River Basin Development and Human Rights in Eastern Africa {u2014} A Policy Crossroads

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license.This book offers a devastating look at deeply flawed development processes driven by international finance, African governments and the global consulting industry. It examines major river basin development underway in the semi-arid borderlands of Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan and its disastrous human rights consequences for a half-million indigenous people. The volume traces the historical origins of Gibe III megadam construction along the Omo River in Ethiopia—in turn, enabling irrigation for commercial-scale agricultural development and causing radical reduction of downstream Omo and (Kenya's) Lake Turkana waters. Presenting case studies of indigenous Dasanech and northernmost Turkana livelihood systems and Gibe III linked impacts on them, the author predicts agropastoral and fishing economic collapse, region-wide hunger with exposure to disease epidemics, irreversible natural resource destruction and cross-border interethnic armed conflict spilling into South Sudan. The book identifies fundamental failings of government and development bank impact assessments, including their distortion or omission of mandated transboundary assessment, cumulative effects of the Gibe III dam and its linked Ethiopia-Kenya energy transmission 'highway' project, key hydrologic and human ecological characteristics, major earthquake threat in the dam region and widespread expropriation and political repression. Violations of internationally recognized human rights, especially by the Ethiopian government but also the Kenyan government, are extensive and on the increase—with collaboration by the development banks, in breach of their own internal operational procedures. A policy crossroads has now emerged. The author presents the alternative to the present looming catastrophe—consideration of development suspension in order to undertake genuinely independent transboundary assessment and a plan for continued development action within a human rights framework—forging a sustainable future for the indigenous peoples now directly threatened and for their respective eastern Africa states. __Claudia Carr’s book is a treasure of detailed information gathered over many years concerning river basin development of the Omo River in Ethiopia and its impact on the peoples of the lower Omo Basin and the Lake Turkana region in Kenya. It contains numerous maps, charts, and photographs not previously available to the public. The book is highly critical of the environmental and human rights implications of the Omo River hydropower projects on both the local ethnic communities in Ethiopia and on the downstream Turkana in Kenya.__ David Shinn Former Ambassador to Ethiopia and to Burkina Faso Adjust Professor of International Affairs, The George Washington University, Washington D.C. Preface 6 Acknowledgments 8 Contents 11 Acronyms 13 List of Figures 15 List of Tables 17 1 At Stake with River Basin Development in Eastern Africa 18 Abstract 18 River Basin Development in Africa: Development Versus Disaster 18 The Transboundary Character of Emerging Crisis in Eastern Africa 21 The Gibe III Dam and Linked Agricultural and Power Export Developments 28 Literature Cited 38 2 The Persistent Paradigm for ‘Modernizing’ River Basins: Institutions and Policies in Ethiopia 39 Abstract 39 Early River Basin Development in Ethiopia 39 The Resurgence of Western Dominance in River Basin Development 46 ‘Fast Track’ to the Gibe III Megadam 48 A Nexus of Public Policy Institutions for River Basin Development: Collaboration with Complicity 52 Literature Cited 56 3 The Seismic Threat to the Gibe III Dam: A Disaster in Waiting 58 Abstract 58 High Seismicity in the Gibe III Dam Region 58 Reservoir Seepage and Landslide Danger at the Gibe III Dam 62 Failed Government and Development Bank Seismic Review 65 Literature Cited 66 4 Transboundary Survival Systems: A Profile of Vulnerability 68 Abstract 68 Indigenous Livelihoods and Survival Strategy Systems 68 Pastoral Dispossession and Rising Dependence on the Omo River and Lake Turkana 77 Environments in the Transboundary Region: From Pristine to Degraded 83 The Lowermost Omo River Basin and Environs 84 Lake Turkana and Environs 85 Cross-Border Conflict and Diminishing Resources: The Ilemi Triangle Ingredient 87 Literature Cited 88 5 Components of Catastrophe: Social and Environmental Consequences of Omo River Basin Development 90 Abstract 90 Radical Reduction of River and Lake Waters by Omo Basin Development 90 Consequences for the Lowermost Omo River Basin 95 Consequences for the Lake Turkana Region 96 Consequences for the Ilemi Triangle and the Broader Region 97 Literature Cited 99 6 The Rush to Rationalize: Public Policies and Impact Assessments 100 Abstract 100 Launching the Gibe III Dam—And a System of Bias 100 The Myth of Flood ‘Disasters’ as Rationale for Megadam Development 102 Invalidity of the Ethiopian Government’s Downstream Impact Assessment 108 The False Promise of an Artificial Flood ‘Solution’ 114 Multilateral Development Banks and the ‘Complicity Treadmill’ 116 Literature Cited 125 7 The Dasanech of the Lowermost Omo Basin: From Adaptation to Development Debacle 126 Abstract 126 Dasanech Pastoral Decline: Roots and Responses 126 Adapting from Upland Pastoral Life to Diversified Economy at the River 132 Last Resort Survival: Desperate Dependence on Omo River Annual Flood 140 Ethiopian Expropriation and Political Repression of Riverine Communities 150 Literature Cited 159 8 Nyangatom Livelihood and the Omo Riverine Forest 160 Abstract 160 Nyangatom Omo Settlements and Dependence on Riverine Resources 160 Fate of the Forest: Nyangatom Survival and Ethiopia’s Heritage 166 Literature Cited 171 9 Turkana Survival Systems at Lake Turkana: Vulnerability to Collapse 172 Abstract 172 Northern Turkana Pastoralists: The Long Decline and Migration to the Lake 172 Adaptation from Pastoral to Fishing Livelihood 177 Fishing Shoreline Communities: Household Practices and Resources 186 Fish Species and Critical Habitats 194 Counting the Discounted: Northern Turkana Population at the Lake 195 Literature Cited 204 10 Human Rights Violations and the Policy Crossroads 205 Abstract 205 The Crisis Unfolding and the Human Right to Context 205 The Ethiopian Government’s Violations of Human Rights in the Transboundary Region 210 Emerging Human Rights Violations in Kenya’s Lake Turkana Region 213 International Development Bank Collaboration with Human Rights Violations 215 The Stark Policy Choice: Catastrophic Level Destruction or Sustainable Development Within a Human Rights Framework 225 Literature Cited 228 Appendix A: Activation of Oil Explorationand Development in the Ethiopia–Kenya–SouthSudan Transboundary Region1 231 Appendix B: Species Collected in the Lower OmoRiver Basin and Transborder Region 236 Appendix C: Reference set of Selected Major Figures 243 This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license. This book offers a devastating look at deeply flawed development processes driven by international finance, African governments and the global consulting industry. It examines major river basin development underway in the semi-arid borderlands of Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan and its disastrous human rights consequences for a half-million indigenous people. The volume traces the historical origins of Gibe III megadam construction along the Omo River in Ethiopia{u2014}in turn, enabling irrigation for commercial-scale agricultural development and causing radical reduction of downstream Omo and (Kenya's) Lake Turkana waters. Presenting case studies of indigenous Dasanech and northernmost Turkana livelihood systems and Gibe III linked impacts on them, the author predicts agropastoral and fishing economic collapse, region-wide hunger with exposure to disease epidemics, irreversible natural resource destruction and cross-border interethnic armed conflict spilling into South Sudan. The book identifies fundamental failings of government and development bank impact assessments, including their distortion or omission of mandated transboundary assessment, cumulative effects of the Gibe III dam and its linked Ethiopia-Kenya energy transmission 'highway' project, key hydrologic and human ecological characteristics, major earthquake threat in the dam region and widespread expropriation and political repression. Violations of internationally recognized human rights, especially by the Ethiopian government but also the Kenyan government, are extensive and on the increase{u2014}with collaboration by the development banks, in breach of their own internal operational procedures. A policy crossroads has now emerged. The author presents the alternative to the present looming catastrophe{u2014}consideration of development suspension in order to undertake genuinely independent transboundary assessment and a plan for continued development action within a human rights framework{u2014}forging a sustainable future for the indigenous peoples now directly threatened and for their respective eastern Africa states. Claudia Carr{u2019}s book is a treasure of detailed information gathered over many years concerning river basin development of the Omo River in Ethiopia and its impact on the peoples of the lower Omo Basin and the Lake Turkana region in Kenya. It contains numerous maps, charts, and photographs not previously available to the public. The book is highly critical of the environmental and human rights implications of the Omo River hydropower projects on both the local ethnic communities in Ethiopia and on the downstream Turkana in Kenya. David Shinn Former Ambassador to Ethiopia and to Burkina Faso Adjust Professor of International Affairs, The George Washington University, Washington D.C Annotation This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license. This book offers a devastating look at deeply flawed development processes driven by international finance, African governments and the global consulting industry. It examines major river basin development underway in the semi-arid borderlands of Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan and its disastrous human rights consequences for a half-million indigenous people. The volume traces the historical origins of Gibe III megadam construction along the Omo River in Ethiopia in turn, enabling irrigation for commercial-scale agricultural development and causing radical reduction of downstream Omo and (Kenya's) Lake Turkana waters. Presenting case studies of indigenous Dasanech and northernmost Turkana livelihood systems and Gibe III linked impacts on them, the author predicts agropastoral and fishing economic collapse, region-wide hunger with exposure to disease epidemics, irreversible natural resource destruction and cross-border interethnic armed conflict spilling into South Sudan. The book identifies fundamental failings of government and development bank impact assessments, including their distortion or omission of mandated transboundary assessment, cumulative effects of the Gibe III dam and its linked Ethiopia-Kenya energy transmission 'highway' project, key hydrologic and human ecological characteristics, major earthquake threat in the dam region and widespread expropriation and political repression. Violations of internationally recognized human rights, especially by the Ethiopian government but also the Kenyan government, are extensive and on the increase with collaboration by the development banks, in breach of their own internal operational procedures. A policy crossroads has now emerged. The author presents the alternative to the present looming catastrophe consideration of development suspension in order to undertake genuinely independent transboundary assessment and a plan for continued development action within a human rights framework forging a sustainable future for the indigenous peoples now directly threatened and for their respective eastern Africa states. Claudia Carr s book is a treasure of detailed information gathered over many years concerning river basin development of the Omo River in Ethiopia and its impact on the peoples of the lower Omo Basin and the Lake Turkana region in Kenya. It contains numerous maps, charts, and photographs not previously available to the public. The book is highly critical of the environmental and human rights implications of the Omo River hydropower projects on both the local ethnic communities in Ethiopia and on the downstream Turkana in Kenya. David Shinn Former Ambassador to Ethiopia and to Burkina Faso Adjust Professor of International Affairs, The George Washington University, Washington D.C." For decades, corruption in Ethiopia has only been discussed at the margins. Perhaps because many have not experienced corruption as a significant constraint to their lives and businesses, or perhaps because a culture of circumspection has dampened open dialogue, Ethiopia has neither seen the information flows nor the debate on corruption that most other countries have seen in recent years. This study attempts to fill this information gap. Conducted by the World Bank (with financial support from the UK, the Netherlands and Canada) in conjunction with the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission of Ethiopia (FEACC), the study is an independent overview of corruption. It attempts to map the nature of corruption in eight sectors in the country. The studies focuses on three key objectives: (i) to develop sector frameworks that enable mapping of the potential areas of corruption on a sector-by-sector basis; (ii) to map the different forms, and types of corrupt practices in the selected sectors; and (iii) to consider the higher risk areas and identify appropriate sector or cross cutting responses for Government and other stakeholders. The sectors covered are health, education, water, justice, construction, land, telecommunications and mining. In designing the methodologies for undertaking the diagnostics, the sector experts developed approaches that most suited the sector and stakeholder context. However, a number of universal principles have guided the approach. One commonality in the methodology has been the effort to tap into the perceptions and knowledge of all stakeholders, be they politicians, senior government officials, private sector businessmen, civil society advocates or consumers of services. The diagnostics strongly suggest that, in Ethiopia, corrupt practice in the delivery of basic services is comparatively limited and is potentially much lower than other low-income countries. When viewed together, the findings of the study point towards an emerging pattern in sector level corruption, with interesting variations in the levels of corruption across the sectors studied

For decades, corruption in Ethiopia has been discussed only at the margins. Perhaps because many have not experienced corruption as a significant constraint to their lives and businesses, or perhaps because a culture of circumspection has dampened open dialogue, Ethiopia has seen neither the information flows nor the debate on corruption that most other countries have seen in recent years. To address this information gap, the World Bank agreed with the government of Ethiopia and its Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (FEACC) to undertake research and produce an independent overview of corruption, identify follow-up actions to these diagnostics, and articulate the proposed approach in an anti-corruption strategy and action plan for Ethiopia. This publication fulfills the first stage of the process through a set of preliminary studies that map the nature of corruption in eight Ethiopian sectors, focusing on three key objectives: 1) develop sector frameworks that enable mapping of the potential areas of corruption on a sector-by-sector basis; 2) map the different forms and types of corrupt practices in the selected sectors; and 3) consider the higher-risk areas and identify appropriate sector or crosscutting responses for government and other stakeholders.

Front Matter....Pages i-xix At Stake with River Basin Development in Eastern Africa....Pages 1-21 The Persistent Paradigm for ‘Modernizing’ River Basins: Institutions and Policies in Ethiopia....Pages 23-41 The Seismic Threat to the Gibe III Dam: A Disaster in Waiting....Pages 43-52 Transboundary Survival Systems: A Profile of Vulnerability....Pages 53-74 Components of Catastrophe: Social and Environmental Consequences of Omo River Basin Development....Pages 75-84 The Rush to Rationalize: Public Policies and Impact Assessments....Pages 85-110 The Dasanech of the Lowermost Omo Basin: From Adaptation to Development Debacle....Pages 111-144 Nyangatom Livelihood and the Omo Riverine Forest....Pages 145-156 Turkana Survival Systems at Lake Turkana: Vulnerability to Collapse from Omo Basin Development....Pages 157-189 Human Rights Violations and the Policy Crossroads....Pages 191-216 Back Matter....Pages 217-240 Assessing health sector corruption in Ethiopia Corruption in the education sector in Ethiopia: a scoping of perceptions Corruption in rural water supply in Ethiopia: a preliminary overview Corruption in Ethiopia's justice sector: a preliminary overview Corruption in the construction sector in Ethiopia: preliminary perspectives Corruption in the land sector in Ethiopia:a preliminary analysis Corruption in the telecommunications sector in Ethiopia: a preliminary overview Corruption in the mining sector in Ethiopia: a preliminary overview.