(Environmental Finance, London) — JPMorgan Chase has come under pressure to refuse to provide a loan for the controversial Gilgel Gibe III hydropower dam in Ethiopia.
Three NGOs – Campagna per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale in Italy, Les Amis de la Terre in France and International Rivers in the US – have written to the US bank to urge it to refuse a $400 million commercial loan request from the Ethiopian government in connection with the project, which they say would violate the bank’s environmental policy.
The 1,870MW dam is already under construction by Italian firm Salini, at an estimated cost of €1.4 billion ($2.1 billion), and would be the third stage in a project to dam the Gilgel Gibe River for hydropower. The Italian export credit agency SACE has refused to guarantee the project.
In November last year, the NGOs carried out a fact-finding mission to investigate the proposals, which they say uncovered evidence of environmental, social and legal issues with the dam. Problems raised by the NGOs include:
* Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): The NGOs state that the EIA – released by SACE – “is wholly inadequate according to international best practice”. In particular, they criticise the EIA for failing to assess the downstream impacts of the dam on the Omo River which will be diverted as part of the project. Although the dam is 13% complete, the project has yet to receive a permit from the country’s environmental protection authority, as required under Ethiopian law, the NGOs say.
* Emissions: The dam will create a 150 kilometer-long reservoir upstream, submerging 500 hectares of agricultural land, 1,500 hectares of riverine forest and 25,000 hectares of deciduous woodland, according to the NGOs. The EIA states that 20.4 million cubic meters of biomass would be left to decompose underwater, which the NGOs say would cause “a significant amount of greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions” from the reservoir. They say no analysis of the GHG emissions from the reservoir has been carried out, which would be in violation of JPMorgan’s requirements under its environmental policy.
* Communities: The EIA reports that 400 households will be displaced, and social and commercial exchange between communities on different sides of the river interrupted. The NGOs allege inadequate consultation, in particular with 275 nomadic households which they say have not been considered for consultation or compensation.
* Questions over the procurement process: Under Ethiopian law and international guidelines, an international tender should have been issued by for the construction of the dam. Instead, the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) signed a contract with Salini after direct negotiations.
* Energy exports: The NGOs say that Ethiopia’s infrastructure will not be able to absorb the extra electricity from the dam, suggesting that most will be exported, which they call “a questionable priority” for the country given its development situation.
JPMorgan Chase declined to comment.
——————— EDITOR’S NOTE The hundreds of millions of dollars Woyanne is squandering in the Somalia war could have been used to pay for the dam, not to mention schools, health care, clean water supply, etc.
1. The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 12 of Security Council resolution 1320 (2000) of 15 September 2000, by which the Council requested me to keep it closely and regularly informed of progress towards the implementation of this resolution. The report provides an update on developments in the Mission area and describes the activities of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) since my previous report dated 1 November 2007 (S/2007/645).
II. Situation in the Temporary Security Zone and adjacent areas
2. The military situation in the Temporary Security Zone and adjacent areas remained tense during the period leading up to the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission deadline of 30 November for demarcation of the boundary. Both Eritrea and Ethiopia continued to reinforce their military deployments in the border area. The Eritrean Defence Forces continued to induct troops into the Temporary Security Zone. Since 1 November, UNMEE has observed some 500 newly deployed Eritrean soldiers in the Zone in Sector West, 300 in Sector Centre and 100 in Subsector East.
3. UNMEE also observed Eritrean troops participating in various training activities, involving small arms and mortars, inside the Temporary Security Zone in Sector Centre, and tanks near Assab, outside the areas adjacent to Subsector East. On 28 and 29 November, the Mission observed an Eritrean armoured personnel carrier and five artillery guns in the area adjacent to the Temporary Security Zone in Sector Centre. On 23 December, the Mission observed three tanks deployed in the Zone in Sector West. In addition, UNMEE assesses that considerable numbers of troops entered the Zone in all sectors using newly constructed alternate routes, which enable them to bypass UNMEE’s static check posts to avoid detection.
4. A significant number of regular Eritrean troops are now deployed along multiple defensive lines in all sectors. Eritrean forces also continued to fortify and build new defences. Some 17 new Eritrean camps were established in the Temporary Security Zone and areas adjacent to it during the reporting period. A number of new check posts were also erected inside the Zone. In late October, UNMEE observed Eritrean troops building 21 new bunkers inside the Zone in Sector Centre and a
defensive stone wall near the village of Serha, also in the Zone in the same Sector. The Eritrean Defence Forces have also dug new trench lines in the Zone.
5. For their part, the Ethiopian Armed Forces conducted training and advanced some 2,300 additional troops deeper into the border areas in Sector West. They also constructed new defences in areas adjacent to Subsector East. In late October, Ethiopian forces built a two-kilometre trench line with bunkers in Subsector East.
6. On 22 and 27 October, in the first such occurrence, an Ethiopian military helicopter carried out an aerial reconnaissance over the border town of Zela Ambessa, in Sector Centre. On 24 November, 16 Ethiopian armoured personnel carriers were observed at a location near the strategic Mereb Bridge in Sector Centre. On 26 December, UNMEE observed three surface-to-air missile launchers, a target-acquisition radar and a command post being deployed in areas adjacent to Sector Centre. Ethiopia also continued to maintain a strategic reserve force, which is located approximately 150 kilometres south of the areas adjacent to Sector West. Though UNMEE has not been able to determine the exact strength of the reserve force, it is likely to comprise a number of infantry and mechanized divisions that are equipped with weaponry, including heavy equipment with a defensive and offensive capability.
7. On 22 October, Ethiopian forces alleged that Eritrean troops crossed the border to collect stones for the construction of the stone wall in Sector Centre mentioned in paragraph 4 above. On 1 December, the Ethiopian forces deployed in the Zela Ambessa area, opposite Serha, threatened to open fire at any Eritreans who crossed the borderline into Ethiopia to collect stones for the construction of the stone wall. UNMEE mediated between the two sides and prevented the situation from escalating. The Eritrean Defence Forces have since reduced the number of military personnel working at the construction site. On 21 November, two Ethiopian youths from Zela Ambessa in Sector Centre alleged that they had been detained for two hours by Eritrean troops. UNMEE was unable to verify these allegations.
8. On 26 December, Ethiopian and Eritrean forces exchanged gunfire near the village of Tserona in Sector Centre. Both Eritrea and Ethiopia granted UNMEE access to the location of the incident for an investigation. While both parties acknowledged the incident, they accused each other of initiating the attack. Eritrea stated that it captured two “prisoners of war” during the incident.
9. UNMEE assisted the parties in resolving other cross-border incidents, including cases of livestock-rustling. On 8 November and 24 December, six Ethiopian children, who had inadvertently crossed the border into Eritrea from Zela Ambessa in Sector Centre, were repatriated with UNMEE’s assistance. UNMEE’s medical service also continued to provide medical assistance to civilians on both sides of the border.
Full Report (pdf)
DULLES AIRPORT, Va. (WUSA) — Investigators are looking into what can only be described as a major security breach.
Two stowaways were discovered Wednesday on an Ethiopian Airlines flight that landed at Dulles International Airport.
Even so, the regional director for Ethiopian Airlines says security at Addis Ababa Airport, where the two men got on-board is one of the tightest in the world.
A spokesman says the two men who hid themselves in the ceiling of the aircraft appear to be Ethiopian Nationals, part of a cleaning crew that cleaned the plane just before take-off.
It’s unclear what their intentions were but some passengers suspected they wanted to come to the United States for a better life.
With no answers as to how the men went undiscovered for 36 hours, including a stop-over in Rome, a security expert told 9NEWS NOW, “If you can store human bodies, you can certainly store a bomb or put weapons on board.” Larry Johnson says the TSA and FAA should demand better security measures by airlines overseas or suspend flying privileges in the U.S.
At last check, the two stowaways were in the custody of Customs and Border Control. No one returned our phone calls when we attempted to seek information about their status or any charges they may face.
(Press TV) Dozens of Ethiopian Woyanne soldiers are killed in ongoing clashes with Islamic Courts Union forces in the central region of Hiraan in Somalia.
The fighting broke out early on Thursday morning in the town of Kalaber where Ethiopian Woyanne soldiers are based.
The Islamic Courts fighters targeted the Kalaber base with heavy mortar fire, killing at least 48 of the Ethiopian Woyanne soldiers.
Press TV correspondent in Somalia Ahmed Mohamed said more than 17 civilians were killed in the fire exchange, while the violence has forced thousands of people, mostly women and children, to flee their homes.
… more from Garowe Online
Insurgents attack Ethiopian forces in central Somalia
BELETWEIN, Somalia Jan 24 (Garowe Online) – An unknown number of heavily armed insurgents attacked an Ethiopian a Woyanne army garrison in central Somalia on Thursday, in what locals describe as the first large-scale attack on the Ethiopian Woyanne contingent in the region.
The fighting erupted in the central Hiran region, in a village approximately 20KM west of the provincial capital Beletwein, witnesses reported.
Ethiopian Woyanne troops and allied Somali security forces based at Kala-Beyr village came under heavy fire early in the morning. The fighting lasted for more than three hours, with our Beletwein correspondent reporting that the sounds of explosions could be heard inside the town.
There are no confirmed reports on casualties, but local sources said the fighting was intense and there were casualties on both sides.
“The fighting was fierce and I saw dead people, but I cannot say how many for sure,” said one witness who did not wish to be named.
The witness said local villagers, including nomadic families, began fleeing the area for fear for more attacks.
Three civilians were wounded in a location “far from the fighting,” said another witness.
Fighters on both sides used heavy weaponry during combat, including tanks, mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades. Sources said Ethiopian Woyanne troops later bombarded a mountainous area, where the insurgents are believed to have fled.
Hiran Governor Yusuf Daboged confirmed to Garowe Online that the fighting did take place today, adding that the “attackers were overwhelmed and chased away.”
Locals said the fighters are “allied to the Islamic Courts,” an Islamist movement that ruled southern and central Somalia for the second half of 2006.
Islamist guerrillas are responsible for daily attacks on Somali and Ethiopian Woyanne government troops in the national capital Mogadishu, but today’s heavy battle in Hiran is an indication of the war’s gradual expansion to other regions.
The African Union recently warned in a report that Mogadishu’s guerrilla war was slowly “spreading” to other Somali regions.
PA Sport – Craig Mottram is expecting another rough ride when he faces Tariku Bekele over 5000 metres at the IAAF World Athletics Tour meeting in Melbourne on February 21.
The Commonwealth silver medalist has fought some exciting battles with his rival – the younger brother of Kenenisa Bekele – in the past.
Tariku Bekele, the world junior 5000m champion, will also compete against fellow Ethiopian Abreham Cherkos Feleke, who finished third when the trio clashed last year in Europe.
Mottram emerged the victor on that occasion at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava, but Bekele and Feleke have the credentials to cause an upset in Melbourne.
Mottram admitted: “I’ve had some good battles against Bekele and I’m looking forward to racing against him again.
“I’m really pleased that he’ll be coming to Melbourne as it gives me yet another opportunity to race against world class opposition in front of a Melbourne crowd.
“It’s always a challenge racing against the Ethiopians anywhere in the world but being in Melbourne, where I’ve had so much support in the past, just brings an extra edge to the competition for me and hopefully for the fans.
“I’d love to see Olympic Park packed out for the Ethiopians and we get another night similar to what we had in Melbourne at the Commonwealth Games when I ran against the Kenyans two years ago.”
Woyanne propaganda has reached a new low — lower than Nazi propaganda — when this week one of its web sites reported that 3,000 peasants have become millionaires. The next thing WIC will report is “The economy under Woyanne is so strong, people from Kenya, Yemen and even Saudi Arabia are migrating to Ethiopia to find better jobs.” Read the “report” below by WIC.
Less than 3,000 resettlers earn close to 72mln birr in Limuseka Woreda
Jimma, January 21, 2008 (WIC) – Farmers resettled in Limuseka Woreda of Oromia State three years ago have managed to earn about 72 million birr in a year, according to the woreda administration.
Woreda chief administrator Tesfahun Alula said at an award giving ceremony that the 2,700 farmers resettled in Demedenabe and Motegallesa resettlement centers from drought hit areas have earned more than 71.7 million birr.
The resettlers have become development heroes by developing market-oriented crops such as peanut, sesame and nigger seed, among others, he added.
Some 38 development heroes drawn from 41 kebele farmers associations, including the resettlers, were awarded various agricultural implements and certificates, according to Tesfahun.
The development heroes in the woreda have each earned from 80,000 to 160,000 birr by cultivating 77 hectares of land through traditional irrigation, it was indicated.
Jimma Zone Chief Administrator, Muhammed Nur Aba Chabsa, handed out the certificates and awards.
