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Zambezi River

By: Seraya Al Kaabi

Location of the Zambezi.

• The Zambezi is Africa’s fourth largest river.

• It flows from North Western Zambia

• Through Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe.

• Finally flowing into the ocean in Mozambique.

Map of Africa with the Zambezi

Importance of the Zambezi

It supports 2 of Southern Africa’s longest hydro electrical power stations at Kariba in Zimbabwe and Caborra Bassa in Mozambique.

It provides water in an otherwise dry continent.

Supporting a wide variety of species in its untouched habitats.

Issues regarding the Zambezi.

The Zambezi Water Corporation has put through an idea to make a canal out of the Zambezi River.

This canal would be 1500km long.

It would stretch from Victoria Falls in Western Zimbabwe to the Indian Ocean in Eastern Mozambique.

This project is called the The Zambezi Seaway project.

There has been much controversy over the scheme.

The environmental issue

The seaway project on the Zambezi River is only considering economics and the benefits to the world economies with cheaper raw materials. It would benefit and create an economic boon but at what cost

We live in an interconnected world

The Impact

No one appears to care about the environment and how it will destroy the animals and the ecosystem.

We must think of the future.

The planet does not belong to us and we have to take care of it for future generations.

Once this habitat is destroyed there will be nothing left for the children of the future to enjoy.

The Zambezi Seaway Project

The goal of the Seaway project is to reduce freight costs for landlocked countries.

Landlocked African countries have to transport raw materials on land which makes the product to high.

Floating the goods on a giant canal would reduce freight costs dramatically making African commodities competitive on the world economy.

The Advantages of the Seaway

There are many advantages to such a scheme is that it will offer cheaper and more efficient route to the Ocean, boosting local communities economies.

The transportation costs are prohibitive.

Floating the goods will be dramatically reduced leading to the knock on effect of bringing them onto the world market at greatly reduced prices.

Disadvantages to the scheme.

The Project has caused an out cry amongst environmentalists as they argue that such a canal would destroy the habitat and the ecosystem.

One of the major disadvantages is that such a scheme would have a major negative impact on the environment and the abundant wildlife that thrive along the riverbanks of the Zambezi River.

Disadvantages

The major source of fresh water will become polluted causing crops that utilize the water to fail which would result in famine.

Disadvantages to the seaway

Tourism a major source of income for poorer African countries who do not have any natural resources to exploit could find that their eco tourism will be reduced or lost as a result of the destruction of the beautiful habitat that will be destroyed through construction.

Disadvatages

The course of the river maybe altered effecting the two hydro – dams further downstream. As these hydro dams provide electricity for Mozambique and Zimbabwe this could lead to electricity cuts and black outs lowering the standard of living.

Disadvantages continued

The cost of building such a canal is about 30 billion dollars. This means that some poorer African countries will be unable to build the canal.

International companies will exploit the local labor force and not care about the habitat as it is not their country.

The local African countries may not benefit from.

Conclusion

This is an emotive issue money v the environment.

At the moment no Government can afford to build such a project

But do we really need the project animals and the environment need to be protected.

Bibliography

http://www.victoriafalls-guide.net/zambezi-seaway.html