Summary
·
The call
for reversal of damage on the environment goes beyond the government if the
JNHPP is to see success and begin functioning
Kilombero. The Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP) is facing a threat caused by ongoing environmental damages in the Kilombero valley in Morogoro region, which is a key source of water.
The dam, which is expected to
generate 2,215 megawatts of electricity, depends on water flowing from the
wetlands of the valley to the Rufiji River that fills the power plant.
Rufiji also depends on water from
the Kilombero basin which contributes about 65 percent, Luwegu River which
contributes 15 percent, Ruaha River (19.5 percent) and other small tributaries
that contribute 0.5 percent.
While the government is implementing
the Sh6.5 trillion project, there is an increase of human activity in the
valley with the government estimating an average of 17,515 residents increasing
every year in the Kilombero District.
According to the report of the
Comptroller and Auditor General on government accounts that ended on March 31,
last year, the size of the wetlands had already decreased by 72 percent in the
Kilombero valley.
A recent trip to the valley under
the Southern Tanzania Elephant Programme (STEP), a non-governmental
organisation, witnessed damages that require quick fixes.
“Now the elephants are used to us,
they come again in daylight and eat mangoes, watermelons, oranges or
pomegranates,” says Mohamed Libongoi, a resident of Kanyenje Village, in
Ifakara.
“When I moved here in 1994, there
were no elephants in the streets at all but now they are a nuisance. They
attack rice farms and last November they killed an old man at Msalise
neighbourhood,” he said.
“Sometimes the elephants come home,
eat oranges, and leaves. We are asking the government to help us,” says Mwajuma
Lioko of the same village.
The population increase has
contributed to the expansion of agricultural and fishing activities and
businesses.
The population has increased from
321,611 residents in 2002 to 582,960 in 2022, equivalent to an increase of
13,067 every year for the past 20 years.
According to the Government website,
the 23 villages surrounding the valley are Luwembo, Maulanga, Miwangani,
Namwawala, Idandu, Kalenga, Kikwambi, Mofu, Miyomboni, Nakagulu, Ijia, Isago,
Luvilikila, Mkangawalo, Chita, Melela, Chisano, Karangekelo, Msolwa, Miembeni,
Kibugasa and Ngalimila.
The National Environmental
Conservation and Management Council (Nemc) in collaboration with the National
Electricity Corporation (Tanesco) has begun researching the area to find the
possibility of removing some residents to save the safety of the Kihansi and
Kidatu dams which are power sources.
“Without action, the dam face threats.
We will assess the invasion situation, the villages involved, and which areas
should be relocated. The government will not agree to invest in such a large
project and then destroy it,” says Nemc Director General, Samuel Gwamaka.
Monitoring and Evaluation Manager
for the USAID Conserve Natural Resource, John Noronha says the government
should look at the decision broadly and take immediate action.
“The government should listen to the
people and recognise that they have the basic right to housing, but they should
be educated about the importance of the area. The government should agree with
them before relocating,” he says.
The Minister of State in the Vice
President’s Office responsible for the environment, Dr Suleiman Jafo did not
receive calls or respond to messages for three days in a row when he was
contacted to discuss strategies and measures to deal with the threat in the
dam.
However, Tanesco environment
director, Dr Richard Mayungi says that the state-run company has already
prepared 15 measures that will start being implemented next month to rescue the
dam.
“In 2004/06, the government invested
in the Ruaha Mkumu River and the breeders moved to the valley. It lacked good
management and the consequences were serious. So, first of all, political will
is needed for success in the valley,” says Dr Muyungi.
According to him, the volume of
water in the dam, which is expected to be full within 18 months, has already
reached more than 100 meters above sea level before starting to generate
electricity before by 2025.
The dam has the capacity to store 32
billion litres.
Dr Muyungi says among the measures
to be taken against the safety of the Rufiji River basin is to cooperate with
the leaders to move to the lower Ruaha at the cost that will be required.
“The area we suggested is Utete, the
headquarters of Rufiji District, as it is a very good area to stay,” he adds.
He says a team of experts have
organised villagers in Kilombero valley to support tree-planting campaigns that
seeks to plant more than one million trees.
“Another activity will be to
evaluate agricultural activities that damage water sources. We just need
cooperation.”
The Minister for Energy, Januari
Makamba says that in line with the Tanesco’s efforts, the ministry has
allocated Sh5 billion to be used to save all sources of electricity.
“We have directed Tanesco to start
CSR in the valleys including the Kilombero River valley with that budget. In
the past, we waited for water to come to the dams, now we want to strengthen
those sources. This electricity investment will all be lost if we do not care
about the environment,” he says.
“The problem is selfishness. There
is a lot of land for grazing but regardless of who enters there, the village
authorities should be responsible. They have been empowered by the Environment
Act 2004 to issue fines to those who destroy the environment.”
The deputy Minister for Natural
Resources and Tourism, Ms Mary Masanja says the government has already started
taking measures to reverse the ongoing damages in all the valleys in the
country including the valley, under her team.
“We have already agreed to remove
one village of Ng’ombo, located in Malinyi District due to the importance of
the area. Now we have sent our team of experts to the valley and they will
bring us a report. The government will evaluate and remove them with
compensation, then they can choose where to move to,” she says.
The committee of eight ministers to
resolve the land disputes of 975 villages and neighbourhoods in the country
concluded its work last month in Dar es Salaam, legalising the settlement of
some controversial borders after passing through several regions including
Dodoma, Kigoma and Kagera.
“That valley has a GN (Government
Notice) of conservation area and most residents there are invaders. We are now
planning to save the core of the JNHPP dam. We will remove some of them and
they will choose where to move to because the issue of housing is a person’s
choice,” says Ms Masanja.
Conservation Commissioner of the
Tanzania Forest Service Agency (TFS), Prof Dos Santos Silayo says the agency
continues to collaborate with other authorities to control the damages.
“We have strengthened all the
forests around the valley. What was done in the JNHPP project is only to clear
the water filling areas of trees,” he says.
This month, President Samia Suluhu
Hasan declared the entire area of land with a size of 6,989.3 square kilometres
within the Malinyi, Ulanga and Kilombero districts as Kilombero Forest Reserve,
upgrading from the status of the wilderness.
Morogoro regional Natural Resources
Officer Joseph Chuwa, says the announcement prohibits construction and
livestock keeping in the area.
“The area is located in the
Kilombero valley. Efforts to raise the status were made between 2011 and 2023.
Now some of the neighbourhoods that are outside the boundaries will be removed
and the valuation procedures are already underway, to ensure that we prevent
the destruction,” he says.
“Currently, if you bring livestock
into the forest, you will be fined Sh100,000 per head. We are appealing to the
villagers to cooperate in protecting the area.”
The national chairman of
Pastoralists Association, Mr Jeremiah Wambura, calls on all cattle breeders in
the country to recognize the importance of the environment in the area.
“We need to respect the law and to
avoid those challenges we should focus on modern farming.”
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