China the Asia Pacific river hug assumes the full responsibility for the destruction of the Omotic People in Ethiopia by financing a dictator and drying Omo river

Kenyan tribes protest dam construction

East Africa’s Looming Famine – Gibe III
Huffington Post
But given the instance of drought in Ethiopia – plaguing the country for six … lending to conflict, famine, disease, as well as the artificial creation of …

ENVIRONMENT: Blame on Chinese Dams Rise as Mekong River Dries Up

17 Mar 2010 … As the water level in the Mekong River dips to a record 50-year low, a familiar pattern of fault-finding has risen to the surface. China …

China’s Three Gorges Dam: An Environmental Catastrophe

Three Gorges Dam is a disaster in the making, China admits – Times .

China halts £20bn dam project – Telegraph

12 Jun 2009 … China has suspended a £20bn hydropower project because of environmental concerns, in a sign of the growing power of the country’s green …

Three Gorges Dam in China

Mekong nations meet China over dam fears

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IRIN Africa | ETHIOPIA-KENYA: Dam “busters” say Gibe 3 puts …

7 Apr 2010 … “Lake Turkana receives [80-90] percent of its water from the River Omo; thus the impacts of the dam on the lake and the people who depend on …

Omo Valley Tribes – Survival International

Giant dam to devastate 200000 tribal people in Ethiopia – Survival …

Ethiopia lands Chinese loan approval for mega Gilgel Gibe III hydro-power project

A Chinese loan has been secured for Ethiopia’s biggest Hydropower project, Gilgel Gibe III, after years of pressure from foreign environmentalists blocked access to funding from international financial institutions.

activist groups have however expressed misgivings over the project and insisted that it would adversely impact the livelihood of the surrounding communities in both Ethiopia and Kenya.

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa5tTu4_D6s

Chinese government has approved a 500 million dollar loan to cover the project’s electro and hydro mechanical costs.

Gibe, which is to have a 1.8MW power generating capacity, is expected to cost Ethiopia some 1.7 billion euros. A colossal sum for the poor east African country to shoulder alone. In 2006, it requested a loan from European Investment Bank (EIB), African Development Bank (AfDB) and Italian Government in 2006.

The militants embarked on dissuasive strategies including lobbying to put pressure on international financial institutions prevent funding for the project. According to them the dam will minimize the volume of water that flows into Lake Turkana from the Omo river.

This financial challenge prompted Ethiopia to shift its focus from Western finance sources. China has agreed to provide the loan (500 million dollars) on a long term basis.

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-21Rbju3Ck

The agreement reached between Ethiopia and China will see the former offer Gibe’s electro and hydro mechanical works to China.

In line with this agreement, Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) is expected to sign a deal Wednesday evening with Dongfang Electric Machinery Corporation ltd, a Chinese state owned company.

Dongfang Electric Machinery Corporation ltd takes over Gibe’s electro and hydro mechanical work from Salini Construction an Italian Company appointed in 2006 to handle the engineering procurement contract of the project.

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HAhkGzgMBc

The Chinese loan could also see Ethiopia reject AfDB’s loan approval, according to government sources.

activist groups have however expressed misgivings over the project and insisted that it would adversely impact the livelihood of the surrounding communities in both Ethiopia and Kenya.

The militants embarked on dissuasive strategies including lobbying to put pressure on international financial institutions prevent funding for the project. According to them the dam will minimize the volume of water that flows into Lake Turkana from the Omo river.

This financial challenge prompted Ethiopia to shift its focus from Western finance sources. China has agreed to provide the loan (500 million dollars) on a long term basis.

The agreement reached between Ethiopia and China will see the former offer Gibe’s electro and hydro mechanical works to China.

In line with this agreement, Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) is expected to sign a deal Wednesday evening with Dongfang Electric Machinery Corporation ltd, a Chinese state owned company.

Dongfang Electric Machinery Corporation ltd takes over Gibe’s electro and hydro mechanical work from Salini Construction an Italian Company appointed in 2006 to handle the engineering procurement contract of the project.

The Chinese loan could also see Ethiopia reject AfDB’s loan approval, according to government sources.

China’s new dam seen as a water hog

By Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY

XIAOWAN, China — Wearing cloaks of tree bark strands, villagers from the Yi ethnic minority tend wheat terraces that cascade downhill toward the riverbank.

“China’s dams have not caused this problem,” says Jeremy Bird, CEO of the Mekong River Commission, an organization that helps manage the river’s resources for Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

But China’s refusal to provide data to the commission on the dams already is raising suspicions among analysts. This month, a Chinese delegation to the commission promised deeper cooperation but stopped short of adding to a promise to provide hydrological data for two smaller Yunnan dams.

“The Chinese must come clean on how much water they are diverting at Xiaowan and, in the future, at Nuozhadu,” another dam that will boast an even bigger reservoir, says Alan Potkin, a development specialist at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University.

Xiaowan is “an enormously large dam, bigger than anything in North America,” says Potkin, who worries that in two years’ time both Xiaowan and Nuozhadu could be filling reservoirs simultaneously. Potkin is urging the commission to ask China for the most critical data. But he knows the board can do little if China refuses. “It has very little leverage at all,” he says.

Journalists have been kept at bay at Xiaowan. A USA TODAY reporter was held up by police for three hours while trying to get to the site and then refused entry.

Local residents dispute that the drought stems from natural causes.

Here in Yunnan province, White Fish Pond hasn’t seen fish for years, says Bi Xiuxian, who heads a small hydropower station on the Weishan River. For the past half-year, the river has hardly seen any water, either. So the privately owned power plant in the village of Lishimo is idle.

“Poor management of water facilities is definitely a major reason for this drought,” complains Bi, an ethnic Yi. “We need new wells, better management of old wells, and more maintenance of water canals.”

Elders pray for rain

China’s thirst for energy will likely keep the projects moving forward without much look back, say activists.

“We need time to see the real results,” says Wang Yongchen, founder of Green Earth Volunteers, an environmental group, who has monitored China’s dam-building for several years. “China is developing so quickly and needs a lot of energy, but nature is not just for humans.”

In Shuanghe village, Nanjian County, Yunnan province, farmer Xu Piqing stands on a bridge above the now-dry water canal that usually rushes into the Weishan River.

“We should be busy now, harvesting corn and beans, but instead we have nothing to do,” says Xu, 43.

Some villagers are taking action, though.

This month, more than 100 elders will gather to pray for rain on the hilltop, lighting incense and kowtowing to the earth. It’s an annual ritual, but “this year will be the biggest ever,” Xu says.

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