2012 Goldman Prize winner Ikal Angelei spoke to Nicholas School students about her work against mega dam construction

DURHAM, NC – Environmental activist Ikal Angelei spoke to a group of graduate and undergraduate students at 51’s Nicholas School of the Environment on Friday, Sept. 14, about her efforts to stop the construction of a mega dam that would affect more than 500,000 people living in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Angelei’s work to halt construction of the controversial dam won her a prestigious Goldman Prize in Environmental Activism earlier this year.

Her talk at the Nicholas School was part of the 2012 Environmental Institutions Seminar Series, sponsored by the University PhD Program in Environmental Policy (UPEP) and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.

Introduced as a “force of one,” Angelei has spearheaded the movement to stop the construction of the Gibe III hydroelectric dam on the Omo River , which provides 90 percent of the water in Lake Turkana. The world’s largest desert lake, Turkana straddles the border of Ethiopia and Kenya and is a vital resource for the fishermen and herders who eke out an existence on its shores.

Although construction of the dam began in 2006, Angelei did not learn about the project until 2008. She founded the nonprofit organization Friends of Lake Turkana that year and got to work.

She quickly realized that educating government officials on the repercussions of building a mega dam and then waiting for them to take action would take far too long.

Instead, Angelei decided that going after the banks who agreed to fund the project would be the quickest way to inhibit the dam’s progress. She successfully convinced major banks, including the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank, to withdraw their investments on the basis of lack of public consultation.The project was originally estimated to cost $1.8 billion is now estimated to cost between $2.7 and $3 billion upon projected completion.

In her talk at the Nichoals School, Angelei confessed that she knew very little about science or policy before beginning her work to stop Gibe III.

“I am not an expert; I don’t have all the answers,” she said.  “I needed facts.”

She told the students that her struggles are a part of a greater continental disconnect happening across Africa.

“Policymakers are always talking about ‘where Africa is going,’ but they are not looking at how their decisions may affect local communities, Angelei said. This disconnect between local communities and national-level bureaucrats and policymakers has been one of Angelei’s biggest frustrations.

Lake Turkana is located in an area where resources are already scarce and the potential for conflict over resources is high. There has been an increase in conflict near the lake since construction for the dam began. “Resources, especially water, don’t have administrative boundaries,” Angelei noted.

Angelei does not take all the credit for her progress against building Gibe III. It was a community effort, she stresses.

“Everything I learn, I give back to the community,” she told the 51 audience.  She said she works to make sure that the often divided and marginalized indigenous communities living around Lake Turkana are educated about what is happening in their region, and how the dam could affect them.  Much of her work involves traveling to remote villages and speaking with residents one on one or in small groups.  At times , it’s tiring work, but Angelei feels her message is getting through. She told an anecdote about one local resident who could neither speak nor understand any English other than the phrases “EIA” – meaning environmental impact assessment – “public consultation” and “free prime consent.”

As Angelei’s work has gained notoriety, she has had to pay more attention to her personal security. She admitted  that she is not popular with many members of the Ethiopian government, who believe that she is stifling African progress. She has taken risks that some of her family members do not approve of.  To mask her identity,on occasions she has dressed as a nun,but Angelei claims that her most common disguise is a naive tourist who asks a lot of questions.

Kenyan and Ethiopian leaders are still looking for donors to facilitate Gibe III, but the governments have agreed to meet with concerned stakeholders to discuss the future of the project. Angelei hopes that these leaders will be able to look past the initial profits that could be made by selling energy from dam and instead focus on the environmental repercussions that will affect the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of already marginalized Africans.

Goldman Prizes are awarded each year to a “grassroots environmental hero” from each continent. Recipients are recognized for their sustained and significant effort to protect and enhance the natural environment, often risking their personal safety.

Angelei’s talk at the Nicholas School was part of a weeklong residency at 51 made possible through a faculty small grant from 51’s Middle East Studies Center, and through additional support from the Islamic Center, the Franklin Center for Humanities, the Rotary Club and the Women’s Center.

The talk was available to students at the 51 Marine Lab in Beaufort, N.C., via skype.

UPEP is an interdisciplinary PhD program administered jointly by the Nicholas School of the Environment and the Sanford School of Public Policy.

For information on upcoming UPEP seminar speakers,please visit .