River Basin Development and Human Rights in Eastern Africa — A Policy Crossroads PDF
Preview River Basin Development and Human Rights in Eastern Africa — A Policy Crossroads
Claudia J. Carr River Basin Development and Human Rights in Eastern Africa — A Policy Crossroads River Basin Development and Human Rights — in Eastern Africa A Policy Crossroads Claudia J. Carr River Basin Development and Human — Rights in Eastern Africa A Policy Crossroads ClaudiaJ.Carr Environmental Science, Policy andManagement University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA USA ISBN978-3-319-50468-1 ISBN978-3-319-50469-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-50469-8 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016959399 ©TheEditor(s)(ifapplicable)andTheAuthor(s)2017.Thisbookispublishedopenaccess. Open Access This book is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/),whichpermitsanynoncommercialuse,duplication,adaptation,distributionandreproductioninanymediumor format,aslongasyougiveappropriatecredittotheoriginalauthor(s)andthesource,providealinktotheCreativeCommonslicenseandindicateifchanges weremade. Theimagesorotherthirdpartymaterialinthisbookareincludedinthework’sCreativeCommonslicense,unlessindicatedotherwiseinthecreditline;if suchmaterialisnotincludedinthework’sCreativeCommonslicenseandtherespectiveactionisnotpermittedbystatutoryregulation,userswillneedto obtainpermissionfromthelicenseholdertoduplicate,adaptorreproducethematerial. Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsof translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or informationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecific statement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthisbookarebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateof publication.Neitherthepublishernortheauthorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforany errorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade. PhotographsbyClaudiaJ.Carr Printedonacid-freepaper ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbySpringerNature TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerInternationalPublishingAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland This book is dedicated: to ‘Jolish’—the young leader who worked tirelessly to inform his own people and neighboring ones about the crisis at hand and who lost his life in this struggle—and to the young people of these Ethiopian, Kenyan and South Sudanese border lands who carry on the struggle to direct their own futures to my son Calen and niece Leah—and those who follow them as agents of change for a better world and to Marion Hall, who taught me to see whole systems of nature and society and then sent me on my way. Preface For countless centuries, river basins have been fundamental to the survival of peoples residing in the vast drylands of Sub-SaharanAfrica.Thewater,soilsandlivingresourcesoftheseriversystems—punctuatingwhatareotherwisearidicand often harsh conditions—provide for human settlement, livestock grazing, seasonal flood (recession) agriculture, wild food harvesting, fishing and a host of other activities central to livelihoods. What happens to river basin systems determines the fate of millions of people. Predominantly pastoral in history economy and culture, the extensive drylands of eastern Africa arealsowheresomeofAfrica’smostambitiouseconomicdevelopmentprograms,includinghydrodam,irrigatedplantation, mineral, oil and gas projects, are being implemented. One cannot experience the rhythm of daily life among pastoral villagers for any length of time without realizing that such developments have profound impacts on these longstanding survival systems and that there is an obvious disconnect between the life conditions of these pastoralists and the decision-making in the financial centers of Washington D.C., Brussels,andBeijing,aswellasinthemajorcitiesoftheirownnations.Almostinevitably,onebeginstoquestionhowthese traditionally oriented peoples can possibly survive in the face of such development pressures and whether or not they can truly have a voice in determining their own futures. Thisbookistheoutcomeofalengthyefforttoanswertheseandotherdifficultquestionsastheypertaintosweepingchanges inthesemi-aridborderlandsofEthiopia,KenyaandSouthSudan—changesalreadyextendingtothebroadereasternAfrica region.ItisherethattheAfrica’slargesthydrodamtodate,theGibeIIIdam,hasrecentlybeencompleted,ontheOmoRiver insouthwesternEthiopia,andismovingintoearlyoperation.Thismegadam,togetherwithitscloselylinkedandextensive irrigated agricultural enterprises and a hydroelectricity transmission system for power export to the eastern Africa region, amounts to a multi-billion dollar development that is radically transforming the entire transboundary human and environ- mentalsystems.Morethan500,000indigenouspastoralists,agropastoralistsandfishersresideinthelowerOmoRiverbasin, around Kenya’s Lake Turkana in the easternmost segment of South Sudan’s Ilemi Triangle. Most of them face partial or complete destruction of their means of survival, with no available livelihood alternatives. Already among the most marginalized peoples in the continent, the multiple ethnic groups in this region face impacts that are unimaginable to most outsiders. From early on in the endeavor to understand changes underway in the region, the questions became more detailed. For example,whatarethetypesofeconomies,orsurvivalsystems,inthisvast,tri-nationtransboundaryregionandhowdothey interact?Howadaptivearethesesystemstochangesintheirenvironmentsandwhataretheirmainvulnerabilitiesintheface ofmajorshiftsintheresources availabletothem?Whatarethespecificforcesofgovernment,international aidandprivate development now impacting the region and how have these come about? From what institutions and social priorities have theyemerged?Whataccountofthehundredsofthousandsofindigenousresidentshasbeentaken—withwhatconcernsand accuracy? What impacts have unfolded so far and how have the pastoralists attempted to cope with them? What human rightsarepertinenttothesechangesanddothedevelopmentsunderwayconstituteviolationsofthoserights?Finally,isthere apositiveway forward forsuchpeoplestohaveagenuinevoiceinwhateconomic developmentandotherchanges willbe brought to their lands in the name of ‘progress’? I first came to know the peoples of this region many years ago, as a young ecologist with the international paleontological Omo Expedition, led by F. Clark Howell, Richard Leakey and Yves Coppens, in the lowermost Omo River basin of southwestEthiopia.Basingagooddealofmyworkinpastoralvillagesinordertolearnabouttheregion’secologicalchange and its relationship to the indigenous land use patterns, I learned in the most concrete terms about the inseparability of ‘environmental’and‘social’realities.Muchofthiseffortissummarizedinmybook,PastoralisminCrisis:theDassanetch ofSouthwesternEthiopia,andinseveralpapers.MovingontoresearchandpracticalpolicyworkelsewhereineasternAfrica vii viii Preface (within Ethiopia, Somalia, northern and coastal Kenya and elsewhere), I experienced multiple contexts where river basin developments, including hydrodams, havefundamentally transformed local socioeconomic andenvironmentalsystems and influenced entire nations. Everywhere I engaged in policymaking circles—from African ministries, international aid orga- nizations and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences to remote administrative offices and grassroots organizations strug- gling to effect change, the enormous impacts—and often, the conflicts generated—from major river basin developments were apparent. When invited to return to southwestern Ethiopia in 2008, I eagerly accepted the opportunity—this time with private foundation support to investigate the social and environmental conditions there. Surprised to learn about the virtually unprecedented development planned for this region, my efforts evolved into a multi-year, intensive investigation of the changesunderwayandtheirlikelyimpactsontheregion.Earlyon,itwasnecessarytoformaresearchteam,identifiedasthe SouthOmo/NorthTurkanaResearchTeam(SONT),withlocalresidentsfromtwooftheregion’smajorethnicgroups—the Dasanechandthe(northern)Turkana.SONTwasabletoworkcooperativelywitheldersfrommanylocalesthroughoutthe transboundaryregion.Meanwhile,Iandseveralcolleaguesco-foundedtheAfricaResourcesWorkingGroup(ARWG)—an informal network of scientific and policy focused professionals with experience in the region. Both of these efforts proved essential to the complex tasks at hand. Conditions for field-based research in the border region were difficult, both logistically and politically. Within Ethiopia, it wasnecessarytocarryoutallinvestigationswithextremecareduetotheEthiopianrestriction ofindependentinvestigators fromtheregion,aswellasextensivegovernmentpoliticalsurveillanceandrepression—measuresgeneratingpervasivefear amongvillagersthroughoutthearea.InKenya,thesituationwasfarlessdifficult,withcommunitymembersfarmoreableto participateopenly inour work. Informationgatheringincludedsettlementarea mapping, ecological reconnaissance, village survey, male and female household head interviews, recording of elder life histories and recording of livelihood shifts and available resources. Local government authorities, aid officials and technical personnel active in the area (e.g., in fisheries/Beach Management Unit, water development, health relief work) provided vital information and perspective. In 2009,theAfricaResourcesWorkingGroupreleasedapreliminaryreportconcerningtheGibeIIIdamanditslikelyimpacts; Isubsequentlyreleasedalengthyreportonthematter,basedonmyinvestigationswithSONTandtheARWG(Carr2012)— a report first posted at the ARWG website and later at www.academia.edu. It is my hope that the information and perspectives presented in this book will promote further understanding of the sweeping changes underway in this eastern Africa region and their significance, as well as contribute to discourse and possible solutions. If it is useful to inquiring government and aid officials, villagers, nongovernmental organizations, students, concerned scholars, and other citizens within Africa and abroad, it will have been worth the effort. It has been a profoundly moving experience and an honor to work toward accomplishing these tasks in the company of so many wise, persevering and courageous people. Acknowledgments Thisbookwasmadepossiblebythecontributionsofmanypeople—bothinandoutofeasternAfrica.Mydeepestthanksare to the villagers in both the lowermost Omo River basin of Ethiopia and the northwestern lands of Kenya, west of Lake Turkana. The conditions of working in these two regions are vastly different. Villagers throughout the northern Turkana localities visited were not only welcoming to me and my African colleagues but also eager to discuss matters of their changingsurvivalsystems, livelihood,and politicalconditions intheregion—broadlydefinedand their concernsabout the majordevelopmentstheyknewarebeingundertakenintheregion.Thiseagernesswasprevalent,evenwithconcernoverthe fact that suchdiscussionsarea sensitivematter for Kenyanauthorities. Whileequallywelcoming, villagers along theOmo River within Ethiopia live under conditions of pervasive political surveillance and repression by their government and cannot openly discuss their declining conditions for survival or their fears and opposition concerning the radical changes underwayalongtheOmoRiver.Nevertheless,manyretainthecouragetospeakaboutthesemattersandlearningfromthem has been a most humbling experience. I must trust that their descriptions and concerns are accurately summarized in accounts presented in this book. The identities of all informants in these areas of Ethiopia and Kenya have been protected and will remain so. It is my privilege to have helped form and direct the South Omo/North Turkana Research Team (SONT). The team was comprisedprimarilyofTurkanaindividualsfromlocalvillages,participatinginnearlyallaspectsofthefield-basedresearch forthisprojectwithinKenya,aswellasDasanechindividualsfromthewestbankanddeltaregion.TheSONT‘experience’ successfully gave form to what is often empty rhetoric of “locally based and participatory” research and offered new skill learningtothosejoiningintheeffort.Iamgratefultoallthosewhotookpartandhaveprotectedtheiridentitiesaswell.My greatest debt in the SONT effort is to ‘Jolish’ (whose traditional name must remain protected), the co-coordinator offield operations with me and a wonderful colleague in both investigative and interpretive phases of our work. His exceptional intelligence, cross-cultural outlook, and deep humanity, combined with his clear passion for retaining traditional cultural values,surelycontributedtotheremarkablerespectheenjoyedthroughoutavastareaofnorthernTurkana.‘Jolish’tragically losthis lifeinthecourse ofhisunrelentingefforts.Workingalongsidehimandsharingtheupsanddownsofthiscomplex workandthepeopleitconcernshasmadeamajormarkonmylife.Iamcertainthatcountlessothersjoinmeinbeingforever grateful to him for his uncompromising and inspirational efforts. The dedication of this book to him is but one small expression of this gratitude. A number of local officials within northern and central Turkana were extremely helpful in this work, as were a very large numberofcouncilofeldersmembers—especiallyalongthenorthwesternshorelineofLakeTurkana.Mythankstothemfor their immensely valuable contributions. Many other individuals in Ethiopia and Kenya provided major logistics and other support. Most prominent among them was Elias H. Selassie during early phases of the field investigation and analysis. T. Solomon of Ethiopia provided much parallel support in the southwestern region there. Jeffrey Gritzner, a well-known scholar of African drylands and expert in African resource policy, including as a former seniorstaffmemberattheU.S.NationalResearchCouncil,hascontributedgreatlytothisinvestigation.Hissyntheticview ofenvironmentalchange,indigenousknowledgesystems,andtheintricaciesofenvironmentalrecoveryandrestorationhave impacted this work, as have his comments on draft sections of this book. Dr. Gritzner cofounded the Africa Resources WorkingGroup(ARWG)withmein2008.Thisinformalnetworkiscomprisedof11Africanandnon-Africanindividuals from the physical science, social science, public policy, and diplomatic professions—all with substantial experience in the eastern Africa region. Its members have contributed in fundamental ways to this work, both with information when requested and with comments on particular written sections. While the analysis and conclusions drawn in this book undoubtedlydonotreflecttheviewpointofeachmemberoftheARWG,Ihaveendeavoredtotakealloftheircommentsand ix x Acknowledgments criticisms intoaccountanddeeply appreciate theirefforts. Most ofthese individuals are still actively engagedintheregion and so need to remain anonymous. LauraM.Daly,ayoungCalifornia-basedprofessionalinGeographyandGIStechnique,hasproducedthe‘major’graphics forthisbook(indicatedintheListofFigures).Ms.Dalyspentcountlesshourspatientlyworkingwithmetotranslatespecific ground-based information and understanding into graphic representation in one of the most difficult regions in the world. Applying her skill and artistry as well as her own propensity for perfection, Ms. Daly somehow tolerated my unending requestsfor“justonemorechange”inoureffortstorepresentcomplexpatternsandprocesses.Hercloseassociate,Bertrand Johnson, generously assisted with a good deal of technical work on my large set of photographs for the book. JamesLindsay,aformerAustraliandiplomatanddirectorofanonprofitorganizationfocusedonalternativeenergyinAfrica, hasbeenamajorcontributortotheprogress andcompletionofthisbook.Hiscontributionshaveincludeddirectassistance with systematizing information from environmental and social impact assessments, assisting with matters of energy and other technical systems, and performing supplemental graphics and photo work. Mr. Lindsay has also provided substantial materialsupportforbothfield-basedandbookpreparationactivities—anecessarysupplementtoprivatefoundationfunding provided. I extend my deep thanks for his willingness to assist in all ways. The contributions of George Leddy to this book cannot be overstated. Dr. Leddy’s longterm analytical background in internationaldevelopmentmattersandhisgenerosityincritiquingthechaptersofthisbook,includingwithhisexperienceas an assistant executive editor of a major international journal, were of great help throughout this effort. I am I am deeply indebted to him, including for his unwavering recognition of the magnitude of the crisis unfolding and the importance of tracing its origins and essence. TheseismicdiscussioninChap.3wasgroundedinadetailedsiesmicreportfortheGibeIIIdamregioninEthiopiabySteve Walter, a seismologist with the Earthquake Science Center at the U.S. Geological Survey. This report (included in Carr 2012)detailedthesoberingrealityofa20%probabilitythatthedamwillexperienceatleastIntensityVIIshakingwithin50 yearsandpossiblyashighasIntensityVIII.Forpracticalreasons,thereportwasnotabletobeincorporatedintothepresent book and I am grateful for Dr. Walter’s encouragement and continued advice for the present, somewhat extended study. JoshuaDimon,anexpertonextractiveindustrydevelopmentineasternandsoutheasternAfricaandcompletinghisdoctoral degreeattheUniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeley,playedamajorroleintheextendedseismicstudyforthisbook(Chap.3). Mr.Dimon’scarefulinvestigativeandsyntheticworkisgreatlyappreciated.HeisalsotheprimaryauthorofAppendixAin thisbookwhichisanoverviewoftheincursionoftheoilindustryintheEthiopia-Kenya-SouthSudantransbourndaryregion andpartofourjointlyexecutreinvestigationoftheindustry’sgrowthineasternAfrica.Iextendmydeepthankstohimfor his excellent contributions. James Carr, an environmental consultant and former senior officer of a nongovernmental organization promoting global fisheries reform—who is also my brother—offered major advice and assistance concerning the book’s emphasis on indigenousfishers’knowledgeoftheirown resource base, aswell asother aspectsoftheinvestigation.He haslong beena guiding force in my intellectual pursuits and perspectives, and continues to be so in his work as an environmental policy analyst. My efforts to navigate the difficult terrain of international human rights standards and approaches to the matter of rights violations at both national and institutional levels benefitted greatly from the advise of a number of outstanding attorneys. DanSiegel,PeterWeiner,andMichaelFreundofferedvaluableadviceattheoutsetofthisportionofmyinvestigationasit applies to the the transboundary region. Several attorneys highly experienced in international human rights issues in developing countries, including within Africa and Latin America, offered critical perspective and information, as well as commentsonmydraftsofthehumanrightssectionofthebook.TheyareLaurelFletcherandAlexaKoenig,bothfacultyat BoaltLawSchoolattheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,andNaomiRoht-Arriaza,afacultymemberattheUniversityof California Hastings Law School in San Francisco. I am most grateful for their help. I also wish to offer special thanks to Michael Hannigan, President and Cofounder of the innovative company, Give Something Back, for his crucial insight toward making this book widely available and helping to implement that objective. My deep appreciation extends to other professionals who have contributed to this volume. Jason Gritzner, a Watershed ProgramManagerfortheNationalForestsProgramandanindividualexperiencedinEastAfricanriverbasindevelopment, offered importantinformationandperspective regarding hydrological andriverineecology dynamics.JustinFong,a public xi Acknowledgments policy specialist with strong knowledge of the rising importance of China in African economic development offered many comments on book chapters as well as numerous thoughts on the political shifts underway. Daniel Lavelle contributed valuable document research and comments concerning the physical character of Lake Turkana andpatientlyenteredintovaluabledicussionsoftheissuesinvolved.RichardBrennemanofferedinsightfulandpenetrating comments on an early version of the book, contributing his expertise as an investigative journalist and his passion for in-depthanalysis insocial mattersofconsequence.KathySheetzoffered assistance inboth investigativeandpresentational dimensionsoftheearlyphaseofthisbook,withsuggestionsfromherprofessionalandpoliticalexperienceinhealthrelated issuesAfrica,Haiti,andelsewhere.AnnKroeberofferedvaluableperspectiveconcerningvisualpresentationofthematerials at hand. AmongmyfacultycolleaguesatUCBerkeley,IwanttothankAndrewGutierrez,wholenthissupportandexpertisetothis work from his knowledge of biological systems in the Ethiopian region. Miguel Altieri’s many years of leadership in the field of agroecology and indigenous systems provided a critical source of information and perspective regarding the agropastoral component of livelihoods in the transboundary region. I greatly appreciate their efforts, including within theUniversitycontext.Mycommunity-basedcolleagueandfriendinBerkeley,‘Samir’(Aka‘F.D.’),hasalsoofferedmuch encouragement. Intheworldofeducation,theearliestmajor‘teacher’inmyownlife—MarionT.Hall—notonlytaughtmeabout‘systems’ ranging from plants to people, but also about the importance of explicitly considering those systems when trying to concretely address the real problems in this world. Many of my international development and natural resource policy students and young colleagues at UC Berkeley participated in various phases of this book’s development. In its earliest phase,AdamGraywasparticularlykeyinourinvestigationofthehistoryofoilleasesineasternAfrica,withstrongfocuson the Horn region. Crossley Pinkstaff made important contribtions to the economic and policy investigations of the eastern Africa region and has remained a valuable source of perspective and information. Andy Kreamer assisted with major bibliographic work and early project organizing toward field investigations. Michal Karmi, Juan Ramos, Dylan Kasch. Chase Livingston, Ian McGregor, Kaleigh Rhodes, Judi Li, Nicholas Calderon, Yuki Jiang, and Dawning Wu worked together to update operations of the oil and gas industry in eastern Africa. Alicia Krueger, Regina Clincy, Phoebe Song, Vickie Duong, Corey Wood, Lexi Spaulding, and Gyöngyi Gózon all donated their time to do fact checking and related work,makingvaluablesuggestionsforimprovement.Toalloftheseindividuals,Ioffermysincerethanksandhopethatthey learnedfromourexperiencetogether.Icertainlydid.IfIhavefailedtomentionothersstudents’efforts,IhopethatIshallbe forgiven.Thelong andarduous times synthesizing information anditsmeaningthroughout thisworkwouldnothavebeen possiblewithoutthesustainmentofmusic—especiallybyDasanechandTurkanavillagersand‘desert’dwellersthroughout the region, but also the magical and energizing sounds of Ali Farka Toure’, Dadi Kouyate’ and Miriam Makeba. Finally, I would never have been able to carry out this work without my family, to whom I give my deepest love and appreciation.InadditiontomybrotherJames,mysonCalenprovidedunwaveringencouragementthroughout.Hiscaringfor people from many cultures and his uncanny ability to always look forward have been a constant source of inspiration and strengthforme.MynieceLeahandhertwodaughters,MarinandJenesea,withtheirhighspiritsandcaringforallformsof life have provided ongoing motivation. I thank them for their love and patience throughout this effort. Much of this work derived financial support from a private foundation concerned with development, conservation, and resource rights in Africa and elsewhere. The foundation was flexible and helpful in all regards and my thanks to them for lettingthisentireeffortmoveforward.Inpreparingforthisbook’spublicationbySpringer-Verlag,Ihavehadtheincredible goodfortunetoworkwithNeilOlivierandDianaNijenhuijzen.Ideeplyappreciatetheirassistance,patienceandgoodcheer throughoutthepreparatoryprocessanditisagreatprivilegetohaveworkedwiththem.Thefinalproductionteamaddeda major boost to the book as well, with exemplary flexibility and professionalism.
The list of books you might like
