GabcikovoNagymaros River Dam System

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Gabcikovo-Nagymaros River Dam System

• Created by
• Tom Sauve
• Hungary
• Geography 308

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The Mighty Danube River

• Starts near Germany and extends through Austria,
  along Slovakia, through Hungary, and along
  Croatia, Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria before
  emptying into the Black Sea

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Danube Dangers

• The Danube has been known to cause many raging
  floods among bordering lands.
  
• Roman emperors Tiberius and Trajan were the first
  to try to contain the Danube they failed.

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Hungary and Czechoslovakia

• Negotiations for the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros dam
  system began in 1951.
  
• The projects original intent was to change the
  shallow reaches of the Danube between Bratislava,
  Czechoslovakia and Gyor, Hungary.
  
• Joint planning began in the mid to late 1950s
  with an emphasis on regional and environmental
  impacts.

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Dam Placement

• Major dams were to be located in Gabcikovo,
  Czechoslovakia and Nagymaros, Hungary.
  

Nagymaros
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Outlay of the Project

• The system diverted almost the entire flow of the
  river into an artificially constructed side
  channel.
  
• The canal was to be diverted near Bratislava and
  then flow and return to the Danube north of
  Gyor.
  
• The diverted channel drives 8 turbines at the
  Gabcikovo Dam which generates hundreds of
  megawatts of power.

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• The Soviet Union strongly supported the project,
  as it had large fleets of ships that transported
  goods through Eastern Europe.
  

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The Dam to the Rescue!

• Dam officials recorded more than 100 days of
  shallow water per year.
  
• As a result, vegetation died and ships were left
  stranded on a long stretch of the Danube.
  
• These events prompted dam authorities to gain
  large support from both Hungary and
  Czechoslovakia to fix the problem by building a
  system of dams.

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Energy Production

• In the 1970s, the focus of the dam was turned to
  energy due to two main factors

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Factors

• Oil shocks caused petroleum prices to go on a
  steep increase making it the best interest of
  both countries to produce more efficient energy.
  
• In order to gain support from the Hungarian
  bureau of water management, the project needed to
  emphasize energy production.

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Why Hydropower?

• Hydropower is the cleanest large scale source of
  electricity available, being non-polluting and
  renewable.
  
• If properly engineered and managed, river dams
  can provide electricity for millions of people at
  a very low cost along with minimal ecological
  impact
• The building and maintenance of dams provides
  jobs, helping the economy.

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Construction of the system

• Both countries began work on the system in 1977
  under an official treaty.
  
• Ecological concerns were beginning to arise among
  citizens.
  
• Once work began, professional protest of the dam
  was slienced by the Hungarian and Czechoslovak
  governments.

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However..

• It became obvious to both governments that the
  huge impacts of the dam on the local ecosystems
  hadnt been fully considered.
  
• Both countries decided to halt work on the dams
  in 1981 while commissions from both sides of the
  border evaluated the effects of the dams.

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Damage to the aquifer?

• Scientists predicted drinking water from the
  aquifer would be polluted due to tar carcinogens
  in reservoirs throughout the system.
  
• They also predicted the water table would fall
  enough to cause farmers to lose irrigation water.

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Hungarian Predictions

• Budapest immediately pushed for postponement or
  even cancellation of the system after the
  Hungarian Academy of Sciences predicted
  widespread ecological devastation.

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Czechoslovak Predictions

• Scientists at the Laboratory of Fisher Research
  and Hydrobiology in Bratislava prepared a report
  predicted that the yearly fish harvest from the
  Danube would fall 75 within 2 years of
  completion, killing millions of fish.
• Other investigations highlighted effects of
  depression of the water table.
  
• Prague immediately dismissed the predictions.

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Czechoslovakia Proceeds

• Due to Czechoslovakias industrialization, Prague
  ignored the warnings of its scientists and
  proceeded to benefit from the dams electricity.

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Hungary Initially Stands Put

• Hungary was angered by Czechoslovakia's decision
  to proceed.
  
• Hungarian studies confirmed that Hungary would
  bear the brunt of environmental damage.

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However.

• After looking into the economic costs already
  placed on the system, Hungary was forced back
  into the project.
  
• Failure to complete the project would have cost
  the Hungarian government 55 billion forints
  (Hungarian currency at the time)

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Political Transformation

• Unhappy with Hungarys slow pace to build
  Nagymaros, the Czechoslovak government threatened
  to use the nearly completed Gabcikovo dam to
  cause massive floods in Hungary.

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Yet ANOTHER Delay!

• 17 days later after making their threat to
  Hungary, the Prague communists were ousted from
  office.
  
• The new government of Vaclav Havel (1989)
  cancelled the project.
  
• Havel however did not retain power for long and
  resigned.

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Enter the Slovaks

• Under pressure from the Slovak minority, the
  Czech government announced resumption of the
  project.
  
• The Slovak flag was to be flown from the
  engineering office and shipping tolls were to be
  payable to the Slovak Treasury.
  

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Slovak Pride

• The Gabcikovo dam was a symbol of pride,
  sovereignty and will and the Slovak people were
  willing to do anything to ensure its completion.

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• After gaining independence in 1993, Slovakia set
  out to finish the project on its own.
  
• They modified the plan by creating more canals
  inside Slovakia making the entire project an
  internal affair.

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• Upset by Slovakias decision, Hungary took its
  case to the International Court of Justice upon
  completion of the project claiming an ecological
  disaster.

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• Hungary sought out to gain attention from the
  rest of the world to gain Western aid and show
  that they could work their problem out with
  Slovakia.
• Their plan was to attain ecological concern in
  trying to attract help in demolishing the
  Nagymaros dam and their section of the project.

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International Ruling

• The ICJ ruled both countries at fault for acting
  unilaterallyHungary for pulling out of the
  projectSlovakia for continuing with construction.

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Baby Steps

• A mutual agreement was set forth by both
  countries
  
• Slovakia was to operate the dam at 25 capacity
  with a continuous water flow
  
• However, it diverted 80 of the river, drying up
  wetlands and wells in Hungary
  

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Hungarians Rally

• Hungary consequently pulled out of the
  agreement.
  
• Mass demonstrations were organized all throughout
  Hungary.

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Today.

• Hungary has been spending millions of dollars to
  take down its half-completed dam.
  
• It could very well be forced to spend much more
  to Slovakia for compensation for pulling out of
  the deal.
  
• Talk of a return to the International Court of
  Justice is a sure sign that neither country is
  very committed to resolving the solution.

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Conclusion

• If you take a stroll down both sides of the
  Danube
  
• You will see the Gabcikovo region in Slovakia
  well off and thriving.
  
• You will also see the water storing Hungarian
  side overrun by weeds and dry.