World Bank: Power project threatens indigenous peoples

The Ethiopian government is going to use power from Gibe III on the Omo River to supply electricity for 245,000 hectares of
state-run irrigated sugar plantations and other projects. The sugar plantations
are already having serious consequences for the 200,000 indigenous residents of
the Lower Omo including the loss of grazing land and
cultivation sites, and forced resettlement into villages. These residents, from
eight distinct groups, rely on the 760-kilometer-long Omo
River for growing crops and replenishing grazing lands during annual flooding.

The dam and related agricultural plans are also likely to dramatically decrease
water levels in Kenya’s Lake Turkana, which receives 90 percent of its water
from the Omo River, further increasing competition
over scarce resources for the additional 300,000 indigenous people who live
around Lake Turkana.

The United Nations and others have also raised serious environmental concerns
about the dam. In 1980 the Lower Omo Valley was named
a World Heritage site by the United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) because of its special cultural and physical
significance. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has called on Ethiopia to
suspend construction of the dam until its adverse impacts on the environment
have been properly studied and mitigated.

The World Bank requires that projects it funds follow its policies and
procedures to mitigate adverse environmental and social impacts. If a project
will result in the loss of livelihood, the bank requires effective consultation
with the affected people, adequately compensating them for their losses, and
ensuring that they can at least maintain their previous living standards under
the new circumstances. When indigenous people are involved, the bank’s policy
requires additional procedures to ensure that the consultation, compensation
and relocation process respects the cultural and physical needs of the affected
community.

The World Bank has undermined these policies and procedures by narrowly
construing its responsibilities to the construction of the power transmission
line while ignoring the impact of the sources of power that make the
transmission line feasible, Human Rights Watch said.

Human Rights Watch called on Dr. Kim and the World Bank’s board of directors
to:
· Fully examine the social and environmental impacts of the transmission system
before proceeding with this project, including the supply sources for the
electricity.
· Rigorously apply its environmental assessment, involuntary resettlement, and
indigenous peoples’ policies to the facilities supplying the transmission line.
· Press the Ethiopian government to advance an enabling environment for
development in which the rights to freedom of expression, association, and
assembly are protected.
· Enhance monitoring and supervision of all projects in Ethiopia.

The World Bank is one of the largest donors to Ethiopia, which receives about
one-third of its budget from foreign aid.

Kim took office as the World Bank’s 12^th president on July 1. As a
physician who has worked with the World Health Organization and nongovernmental
organizations to bring health care to marginalized communities, often in
developing countries, Kim is the first leader of the bank without a traditional
economics or political background.