Georgian big dams and the price of hyroelectric: history of Svan people and actual threats to their existence cycloscope.net /svan-people-history-georgia-dams-hyroelectric-khudoni Cycloscope When hearing about Hydroelectric energy for most people it recalls the idea of sustainability, but is this completely true? As one of the world’s top five countries in per-capita water resources, Georgia is one of the countries that invested more in hydroelectric, producing 80% of his electricity demand from hydropower plants. 2016 update This article was written before we visited Georgia, read our direct reportage from Khaishi and our article about Mestia for more first hand information about the mega-dam issues and Svan culture. Check the whole Georgian series for all our travel journal in this incredible country. the big one: Enguri dam With its 271.5 meters, the Enguri Dam is the 4th tallest concrete arch dam in the world (and therefore the biggest dam in Europe), having to bow only to Chinese monsters. With a nominal capacity of 1,320 MW and average annual capacity is 3.8 TW/h, it supplied approximately 46% of the total electricity consumption in Georgia (as of 2007). The history of this plant is long and winding, we just want to give a fast overview, this is not the main topic of the 1/14 article. Enguri Dam History of Enguri dam – the biggest dam in Georgia Conceived in 1961, under Nikita Khrushchev‘s government, was completed in 1987, just in time to see the soviet empire fall. After the end of the 1992/1993 Abkhazian/Georgian conflict, the forces of both sides founded themselves facing each other on the two side of the Enguri river, and realized how this powerful generator could be useless without both sides working together. Inextricably linked to other unsettled issues in the peace process, the ownership of the complex is still undecided. But let’s come to the main topic of this article, let’s talk about the future. Georgian government is presently promoting two very big hydroelectric projects, here we’ll focus on one of these. 2/14 Enguri Reservoire What’s next: Khudoni Hydro Power Plant project The Khudoni HPP is another project for the Enguri cascade system which is the complex that includes the Enguri HPP and the smaller Vardnili I, II, III and IV (340MW in total). The project envisages the construction of a 200 meter high concrete arch dam, located approximately 34 km upstream from the Enguri dam. The plan is for Khudoni HPP to have an installed capacity of 700 MW with a 1.5 billion kw output, it will be furthermore complemented by a number of other upstream hydropower plants also on the River Enguri (Tobari Hydropower, installed capacity 600 MW, projected generation 2,2 billion kWh, Cascade of Nenskra hydros – 300 MW). According to government calculations, the construction of the Khudoni HPP would increase the country’s electricity generation by 20 percent, it will cost 1.2 billion USD and will last 5-6 years. This looks like a very impressive project that could produce literally tons of clean energy, but is this energy really clean? What’s the price and who’s going to pay? 3/14 consequences of Khudoni project Let’s consider a few things: The Khudoni project is not a brand new idea. It was blocked by NGOs in the early 1990s, between these a big role was played by Green Alternative. Ecological consequences and impact on wildlife According to this really serious and experienced association the Khudoni project: “was shown to be a construction that contains extreme risks for ecological disaster. The Khudoni HPP would intensify the devastation of forests and wildlife habitat, the loss of river species populations and the degradation of upstream catchments areas, owing to the flooding of the reservoir area in one of the most amazing highland regions of Georgia. The upper part of the River Enguri basin combines sub-alpine forests and meadows, rocks and alpine tundra. The area is well known for its endemic wildlife. This includes different forest bird species, a community of large raptors (golden eagle, griffon vulture and lammergeyer), and endemic birds including the Caucasian black grouse, the Caucasian snowcock and the Caucasian chiffchaff. Mountain goats, chamois, brown bear, wolf, lynx, roe deer, and wild boar are quite common. The cumulative impact of the Khudoni, Enguri and Tobari hydroes will adversely affect water quality, 4/14 natural flooding and species composition in the river”. 5/14 Impact on local population and cultural heritage As this is not enough the project “requires the resettlement of a number of unique villages (including Khaishi); the Khudoni HPP site is located in Zemo Svaneti (Upper Svaneti), an area of unique beauty. Preserved by its long isolation, the Upper Svaneti region of the Caucasus is an exceptional example of mountain scenery with medieval-type villages and tower-houses. The village of Khaishi still has more than 200 of its renowned and highly unusual houses, which were used both as dwellings and as defense posts against invaders who plagued the region in medieval times and before. our video reportage from Kaishi and interview with Green Alternative Resettlement issues and land ownership The Zemo Svaneti region has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site area since 1996. According to the magazine Tabula.ge, the number of villages to flood are 14, homelands of 769 persons, 524 Hectares of land, while in a world bank preliminary study the people to be resettled are more than 1600. The process of resettlement is linked to yet another problem, the controversy over land ownership. The state 6/14 previously registered lands that did not officially belong to anyone as state property and subsequently transferred more than 1500 hectares of land (including agricultural, estate, forests roads, infrastructure etc) to the investor for symbolic 1 USD. According to Tabula “Upon reaching an agreement with the government of Georgia, Trans Electrica decided to return those lands to the population – first helping locals to register them, at the company’s own cost, and only then commencing with the buyout of the land. To this end, the company hired a Canadian company, rePlan.” But at the present day, these are all good intentions proclaims. 7/14 Svan People But who are these 769 or 1600 persons? Svaneti or Svanetia (Suania in ancient sources) is a historic province in Georgia, in the northwestern part of the country. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of the Georgians. The self-designation of the Svan is Mushüan. The Svans are usually identified with the Sanni mentioned by greek geographer Strabo. Archeological, toponymic and linguistic evidence indicates that the ancestors of the Georgian people have inhabited the west-central part of the southern Caucasus region for at least 5000 years, and probably much longer. In the third millennium BC, one group of Kartvelians migrated to the northwest, reaching the east coast of the Black Sea. Place names believed to be of Svanetian origin are found in this area. Somewhat later, these ancestors of the Svans moved upland into what is now Svaneti. Axes and other artifacts dating to the early Bronze Era have been discovered in Svaneti, as well as the ruins of foundries for the production of bronze and iron. This indicates that the local population was engaged in metalworking in the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. one more episode about Svaneti Svan military mightiness Strabo (end of 1st century BC) describes the Svans as a fierce, warlike mountain people, ruled by a king and a council of 300 elders, and capable of fielding an army of 200,000. (This figure may represent an exaggeration, or perhaps Strabo was including other Kartvelians under the designation “Svan”). Beginning in the mid-13th century, wave upon wave of Mongol, Persian and Turkish armies devastated the lowland parts of Georgia. Because of its remote location much of Svaneti was never invaded. For this reason, many of the finest works of Georgian artistry — icons, illuminated manuscripts and gold and silver items — were preserved in Svanetian churches during this time. The Svan villagers protected these treasures zealously (the theft of an icon was punishable by death, usually by stoning, even in recent times). A sizeable number of objets d’art of foreign origin (Persian, Syrian, Italian, German) have also found their way into Svaneti, a testament to the wide-ranging cultural and trade contacts of medieval Georgia . 8/14 Svan religion Svans have also their own religion, based upon an indigenous system, similar in many respects to those of other Caucasian tribes, which has been influenced by long and intensive contact with Mazdaism (presumably through the 9/14 Ossetians) and Orthodox Christianity. The chief Svan deities are Xosha ghêrbet ‘great god,’ Jg∂ræg ‘St George’ the chief protector of humanity, and Târingzel ‘archangel’. Important female figures include Barbal ‘StBarbara’ a fertility deity and healer of illnesses; Dæl, goddess of the hunt and protector of wildlife in the high mountains; and Lamæria ‘St Mary’, protector of women. Christ (Krisde or Matsxwær ‘savior’) presides over the world of the dead. Crafts of Svan people Svan artisans were especially renowned for their skill at producing finely detailed gold and silver icons, crosses, and drinking vessels. It has been estimated that as much as one-fifth of the medieval Georgian metalwork that has been preserved to the present day is of Svan origin. There was also a distinctive local school of icon and fresco painting. Svan folk literature comprises a variety of genres: epics, ritual and lyric poetry, tales, myths, and fables.