups access to the Omo river, HRW said, citing a 2010 study by European Investment Bank consultants. Large-scale irrigation in the valley is possible because the Omo River’s volume can be managed by controlling the flow from the Gibe III hydropower dam that is being built.

No Relocations

“There is no one to be relocated at all, let alone forced relocation, due to the sugar development project,” Sugar Corp. spokesman Yilma Tibebu said on June 15 in an e-mailed response to questions.

The state is spending 23.8 million birr ($1.3 million) “to make the people benefit from a settled way of life” alongside the sugar farms, he said. Around 2,250 resettled households will be given 1,700 hectares of irrigable land, public services and a grain mill, Yilma said.

The government estimates the Kuraz project will create as many as 118,000 jobs for locals he said.

“With no education and no contact, they lived being victims of natural disasters and harmful cultural practices which gives them nothing except remaining to be an amusement for foreign tourists,” Yilma said of the valley’s inhabitants.

Ethiopia is breaking its international and domestic human rights obligations by starting the project without adequate consultation or impact assessments, according to the report.

Consent from “tribal chiefs and the people” was obtained beforehand and the state-owned Water Works Design & Supervision Enterprise conducted a study on the orject’s effect that will be made public, Yilma said.

To contact the reporter on this story: William Davison in Addis Ababa at wdavison3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bryson Hull at bhull5@bloomberg.net