A Chinese company will build a dam that could extinguish the western chimpanzees of Guinea. The construction of the project would kill 1,500 chimpanzees and damage the environment of this African country. This company would also displace thousands of people.
By José Díaz
Servindi, March 4, 2019.- In recent years, many companies in China have seen in Africa and South Asia as the favorite destination of their investments. The low environmental regulation that exists in these areas of the world has generated that the Asian giant transfers its investments to these areas. However, the environmental impact of their economic activities does not seem to be among the priorities of Chinese companies.
The most recent case is that of the 294MW Koukoutamba dam, which will be built in Guinea by the Chinese company Sinohydro, one of the largest hydroelectric builders in the world. However, this project would put at risk the biodiversity into the recently declared Moyen-Bafing National Park.
Specifically, it is estimated that this dam would destroy the habitat of 1,500 chimpanzees, which would turn their existence at risk. This same company already has a complaint about having built a similar project in Indonesia. The work in this last country left as a consequence a critical scenario for the Indonesian orangutan species.
In addition to the impact on Guinean chimpanzees, whose population has been reduced by 80% in the last 20 years, the project will have negative impacts on Guinea population. This dam would cause the displacement of 8,700 people, all these inhabitants of communities in the surroundings of the Moyen-Bafing National Park.
More claims
Guinea is a country known for its diverse fauna and, especially, for hosting the largest population of western chimpanzees. The calculations are of 16,000 exemplars of this subspecies. The primatologist of University of California at Berkeley, Rebecca Kromos has warned that this dam could push these animals to extinction.
"I hope that Sinohydro reconsiders to participate in a project that could lead the western chimpanzee to extinction. Once a species leaves, it's gone forever," said the Berkeley professor who also said that only the process of construction of the dam could cause the death of 1,500 chimpanzees.
At the local level, in Guinea, there are civil society groups that oppose the construction of the dam. They point out that in addition to the environmental impact, approximately 75% of the energy extracted with this hydroelectric plant will be sold to the neighboring countries of Guinea and will not benefit the local population.
It may interest you
#Deforestation: Do #IndigenousPeoples hold the key to saving Myanmar’s remaining forest? → https://t.co/7V8U48MAJs pic.twitter.com/ajNChDoraV
— Servindi (@Servindi) 2 de marzo de 2019
AÑADE UN COMENTARIO