Possible lake explosion endangers millions

http://trak.in/news/rwandan-lake-runs-risk-of-turning-into-freshwater-time-bomb/24570/

The article “Rwandan lake runs risk of turning into freshwater time bomb”(November 17, 2009) by ANI talks about Lake Kivu, a freshwater lake found between the countries Congo and Rwanda. This large body of fresh water contains dangerous amounts of carbon dioxide and methane gas, and because of this Lake Kivu is at risk of explosion. The circumstances of this lake bring about issues which involve the human rights principle and the precautionary principle. Both principals will be explained further in this blog.

Within the article it states “approximately 2 million people, many of them refugees, live along the north end of the lake.”(ANI, 2009) All of these people are at risk because of the unpredictable state of lake Kivu. There are a number of different catalysts found within the lake, which keep the carbon dioxide at the bottom of the lake stabilized. However, if these catalysts were to destabilize the lake would explode, and could result in a earthquake or even a volcanic explosion. This event would leave the 2 million people living in a vulnerable state. The human rights principle states that every human deserves the right to life; however Lake Kivu is putting local communities in danger. Therefore it would be plausible to assume that further research needs to be conducted to determine the hazardous affects that the fatal gas would have on the communities around the lake. Knowing these affects, fundamental human rights could be put in to action to allow everyone to have the right to life, human health and well-being (Beder, 2006).

The precautionary principle uses the reasoning that action should be taken to avoid very serious or permanent damage despite of lack of scientific certainty. In the case of Lake Kivu there is a lack of scientific certainty due to the lack of conclusive evidence. Therefore it is right to employ the precautionary principle, because it is better to take action in this instance as soon as possible. This is because the safety of the people around Lake Kivu is most important. If action is postponed because of research it could be disastrous to the community.

This research may be a lengthy process which would put the large amount of people in this area in serious danger. Therefore the precautionary principle should be employed to aid the well being of the community of people in this region. In order to initiate such action, the community that lives around this lake must be forced to evacuate the surrounding area. In this situation people living here must be evacuated sooner rather than later for their own safety. It may be a difficult process to move 2 million people whom live around the lake, but it benefits their right to life because they are better off to not be in close proximity to a Lake that has the capacity to explode.

Lake Kivu is a highly unstable lake, which increases the risk of those communities that live around it. Because of this, the principles of human rights are violated and the precautionary principle needs to be put into place. To avoid any harm to the communities, they should be relocated to a safer place. Until any reasonable scientific certainty can be obtained showing that lake Kivu is a safe place to live, the precautionary principle should be applied. When these environmental principles are applied, it is clear that the people need to evacuated from the lake Kivu region.

Kendra Bester

Sources:

ANI. "Rwandan lake runs risk of turning into freshwater time bomb Source: Rwandan lake runs risk of turning into freshwater time bomb carbon dioxide and methane, lake kivu, methane gas, saline springs, volcanic explosion." Web log post. Trak In News. 17 Nov. 2009. Web. 24 Nov. 2009. <http://trak.in/news/rwandan-lake-runs-risk-of-turning-into-freshwater-time-bomb/24570/>.

Beder, Sharon. Environmental Principles and Policies An Interdisciplinary Introduction. Minneapolis: Earthscan Publications Ltd., 2006. Print.