Uganda opens floodgates to hydropower

Is damming Uganda's rivers the right option? Copyright: K. Burns

We encourage you to republish this article online and in print, it’s free under our creative commons attribution license, but please follow some simple guidelines:

You have to credit our authors.
You have to credit SciDev.Net — where possible include our logo with a link back to the original article.
You can simply run the first few lines of the article and then add: “Read the full article on SciDev.Net” containing a link back to the original article.
If you want to also take images published in this story you will need to confirm with the original source if you're licensed to use them.
The easiest way to get the article on your site is to embed the code below.

For more information view our media page and republishing guidelines.

The full article is available here as HTML.

Press Ctrl-C to copy

<div class="article-wrap">
<div id="article-introduction">
<h1>Uganda opens floodgates to hydropower</h1>
<h4></h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />

<div id="article-body">
<p><P>Uganda’s planned US$800 million hydropower project, just below Bujagali Falls on the River Nile, has been mired in controversy since its inception in 1994, reports Xan Rice in this Guardian article.</P><br />
<P>Corruption allegations and protests from tour operators and environmentalists saw the original contractors drop the project in 2003. A new consortium formed and the Ugandan government authorised the project last week.</P><br />
<P>At 30 metres high, the proposed dam will flood the rapids of Bujagali falls, destroying a popular tourist attraction and displacing families.</P><br />
<P>But the main funding bodies, the World Bank and the Ugandan government, say the dam is vital for the country’s development. </P><br />
<P>Uganda is currently experiencing a chronic power shortage, purported to be costing the country’s economy US$250 million a year.</P><br />
<P>But critics say that relying on one stretch of river will leave the country vulnerable to an energy crisis if the drought predictions of global warming are realised. </P><br />
<P>The low water level of Lake Victoria — the main source of the Nile — means that other Ugandan hydropower dams are currently producing less than a third of their capacity.</P><br />
<P>And critics say smaller, cheaper options for local energy generation that could benefit the rural poor, such as micro-hydro, solar and geothermal projects, have not been explored.</P><br />
<P><a  href="http://environment.guardian.co.uk/energy/story/0,,2091819,00.html" target="_blank" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/tracking/external/'+this.href);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link to full article in The Guardian</A></P><BR></p>

</div>
<div class="quick-links-wrapper">
<h3>You might also like</h3>
[related-articles]
</div>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/features/uganda-opens-floodgates-to-hydropower-ssa/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(e,t,n,r,i,s,o){e["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=i;e[i]=e[i]||function(){(e[i].q=e[i].q||[]).push(arguments)},e[i].l=1*new Date;s=t.createElement(n),o=t.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];s.async=1;s.src=r;o.parentNode.insertBefore(s,o)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/ga.js","ga");var _gaq=_gaq||[];var _gaq=_gaq||[];_gaq.push(["_setAccount","UA-3223906-8"],["_trackEvent","article interaction","republished","https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/features/uganda-opens-floodgates-to-hydropower-ssa/",null,true])
</script>
</div>

Uganda’s planned US$800 million hydropower project, just below Bujagali Falls on the River Nile, has been mired in controversy since its inception in 1994, reports Xan Rice in this Guardian article.

Corruption allegations and protests from tour operators and environmentalists saw the original contractors drop the project in 2003. A new consortium formed and the Ugandan government authorised the project last week.

At 30 metres high, the proposed dam will flood the rapids of Bujagali falls, destroying a popular tourist attraction and displacing families.

But the main funding bodies, the World Bank and the Ugandan government, say the dam is vital for the country’s development.

Uganda is currently experiencing a chronic power shortage, purported to be costing the country’s economy US$250 million a year.

But critics say that relying on one stretch of river will leave the country vulnerable to an energy crisis if the drought predictions of global warming are realised.

The low water level of Lake Victoria — the main source of the Nile — means that other Ugandan hydropower dams are currently producing less than a third of their capacity.

And critics say smaller, cheaper options for local energy generation that could benefit the rural poor, such as micro-hydro, solar and geothermal projects, have not been explored.

Link to full article in The Guardian