Why do we build dams? Do the advantages of having dams outweigh the drawbacks, or vice-versa? The WorldWatch Institute (many thanks to Sokari for directing me to the article) wants to know, or rather tells us that the pros do not outweigh the cons. Humans normally erect dams to provide drinking water, generate power, ease navigation, facilitate irrigation, help control floods, and make sailing and other water activities possible. The list is not exhaustive. But to fulfil it, need we overlook dwindling fish stocks, moving human populations from home and land, disrupting the ecosystem, encouraging disease, paying through the nose for the maintenance of dams, high costs of potable water that is of lower quality, and being at the mercy of droughts?
"The positive and negative impacts of dams in the Africa/Middle East region" [www.dams.org] have been debated on many occasions, the dangers have been stripped bare, both for humans and for local flora and fauna. So why is Lesotho in the process of building a five-dam system, including the 182-metre Katse Dam for the benefit of the advantages listed above, with seemingly no regard for the disadvantages, equally listed and well-known? To be sure, Lesotho is hardly the only country building
dams.
In the African region there are at least 1 272 large dams, whose main purpose is irrigation, followed by water supply. South Africa has the most dams in Africa (539), followed by Zimbabwe (213) and Algeria (107). [www.dams.org]As far back as I can remember, I’ve always looked at Lesotho’s water, together with diamonds and tourism, as the route out of poverty. The dam network project unfortunately seems to have further impoverished the population, though not the top layer — the fat cats — which has actually become richer. I’ll say this for Lesotho, though, the law sensed cheating and backhanding, and the law acted accordingly. Lesotho’s diamond mine has recently reopened, yielding some fat kimberlites as expected. Its future as the saviour of Basotho is, however, unsure, as it is being sold.
Two of the project’s five proposed dams, the recently completed 182-metre Katse Dam (the tallest in Africa) and the proposed 145-metre Mohale Dam, have already been funded by the World Bank. The latter is expected to “flood some of the most fertile land in Lesotho, where agricultural land is extremely scarce and food security a serious issue [http://lists.isb.sdnpk.org].” What can the government of Lesotho do? More important, though, what can displaced farmers do?
Some have suggested that the 1986 Apartheid government in South Africa encouraged a military coup d’étât in order to get its hands (its mouths in this case) on Lesotho’s water. They go as far as calling it the Lesotho Water Coup. If it is true, the question remains, what was South Africa to do? There’s this small country with lots of water, and then there’s the thirsty South African industrial region (Gauteng).
South Africa sought greater access to Lesotho’s water supply.1 The South African province of Transvaal faced critical water shortages, and, despite 30 years of negotiations, the South African government could not reach an agreement with Lesotho for water rights. Within months of coup, the two governments agreed to the Highlands Water Project, which diverts water from Lesotho’s mountanous regions to South African farms and industries. The timing of the agreement suggests a close link between South Africa’s involvement in the coup and the dispute over access to water. [www.american.edu]
Korinna Horta, an environmental economist with the US-based Environmental Defense Fund, says, "The LHWP is likely to overwhelm Lesotho and determine its political economy for generations to come. The sheer size of the project diverts attention from any other possible development programs for
Lesotho" [International Rivers Network Lesotho].
And then there’s the government which, in dire need of cash, had to act. Lesotho does have nothing but water, diamonds and manpower. Lesotho’s tourism industry is begging to be developed. South Africa has recently established quotas for manpower from Lesotho and other nations. Many Basotho suddenly found themselves out of work almost overnight. Mind you, I’m not saying the government’s hands are tied; the government must find solutions, must give diplaced folks compensation. If you’ve got ideas about how to get around this seemingly unsolvable problem, I’m all ears. And I’m sure I won’t be the only one.
