Domesticating a white elephant: sustainability and struggles over water, the case of Cahora Bassa Dam.

This article explores the socio-economic and environmental impact ofCahora Bassa Dam and South Africa s destabilisation campaign on the communities and ecology of the Zambezi River valley in Mozambique. It argues that the historical memories and lived experiences of these riverine communities provide important insights into the history of the area and must take centre stage in any scholarly analyses of the history, role and impact of the Cahora Bassa Dam and that concerns with "development" must not be allowed to obscure some of the real negative effects of big dam construction on the lives and livelihood of the inhabitants and the damage to the surrounding environment in areas where such dams are conshvcted. Since the end of the Cold War policy makers and students of international relations have begun to shift their attention from the threat of global conflicts to regional crises precipitated, in part, by the inequitable access to scarce natural resources. Fresh water is a particularly precious commodity. Besides air it is probably the single most critical ingredient in sustaining life and is integral to all societal and ecological activities. Recurring tensions between Turkey, Iraq and Syria over the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Hungarian-Czech dispute over the management of the Danube, South Africa's controversial appropriation of the waters of the Lesotho Highlands and the saber-rattling between the Koreas following Kim 11-Sung's plans to build a hydro-electric project on the Han River, underscore the political as well as symbolic importance of water (Gleick, 1999). Given the growing realization that competition for water resources is a volatile issue, scholars in the burgeoning field of "environmental security" have sought to map out the linkages between water allocation and conflict. They stress that inter-state tensions over fresh water resources or over their use have a long history and are not unique to a particular geographic or cultural region (Gleick, 1993). * The research and writing of this article was funded by a Grant for Research and Writing from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, as well as by a grant from the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota. The author wishes to express his gratitude to both institutions for their invaluable support.