40 / 100
40
hydropower schemes are also seen as a viable option
for providing electricity to remote rural areas, such as
mountainous areas where access to the electricity grid
is difficult (Quirke, 2012; UNEP, 2014).
A key constraint hindering the development of
the energy sector is limited finance. In addition to
the economic costs of constructing dams, there is
the social and environmental cost to consider. The
construction of new dams means the forced relocation
of communities and changes to the natural water flow
which can place stress on downstream communities
and countries as well as ecosystems and biodiversity
(UNEP, 2014). It is crucial that new constructions take
into account environmental and social sustainability
and that the costs and benefits are shared equally
(Niang et al., 2014).
Hydropower is a vulnerable sector to climate change
due to its reliance on precipitation and water flow.
Reductions in rainfall, increased evaporation and
droughts have already had significant impacts on
hydropower generation in East Africa. During the
previous La Niña years of 1991-1992 and 2009,
droughts results in a drop in annual hydropower
generation to less than 2,500 million kWh, down
from an average of over 3,000 million kWh (UNEP,
2014). Similar reductions in hydropower generation
occurred in 2011 due to drought (Wahome, 2011).
Prolonged droughts in 2004-2005 in Rwanda, coupled
with the drainage of the Rugezi marshland, reduced
electricity generation from the Ntaruka and the
Mukunwa hydropower plants from 23 MW down to
5 MW (MoNR, 2012). Similarly, when Lake Victoria’s
water level dropped by over a metre in 2006 as a result
of dry conditions, the Ugandan hydropower station
at Owen Falls Dam was not able to operate at full
capacity (NEMA, 2010a). Floods and landslides can
also cause significant damage to hydropower plants.
The construction of the Tekeze Dam in Ethiopia, for
20
2 420
SUDAN
SOUTH SUDAN
ZAMBIA
MALAWI
MOZAMBIQUE
ERITREA
DJIBOUTI
ETHIOPIA
SOMALIA
KENYA
UGANDA
TANZANIA
DRC
RWANDA
BURUNDI
Oldoinyo
Lengai
Erta Ale
Nyiragongo
190 130
Contribution to Climate Change
Sources: IEA,2014, “WorldEnergyOutlook” ;WorldResources Institute,2014, “CAIT -CountryGreenhouseGasEmissionsData”;M.R.Burton,G.M.SawyerandD.Granieri,2013, “DeepCarbon
Emissions fromVolcanoes”,Reviews inMineralogy&Geochemistry,Vol.75,pp.323-354,MineralogicalSocietyofAmerica.
GHG Emissions
Tonnes of CO₂ equivalent
Including
Land-Use Change
and Forestry
Excluding
Land-Use Change
and Forestry
0
50 000
100 000
150 000
2012
Copyright©2015GRID-Arendal ·Cartografare ilpresente/NievesLópez IzquierdoandDario Ingiusto
Traditional use of biomass
for cooking in Africa
Percentage of population relying
on traditional use of biomass
2012
95% 80 60
(Djibouti)
14%
Emissions from volcanoes
CO
2
fluxes from pesisstently degassing volcanoes
Tonnes per year