GOVERNMENT OF KENYA SUPPORTS ETHIOPIA'S GIBE III

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001200 DEPT ALSO FOR OES, AF/E, AND AF/EPS STATE PASS USAID/EGAT LESLIE JOHNSTON POSTS FOR REO AND ESTH OFFICERS ADDIS ABABA FOR REO KIRSTEN BAUMAN INTERIOR FOR US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AND US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DR. JAYNE BELNAP COMMERCE FOR BECKY ERKUL SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV ENRG PBTS EINV SOCI ECON KE SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT OF KENYA SUPPORTS ETHIOPIA'S GIBE III HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT ON THE OMO RIVER; NGOs DO NOT This cable is not/not for Internet distribution. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: According to John Rao Nyaoro, the director of the Bureau of Water Resources in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Kenya is convinced that Ethiopia's proposed Gibe III hydroelectric run-of-the-river project on the lower Omo River will not harm Lake Turkana and may, in fact, ensure that the lake is kept at a constant level throughout the dry season while helping protect the surrounding countryside from flash floods during the rainy season. Once on line, Gibe III will generate 1870MW, which the Kenyans hope to resource. Accordingly, despite the objections of some environmental groups and the "Friends of Lake Turkana," Kenya will promote the Gibe III project when IFIs, notably the African Development Bank, consider this 1.47 billon euro project for funding, and will in future support Ethiopia's efforts to build Gibe IV just inside its border with Kenya. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Following a series of local press reports raising the alarm that a proposed Ethiopian hydroelectric project (Gibe III) on the lower Omo River would significantly reduce water flowing into Lake Turkana, Kenya's northern most Rift Valley "desert" lake, Econoff/ESTH met with John Rao Nyaoro, the director of the Bureau of Water Resources in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, on June 8 to get his insights. Nyaoro had just returned to Nairobi after leading a 14-member Kenyan fact-finding delegation to Ethiopia, June 2-6, for on-site visits to the existing and proposed hydroelectric dams along the Omo River. Besides Ministry of Water professionals, the Kenyan delegation included representatives from the foreign affairs, environment, energy, and fisheries ministries; the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC),the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KENGEN),and the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company. ¶3. (U) Along with the consultants from two Italian agencies who conducted environmental impact studies of Gibe III, the Ethiopia Environmental Management Authority (EEMA) hosted the Kenyans and showed them the existing Gibe I hydroelectric facility on a small branch that feeds into the headwaters of the Omo River. The Kenyans also surveyed the under construction Gibe II 420MW run-of-the-river project and appraised the Omo River gorge where the Ethiopians intend to build a 1870MW run-of-the-river hydroelectric project - Gibe III. The Ethiopians moreover showed the Kenyans where they intend to use the Omo's cascading waters to power a fourth hydroelectric facility, Gibe IV, near the border with Kenya. -------------- Kenyans are Convinced -------------- ¶4. (SBU) According to Nyaoro, there is "no cause for alarm" and despite the concerns of several environmental organizations and the "Friends of Lake Turkana," the Kenyans are now convinced that Gibe III will not adversely affect Lake Turkana. Rather, they believe Gibe III, once in operation come 2013, will have the salutary ability to discharge a steady flow of water into Lake Turkana by capturing heavy rainfall during the rainy season, thus preventing floods, then releasing excess water during the dry season. (Note: Over 90% of Lake Turkana's water comes from the Omo River catchment: 20 billion cubic meters of the 21.2 billion cubic meters that annually recharge it. Should this flow be markedly reduced, this shallow lake, home to the largest concentration of Nile crocodiles in Africa, would soon become a salt flat.) The Kenyans are not concerned that the Ethiopians will ever use water from the Gibe III's 150-km long impoundment area for agricultural or recreational purposes. "We believe it will be a purely hydroelectric power dam with no potential consumptive use of water. The sparse population and poor soils in the area do not justify using Gibe III for irrigation purposes. We do not believe the Ethiopians will use it for anything other than electricity generation," Nyaoko shared. "It is not in their interest to extract water from the Omo River since doing so would adversely affect their hydroelectric operations. In fact, they must release stored water. Even now Gibe I (an 183MW plant) is running at less than full capacity. Only one of its three turbines is operating; and that one at just half capacity, producing NAIROBI 00001200 002 OF 002 only 40MW, because there is only 1.5 meters of water (in the reservoir)," he revealed. ¶5. (SBU) To ensure that Gibe III and IV do not result in deleterious effects on Lake Turkana and the fishing communities in Kenya that depend on it, Kenya will do monitoring of water flows and levels - both individually and in concert with Ethiopia. The Ethiopians are also amenable to selling surplus electricity generated by the Gibe units to the Kenyans. Nyaoro empathized that the Ethiopians are working in concert with the Kenyans to address any environmental and social concerns raised by those who believe the Gibe projects will harm Lake Turkana. -------------- We would do the same -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The Kenyans are so enamored of the Omo hydroelectric projects, Nyaoro confessed, that they would carry out the same array of hydro projects if they were in control of the Omo. The Ethiopian facilities, he explained, are similar to those the Kenyans have constructed along the Tana River with no significant loss of water due to evaporation or irrigation. Gibe III and Gibe IV, the Kenyans believe, will capture the 20% of Omo's catchment lost annually to flooding and regulate water flow to both Ethiopia's and Kenya's benefit. Consequently, Kenya will promote the Gibe III project when IFIs, notably the African Development Bank, consider this 1.47 billon euro project for funding, and will in future support Ethiopia's efforts to build Gibe IV just inside its border with Kenya. -------------- USAID/EA COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (SBU) USAID East Africa senior regional environmental advisor and trans-boundary programs manager joins an array of environmental groups and organizations concerned with indigenous peoples which question the wisdom of the Gibe III and dispute whether it has been vetted in a transparent manner. USAID/EA environment advisor notes that "Ethiopia does not have a regulation defining the required minimum environmental flow in rivers to meet the riverine ecological requirements downstream of a dam site." Consequently, Lake Turkana is bound to be at risk, especially in low rainfall years. He also shares the concerns of groups committed to protecting the Turkana people and other indigenous communities living along the Omo River and Lake Turkana. In his estimation, Gibe III could pose "grave risks for indigenous communities in southwestern Ethiopia due to the major environmental changes the dam will (likely) cause." He is doubtful that the Ethiopia government will undertake any mitigation measure to protect the pastoral landscapes of these peoples. We will continue to monitor this situation and recommend that U.S. AFDB representatives, in consultation with Embassies Addis Ababa and Nairobi, seek clarity on the full effects of this project. Ranneberger