The Anglo-Ethiopian Society
Lecture - Southern Ethiopia: A debate on the Dams Controversy
chaired by Dr Camilla Toulmin
Monday 11th October 2010
6pm, Khalili Lecture Theatre, Main Building, SOAS, Thornhaugh St, London WC1H 0XG
Organised by the Royal African Society
Speakers:
Dr. David Turton (Senior Research Fellow, AHRC Omo Valley Project at the University of Oxford/Author)
Prof. David Anderson (Professor African Politics at the University of Oxford/Author/Executive Editor of the Journal of Eastern African Studies)
Dr. Sarah Vaughan (Author, Research Consultant, Professor of African Politics and Social Theory)
Chair:
Dr. Camilla Toulmin (Director of the International Institute for Environment & Development. (IIED))
The Environmental Impact Study is a requirement of virtually all western funders of large construction projects, but one was not done before construction began on the Gibe III dam. Studies and research have stated that the dam will devastate the livelihoods of at least eight tribes living in the country’s Lower Omo Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Who is to blame for the lack of research? A coalition of organisations including Survival International, the Campaign for the Reform of the World Bank and human rights groups from Kenya, delivered a petition denouncing the Gibe III dam. More than 300 concerned organisations have signed the petition. The Ethiopian Government has added Britain to its list of critics, but are we criticising their choices or are we just stating fact?
Following on from the BBC’s documentary, Ethiopia Dam Controversy and having researched in Ethiopia, Dr. David Turton and David Anderson will be presenting a policy briefing paper produced by The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Communications Office. They will speak on what is really happening in Ethiopia and how the world has reacted. Joining them will be Dr Sarah Vaughan and Camille Toulman, speaking and questioning this topic.
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BBC's Ethiopia Dam Controversy Documentary - Part I
BBC's Ethiopia Dam Controversy Documentary - Part II