Kariba Reservoir: Experience and lessons learned

Abstract The Kariba Reservoir is a large, tropical reservoir created nearly half a century ago on the Zambezi River in Zambia and Zimbabwe. It has a complex sociopolitical history, being designed during a period when human rights, social justice and equity in relation to colonial subjects were secondary concerns, as well as a period in which environmental management was an emerging discipline. Many of the management issues that have arisen over time were not foreseen when the dam was being planned. This paper examines several of these issues, including population increase in the basin, the need for ecological manipulations to optimize ecosystem functioning, and environmental problems such as eutrophication, microbial pollution, hyacinth invasion, and issues arising from pest control. The institutional arrangements also are critiqued, with a focus on how forced relocation of indigenous communities in the course of water resource development can lead to long‐lasting, trans‐generational social traumas. It is concluded that reservoir planning must explicitly address community needs, with equity issues in the sharing of water resource development benefits being clearly considered, and that post‐project integrated watershed management efforts must be part of reservoir planning.