THE STAR (Johannesburg, S Africa) 16 November 05 Dam expansion threatens lives of thousands of crocs (Fred Katerere)
The Kruger National Park is concerned that plans to enlarge the Massingir dam in Mozambique will destroy one of the world's largest breeding grounds for the Nile crocodile.
The higher dam wall and newly installed sluicegates would cause sediment to back up in to the 8km-long Crocodile Gorge, said the spokesperson for the Kruger Park, Raymond Travers.
"The gorge is in the park and, while it is not generally accessible to tourists, it is the world's largest breeding ground for the Nile crocodile," Travers said.
"There are thousands of them in the river The Massingir dam was built in the 1970s but the 16-year civil war that ensued after independence from Portuguese colonialism hampered completion of the dam, notably the installation of the sluicegates.
Now the Mozambican government, through a $800-million (about R5,3-billion) loan from the African Development Bank, plans to install the sluice-gates and raise the height of the dam wall.
This will enable the dam to hold its full capacity of 2 800 million cubic metres of water.
The work began in 2004, and is scheduled to end in October 2006.
Travers said there was concern as to whether Mozambique had conducted an environmental impact assessment (EIA).
"We understand Mozambique needs the dam. "What we are concerned about is whether an EIA was done."
Spokesperson for South Africa's Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Themba Khumalo, said the department was conducting its own EIA on the effects of the bigger dam.
Mozambique's foreign press office spokesperson, Simao Cavele, failed to return calls.
Dam expansion threatens lives of thousands of crocs