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COTTON AND WATER: The threat to Lake Turkana
By Simon Ferrigno
Cotton is often portrayed as a thirsty crop, although
it is in fact drought tolerant. However, that is not
to say there are no actual or potential problems
with water, with ecosystems and water resources
threatened by land use change, irrigation, climate
change and agrochemicals.
Hot on the heels of November’s Ecotextile News
investigation into deforestation and land grabs in
Ethiopia comes increasing concern over the water
impact of agricultural development in the Lower Omo
Valley, with three new dam developments on the Omo
river. One of these, Gibe III, is due to start operating in
2015. Initially touted as hydroelectric developments, it
has now emerged that they will also include substantial
irrigation development, primarily for sugarcane but
also for cotton and other cash crops on large farms.
This will not only affect the OMO valley people and
ecosystems, but also impact on Lake Turkana in Kenya.
The Omo-Gibe basin, in the Rift Valley, is one of 12
river basins in Ethiopia, home to two National Parks
and sites of archaeological interest with a human fossil
record going back millions of years. The Valley became
a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980, while the river
drains into the unique ecosystem of Lake Turkana. The
basin covers an area of 79,000KM2, is 760km long, with
potential irrigable land of nearly 68,000 ha according
to the International Water Management Institute,
along with potential hydroelectric power generation
of 36,560 gwh/year.
Lake Turkana is the world’s largest desert lake (257km
long, on average 31km wide, with a maximum depth
of 114m), located in an extremely arid environment.
Fisheries in the Lake are fed by the Omo’s flood
waters, which trigger breeding and thus fish harvests
for lakeside populations. The partly salty lake waters
are freshened by the annual floods from the Omo,
sustaining the ecosystem. The area around the lake
has been referred to as the ‘cradle of mankind’, and the
oldest known human remains (200,000 years old) were
found here. In 1997, the three Lake Turkana national
parks became world heritage sites.
The Gibe III dam, 600km upstream from Lake Turkana
is set to transform the Lower Omo and the lake: it will
permanently change the annual flooding of the Omo,
on which agro-pastoralists depend for their livelihoods
(flood farming, livestock and access to water), and
open the door for large scale irrigation of mega-farms.
The Lower Omos extremely sensitive ecosystem will be
changed by the dam, according to experts.
The Omo river supplies some 80-90% of the water to
Lake Turkana, which sits mainly in Kenya with part in
Ethiopia; the dam is thus going to have a major impact
on the Omo delta (dependent on the Lake’s water
levels) and the lake’s water cycle (experts predict a
drop of over 20 metres). Despite this potential impact,
no Environmental Impact Assessment examining
irrigation was commissioned by the dam’s builders,
while several parties, including the government of
Ethiopia, claim that the impacts are not important as
few people depend on the lake, and its fisheries are
already declining! Others such as Human Rights Watch
point to 200,000 people in Lower Omo of whom 48%
depend on the river for their livelihoods, and 300,000
around Lake Turkana. HRW also report that:
‘In June 2011 UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee
recommended that Ethiopia halt construction of
Gibe III given the impacts on the Lake Turkana World
Heritage site. According to article 6 of the Convention
Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and
Natural Heritage, Ethiopia is required “not to take
any deliberate measures, which might damage... the
cultural and natural heritage located on the territory
of another state party”’.
HRW further report that Kenya has noted the absence
of impact assessment by Ethiopia and the lack of
scientifically based mitigation proposals from Ethiopia.
Irrigation plans were in fact only revealed after
construction had begun, with the announcement of
the development of 150,000ha state-run sugarcane
farm. Further sugarcane proposals as well as other
land lease developments have followed, including, as
revealed in the last issue, large cotton farms. Land for
the state farms has additionally in some cases been
taken from previously protected areas around and in
national parks. The total future irrigated area is said to
be potentially as high as 445,000ha.
The Oakland Institute says ‘there are plans to irrigate
large tracts of lands for commercial production of
cash crops. Currently, the federal land bank ... contains
180,000 ha of land ... being marketed by the federal
government as “irrigable” and ideal for cotton,
sesame, groundnuts, fruit, soybean, sugarcane, and
palm oil. ... it does appear that a portion of these lands
available for investment may overlap with parts of
Omo National Park...’.