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Ethiopia
is praised as the “Water Tower of Africa” due to the prevalence of such mighty
rivers as the Blue Nile, Tekeze, Awash, Omo, Atbara, Baro, Genale and others
within the country’s territorial boundaries.
Many of these rivers have
been, until recent times, considered to be perennial vandals that plunder the
very essential lifeline of the Ethiopian farmer (the rich fertile soil which
succumbs to erosion). This partially explains the frequent occurrence of drought
and consequential famine in the country.
Throughout the centuries,
Ethiopia’s mighty rivers have served little purpose except, perhaps, their use
as subjects of literary works and poems by men and women. A courting youth might
address his beloved as the “daughter of my river,” much in the same manner that
Mark Anthony called his audience “my countrymen,” wanting to incite them against
Brutus and pestering them with words of praise till his audience would have it
no more.
Was the late Poet Laureate
Tsegaye G. Medhin praising or condemning the Awash River in his immortal poetry
as he follows the river all the way from its origin in the mountains of Mecha
and Tulema up to its end in the lowlands of the Afar people?
The Italians built the Koka
Hydroelectric Dam and the Dutch established the first sugarcane plantation at
Wonji making the Awash the first mighty river to concede defeat as it yielded
power and sugar, a historical prelude to the electrical and agricultural
development in the country.
That was also the dawn of
creating awareness about what could be done with our rivers, which had been
subjects of praise less than causes of curse. Men of the script did not see
grace and beauty in the biblical Gihon River (Blue Nile River), but acts of
incomprehensible ignorance as it freely gave away its invaluable resources to
neighbouring countries across Ethiopia’s borders. Times have changed.
The country has now arisen
from its centuries-old slumber. The torrential rains are being challenged. Trees
are being grown to replace the felled ones and have begun to take the direct
blows of the rains.
The mighty rivers are being
tamed. The rumbling and force of the floodwaters are being reserved in dams as a
result of the architectural competence, which is unequalled on the continent.
Hydroelectric projects like Koka, Melkasa, Melka Wakana, Fincha, Tekeze, Gilgel
Gibe I and II are just precursor projects with many others in the pipeline.
At a time when climate change
caused by greenhouse gas emissions has become a critical issue threatening our
very existence, there cannot be a better positive contribution than to generate
energy from water. Although the Awash River serves as a source of hydropower and
irrigation for agricultural products, it can no longer boast of being the only
useful river in Ethiopia. Other projects like Gilgel Gibe, Melka Wakena, Tekeze
and Tana Beles have now come to the fore of productivity like their elder
brother, Awash.
Although songwriters and
musicians sometimes praised flowing rivers, they had good reasons to condemn
them. In times of harsher rains when the rivers often overflowed, they flooded
their embankments drowning and sweeping away people and cattle.
A singer who sang, “There are
other ways to cross the River Abay when it overflows” might acutely feel
victorious when bridges like the Nekemte-Bure, Gambella and others are built.
In another view, why do people
wreak havoc on rivers that traverse cities like Addis? Why do city-dwellers or
even institutions pollute them by draining their wastewater into them?
I interviewed Mulugeta Hirpa,
senior technician of the Ethiopian Heritage Trust, about our dying rivers that
charge and rush up for the duration of about three months during the rainy
season only to subside into oblivion for the rest of the year.
Aberra Molla (Sileshi Demissie)
had single-handedly combated all odds to keep the rivers of the capital clean
and beautiful. Some observers allege that his actions were premature. At any
rate, his rally, to create awareness among the dwellers of the capital through
material actions to beautify specific areas in Addis, was laudable.
Pay a visit to the riverside
at Ras Mekonnen Bridge along Haile Selassie Avenue and you will see for yourself
that, “Where there is a will, there is always a way.”
The pollution of rivers by
urbanites is an international sickness encountered by many governments around
the world. India is facing a serious challenge from the River Ganges that might
soon be a lost cause unless something is done to mitigate the problem of
pollution.
As we approach the forthcoming
global climate change conference at Copenhagen, it might behove us to be
conscious of what to expect from each country in combating the problem of
climate change. Some of us could be thinking about how much money the developing
nations might pay to mitigate their contributions of carbon emissions. But that
is not enough. We should expect a meaningful reduction of carbon emissions as
well.
Although a reduction in the
amount of carbon emissions could be taken as a positive step by developed
nations, it should not be the only one. Countries like Ethiopia can not be
exempted from taking strategic steps like exploiting and harnessing their rivers
and other renewable sources of energy like wind and geothermal power.
Schoolchildren must also be
given appropriate lessons on the causes of climate change and the steps that
should be taken to combat the problem in due time. After all they are the ones
who will inherit the earth that we leave them. |
