Above: Ethiopia rejected allegations that building one of
Africa’s biggest hydropower dams would leave 200,000
self-sufficient people reliant on aid. (Photo: Treehugger.com)

Reuters
By Barry Malone
Fri Apr 2, 2010

Rights group Survival International (SI) said last week the dam would disrupt fishing and farming for tribal people, among them the Kwegu and Hamar tribes, and a group of charities have launched an online petition against the dam.

“We have made an extensive survey,” government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said late on Thursday.

“Highly renowned, independent experts have assured that the construction of the dam in no way causes concern for people living around there,” he said. He did not name the experts involved in the survey. Read more.

The Gibe III Hydroelectric dam project in Ethiopia is at the center of a dispute between environmental groups and developers.

Related Articles:
Developer Defends Ethiopian Hydro Project (The New York Times)
Critics Seek to Halt Ethiopian Hydro Project (The New York Times)
Dam these patronising Western campaigns (Spiked-Online.com)
Ethiopia’s rush to build mega dams sparks protests (The Guardian)
Giant Ethiopian dam to make 200000 go hungry: NGO (Washington Post)
NGOs Launch International Campaign to Stop Man-Made Disaster in Ethiopia (Black Voice News)
Ethiopia launches new Omo River hydroelectric plant (BBC)
Ethiopia’s Dam Problem – Debating Gilgel Gibe (Sound off at Tadias.com)