Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09NAIROBI1200
2009-06-15 11:49:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Nairobi
Cable title:  

GOVERNMENT OF KENYA SUPPORTS ETHIOPIA'S GIBE III

Tags:  SENV ENRG PBTS EINV SOCI ECON KE 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO8771
RR RUEHAST RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNR #1200/01 1661149
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151149Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9848
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC
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.

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