Vulnerable pastoralist communities living in and around Lake Turkana have not been consulted about the effects of a new dam in Ethiopia scheduled to be up and running later this year.

A report by International Rivers, based on research on the effects of the Gibe III hydroelectric dam on the Turkana Basin carried out by the African Resources Working Group (ARWG), “indicates more potential risk to the environment and the indigenous communities than that suggested by the environmental impact assessment done by the Ethiopian government.”

The report predicts that during the first five years of the dam that Lake Turkana’s water level will fall by up to seven metres, lake salinity will increase and the destruction of aquatic organisms will increase.

The report says that many people who depend on Lake Turkana for their livelihood will be severely affected and that the dam threatens their human rights.

“The Kenyan government must do more to protect the interests of the peoples of northwest Kenya, and the ecosystems that they depend upon,” the report says.

“The agreement with the Ethiopian government needs to be made public. We need to know if the impact on Lake Turkana was even considered before the agreement was signed. 

“The Ministries of Energy, Water, and Northern Kenya must account for their plans to preserve the environment and livelihoods of the region. The Members of Parliament representing Northern Kenya need to know what is planned, and have a chance to voice their communities’ concerns.” 

Fishermen, farmers, teachers and others living nearby say that Lake Turkana’s volume has reduced significantly over the past 30 years because of higher temperatures and changing weather patterns.

But few of the 100 people interviewed by a Kenyan researcher for International Rivers said they had been consulted or warned about what could happen when the reservoir of the Gibe III dam, one of Africa’s largest hydropower projects, is completely filled in about three years.

The $1.8 billion construction project, which is 90 per cent complete, will start limited power generation in June.

A report in the Guardian newspaper says that the downstream impact of the dam “is hotly contested.” It adds that some hydrologists have predicted that Ethiopia’s expansion of sugar and cotton plantations on the Omo river, which the Gibe 111 dam will allow, could reduce water flow to Lake Turkana by up to 70 per cent.

But both the Kenyan and Ethiopian governments have strongly backed the dam, which they maintain will promote development by providing more electricity.