06/03/2006 - Godalming, UK – A report published
today by WWF, Oxfam and WaterAid reveals that
hydropower has the potential to contribute
to reducing Africa’s energy poverty, but calls
for a greater emphasis in energy policies
on providing benefits for the poorest people
and reducing damage to ecosystems. The report,
Meeting Africa’s Energy Needs – the Costs
and Benefits of Hydropower, coincides with
the start of the African Ministerial Conference
on Hydropower and Sustainable Development
in South Africa. Ministers and officials responsible
for energy and water as well as representatives
from donor agencies, industry and civil society
are expected to discuss how hydropower could
promote sustainable development, regional
integration and poverty eradication in Africa.
The report details two case studies from
Zambia and Kenya that demonstrate how hydropower
can deliver maximum benefits with minimal
negative impact. However, it also warns that
Africa has a legacy of environmental and social
problems linked to existing hydropower plants
— large hydropower plants rarely serve the
needs of the very poorest people — and therefore
urges cautious approach.
Decision-makers at the conference should
follow the recommendations of the World Commission
on Dams (WCD) as a guide to good practice.
These recommendations aim to ensure that dams
are economically and environmentally sustainable
by ensuring that construction plans are given
public approval, comprehensive assessments
of other options are made and that the economic
benefits of any dam are shared with local
communities.
“Large hydropower plants such as the Kariba
and Cahora Bassa Dams on the Zambezi River
have brought economic benefits but have also
damaged freshwater ecosystems, which has in
turn affected fisheries, said Dr Ute Collier,
Dams and Hydropower Manager for WWF and report
author.
"In the case of the Zambezi River, the
economic losses of reduced prawn fisheries
have been estimated at US$10 to 20 million
per annum, without compensation for the affected
fishermen. In some cases, the devastating
impacts have still not been adequately addressed
decades later.”
More than half a billion people have no access
to modern energy services in Africa. This
means no refrigeration for medicines or food
as well as no effective lighting. Improving
this situation is vital if the UN Millennium
Development Goals of halving poverty rates
and improving health by 2015 are to be achieved.
“Large hydropower plants are rarely the best
option to bring electricity to the rural poor
for whom stand-alone energy options such as
biomass, solar and small hydropower can be
a better alternative," said John Magrath,
Programme Researcher at Oxfam. "While
industrial and urban needs are important,
decision-makers must give greater priority
to the needs of the poorest. It is unacceptable
that the number of Africans without access
to electricity is continuing to rise, despite
new investment in large projects.”
David Redhouse, Policy Officer for WaterAid
added: “Three hundred million of the poorest
Africans are already deprived of safe drinking
water. Unless hydropower schemes give greater
priority to poverty reduction, these people
face losing even more of their fair share
of access to water resources by not getting
the electricity that those resources could
generate.”
The report suggests that the effects of future
climate change should also be taken into account
when deciding whether to invest in hydropower
in Africa. Droughts already regularly disrupt
electricity supplies and it is likely that
in parts of the continent river flows will
see significant reductions, affecting the
viability of hydropower plants.
END NOTES:
• The World Commission on Dams was established
in 1998 as an independent, international,
multi-stakeholder process to address what
had become one of the most controversial areas
of infrastructure development. One of the
aims of the Commission was to produce an independent
assessment of the performance of dams. Furthermore,
it was charged with developing internationally
accepted standards, guidelines and criteria
for decision-making in the planning, design,
construction, monitoring operation and decommissioning
of dams. On 16 November 2000, Nelson Mandela
helped launch the report of the WCD. The 380-page
report addressed the benefits and impacts
of dams or, in Mandela’s words, “one of the
battlegrounds in the sustainable development
arena.” The WCD was disbanded after the report
was launched.
• Despite a growing number of electrification
programmes, the International Energy Agency
expects an increase in the number of Africans
lacking electricity to increase from 535 million
now to 586 million by 2030, mostly in rural
areas. While electrification rates are expected
to increase from 36% currently to 58% by 2030,
a large proportion of the population is expected
to remain without access. The number of people
relying on traditional biomass for cooking
and heating is expected to increase by almost
one-third. |