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RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEWMFD/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
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RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP
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RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0026
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0554
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RUEHAE/AMEMBASSY ASMARA 3868
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RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0003
RUEHRK/AMEMBASSY REYKJAVIK 0039
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 5055

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 ADDIS ABABA 000114 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E-JWIEGERT,OES/PCI-MGERDIN,OES/STC- 
TBURNS,OES/SAT-FECHAVARRIA,EEB/IFD/OMA-JWINKL ER AND EEB/CBA- 
DWINSTEAD 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID JEFF HUMBER 
 
USTDA KATHRYN DORMINEY 
 
DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC FOR ITA MARIA RIVERO 
 
DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC FOR REBECCA KLEIN 
 
DEPT OF ENERGY FOR TSPERL 
 
E.O. 12958: NA 
 
TAGS: KSCA SENV ENRG ETRD PGOV ECON ET
 
SUBJECT: DECEMBER REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT NEWSLETTER, EAST AFRICA 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000114  001.2 OF 011 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (U) Summary: The December 2009 Regional Environment Office (REO) 
 
eastern Africa newsletter reports on a variety of environment, 
science, technology and health events that took place in Addis Ababa 
 
this month.  From two U.S. university sponsored science and 
technology workshops and a Peace Corps environmental program 
strategy 
workshop, to following Africa's reactions to climate change 
developments in Copenhagen and reporting on events leading up to the 
 
next Nile Council of Ministers (NileCOM) meeting in Egypt, it was a 
 
busy holiday month for the environment office Addis. To view a copy 
 
of the REO newsletter online, visit our intranet site: 
http://addisababa.state.gov/REO_Newsletter/ 
default.asp?fname=2009. End summary. 
 
----------------------------------- 
EAST AFRICA ALTERNATIVE ENERGY BUZZ 
----------------------------------- 
¶2. (U) Kenya: A best practices model for policy makers: Geothermal 
development is characterized by high upfront costs and high upfront 
 
risk.  Couple this with high-risk business climates, and eastern 
Africa has had a difficult time attracting foreign investment to 
develop its substantial geothermal resources.  Kenya is a country 
with limited energy resources.  Unlike Ethiopia and others in 
eastern 
Africa, they lack the massive potential that hydropower represents. 
 
As such, the GoK began a campaign to develop its geothermal 
resources.  Recognizing their dilemma, the GoK took the necessary 
steps to reform its energy sector, and they managed to create 
attractive FDI opportunities, as evident by France's October 2009 
funding announcement (see paragraph three).  Kenya exists as an 
example within eastern Africa of "if you build (reform) it, they 
(investors) will come." As USG agencies develop strategies for 
international renewable energy engagement, REO encourages policy 
makers to look to Kenya as a best practices model.   USG high level 
 
policy makers should tout Kenya as an example for others in the 
region to follow, to get Ethiopia and others off the notion that 
donor countries need to support/assist them in developing their 
energy sectors.  The message is that more than enough investment is 
 
out there to support robust development, as Kenya has proven, but 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000114  002.2 OF 011 
 
 
only if the environment is conducive to investment. 
 
¶3. (U) France Funds Geothermal in Kenya:According to media reports, 
 
the French government agreed to give 7.2 billion shillings (US $97 
million) to Kenya's Geothermal Development Company (GDC) for the 
purchase of two rigs and capacity building for the new company. A 
statement from Kenya's prime minister's office in October 2009 said 
 
that the French government also agreed to increase funding for the 
Olkaria Geothermal Power project by 5.5 billion shillings (US$74 
million) while pledging to help Kenya shift from reliance on fossil 
 
fuels to green energy. "Geothermal is the white oil of Kenya," says 
 
Jean-Pierre Marcelli, of the Kenyan branch of France's Development 
Agency (AFD). He says the Kenyan government is connecting about 
200,000 people a year. The potential in Kenya is quite high as the 
country is currently only generating about 150 megawatts of power 
(of 
around 1,200) from geothermal. Marcelli says several thousand 
megawatts could yet be tapped and that Kenya's government is keen to 
 
develop it so as to increase electricity coverage in the country, 
but 
also in order to remain economically competitive. 
 
--------------- 
ACROSS ETHIOPIA 
--------------- 
¶4. (U) Conservation:Helping the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation 
Authority:  The newly established Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation 
Authority (EWCA) is mandated by a 2007 proclamation to manage 
Ethiopia's most important protected areas, as defined by those areas 
 
that contain the greatest biodiversity and/or are transboundary. 
Under the mandate, EWCA is responsible for 15 national parks, 4 
wildlife sanctuaries, 8 wildlife reserves, and 18 designated 
controlled hunting areas.  Faced with daunting challenges that 
include an absence of community participation in wildlife 
conservation, a lack of coordination between federal and regional 
stake holders, a lack of clear demarcation of park boundaries and in 
 
turn substantial encroachment, and a lack of attention for the 
subsector as a development agenda, EWCA is working to enhance its 
capacity in order to create a sustainable management system for the 
 
wildlife and protected areas. In the coming years, EWCA seeks to 
redemarcate and legalize the existing national parks and wildlife 
sanctuaries, strengthen wildlife protection in order to improve the 
 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000114  003.2 OF 011 
 
 
management of endangered and endemic wildlife species, and to 
maximize income from sustainable utilization of wildlife and 
protected areas. Income utilization could include revenue from the 
tourism industry as well as ecosystem services such as forestry 
projects from carbon mitigation/adaption funds.  Because EWCA is a 
fledgling institution with substantial organizational limitations, 
including inadequate budget, and substantial gaps in both skills and 
 
knowledge of current staff, the Regional Environment Office in 
eastern Africa based out of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia is attempting to 
 
identity appropriate USG resources in order to facilitate potential 
 
partnerships with EWCA.   In this regard, Regional Environment 
Associate, Ira Hersh, is reaching out to contacts at the US Fish and 
 
Wildlife Service, the US Forestry Service, the National Parks 
Service, etc. 
 
¶5. (U) Peace Corps to Launch Environment and Conservation Program in 
 
Ethiopia: Peace Corps Ethiopia is in the process of expanding its 
activities by starting a new sector in environment to complement its 
 
existing Health program. Peace Corps' involvement in the health 
sector has played a contributory role toward the realization of 
Ethiopia's Millennium Development goals in the health sector, but 
the 
country remains behind in reaching the goals within the Environment 
 
sector. Consequently, beginning September 2010, Peace Corps Ethiopia 
 
plans to launch the Conservation and Natural Resource Management 
(CNRM) sector based on the demand to fill the gaps within this 
important and rapidly growing field. Conservation International has 
 
listed Ethiopia as part of the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity 
hotspots (Conservation International), and the conservation of such 
 
spaces in additional to other ecologically important areas is 
paramount to the growth and progress of Ethiopia.  The goal of Peace 
 
Corps Ethiopia's Conservation and Natural Resource Management 
Program 
(CNRMP) is to identify, support and disseminate promising practices 
 
that will improve the quality of life of Ethiopian people living 
adjacent to protected areas, while also improving the management of 
 
locally available natural resources. Peace Corps organized a 
December 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000114  004.2 OF 011 
 
 
22, 2009 stakeholders meeting to officially introduce the United 
States Peace Corps Ethiopia CNRM program.  In order to further 
strengthen Peace Corps' collaborative partnership in this critical 
area of development, Peace Corps Ethiopia invited government 
officials, international NGO representatives, members of Ethiopia's 
 
civil society, and USAID and the State Department Regional 
Environmental Office. 
 
¶6. (U) Peace Corps representatives briefed the group on the Peace 
Corps mandate and objectives and their existing Health Program in 
Ethiopia, as well as CNRMP program plans and objectives.  Feedback 
was generally positive, with many participants pleased to see 
attention devoted to Ethiopia's pressing conservation needs. 
Questions focused on the types of expertise that Peace Corps 
volunteers will provide, with participants placing a particular 
emphasis on particular skill sets that include conservation, parks 
management, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), etc.  One 
criticism 
that resonated was that the program was perhaps too broad and 
slightly over ambitious, although Peace Corps staff explained that 
during planning phases it is preferable to err on the side of 
inclusiveness.  They assured the group that the program will become 
 
more refined and targeted over the next months with stakeholder 
input. 
 
¶7. (U) The Born Free Foundation Rescues Safia: As reported by USAID 
 
staff Jane Strachan in the U.S. Embassy Community 
Newsletter, The Lion, Jane Strachan learned of and then witnessed a 
 
lioness cub living under less than optimal conditions while 
traveling 
to southern Ethiopia.  She reported the finding to Born Free 
Ethiopia's Director and the two worked together to bring the cub 
back 
to Addis to be placed in a safer, healthier environment. BFF worked 
 
to establish a new temporary home for the lion cub on BFF's new 
land. 
BFF has been able to get 73 hectares of land in Menagesha from the 
Government of Ethiopia to use as a new wildlife center. The 
perimeter 
has been staked out and BFF now has trained and uniformed guards 
patrolling the area while BFF works on installing the perimeter 
fencing. On November 30th, the cub, named Safia, was moved to her 
temporary home, where she'll live for a few months while perimeter 
fencing and a larger permanent enclosure is built on the BFF 
grounds. 
The set up is similar to that of a zoo in the U.S., with an indoor 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000114  005.2 OF 011 
 
 
enclosure where Safia will be at night and then a gate that can be 
opened so she can be outside or inside as she chooses during the 
day. 
In another few months, BFF will have an Open House at Menagesha and 
 
will invite families to come have a picnic and investigate the land. 
 
There will also be opportunities to do volunteer work that day. And 
 
Safia will be there as well.  BFF in Ethiopia currently also cares 
for the lion in the Sidist Kilo zoo, several other lions in 
temporary 
homes, two cheetahs, and owl, and several tortoises. 
 
¶8. (U) Colorado State University Identifies Science and Technology 
Opportunities in Ethiopia: Representatives from Colorado State 
University (CSU) visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in late December 2009 
 
to host two interactive Geographic Information Science (GIS) and 
Technology Needs Assessment Workshops. The objective was to identify 
 
and prioritize important thematic and technical priorities for 
sustainable GIS education and training in Ethiopia.  Led by 
Professor 
Paul Evangelista, the CSU group sought to identify opportunities for 
 
U.S. and Ethiopian researchers, academics and students.  To evaluate 
 
Ethiopian GIS needs and capabilities, CSU sought workshop 
participant's input relative to five priority areas: application 
priorities, technical and training priorities, enabling technology 
priorities, and capacity improvement priorities.  Application 
Priority Areas included renewable energy, wildlife management, 
groundwater, watershed management, food security, infrastructure and 
 
asset management, community mapping, park/protected area management, 
 
health/epidemiology, and urban planning. Technical and Training 
Priority Areas focused on modeling, data collection, data modeling 
and database design, basic GIS analysis, remote sensing, GPS, 
landcover mapping, spatial decision support, and programming and 
scripting. Enabling Technology Priority Areas targeted hardware and 
 
software, SDSS development, online training opportunities, 
repository/clearinghouse/SDI development, and internet connectivity. 
 
 
¶9. (U) Evangelista has been working in Ethiopia for over ten years 
and has established relationships at the Addis Ababa University, 
Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA), and others. In 
March 2009, Evangelista brought several CSU colleagues to Ethiopia 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000114  006.2 OF 011 
 
 
to 
meet with counterparts and assess the potential to develop a CSU 
multi-disciplinary program to address Ethiopia's critical needs. 
While GIS has been a reoccurring subject in Ethiopia, it is only one 
 
of many subjects CSU hopes to address through Evangelista. To date, 
 
NSF has provided CSU a small grant to facilitate their activities, 
but CSU is continually challenged by a lack of resources and seeks 
out other sources for support.  The workshop validated the 
assumption 
that Ethiopia's GIS training needs are vast. CSU staff will work to 
 
use information garnered throughout the course of the workshop to 
narrow down targeted areas where they can provide valued added 
training and expertise.  Evangelista said it will be vital that CSU 
 
identify the appropriate partners as they move forward in their 
endeavors, seeking REO guidance and recommendations on how best to 
engage government agencies. 
 
------------- 
WATER MATTERS 
------------- 
¶10. (U) Nile Basin Initiative Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary; And 
the 
Next Ten? The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) celebrated its 10th 
Anniversary Ceremony in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, December 6-8, 2009. 
 
The event itself lacked the contention that has come to characterize 
 
NBI meetings as they struggle with negotiations aimed at 
institutionalizing mechanisms to establish a permanent river basin 
organization that includes all Nile Basin countries.  Speakers 
called 
for cooperation moving forward, frequently referring to the need for 
 
inclusiveness.  The celebration was held in the shadows of the next 
 
Nile Council of Ministers (NileCOM) meeting, scheduled to take place 
 
in early 2010 in Egypt.  Decisions taken at this next NileCOM 
meeting 
will be pivotal regarding the future direction of the NBI, with 
potentially significant legal and financial implications.  Consensus 
 
was that upper riparians are generally interested in development and 
 
don't want to see future NBI assistance in jeopardy.  A few 
countries 
(Kenya, possibly Tanzania) appear to be manipulating the NBI 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000114  007.2 OF 011 
 
 
contentions for political gain, pandering to nationalistic 
tendencies 
regarding sensitivities surrounding the Nile waters. The next 
NileCOM 
meeting, however, will most likely be characterized by a showdown 
between Egypt and Ethiopia, with high level political brinkmanship 
up 
to the last minute.  Egypt is appears to have adopted a charm 
campaign to discourage riparian countries from signing the 
Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) at the next NileCOM appears to 
 
be an ambitious charm campaign.  Tanzania and Egypt recently signed 
a 
Memorandum of Understanding where Egypt has agreed to carry out 
research on underground water in Tanzania, drill more boreholes in 
Tanzania to alleviate shortages of water, and to provide for the 
exchange of skilled professionals in water management such as water 
 
engineers and students. 
 
¶11. (U) Egypt's Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif visited Ethiopia the last 
 
week of December 2009, accompanied by ministers of electricity and 
energy, transport, trade and industry, health, and international 
cooperation, in addition to representatives from 75 Egyptian 
companies. Moreover, Egypt will launch an investment fund in Africa 
 
with a capital of USD 1.3 billion and Egypt Air agreed to operate a 
 
new line between Cairo and Addis Ababa with one trip every week. The 
 
stated objective of these Egypt-Ethiopia initiatives is to "open new 
 
horizons for cooperation and integration between the two countries," 
 
with Egypt's Minister of Water Allam explaining that he did not 
participate in the December 2009 visit so that it wouldn't appear 
like "a visit for the Nile."  (Comment:  It's always about the 
water, 
particularly when there is excessive protest to the contrary. 
Between Egypt's interest in Ethiopia and Tanzania, coupled with 
possible irrigation system development for agriculture in Uganda and 
 
beyond, Egypt is appears to be offering to provide 
development/economic benefits to those willing to stand down 
regarding the CFA.  End Comment.) For more details, see ADDIS ABAB 
¶2951. 
 
¶12. (U) Nile Basin Initiative in Review: The Nile Basin Initiative 
(NBI) was launched in 1999 to develop the Nile basin in a 
cooperative 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000114  008.2 OF 011 
 
 
manner, to encourage the sharing of its substantial socioeconomic 
benefits throughout the Nile basin region, and to promote regional 
peace and security.  To date, it has transformed behaviors and 
perceptions in the region and recent analysis demonstrates there is 
 
sufficient water for planned developments if there is cooperation. 
 
The NBI includes ten member states: Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, 
Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and 
 
Eritrea as an observer and is supported by a World Bank-managed, 
multi-donor funded trust fund that is due to expire in 2012.  Events 
 
are fast-paced in the run up to the 2012 expiration date, with 
pressure mounting for a resolution on the Cooperative Framework 
Agreement (CFA), or similar binding legal mechanism, needed to 
establish a permanent river basin organization.  The next NBI 
meeting 
is the Nile Council of Ministers (NileCOM) meeting scheduled to take 
 
place in Cairo, Egypt at the end of February or beginning of March 
¶2010.  During the July 2009 NileCOM meeting in Alexandria, Egypt, 
the 
Nile Basin countries agreed to postpone a decision on the CFA for 
six 
months.  The outstanding issue centers on Article 14 of the CFA. 
Article 14 addresses water security; a contentious issue whereby 
Egypt and Sudan seek text to ensure protection of their 'current 
uses 
and rights' while upper riparian countries want to abrogate 
existing, 
colonial era agreements.  At the upcoming 2010 NileCOM meeting, it 
is 
a real possibility that seven upper riparian countries may sign the 
 
CFA, opting to move forward without Egypt and Sudan.  Such a 
decision 
could have legal and financial implications for the future of the 
NBI, given that the river basin institution's credibility as a 
regional body will likely depend upon inclusiveness.  Sustaining NBI 
 
accomplishments and modernizing Africa for the future will require a 
 
permanent commitment from all NBI member states. 
 
-------------- 
CLIMATE CHANGE 
-------------- 
¶13. (U) In the aftermath of the December 2009 United Nations 
Framework Convention's Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP15) 
meeting in Copenhagen, Ethiopia has mixed reactions to the Accord. 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000114  009.2 OF 011 
 
 
 
As Chair of the African Union (AU) Conference of African Heads of 
State and Governments on Climate Change (CAHOSCC), Ethiopian PM 
Meles 
was named head of the African delegation of over 50 countries in 
August 2009.  The AU-sanctioned African position advanced by Meles 
consisted of three major elements: adaptation, mitigation, and 
technology transfer. The African negotiating position initially 
called for $200 billion in adaptation funds annually beginning in 
2020, it demanded that developed countries to cut their carbon 
emissions by 40 to 45% of 1990 levels by 2020, and it pressed for 
technology transfers with relaxed international property rights 
(IPR).  By the end of the conference on December 18, 2009, the 
Africa 
delegation accepted the European Union and United States' position 
on 
adaptation financing in the amount of $100 billion annually 
beginning 
in 2020.  On emission reduction, Africa continues to press the 
developed world to commit to cutting emissions by 40 to 45 percent 
of 
1990 levels by 2020, although actual country pledges in Copenhagen 
did not reach these figures. The Africa delegation's objectives 
regarding technology transfers were not clearly articulated and were 
 
largely subsumed by adaptation funds and mitigation percentage 
negotiations. 
 
¶14. (U) Disappointed by what were viewed as insufficient carbon 
emission reduction pledges from developed nations, and adaptation 
financing figures lower than many had hoped, some media reports 
declare that Ethiopia's Meles "sold out Africa." Government 
officials 
from Ethiopia's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) counter that 
that Africa asserted its position under Meles in Copenhagen and 
Africa's climate change challenges were recognized and validated by 
 
the international community at the conference.  In the EPA's 
estimation, the Africa delegation "got what we asked for (in terms 
of 
adaptation funding amounts), it was the prime focus and they 
(developed countries) accepted."  According to the EPA, Meles was 
awarded the amount he proposed; an amount that CAHOSCC agreed to in 
 
advance of the conference and one that took global political and 
economic factors into account. To further address criticisms that 
the 
figure is too low, the EPA describes the $100 billion sum as a first 
 
step toward "reconciling;" that it should be positively viewed as a 
 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000114  010.2 OF 011 
 
 
goodwill gesture that demonstrates developed countries' 
understanding 
of Africa's plight. 
 
¶15. (U) Regardless, civil society continues to assert that $100 
billion annually beginning in 2020 for adaptation measures is not 
science-based and is too low, particularly once it is divided among 
 
the many developing countries throughout the world to which it 
applies. Climate change activists also argue that current carbon 
emission pledges are not science-based and will have to reach the 40 
 
percent figure if we are to meet a two degree temperature reduction 
 
objective agreed to in Copenhagen.  Persuading countries to pledge 
meaningful mitigation numbers, according to Ethiopia's civil 
society, 
will require U.S. leadership.  An Ethiopian environmental civil 
society NGO, the Forum for Environment, launched a climate change 
campaign in November 2009 where they collected more than two million 
 
signatures for a petition calling on the U.S. to take on a more 
active leadership role in Copenhagen and beyond. 
 
¶16. (U) Despite media reports that highlight discontent with the 
Meles-led delegation to Copenhagen, and Ethiopia's civil society 
disappointments with the Accord, the general consensus is that the 
Meles-led Africa delegation met with mild success in Copenhagen. 
Civil society and government officials alike recognize that 
significant work needs to be done in the months and years ahead to 
ensure the establishment of a robust international agreement, one 
they hope will transition from the present Accord to an 
internationally legally binding document.  The majority of voices in 
 
Ethiopia, both from the government and civil society, view 
Copenhagen 
as a first step toward that end objective. With climate change 
issues 
now on the table, coupled with U.S. engagement, most in Ethiopia 
agree that the international community is moving in the right 
direction. For more details, see ADDIS ABAB 3026. 
 
------------------- 
REO UPCOMING TRAVEL 
------------------- 
¶17. (U) The Regional Environment Officer and Regional Environment 
Associate for eastern Africa will travel to Madagascar January 7-14, 
 
2010 for an orientation visit and to Cairo, Egypt January 18-22 for 
 
an Office of Naval Research-hosted science and technology workshop. 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000114  011.2 OF 011 
 
 
 
 
#MUSHINGI