Increasing concern as to how human activities impact Africa's lakes has led to
documentation and quantification of the lakes and the environmental changes taking place.
Through a combination of ground photographs, current and historical satellite images, and
narrative based on extensive scientific evidence, this publication illustrates how humans
have altered their surroundings and continue to make observable and measurable changes to
Africa's lakes and their environment.
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AFRICA'S LAKES
Chapter 3 - Lesotho Highlands |
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Lesotho Highlands, Lesotho
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is one of the largest
infrastructure projects ever undertaken on the African continent. The project is designed to divert water from Lesotho's
Maloti Mountains to South Africa's urban and industrial Gauteng Province, while providing impoverished Lesotho with hydroelectric
power and profits from the sale of water. An 82 km (51 mile) water transfer-and-delivery system is already in place, and four
major dams are at various stages of completion in key locations. However, many questions remain unanswered about these dams'
social and environmental impacts. The first, the Katse Dam on the Orange River, closed its gates in 1995, creating an enormous
reservoir along with serious social and environmental concerns. These two images provide a comparison of the area before
and after the Katse Dam's completion, with its full extent and effects clearly visible in the 2001 image.
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