Lesotho communities fight back against massive water transfer project they call “greenwashing”

Communities in Lesotho are pushing back against one of Africa’s largest water infrastructure projects, filing a formal complaint with the African Development Bank over what they describe as environmental “greenwashing” that has brought poverty instead of promised development.

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) diverts water from Lesotho’s mountain rivers through a complex system of dams to South Africa’s Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg and the country’s economic heartland. Now in its second phase with the construction of the massive Polihali dam, the project is being marketed by developers as a climate mitigation initiative—a characterization that local communities strongly dispute.

“Some in the community say they were better off without the project, because instead of bringing development that is expected from such projects, it has, in fact, brought them poverty,” explains Mosa Letsie, a lawyer with the Seinoli Legal Centre who helped affected communities file their complaint. The legal challenge, submitted to the African Development Bank’s Independent Recourse Mechanism, argues that the project has failed local communities “in every respect”—from inadequate consultation and compensation to a complete lack of promised benefits.

Women have been disproportionately affected by the project’s impacts, according to the complaint. While project documents clearly outline how much water will flow to South Africa’s water-stressed regions, they offer only vague promises about benefits for Lesotho’s highland communities who are losing access to their traditional water sources. The case highlights growing tensions over large-scale infrastructure projects that claim environmental benefits while potentially harming local ecosystems and communities.