| Africa


Left: According to the International Hydropower Association, Angola is a country to watch in the future with unexploited hydropower potential


African highlights


Insufficient coordination and communication between upstream and downstream stakeholders. Institutional instability. A shortage of hydrological, socioeconomic, and environmental data. Poor designs. Non-adherence to local norms and standards. Poor experience of some contractors. Lack of community ownership


The Um Dafoug dam in South Darfur, Sudan is said to exemplify these challenges. With a storage capacity of 10Mm3


, it spans a transboundary seasonal stream


flowing from Sudan into the Central African Republic. Constructed in 1997 by the South Darfur State Water Corporation in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources in Sudan, the dam serves as the largest and most significant water dam in the region.


Hamid Omer Ali explains that the dam’s main objective was the provision of a reliable source of water for multiple usages, including providing local pastoralists with water to ensure they could stay with their livestock within South Darfur State – instead of having to venture beyond the borders into the Central African Republic where they can be exposed to xenophobia. Although strategically significant, the Um Dafoug dam suffered three failures, with the most severe in 2022 caused by a combination of extreme flooding and critical design flaws. Inadequate studies and assessments during planning resulted in insufficient spillway capacity and persistent water seepage, compromising the dam’s structural integrity. Management shortcomings further exacerbated


References


Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam can generate sustainable hydropower while minimizing downstream water deficit during prolonged droughts by Essam Heggy, Abotalib Z. Abotalib, Jongeun You, EmmanuelHanert, Mohamed Ramah. Communications Earth & Environment| (2024) 5:757 https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01821-w


Advancing integrated water resources management approaches for the sustainability of small dams in arid and semi-arid regions: A case study of the Um Dafoug dam in South Darfur State by Sudan Hamid Omer Ali. International Journal of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering. Vol. 17(1), pp. 1-16, January-March, 2025 DOI: 10.5897/IJWREE2024.1082 Article Number: C15135772913


these issues. Limited community engagement, poor coordination among institutions, the absence of a community-based maintenance framework, and the lack of a tariff system for water usage highlight systemic weaknesses, the author claims. While unregulated water use has led to environmental degradation, soil erosion, and increased risk of waterborne diseases. According to Hamid Omer Ali, from its initial


planning through to construction and ongoing management, the dam was marked by remarkable shortcomings and deficiencies in planning, design, construction, and subsequent management. These contributed significantly to its frequent failure. Furthermore, this “rendered it a prime example of shortsighted rural development and a classic example of the tragedy of the commons in which unregulated and open access to natural and water resources is destroyed or depleted because each user acts in their own interest”. The example of the Um Dafoug dam is said to highlight critical lessons that state water corporations and other water authorities in Sudan, as well as in similar arid and semi-arid regions, must urgently address. These are critical for ensuring the safety and sustainability of small dams and for avoiding the pitfalls of unregulated open access to water sources, particularly in rural areas across the country. With this in mind, the author recommends a holistic approach rooted in the principles of integrated water resources management, emphasising collaborative engagement among diverse stakeholders, plus the establishment of a co-management system, governance, and transparent tariff collection mechanisms.


According to the International Hydropower Association’s 2024 World Hydropower Outlook, Africa’s top five countries by capacity added in 2023 were: 1. Nigeria – 740MW. 2. Uganda- 408MW. 3. DR Congo – 382MW. 4. Tanzania – 262MW. 5. Burundi – 27MW.


The top ten countries ranked by total installed hydropower capacity were: 1. Ethiopia – 4825MW 2. Angola – 3836MW 3. South Africa – 3600MW 4. Zambia – 3164MW 5. DR Congo – 3142MW 6. Egypt – 2876MW 7. Nigeria – 2851MW 8. Mozambique – 2217MW 9. Sudan – 1923MW 10. Morocco – 1770MW


The African countries the IHA has earmarked countries to watch for in the future include: Angola – with 12GW of


exploitable potential and only 4GW currently utilised, hydropower is being made a priority in the government’s infrastructure plans to meet growing electricity demand. Burundi has an estimated


hydropower potential of 1700MW – 20% of which is economically viable. Although most potential


hydropower has already been used in Egypt, opportunities still remain for small hydro and pumped storage. And in Nigeria, the total exploitable hydropower potential is estimated to exceed 14,120MW, translating to over 50.8TWh annually.


www.waterpowermagazine.com | May 2025 | 13


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