Originally constructed in 1974, the Tarbela Dam is the world s largest earth- and rock-filled structure, standing almost 500 feet high and straddling the Indus River for 9,000 feet. Its existing hydropower facilities supply about 16% of the electricity generated in Pakistan. The primary purpose of the Tarbela Dam Project was to regulate the flows of the Indus River for irrigation use. This project is in fact part of a wider set of infrastructure projects, the so-called Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS), which is the world s largest irrigation system. Other objectives were to achieve substantial generation of hydroelectric power and flood control by conserving snow melt and monsoon flows of the Indus River. |
Description:
Basic Data
| Name of conflict: | Tarbela Dam, Pakistan |
| Country: | Pakistan |
| State or province: | Haripur District |
| Location of conflict: | Hazara Division, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Accuracy of location | HIGH (Local level) |
Source of Conflict
| Type of conflict. 1st level: | Water Management |
| Type of conflict. 2nd level: | Water access rights and entitlements Dams and water distribution conflicts |
| Specific commodities: | Electricity Water Land |
Project Details and Actors
| Project details | Power generation capacity is 3,478 MW through 14 power generating units. |
| Project area: | 26000 |
| Level of Investment for the conflictive project | 1,490,000,000 (*) |
| Type of population | Rural |
| Start of the conflict: | 1970 |
| Company names or state enterprises: | Sacyr from Spain Costruzioni generali Farsura from Italy Astaldi from Italy Compagnie de Constructions Internationales from France Compagnie Francaise dEntreprises from France Societe de Construction de Batignolles from France Hochtief from Germany Philipp Holzmann from Germany Strabag Bau from Germany Ed Zueblin from Germany C. Baresel from Germany Conrad Zschokke from Switzerland Losinger from Switzerland Salini Impregilo from Italy |
| Relevant government actors: | Government of Pakistan, Water and Power Development Authority |
| International and Finance Institutions | The World Bank (WB) from United States of America International Development Association (IDA) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) - The Project, to be co-financed with the World Bank (WB), comprises the installation of a power house at the fifth tunnel (Tunnel 5) of the Tarbela Dam, and construction of a transmission line to connect the power to the national grid. The WB’s co-financing will be in the form of an Additional Financing (AF) for the existing WB-financed Tarbela Fourth Extension Hydropower Project (T4HP). The Tarbela Dam was originally constructed in the 1970s. |
| Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | International Rivers, http://www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/pakistan, Pakistan Network for Rivers, Dams and People (PNRDP) |
Conflict & Mobilization
| Intensity | LOW (some local organising) |
| Reaction stage | Unknown |
| Groups mobilizing: | Farmers Indigenous groups or traditional communities International ejos Local ejos Landless peasants Social movements |
| Forms of mobilization: | Development of a network/collective action Street protest/marches |
Impacts
| Environmental Impacts | Visible: Food insecurity (crop damage), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Soil erosion, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems, Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity Potential: Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Floods (river, coastal, mudflow), Groundwater pollution or depletion |
| Health Impacts | Potential: Violence related health impacts (homicides, rape, etc..) |
| Socio-economical Impacts | Visible: Increase in Corruption/Co-optation of different actors, Displacement, Loss of livelihood, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Land dispossession, Loss of landscape/sense of place Potential: Increase in violence and crime, Lack of work security, labour absenteeism, firings, unemployment, Violations of human rights |
Outcome
| Project Status | In operation |
| Conflict outcome / response: | Corruption Criminalization of activists Migration/displacement Repression |
| Proposal and development of alternatives: | Opponents to the project jointly criticizes the government's outdated policies, stating the need to replace the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 with a more comprehensive relocation policy. They also stated that the government departments in charge of rehabilitating affected peoples are grossly mismanaged, bureaucratic and corrupt and in need of reorganization. They put forward a series of demands: -the adoption of the report of the World Commission on Dams as a guiding principle for policy-making and implementation; -adequate relocation and compensation for all direct and indirect affected people, -the definition of 'affected' be broadened -eligibility policies made more just -environmental clean up projects -national participation in the policy-making and implementation process. |
| Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | No |
| Briefly explain: | Many families have not yet received due rehabilitation and compensation measures, even after so many years. The project does not benefit local communities and is part of a top-down energy generation plan with poor consideration of small communities claims. |
Sources & Materials
| Juridical relevant texts related to the conflict (laws, legislations, EIAs, etc) |
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| References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries |
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| Related media links to videos, campaigns, social network |
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| Other comments: | (*) The project was fully completed in 1984, at a cost of $1.49 bn. The funds coming now for the extension plans are currently under estimation. |
Meta information
| Contributor: | Daniela Del Bene |
| Last update | 18/08/2019 |
| Conflict ID: | 192 |
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