ABSTRACT
The construction of dams has become a common feature of development in many developing countries. It involves the building of a barrier across a stream, river or lake, to hold back water for single or multiple purposes. Such dams always creates positive and negative physical and socio-economic impacts on their upstream and downstream areas. Jebba Dam, was constructed mainly to complement Kainji Dam in generating electricity for the country's growing industrial and domestic demands. In the process of its operation, the obvious impact created on the spatial organisation upstream, was the displacement of 6,111 people in 42 villages, by the reservoir. Being a forseen impact, however, adequate arrangements were made by NEPA for the resettlement, though it attained only little success due to lack of effective and efficient management of the exercise. In the downstream areas of the dam, impacts have been created on the spatial organisation and the economy of the people. This is because, with the regulation of flow downstream, the floodplains formerly liable to flood annually, became permanently exposed. This in turn enhanced the development of agriculture and the spatial organisation of the areas. This regulation of flow, on the other hand, also reduced the river regime downstream so much that navigation became difficult. Finally, with the creation of the dam, sedimentation of the river downstream had declined so much that fishing had declined drastically in the area. All these impacts, some of which are in form of problems, prevailing in the downstream area today, have vii received no attention from the National Electric Power Authority or any other agency. This study therefore argues that, dam constru- tion should always be seen as a multi-purpose programme, whereby the authority in charge oversees the impacts created in both the upstream and downstream areas of the dam, for an effective and unitary river basin development. This is demonstrated in the proposals made for the downstream areas of Jebba Dam.