Adapting to Dams: Socio economic and Environmental Problems Up and Downstream of Jebba Dam, North Central Nigeria

Abstract

In Africa, the economic, social and environmental impacts of large dams on communities inhabiting floodplains up and downstream have mostly been adverse. Large hydroelectric Dams wreck havoc on the ecosystems and communities where they are placed. The environmental damage can be so extensive and the direct and indirect costs to people and governments so high, that even the most grandiose of dam projects is difficult to justify. Upstream or down, the ecology and hydrology of a river are forever changed once a concrete wall chokes back its waters. Most studies of the impacts of dams have been short term, however, and confined to the years immediately following dam closure. This paper takes a longer term perspective, examining changes that occurred in the 25 years of the construction of Jebba Dam in North Central Nigeria. The results indicate occurrence of a wide range of social and economic dislocation, environmental degradation due to cessation of floods and flooding due to release of water from the dams, thus resulting in partial erosion of traditional pattern and collapse of rural economy. It is therefore recommended, that a programme to monitor the impacts of dam development (particularly in downstream communities) should be an integral element of the planning process, and should be matched by resources to mitigate impacts not addressed fully by the planning process.