Since the beginning of 2022, the facilities of the Ruzizi dam located on the shores of the lake have been shut down due to plastic waste. This pollution blocks the power stations and leads to power cuts in the region.
In early March 2022, the United Nations launched negotiations in Nairobi, Kenya, for a global treaty against plastic pollution, a scourge that threatens the environment and contributes to the collapse of biodiversity.
But for several months in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, this pollution has also been responsible for power cuts in several localities. Indeed, some facilities of the largest hydroelectric power station in the country are shut down due to plastic waste that has piled up at the southern end of the majestic Lake Kivu. A compact and permanent groundwater blocking the turbines of the Ruzizi dam near the city of Bukavu.
In addition to the constant monitoring of the plant, some experts also want to raise public awareness of this problem in order to be able to reduce it.
Eight photos of Guerchom Ndebo accompany this statement according to an AFP report.