massive water discovery will transform drought-prone northern kenya

[justabubba]

Massive water discovery will transform drought-prone ‘cradle of mankind’ in northern Kenya | The Raw Story

UNESCO and the Kenya Government today announce the discovery of one of the worlds largest underground water aquifers in the desert north of Turkana, an area best known for fossils, famine and poverty. The finding by Radar Technologies International (RTI) was made using space based exploration technology called WATEX system. The largest aquifer at 250 billion cubic meters of water which is equivalent in volume to Lake Turkana one of the largest lakes in the Great Rift Valley, and 25 times greater than Loch Ness. More importantly the annual recharge rate, the amount of water that can be sustainably exploited per year, is estimated to 3.4 billion cubic meters, nearly three times the water use in the New York City.
The man behind the RTI is the energetic white haired French Alain Gachet who says the worst thing he has ever seen in his life is people dying of thirst.

... “This is an extremely exciting find for my community. While we celebrate however, we must be wise. The first thing we must do is confirm the recharge rate so that we do not kill the golden goose, and we must also protect against speculators and unscrupulous people who threaten to take it away from the local communities. The Kenyan leadership must plan carefully to ensure that in developing the resource we protect and respect the rights and the needs of local communities who must benefit.”

immediately thought of eco when i read this

will this find become an opportunity for the residents of kenya or something to be exploited by a monied few?

 

[Rainman05]

Massive water discovery will transform drought-prone ‘cradle of mankind’ in northern Kenya | The Raw Story



immediately thought of eco when i read this

will this find become an opportunity for the residents of kenya or something to be exploited by a monied few?

Well, Kenyans don't have the technology or money to efficiently use that water supply that others found for them. This means pumping, sanitation, distribution, etc.
So most likely it will be some foreign investors that will come in. My best bet is that Chinesse investors will go in. China has been prodding and oozing it's way into Africa for years now with no-obligation credit given to many african countries (as opposed to the foreign aid western countries give that is tied to their democratic reforms). So yeah... well it's either going to be a chinesse company or a French company considering that it was the French who made this discovery. But Kenya hasn't got the capacity to do it sadly.

 

[Helix]

i heard on NPR that some have to walk many miles for water there. hopefully this will be developed publicly.