Protect the Zambezi River from Destructive Dams

The Zambezi is one of the most heavily dammed rivers in Africa. More than 30 large dams have already been built throughout its basin, at great cost to local people and wildlife. These impacts have been particularly harsh in Mozambique, where Cahora Bassa Dam displaced tens of thousands of people, and severely degraded downstream floodplains and fisheries. Changing Cahora Bassa's water release patterns to more closely mimic natural flows could help restore the downstream environment, and efforts to develop such a plan are in discussion now.

Now, the Mozambican government -- with Brazil and China's help -- wants to build a large dam, called Mphanda Nkuwa, 60km downstream from Cahora Bassa. For the foreseeable future, most of its electricity will be exported to South Africa. This is expected to be the first of many more large dams that Mozambique intends to build.

The project would set a dangerous course for future energy development projects in Mozambique. In addition to displacing rural farmers, Mphanda Nkuwa would make downstream restoration through improved management of Cahora Bassa very difficult to achieve. The US$2 billion project also poses significant economic risk to Mozambique, one of the world's poorest nations. Mozambique's rural poor are in desperate need of electricity, but due to the high cost of extending the transmission grid, this dam will not contribute significantly to rural electrification. Smaller, decentralized options would better suit the needs of Mozambique's rural majority. South Africa, where the dam's power is headed, has many clean energy options that it has yet to tap, as well as a huge potential for efficiency measures to reduce energy demand.

Mozambican environmental group Justica Ambiental (JA!) is calling for a public process to review cleaner energy options, and to address the impacts from past dams. Call on Mozambique's Minister of Energy, Mr. Salvador Namburete, and the President of the Parliament, Mr.Eduardo Mulembe to come up with a plan for sustainable energy solutions that will ensure the nation is able to adapt to a changing climate.

The Zambezi is one of the most heavily dammed rivers in Africa. More than 30 large dams have already been built throughout its basin, at great cost to local people and wildlife. These impacts have been particularly harsh in Mozambique, where Cahora Bassa Dam displaced tens of thousands of people, and severely degraded downstream floodplains and fisheries. Changing Cahora Bassa's water release patterns to more closely mimic natural flows could help restore the downstream environment, and efforts to develop such a plan are in discussion now.

Now, the Mozambican government -- with Brazil and China's help -- wants to build a large dam, called Mphanda Nkuwa, 60km downstream from Cahora Bassa. For the foreseeable future, most of its electricity will be exported to South Africa. This is expected to be the first of many more large dams that Mozambique intends to build.

The project would set a dangerous course for future energy development projects in Mozambique. In addition to displacing rural farmers, Mphanda Nkuwa would make downstream restoration through improved management of Cahora Bassa very difficult to achieve. The US$2 billion project also poses significant economic risk to Mozambique, one of the world's poorest nations. Mozambique's rural poor are in desperate need of electricity, but due to the high cost of extending the transmission grid, this dam will not contribute significantly to rural electrification. Smaller, decentralized options would better suit the needs of Mozambique's rural majority. South Africa, where the dam's power is headed, has many clean energy options that it has yet to tap, as well as a huge potential for efficiency measures to reduce energy demand.

Mozambican environmental group Justica Ambiental (JA!) is calling for a public process to review cleaner energy options, and to address the impacts from past dams. Call on Mozambique's Minister of Energy, Mr. Salvador Namburete, and the President of the Parliament, Mr.Eduardo Mulembe to come up with a plan for sustainable energy solutions that will ensure the nation is able to adapt to a changing climate.

We the undersigned unequivocally believe that the Zambezi River is not for sale. We believe it is shortsighted to build another large dam on the river at this time, and call on you to take the following measures to ensure that Mozambique's energy planning process is open and transparent, and results in a sustainable, just plan for energy development:

- We call on you to improve transparency on energy planning in Mozambique, including releasing documents on Mphanda Nkuwa that would shed light on the deal with China, and would reveal the extent of studies into the project's expected impacts and costs.

- We urge you to review plans to build more hydrologically risky dams on the Zambezi in light of the changing climate, and call on you to ensure a "no regrets" plan that does not leave Mozambique overly dependent on hydropower nor increasingly at risk from flood-induced dam failures.

- We call for a monitoring body on dams along the Zambezi River until Mozambique's energy needs are assessed with all the alternatives, such as solar, wind, biomass, etc, taken into account to ensure that Mozambican's energy needs are meet with the least human, environmental and economic costs.

- We call for official support for the process to establish environmental flows from existing dams to help restore the Zambezi Delta.

Thank you for your time.