Hydropower has been the leading source of renewable electric energy across the world, and while being center of controversies relating to water resource management and the environment, building hydroelectric dams are vital for socioeconomic growth aspirations of nations. The crucial part is identifying how to strike a balance between the benefits and impacts.
Blessed with an immense amount of water resource, Ethiopia has looked into building hydro-power dams a way to provide electricity to its booming population, and as a path that leads towards development and prosperity. By building the very ambitious Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Ethiopia is also looking at the dam as a lynchpin to create an era and opportunity of cooperation in utilizing the Nile River.
No Significant Impact
As a country that is highly committed to and a champion of green economy development, the environmental aspect of the dam has been very crucial for Ethiopia. Ethiopia is highly concerned about the environmental impact of the project from the very beginning. And according to Gete Zeleke (PhD), Director General of Water and Land Resources Center, a center that is affiliated with Addis Ababa University, the environmental impact of the dam is minimal. Talking to The Ethiopan Herald, he said this is because it enters into a valley, and not a lot of people live there as it is a dry lowland area.
As it increases humidity, it nourishes the vegetation. So, except its minimal impact on the Savannah woodland vegetation, in terms of negative impact on people, agriculture, it is minimal. It does not have significant impact on the environment, he goes on to say, the area that is being constructed is geologically very stable, and does not have any earthquake threat. The rock the dam lies on is a Precambrian which is very strong. As it has all this stability, its negative impact is insignificant. “It (the dam) creates a different dynamics, which for me is positive.”
And benefit for all
The project is designed in a way that it is environmental friendly and to optimize the benefit of the Nile River. The dam is beneficial, says Dr. Gete. First of all, it regulates the water and holds the water in an area where the rate of evaporation is minimal. The flow of the water (in the months between June to September) carries a large amount of silt and sedimentation, and with the completion of the dam this will no longer be a major problem.
The country’s water reservoirs Roseires Dam and Sennar Dam have small storage volume, so the water moves past the country quickly. So, Sudan is not beneficiary from the waters (of the river). Egypt can store water and is beneficiary from the waters since building Aswan Dam, which is a large reservoir. However, when the water becomes regulated, once GERD is completed, it extensively decreases (saves) the volume of annual water loss by evaporation, which is about 13 billion cubic meters of water. Egypt also benefits from the dam as a result of the regulated water flow that makes its way into the country.
The Director-General mentions that Sudan is the most beneficiary out of all the three countries. Explaining this further, he points out that the regulated water that makes its way there can help the country generate huge amounts of electricity, and also facilitate the irrigation of new agricultural lands. Currently they cannot expand the irrigation land due to the small amount of water that makes its way there despite having the land (potential) for it.
Furthermore, when Sudan is hit by severe flooding during the heavy rainy season, hundreds of thousands of its citizens are displaced with even some deaths, and the dam upon its completion will help avoid that, Dr. Gete notes. It holds sedimentation, clean water goes there, and it will save Sudan the cost it used to pay to clean the sediment. The benefits the dam brings by regulating the water are immense.
By the way, the site of the dam was identified by the British during the colonial era, where they had a plan to store the water of the river in a highland area, where the evaporation rate is minimal. “So, basically, GERD is built by us, but the plan was already there for a long time.”
They know the benefits of the dam, in how by regulating the flow of the water it can optimize the utilization of the water, but the problem is other things; irrational fear and not wanting to see Ethiopia use its resources to bring economic development.
More than Power Generator
According to Dr. Gete, there should be a plan to use the dam for more than power generation as it can be used for tourism, recreation, and even for small scale horticultural and food production. “I think there should be a thoroughly detailed plan on how to use the dam other than generating power, and invest in it.”
The other thing that should be done is, carrying out (natural resource management) works to minimize the sediment on the upper Nile basin. By doing this, it can also extend the lifespan of the dam, as it can minimize (lower) the amount of sediment that makes its way into the dam. “By our calculations, by doing this, and of course appraising its structures, we can extend the lifespan of the dam up to 375 years without any problems, and without the electricity production declining). In this way, we can make it last for many generations to come. But if land degradation and sedimentation continues in the upper basin area, the lifespan of the dam will not go-ahead for more than 100 years.” So, by setting a priority on the upper basin area, soil and water conservation works should be carried out in a sustained manner, and not in a campaign, as basin development demands a wide-ranging infrastructural work; it demands making farmers owners and allocating huge budget towards it. And the government should also facilitate the involvement of all the relevant stakeholders and experts of the field in this endeavor, he concluded.
