Ngonye Falls: building trust through dialogue in hydropower development
Located on the Zambezi River in Zambia’s Western Province, the Ngonye Falls Hydroelectric Project demonstrates how effective communication can secure stakeholder support for major infrastructure projects. By engaging local communities early through a partnership approach, the project’s developers have transformed potential challenges around land and resource impacts into opportunities for dialogue and mutual understanding. This success has been rooted in a well-structured consultation process with transparent communication and active participation.
Ngonye Falls Hydroelectric Project site (aerial view).
Photo credit: Western Power Company.
Ngonye Falls Hydroelectric Project is featured as a case study in our new How-To Guide on Communications and Consultation, which outlines good practice for stakeholder engagement in hydropower development.
Due for completion in 2028, the Ngonye Falls project will provide 180 megawatts of installed capacity, enough to power more than 200,000 homes across Zambia
One of the key challenges facing the developers, Western Power Company, has been to ensure that the 119 households to be displaced by the project will experience sustained improvements to their living standards. At the same time, concerns were raised early on about the project’s potential impact on local fisheries and future livelihoods. It is a core principle of the San José Declaration on Sustainable Hydropower that livelihoods and living standards impacted by any project must improve relative to pre-project conditions.
Early engagement: a community participation agreement
The local population affected by the development of the Ngonye Falls project is largely made up the Lozi people of Zambia’s Western Province. In the early stages of planning, a Community Participation Agreement was established between the developers and the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE), the traditional authority representing the communities of the Western Province . This agreement outlined a framework for benefit-sharing and engagement throughout the project.
“Early engagement with the traditional authorities laid the foundation for community relations and set the terms for the developer’s presence in the region,” explains Doug Smith, an independent environmental and social specialist who is an advisor on the project and who authored the How-To Guide. “This gave, and continues to give, the developer legitimacy in the community.”
Doug adds that the BRE played a crucial role in driving inclusive consultation efforts. “The traditional authorities, for example, proposed a sensitisation tour concerning the project around the region, which the developer was happy to support.”
Key elements of the stakeholder engagement approach included regular meetings with traditional authorities, local government officials, local businesses and the local communities near the project area. Informational materials written in non-technical formats were provided in both English and translated into the local language, Lozi, to ensure accessibility.
Stakeholder meeting at Ngonye Falls Hydroelectric Project.
Photo credit: Western Power Company
Sipho Phiri, Chairman of Western Power Company says, “from the very earliest days of developing the Ngonye Falls project, Western Power has always prioritised dialogue with both our traditional authority partners, the Barotse Royal Establishment, and the local host community at the project site. We believe that meaningful participation in the project by as many members of the community as possible is critical to the long-term success of the project”.
A local team at the heart of engagement
Relations between the developers and project-affected stakeholders have been led by a local community liaison team, recruited from within the community, tasked with explaining details of the project to community members, gathering feedback, discussing potential solutions and alleviating concerns. The liaison team’s work has helped to achieve almost unanimous support from affected people, for the project, explains Angela Chisembele , the project’s community and stakeholder engagement manager, who oversees and manages the community liaison team.
“The project’s dedicated community liaison team has been invaluable, whether for the practicalities of arranging community meetings, household meetings and surveys, or for resolving tricky issues, grievances and questions as they arise,” she says.
“They really are the ear-to-the-ground of the developer in the project locality, embedded in both the local communities and the project team. They embody the developer’s understanding that partnering with local communities is the right thing to do.”
A box for collecting written grievances with a poster in the local language depicting the resettlement process of the Ngonye Falls Hydroelectric Project. Photo credit: Doug Smith.
What can other projects learn from Ngonye Falls?
While the early-stage agreement and structures for ongoing engagement laid the foundations for stakeholder consultation, the ultimate success in ensuring broad support for Ngonye Falls has come down to a readiness to listen to community concerns, and act in good faith – not just treating consultation as a box to be checked.
“The developers have made significant efforts at the local level, with a range of surveys, such as fisheries impacts or cultural heritage, and continuous local presence through the community liaison team,” says Doug. “A strong degree of respect for the traditional authorities, local culture and traditions has also been key, with a willingness to respond to stakeholders’ suggestions.”
The How-To Guide on Communications and Consultation provides wide-ranging insights that can help hydropower leaders to address one of the most challenging aspects of project development.
“I hope that the guide can support them in a number of ways,” says Doug. “First, just to understand the importance and value of effective communications and consultation. Then to understand what is meant by ideas such as ‘inclusion’ or ‘two-way dialogue’ in practice.
“Third, I hope it provides them with a resource to keep coming back to and find practical advice and examples. We wanted the guide to be rich with applicable methodologies and approaches and I hope we've achieved that.”
The Ngonye Falls Hydroelectric Project is one of several case studies featured in the guide. The project is also in the process of being certified under the Hydropower Sustainability Standard a globally recognised system that outlines sustainability expectations for hydropower projects. Now in the final stages of this process, the project is on course to be awarded Gold, the highest level of certification available.
You can find out more on the Ngonye Falls project assessment page.
