Along with its economic presence, China has rapidly expanded its environmental footprint in Africa. An important objective of China's Africa strategy is to extract natural resources which have so far not been accessible. Such resources are often located in fragile ecosystems and countries plagued by corruption and conflict. As a long-term partner in Africa's development, China has an interest in addressing the environmental impacts of its projects. The Chinese government has issued guidelines on the impacts of overseas investments, but will need to strengthen them further.

China's Environmental Footprint in Africa examines China's Africa strategy, and analyzes similarities and differences with the Western approach.

Report Summary

As part of its going-out strategy, China is rapidly expanding its economic cooperation with Africa. China Exim Bank plays an important role in this cooperation. The policy bank is financing more than 250 projects in Africa, primarily in the infrastructure sector.

Sanaga River, Cameroon

Integrated River Basin Management of the Sanaga River, Cameroon: Benefits and challenges of decentralised water management

This paper was written as final assignment for
the course ‘Integrated River Basin Management’ at the UNESCO Institute of
Hydraulic Engineering, Delft, The Netherlands.

1. THE SANAGA RIVER BASIN
The Sanaga River is the largest river in Cameroon and its basin covers almost a fourth of the country. It flows for 918 km from its source on the Adamawa Plateau to the mouth at the Atlantic Ocean near Douala nd covers a drainage basin of about 140,000 km2. The average flow of the river is 2072 m3/sec with a minimum flow of 473 m3/sec in March and a maximum from August to November of 5700 m3/sec. The river flows through 6 of the 10 provinces of Cameroon: Adamawa, North-West, West, East, Central and Littoral Provinces. Two hydropower plants have been installed on the Sanaga which produce some 95% of all electricity consumed in Cameroon.

Dams Planned for African Rivers

This information is compiled by International Rivers’s Africa

Declaration de la Societe Civile a la Table Ronde Internationale sur le Developpement Hydroelectrique du Site d’Inga

RE : Inquiétudes au sujet du projet proposé « Regional and Domestic Power Markets Development Project » (ID P097201)

Lisez un lettre à la Banque Mondiale des ONGs Congolais

The World Bank’s Failed Efforts to Restore Lives and Livelihoods of Dam-Affected People in Lesotho

While the Lesotho Highlands Water Project increased the fortunes of the nation’s elite, the majority of Lesotho's citizens were not able to cash in on the LHWP. In total, approximately 1.5 percent of Lesotho’s citizenry is directly affected by the project. It weakened local economies and severely strained the social fabric of nearby villages. Despite a long-term compensation program, huge amounts of resources devoted to “rural development,” and many good intentions, the welfare of affected people has been compromised – perhaps irrevocably.