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A Conceptual Framework to Assess Stakeholder Trade-offs in the Gibe III hydropower project. Source: Authors based on concepts adopted from the works of literature discussed in this article (Turton 1999; Gilabert 2018; Carr 2019; Ifejika Speranza, Wiesmann, and Rist 2014; Castro-Arce and Vanclay 2020).
Context in source publication
Context 1
... given the potential negative impacts on community livelihoods arising from disruption caused by such projects, the livelihood resilience framework serves to capture the capacities at a community level to absorb or adapt such shocks. The framework developed on the basis of such a synthesis is detailed in Figure 1. It serves to capture the structural and cross-scale tensions at play between national development on the one hand and the protection of local, river basin-level community resilience on the other. ...
Citations
... This has led to expansion of the building of hydropower dams across river basins worldwide. However, several studies have shown trade-offs between boosting national renewable energy portfolio and entailing local negative environmental and socioeconomic impacts in the building of hydropower dams [3,[6][7][8]. Hydropower dams cause negative impacts such as displacement, loss of access to natural resources, livelihood and ecological disturbance on the communities adjacent to river basins [9,10]. However, the discourses of developmental opportunities (hydraulic mission) legitimizing the building of hydropower dams mainly originate outside of the river basins [1]. ...
... It has a reservoir stretching over an area of 200 km 2 . Despite its considerable contribution to national economic development by boosting the country's total installed electricity capacity, the Gibe III project has had a significant adverse impact on the surrounding environment and communities [8]. Gibe III is therefore one of the most controversial hydropower projects in Ethiopia [13]. ...
... The implementation of hydropower projects inadequately considers such disparity in spatial development, particularly in the Global South. Although the scalar development disparity accompanying the construction of hydropower dams was noted in prior studies including the report of World Commission on Dams [8,30,31], this study argues that the concern still remains largely unaddressed. Secondly, the shortcomings concern the implementation of feasibility studies accompanying the construction of hydropower projects. ...
Ethiopia is currently investing significantly in large scale-hydropower across its river basins. While serving the national economic agenda, hydropower dams have impacted local communities. This study aims to explore the essence of Ethiopia's hydraulic mission and how it accounts for the national-local trade-offs associated with the building of hydropower dams. It draws on an exploratory case study conducted on the Gibe III hydropower project in southern Ethiopia. Data collection involved key informant interviews, focus-group discussions held among project-impacted communities, and a review of three relevant policy documents. It was found that while the building of hydropower dams in Ethiopia is aimed at the national goal of realizing a Climate Resilient Green Economy, the discourses and practices of the hydraulic mission accompanying the building of hydropower dams reflected shortcomings that contributed to adverse socioeconomic impacts on local communities. The shortcomings concern the policy discourses and practices regarding the handling of local developmental aspirations in hydropower development, feasibility studies on hydropower projects; coordination and transparency among stakeholders involved in hydropower development; and hydropower benefit sharing across spatial scales. Given the prevailing discourse about their contribution in serving the twofold purpose of addressing energy poverty and the challenges of climate change, it is less likely to avoid the building of hydropower dams particularly in the Global South. Hence, the study suggests that exploring the possibility of reconciling the national-local trade-offs is of paramount importance rather than contending the construction of hydropower dams altogether.
... The development of the great Ethiopian renaissance dam (GERD) can be seen as example how international donors and lenders were hesitant to support its development. The country's right to develop GERD and unsettled diplomatic relation with downstream countries led to development of new policies in order to avoid potential conflicts (Abebe et al. 2023;Tefera and Sterk 2008;You 2023). The geopolitical issues and concerns of international actors on the country's interest to develop large hydropower project was hindering the country's ability to utilise its resources and meet its increasing electricity demands. ...
Ethiopia has the potential to be 100% renewable. Its renewables are capable to solve its energy poverty and energy shortage in East Africa. The country’s climate resilient green economy strategy considers energy as key enabler for vibrant economy. The objective of this paper is to identify key challenges of the energy sector by studying 12 years of electricity generation data, 2012 to 2023, and to analyze the sector’s performance with a special emphasis on hydropower. In this study, both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to draw performances indicators. The quantitative results showed that the country achieved 30% of its energy development plan with a deteriorating performance from 94% to 40%. This performance works for hydropower too, which dominants the electricity development and supply. The declining performance comes from government’s monopoly in the sector, financial deficit due to ongoing internal crises and technical unavailability of power plants. This performance has greatly influenced expansion of industries, access to electricity, unemployment, and other economic activities. The authors advise the government, stakeholders, and development partners to consider the recommendations given in this paper to boost the energy sector development and keep the country in healthy economic pace by all measures.
