who, in recent years, have replaced the World Bank as the main
economic driver of big dams in the Global South. China, Brazil and
India are not only growing global economic powerhouses, they are
increasingly fueling a dam-building boom outside their borders. Read
all about it in the latest issue of WRR (http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/6029
).
Below is one of the articles from this issue, by our outgoing Africa
program director, Terri Hathaway.
What is Driving Dams in Africa?
December 10, 2010
by Terri Hathaway
http://www.internationalrivers.org/node/6039
More than a billion people spread across 54 countries inhabit Africa,
the world's second largest continent. International Rivers is tracking
nearly 150 proposed large dams across those 54 countries. People from
Kenya to Ghana, from Sudan to Zambia, from Uganda to Lesotho are under
threat from dam building.
Yet the immediate threat facing African rivers � including its
biggest, such as the Congo, Nile, Niger and Zambezi � is relatively
small compared to other basins, such as the Mekong. The limited number
of dams is due to the same factors that threaten Africa's development
overall: intense concentrations of poverty, corruption, violent
conflict, and political illegitimacy. Once these investment risks are
lessened, Africa's rivers could face a far greater assault by dam
builders.
Large hydro is the core of Africa's dam building and power planning
today. Sub-Saharan Africa's power infrastructure has been described as
the "least developed, least accessible, least reliable, most costly to
operate, and, on average, highest priced of any region in the world."
A 2010 World Bank report, African Infrastructure: A Time for
Transformation, calculated that Africa's power sector requires an
annual investment of US$41 billion, far more than it currently receives.
But building large hydro dams falls far short of "lighting up Africa."
Why? Two reasons. Electrification rates in Africa lag behind every
other region in the world. Most stark is sub-Saharan Africa, where
only 8% of the rural population � and 26% total � have access to
electricity. First, most of those without electricity live too far
away to be connected to grid-based supplies. Second, for those closer
to the grid, Africa's distribution networks are disproportionately
underfunded. In 2004, grid distribution needed a total of $271
billion, nearly equal to the combined investment need of supply and
transmission. But most African power sector lending is earmarked for
supply projects like big hydro and high-voltage transmission lines,
leaving distribution networks starved for investments. Without money
for distribution, new connections don't happen.
Africa's dam proponents have a clear message: large hydropower in
Africa is a no-brainer. They say hydropower is cheap, clean, renewable
and an indigenous power source.
"This is the time for Africa to harness its huge hydroenergy
potential," said African Development Bank President, Donald Kabureka,
in 2007. "The main challenge is making the schemes socially and
environmentally acceptable." Kabureka has argued that climate change,
the quest for cleaner energy and Africa's need for constant power
supply underscore the need for hydropower.
Many would argue the opposite: with a changing climate, and so many
African nations dangerously dependent on hydropower for most of their
electricity, hydropower is one of the riskiest investments in a
warming world. (See map of African hydrodependency.) Safer, cleaner
renewable energies are making slow inroads, but for now, big hydro is
getting the lion's share of the attention.
All Talk, No Action
In March 2006, the African Ministerial Conference on Hydropower and
Sustainable Development was a potential watershed moment. Prompted by
the International Hydropower Association, the South African government
agreed to host the tightly controlled event. For months beforehand,
civil society fought for the right to participate, finally prevailing
with more than 20 invitations for some of Africa's most earnest dam
fighters. The conference would be the largest forum devoted to African
dam issues since the World Commission on Dams, and an unprecedented
opportunity to advance the dams debate in Africa. As the conference
opened, dam builders stood poised to initiate a widespread assault on
Africa's rivers; across the aisle, civil society participants stood
poised to protect rivers, rights and livelihoods.
But the years following the conference witnessed only a sputtering of
momentum from Africa's governments. The conference's action plan to
jump-start hydro projects across the continent lacked coordinated
African leadership.
This was not the first action plan to sputter out. Other dam-laden
plans, such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)
blueprint for Africa in 2001 and the Commission for Africa's report in
2005, brought initial excitement, then failure of homegrown political
will. NEPAD's medium to long-term term infrastructure plan and various
regional energy plans have also failed to materialize, resulting in
lists of "priority projects" rather than thoughtful assessment of
needs and options.
International Architects
Large dams have been imbedded into Africa's regional infrastructure
plans which are then used to legitimize continued donor lending. The
World Bank remains the most influential player in Africa's energy
development path, despite a limited (but growing) number of loans for
dams in recent years. World Bank documents including its Africa Action
Plan, Energy Sector Strategy, and Water Sector Strategy help justify
widespread construction of large dams in Africa. The Bank continues to
influence African state policies and lend money for dams as well as
for associated infrastructure.
One of the World Bank's influential roles is implementing the African
Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD), a project designed to
catalogue baseline data of Africa's existing physical infrastructure
in order to monitor results of donors' future investments. The AICD
steering committee includes the African Union, NEPAD, Africa's
regional economic communities, the African Development Bank, and major
infrastructure donors.
"Africa's energy future lies in hydropower," wrote the AICD in its
2008 flagship report Underpowered, despite noting that hydropower
already accounts for 70% of sub-Saharan Africa's power supply
(excluding South Africa).
The African Development Bank, which was poised several years ago to
take on a regional leadership role in implementing NEPAD projects, has
muddled through years of little action. The Bank's lead role in
preparing Ethiopia's Gibe 3 Dam found the Bank lacking due diligence
and good faith in following Bank policies. The Bank is also home to
the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA) which coordinates
multilateral and G8 support for regional infrastructure, including
dams. As of 2008, ICA reported 10 hydro dams in its pipeline. "This is
an encouraging trend for Africa," noted ICA.
In Europe, the EU Energy Initiative (EUEI) was created in 2002 to
enable achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. In recent
years, the EUEI devoted resources toward sub-regional plans for
improving access to energy and to the three-year African
Electrification Initiative. Unfortunately, these initiatives have
largely failed to attract African political will at levels required to
advance their implementation. The EUEI's newest initiative, the Africa-
EU Energy Partnership, intends to support the development of 10,000 MW
of hydropower.
The New Dam Builders in Africa
Today, Africa's new dams are most popularly backed by Chinese funders
and dam builders. Between 2001 and 2007, China committed more than $3
billion to African hydropower projects. Since then, China has
dramatically expanded its interest, now funding of all new African
infrastructure, dams included. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
(FOCAC) has marked the terms of China's official relationship with
Africa for the past decade. At the 2009 FOCAC Summit, China pledged a
further $10 billion in concessional lending by 2013. This Sino-African
collaboration is far from selfless for the Chinese, who benefit in two
key ways. First, it helps Chinese companies access Africa's natural
resources which support China's own industries. Second, China's
domestic market is flooded with too many engineering and construction
companies looking for work; Africa provides a vast market for this
expertise.
India Exim Bank has made a slow but noticeable entrance on the
continent, including support for the Tendaho Dam in Ethiopia, $50
million for Itezhi-Tezhi Dam in Zambia, and $60 million for Nyabarongo
Dam in Rwanda.
Major dam deals by Brazilian companies Odebrecht and Camargo Corr�a
Group have been made in Angola and Mozambique. In Ghana, Brazilian
company Andrade was awarded a contract to build a 90 MW dam on the Oti
River.
Change is Needed
The official development message that hydropower dams are critical for
powering Africa ignores key realities about climate change, and could
widen the continent's energy divide, not alleviate it. Power sector
investments that unlock Africa's natural resources for exploitation
are not the best path to create decent jobs, food security, or self-
determination. The result is the perpetuation of its infamous resource
curse, increased corruption, and a further concentration of political
and economic power to those who profit from this model.
Saving Africa's rivers for future generations will require
strengthening governance and public accountability over Africa's
natural resources. We must also reshape the dams debate in Africa to
recognize that large dams are harmful to Africa beyond their direct
social and environmental impacts. We must talk about corruption, job
creation, climate change resilience and access to energy and water.
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