Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Cahora Bassa Dam - Mozambique
- Details
- Mozmbique was one of the
poorest countries in the world,
with an HDI of just 0.327
- 52% of Mozambique's
population are under the
poverty line
- Portugal initially had an 82% stake
and Mozambique only 19%, and as
they had to contract much of the
work to private companies, their
profits were diminished further, but
now Mozambique has full ownership
- Portugal was the x-colonial ruler
of Mozambique, and it was their
idea to build the dam
- The construction produces environmentally
clean energy and employment
- the dam blocks the 4th largest
artificial lake in Africa, and is one of 3
major dams along the Zambezi River
which goes through Congo, Angola,
Zimbabwe, and finally Mozambique
- it has created a lake that is 292Km long, up
to 32Km wide and a max. of 157m deep
- Started in the 1960s and finished 30yrs later, although development
and use of the scheme was stunted by civil war 1977-1992.
- Location map:
- Key terms:
- bilateral
- top-down
- long term
- large-scale project
- Effects?
- Positive
- Long term
- the dam provides an important power
import facility to the South African grid,
transmitting 1920MW of power, and one
MW can power 1,000 average US homes
- Most of the power is sold
to South Africa, boosts
the national economy
- A Kapenta fishery industry has developed,
harvesting 10,000 tonnes in 2003
- Negative
- Short term
- only 1% of Mozambique
actually have access to
electricity
- so they cannot access what the
dam is producing
- This level has hardly changed during the dam
- The local shrimp industry has been destroyed
- Long term
- The dam could produce
more energy but its
potential is limited by other
upstream dams that keep
river flows very low
- The potential for the dam
to reduce flooding has
been a disappointment as
floods downstream and on
other rivers occurred, which
are an environmental limit
to development which the
dams were hoped to
reduce
- Even though selling the electricity to
South Africa benefits the economy, it
does not directly benefit the citizens
- Success?
- YES
- It is a success because is
provides important power,
and has enabled
Mozambique to pay off
some of its debt. It is also a
long term investment,
allowing Mozambique to
eventually develop slightly,
and is a source of clean
electricit. Some success
has been experienced, but
with more careful planning
and control much more
could be achieved.
- NO
- It is not a success because even though it is generating
such large amounts of electricity, the people of Mozambique
cannot access it, and the dam would have a larger potential
if other dams were not further upstream. Furthermore the
dam was built to increase Mozambique's development, but
subsequent flooding has held it back even further