1.
INTRODUCTION Africa has installed a hydropower capacity of
The united nation aims to improve the lives
of developing countries via reducing
problems related to water, food and energy
that the developing countries face, in 2050
through its sustainable development goals.
These are where the water food and energy
nexus comes to play in addressing the
development efforts. The nexus between
these three necessities is important as it will
help in poverty reduction, manage natural
resources, and achieve environmental goals.
Most of all the nexus is important because it
will help achieve sustainable developments
in a short period [1]. Water energy and food
are interconnected and the scarcity of one
of these demands will further prolong the
year by which Africa will reach its
sustainable development target.
Africa is a continent with a bundle of intact
natural resources. If Africa strives for proper
use of its resources, some of the problems
related to basic needs where its people are
short of can be solved. To this end, the
continent is focusing on the development of
its ample resources in areas of hydropower.
over 37 Giga Watts (GW) and the highest
untapped potential across the world. It has
only utilized around 11% of its capacity till
2020 with 906 megawatts (MW) [2]-[3]. This
shows that the continent has almost
unutilized its potential where nature has
blessed it. Yet, recently several new
hydropower projects and upgrades are
being developed across Africa, as the
continent seeks to increase its energy
potential and unlock greater access to
electricity [3].
There is a lot of problems related to water,
energy and food in Africa. A lot of projects
are ongoing in Africa to reduce the problem.
Such as solar energy, geothermal energy,
etc. But the project that can achieve this
nexus with one shoot is hydropower.
Hydropower dams have multiple functions,
apart from producing energy, which has
several advantages, the dam is used as a
water reservoir and helps countries to get
sustainable water sources and it’s also
helpful in flood control. It also fosters
irrigation and creates opportunities for the
fishery.
 Gigawatts dam in the continent is also under
Studies have shown especially women in construction in Ethiopia which is funded by
rural areas suffer a lot in securing energy its citizens [4]. In addition, 10 countries who
food and water for the family. They are are found in the Nile basin are also has
obliged to collect firewoods for cooking to established the Nile Basin initiative on how
feed their family which on the other hand well the countries manage and utilize the
the smoke has an adverse effect on their water sources they are sharing [11].
health and their young ones. In addition,
they have to travel long distances to fetch Therefore, African countries should give
water for the family. And collect firewoods their attention to developing hydro powers
for income purposes. Hence as the to address the difficulties related to water,
construction of hydro plants secure fresh energy and food. Focusing on developing
and sustainable water from the reservoirs, the continent’s blessings of hydropower
food through irrigation and convert through the construction of dams is the best
potential energy to electrical energy, tool that will help to achieve the
women in rural areas will be most benefited development goals of the UN.
[15]. Accordingly, as the continent
recognizes the benefits of the hydropower
plants, the International Water power &
Dam Construction (IWP&DC) magazine
indicated that various dams are under
construction. Of which, dams in Sierra
Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar,
Kenya, Namibia, Lesotho, and Burundi are
funded by African Development Bank. Yet,
the biggest hydroelectric power plant in
Africa as well as the seventh-largest in the
world with a planned capacity of 6.45

Figure 1: Grand Ethiopian Renaissance
Dam
Figure 2: The Bumbuna Hydro II project in Sierra
Leone
2. Potentials of Hydro powers in Africa
Worldwide, hydropower is the most widely
used renewable energy resource due to its
significant advantages over other renewable
resources: high energy density, low cost and
reliability in particular. And its carbon
emissions — over the entire lifecycle of
construction, operation and
decommissioning — are often far lower than
those from all other renewable sources,
including wind and solar. Hydropower plants
are available from very small sizes of only a
few kilowatts (KW) to multi- Gigawatts (GW)
[8].
Across Africa, hydropower is responsible for
84 per cent of all non-fossil fuel energy use.
But in a continent rich in lakes and rivers,
the opportunities for expanding hydropower
are huge [13]. Sustainable energy is the
focus of national development plans across
the continent. According to the international
Hydropower association report in 2020, out
of the 53 African nationally determined
contributions under the Paris Agreement on
climate change, 45 contain quantified
renewable energy targets. The efforts
growth the program for infrastructure
development in Africa which interconnects
the Arica’s vast renewable energy potential
and identifies a need for high capacity
transmission networks
These efforts are aligned with the Program
for Infrastructure Development in Africa
(PIDA), a continent-wide initiative that
intends to harness Africa’s vast renewable
energy potential and identifies a need for
high-capacity transmission networks. [14].
Further to the production of energy
hydropower create vast opportunities which
benefited Africa in other development
areas.
One of the functions of hydropower
development is to provide water for
farming. The water can be transported by
various mechanisms from the dam to the
farmlands. One of these mechanisms is
irrigation. Pumps, tubes, and sprays can be
used to transport water from rivers, lakes to
the farmland. Irrigating a given land can
increase the food supply of a country.
Irrigation is the process of watering crops,
especially in dry times. Through irrigation,
we can change a desert into farmland.
Hence, water can be used from the
reservoirs that have been collected
whenever scarcity faces.
The piped water supply for the urban and
rural population greatly depends on the
continent’s rivers. Hydropower
developments can in addition help us
conserve and reserve the scarce resource of
water and help to ensure the sustainable
water supply of a country by storing some of
the water as a reservoir.
2.1. Reservoirs
A reservoir can be a large natural or artificial
accumulation of water for future use. They
come to play during drought or protracted
dry periods, as the water level in lakes and
rivers may be below. It can also help in food
control as it can establish an aquatic
environment, it can also be a good source of
water for irrigation.
When we’re in short of electricity water can
be pumped up to higher reservoir from
lower reservoir to generate more electricity.
So that the water will fall again causing the
turbine to rotate. These will produce
electricity. These can also happen if the
water level is in the higher reservoir, which
can cause a shortage of electricity.
 2.3. Electricity
Electricity is a fundamental unit in our life.
The majority of the things we do involves
the use of electricity. Nowadays as the
population is growing the electricity demand
is also increasing insanely. Hydroelectric
dams are also major sources of energy.
According to Africa’s energy future, in sub-

Figure 3: How reservoir works when electricity

Saharan Africa, the primary energy demand

is low will increase from about 27,000 TWh in

2015 to around 60,000 TWh in 2050.

2.2. Irrigation
Hydropower has historically provided the
Developing hydropower is very beneficial. It
backbone of low-cost electricity in a
can provide fresh water, increase food
significant number of countries around the
supply, and helps to secure sustainable food
world and is often the cheapest way to
production as it facilitates irrigation.
generate electricity where good,
Irrigation is a supply of water used in
unexploited resources exist [9]. All streams
farmland when water is scarce to help plants
and rivers flow downhill. Before the water
and crops grow. Using irrigation we can
flows down the hill, it has potential energy
distribute water uniformly throughout the
because of its height. Then the hydropower
farmland.
converts this potential energy into kinetic
It also helps to control the water flow and
energy and then to mechanical energy. This
further manage the wasted resources of
mechanical energy will then pass through
water. In general, various studies have
the turbine again converting it to electrical
shown that building hydroelectric power is
energy [10]. The electricity is clean and
the answer to the current problems which
renewable. If more electricity is created, our
are shortage of food, energy, and water.
dependency on fossil fuels will reduce
significantly and non-renewable resources
can be conserved if we reduce our usage of
fossil fuels.
3. Downsides of Hydropower
3.1. Funding issues
Building hydroelectric power large amount
of capital and each government must ensure
that the dam is constructed with high
standards so, that it can operate for many
years to become profitable [5]. Countries,
with low economic development, can find it
hard to maintain the standards of a dam.
Hence, they seek the help of funding
agencies and are obliged to fulfil the
requirements. Some funding agencies may
take a longer time to do the research or
write you a grant before actually lending you
money. Sometimes after you get the money
the process of building the dam can be
delayed due to several factors. Accordingly,
it will be hard to focus on several projects as
some of the country’s budget is assigned to
build a hydropower dam.
3.2. Quality Issues
The quality of hydropower should be the
priority of the government. If the quality of
the dam is not maintained it can be
shattering especially for people living
downstream. Crops that are already ready
can be damaged by the sudden, rapid, and
untamed release of confiscated water.
Fortunately, the likelihood of such an
uncontrolled release of water is
comparatively rare but can cause immense
damage and loss of life when they occur [6].
3.3. Impact on Fishery
The fishery is the profession or industry of
catching or rearing fishes. When building
hydropower some water will be restricted to
flow to the other side. Thus water depletion
will be caused on the other side of the dam
causing the number of fish to reduce
drastically. Which in return cause a shortage
of food. It can also hinder the income of
people relying on selling fish as the natural
passage of the fish will be blocked.
3.4. Natural Vegetation and
Resettlement
When hydropower is built vast areas of
natural vegetation are required to be
cleared. The wildlife and natural inhabitance
will be distressed. As a result, this can affect
water, as planting trees are the major
source of water. In addition to that tress
also help reduce the heating and cooling
costs. Trees save energy through cooling in
the hotter months and provide a windbreak
during winter. We can burn fewer fossil
fuels to generate electricity for cooling and
heating [7]. Furthermore, the resettlement
of people is unavoidable. As people should
move from their location to leave a place to
build hydropower.
4. CONCLUSION
The development of hydroelectric dams,
which have multiple benefits, should be the
primary focus of the continent to attain the
United Nation’s targets for sustainable
development in 2050. However, this target
cannot be materialized within the targeted
time frame unless the United Nations itself
assists Africa without any reservation and
political manifestation. As one of the biggest
problems of developing hydropower in
Africa is funding, solutions within the
continent itself and world economic support
actors should give their most attention and
priority in developing the contents ample
resources in this regard. In addition, since
the hydropower sources found in the
continent are Trans Boundary Rivers, Lakes
and Oceans collaboration within the
countries of Africa are very important to
attain mutual benefits. Our hydropower
sources are our blessings. So, including the
funding issues solutions for Africa's
sustainable development should mainly be
emanated by Africans for Africans.
References
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A new approach in support of food security and
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“Economics: students text book grade 11,” Aster
N. Ent, Addis Ababa, Second Edition 2007 (E.C.)
[3] International Water Power & Dam
Construction “Hydropower in Africa: A spotlight
on recent developments,” 2020
Available online
https://www.waterpowemagazine.com
[4] “Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam”
Wikipedia
[5] Byjus, “Advantages and Disadvantages of
dams,” 2020
[6] “Dam Failure,” Wikipedia, 2021 [14]International Hydropower Association 2020
Available at:
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https://www.hydropower.org/region-
2015
profiles/africa
[8] Energypedia.info, “Hydropower in Powering
[15] Omowunmi Mary Longe, “A Review of
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Energy and Gender Poverty Nexus in South
2020
Africa,” 2020 IEEE PES/IAS Power Africa, Oct, 14
2020
{9] International Renewable Energy Agency
(IRENA) “Hydropower- power generation
costs,” Aug 19, 2020

[10] Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company,

“How hydropower works,” Jan 29, 2013

[11] Mohamed, Y.A.; Loulseged, M. 2008. The

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[12] Teshome, B. Wondwosen; Transboundary

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[13] Africa's hydropower future - SciDev.Net

Dec 4, 2014 Available at:
https://www.scidev.net/