Africa / Campaigns

The government of Uganda, with help from the World Bank, is constructing a 200-megawatt dam near Bujagali Falls on the Nile, just downstream from two other large dams. The costly dam’s power will not meet the energy needs of most Ugandans, will drown a treasured waterfall, and could harm Lake Victoria, the world’s largest tropical lake.

While less than 5% of households in Cameroon have access to electricity, the government is intensifying efforts to build the Lom Pangar Dam, which would allow a major expansion of the Alucam aluminum smelter at the expense of residential consumers and local businesses.

Download our African Dams Briefing and corresponding map. These documents give a listing and summary of the planned dams in Africa for which we have come across information.

Read an overview of Chinese Dam Building in Africa

Learn more about a few key projects:

Adjarala Dam, Togo and Benin
The 96–MW Adjarala Dam would be the second largest hydropower dam on the Mono River between the countries of Benin and Togo.

Grand Inga, the world’s largest hydropower scheme, is proposed for the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one of Africa’s most politically volatile and corruption-plagued countries. The massive dam is part of a greater vision by the international economic community to develop a power grid across Africa that will spur the continent's industrial economic development. But with a price tag of US$80 billion, concerns are growing that foreign companies will gain vast economic benefits from this mega-project, taking attention away from the development needs of Africa’s poor majority.

The Merowe Dam is a US$1.8 billion hydropower project being built on the Nile in Sudan. The 174-kilometer-long reservoir will displace more than 50,000 people from the fertile Nile Valley to arid desert locations. The environmental and health impacts have never been properly assessed.

Since the World Commission on Dams published its final report in 2000, efforts have been made to promote its rights–based approach to water and energy planning across Africa. African NGOs working on dam issues have been instrumental in prompting national multi–stakeholder dialogues on the WCD, and educating local communities on its findings. Below are some highlights from across the continent.

The Zambezi is one of the most heavily dammed rivers in Africa. More than 30 large dams have already been constructed throughout its basin, at great cost to local people and wildlife. These impacts have been particularly harsh in Mozambique, where the giant Cahora Bassa Dam displaced tens of thousands of people, and severely degraded downstream floodplains and fisheries. Significant work is currently underway to restore the lower Zambezi by improving how water is released from Cahora Bassa. Water release patterns that more closely mimic natural flows will improve the richness of the degraded downstream environment.

Ethiopia is a land of hydrological contrasts. Its uneven, often unpredictable distribution of water greatly impacts its efforts to address poverty. With its huge hydropower potential, Ethiopia has become a poster child for the dam industry, which contends that big dams are critical for ending its poverty. International donors are supporting the Ethiopian government's plans to build some of Africa’s largest dams to promote the export of agricultural commodities and hydropower. But most development analysts believe the rural poor need smaller-scale water projects more suited to meeting their immediate needs.