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. 
 
¶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