guardian.co.uk,
John Vidal, environment editor, Thursday 23 February 2012
 |
| The Gibe III dam and its accompanying plantations pose a threat to the serenity of the Omo river valley, home to various local tribes. Photograph: Remi Benali/Getty Images |
Thousands
of semi-nomadic tribespeople are being forcibly moved from their traditional
lands in southern Ethiopia to make way for European and Indian sugar cane and
biofuel plantations, according to testimonies collected by Survival International researchers.
Agricultural
developments along the Omo river valley have accompanied the building of the
243-metre-high Gibe III dam, expected to be Ethiopia's largest investment
project and Africa's largest hydropower plant. But allegations of human rights
abuses have marred both the dam's construction and the creation of a
140-mile-long reservoir intended to provide water for irrigation of
industrial-scale plantations.
"Clearance
of people and bush has started in earnest in the Omo Valley and violence
against tribal people by the military, and tribal resistance, is
increasing", says a Survival researcher who has just returned to London
from the region.
"The
tribes have been told the plan is to resettle them, and that this will happen
by the end of 2012. These people are among the most self-sufficient in a
country where famine and hunger are prevalent."
New sugar
cane and biofuel plantations are already affecting about 10,000 people from the
Bodi, Mursi and Kwegu tribes. But as the government clears more land, more
people will be affected. Between 20,000 and 40,000 could be affected by one
cane project alone, claims Survival.
"The
plantations and resettlement of people [into new villages] will destroy their
livelihoods and ability to fend for themselves," said a spokesman.
"They will almost certainly end up languishing in the villages or 'camps',
relying on donor aid [and] having lost all sense of identity and self worth, as
has happened with other tribes forcibly resettled in many other
countries."
The Omo
tribes, who are among the most diverse in the world, have until now depended on
the annual, three-month long flood of the Omo river, which flows from southern
Ethiopia into Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, depositing fertile silt and
allowing them to plant sorghum, maize and other crops. But without land for
cultivation or grazing, the tribes will be destitute and foodless, say
international observers.
"The
government came to take the land for itself for the sugar cane
plantations," said one man in a testimony given to Survival. "It
never came to ask us. It came, took our land, and told us it wants to move all
the people in the Omo Valley to stay in one place like a camp. It took my land.
Now it beats us."
A second
man said: "The government says cattle and people have to move from the Omo
valley to where there are no grass and no crops. We and the cattle will die
together. We are not rich people, we are pastoralists."
"There
are many machines clearing the bush and the road. The government is coming to
clear our houses and throw our sorghum in the river. Now we live in the bush
because all the land has been cleared," said a third.
The
construction of large dams has a history of insensitive relocations of people
and environmental problems. More than 400,000 people have been resettled as a
direct result of dam construction in Africa. But the construction of Gibe III
could eventually affect more than 1.5 million people, according to watchdog
group International Rivers.
Some of the
greatest hydrological effects could be seen near Lake Turkana, into which the
river Omo flows. When the dam is complete and the reservoir is full, possibly
in 2015, the lake could shrink to one third of its present size, jeopardising
the livelihoods of up to 300,000 people.
The
Ethiopian government in London did not respond to the allegations this week,
but late last year it strongly denied accusations of human rights abuses in the
valley, saying: "The government is fully committed to rural development to
benefit the people and it is equally committed to the rights of all the
nations, nationalities and peoples in the country, including those in the Omo
river basin. The reality on the ground in the Omo Valley shows a totally
different picture to that painted by Survival International. Following
consultations, local people have confirmed agreement to the plantation
projects, and to the proposed resettlement; the projects, designed for everybody's
benefit and well-being, are progressing smoothly."
A spokesman
for International Rivers said: "The dwindling of resources caused by the
dam would increase local conflicts between ethnic groups. Firearms are already
omnipresent among the region's communities. But the dam is just one factor in a
perfect storm rapidly descending on the Lower Omo Valley. The government of
Ethiopia is exploring the area for oil and minerals and planning large-scale
agricultural and biofuel schemes, which could further fuel conflicts over
traditional land and water resources."
Related Article:
“Dam(ning) the World’s Resources” – 23 Aug 2011 (Gaia channelled by Lee Pepper Lewis) - Is it true that Brasil plans to build as many as 60 dams along the Amazon? Can they do that? Will you allow it?
 |
| Afsluitdijk, The Netherlands |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.