SITE
Megadam GIBE III Megadam
Food Security
Affected Area Minimal Stressed Crisis Emergency
THE PROBLEM Home to the 3rd lowest access to potable water per capita (18%) yet the greatest water reserves in Africa and source of 85% of the Nile River, Ethiopia is ironically referred to as the “Water Tower of Africa.” This problem grows exponentially as the world’s largest landlocked country, home to the world’s 9th largest population of over 228 million by 2050, and the 7th worst standard of living according to the United Nations Human Development Index. While Ethiopia has turned its focus to its “white oil”—water—it is purely for energy reasons with 14 new megadams to be constructed by 2015 that have severe environmental and social implications yet to be studied; the Gibe III Dam—currently under construction with 2 more dams scheduled downstream—will negatively affect 500,000 people downstream. Unconsulted—in breach of Ethiopian law—the indigenous tribes will be forced to move from their regular water source; this lobotomy uproots cultures, traditions, livestock, trade, lifelines to southern national parks, and flood-recession agriculture. Gathering water has become a ritual, refined over generations and highly dependent on flood cycles of rivers in the region for the sediment they leave behind. These migrant peoples are directed to convert to sedentary agriculture on the newly sediment-deprived land, making their knowledge gained over millennia obsolete within months. As 41% of Ethiopia's GDP and 80% of Ethiopia’s labor rely on agriculture, the country is # unavoidably dependent upon the extraction and distribution of potable water. Yet millions require food assistance annually. Even more dependent upon water are the migrant tribes, constantly searching for potable water, grazing land for their cattle, and access to migratory fish. Water scarcity has already created dangerous inter-ethnic conflicts; this will be exacerbated by Ethiopia’s extreme poverty, future droughts, and the megadams’ irreversibly altered seasonal flooding and reduced volume.
WATER TO POPULATION DENSITY 2
Population (in millions) 228
16 187 MILLION PEOPLE WITHOUT REGULAR ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER
114
Year
0 1950
2000
54
8 4
39
8
19 31 27
8
4
Population Population WITH regular access to clean water Gibe III Affected Area (58 million) Low Density per # Water Basin # 2050 Estimated Population # (in millions) High Density per # Water Basin
2050
THE SOLUTION This proposal for a series of water purification centers and resettlement housing accepts the inevitability of these dams—due to the unquestionable power of the Ethiopian government—and attempts to help those affected by this travesty. Through a collection, filtration, and distribution system, the Water Stelae connect people with a continuous source of clean water, their crops, and other tribes, bridging the vast height from plateau to river. As historical stelae mark the location of a sacred space below, the fabric-canopied Water Stelae mark the entrance to a space of secure water and life. Native fabric collects condensation and shades the sun and dust; the earth excavated filters the collected water along its journey; a composting terra preta system fertilizes the soil, and a locally governed acequia system distributes the clean water to the surrounding area in these new migrant community centers. As the southern Nyangatom tribe and northern rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, the Water Stelae dig deep into the earth to extract water. The Water Stelae continue the indigenous peoples’ ways of life and ensure ever-lasting access to clean water.
Rehydrating the Omo River Valley
WATER STELAE PERMACULTURE
CULTURAL INFLUENCES
Ethiopian agriculture consists of a mix of pastoralist and sedentary farmers. Due to the harsh terrain of steep plateaus and deep lowland rivers, Ethiopian farmers utilize terraced farming. The terraces are designed to retain the ideal amount of water while exerting the remaining water to the terrace below. This type of farming creates an ideal situation to utilize the placement of the tower within the topography. Excess water from the encompassing ring of the tower is drained into the terraced farming below, creating a continuous and dependable water supply that is resistant to seasonal droughts.
+ + = − Obelisk of Axom, Ethiopia
Human Water Chains
The Church St. George, Lalibela, Ethiopia
Omo River Valley during flood season
Omo River Valley with essential sediment
retention from floodwater for farming
Gibe III Megadam terminating flood season, restricting flow and essential sediment
Water Stelae revitalizing Omo River Valley through irrigation and fertilization
Typical skyscraper
The agriculture is further supplemented by the Water Stelae with nutrients from its occupants’ waste. The solid waste is combined with the soil to create a nutrient rich terra preta soil. The liquid waste is used to fertilize the crops. These supplemental nutrients nullify the effects of the reduction of essential nutrients retained by the dam and lack of seasonal flooding. Through the design of the tower and surrounding site, an ecological balance is restored that is vital to life in the Omo River Valley. Water Stelae