Editing Kariba Dam (section)

== Location ==
[[File:The way to Zambia through Kariba Dam.jpg|thumb|left|The way to Zambia through Kariba Dam]]
[[File:Zambezi.svg|frame|right|Zambezi river basin]]

The Kariba Dam project was planned and carried out by the Government of the [[Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland]]. The Federation was often referred to as the Central African Federation (CAF). The CAF was a 'federal colony' within the [[British Empire]] in southern Africa that existed from 1953 to the end of 1963, comprising the former self-governing British [[colony]] of [[Southern Rhodesia]] and the former [[British protectorate|British protectorates]] of [[Northern Rhodesia]] and [[Nyasaland]]. Northern Rhodesia had decided earlier in 1953 (before the Federation was founded) to build a dam within its territory, on the [[Kafue River]], a major tributary of the [[Zambezi]]. It would have been closer to Northern Rhodesia's [[Copperbelt]], which was in need of more power. This would have been a cheaper and less grandiose project, with a smaller environmental impact. Southern Rhodesia, the richest of the three, objected to a Kafue dam and insisted that the dam be sited instead at Kariba. Also, the capacity of the Kafue dam was much lower than that at Kariba.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.dams.org/docs/kbase/studies/cszzmain.pdf
|page=9
|title=Kariba Dam, Zambia and Zimbabwe; Final Report: November 2000
|publisher=World Commission on Dams
|year=2000
|access-date=2010-11-17
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613111114/http://dams.org/docs/kbase/studies/cszzmain.pdf
|archive-date=2010-06-13
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> Initially, the dam was managed and maintained by the Central African Power Corporation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/w7414b/w7414b16.htm|title=Agreement relating to the Central African power corporation signed at Salisbury|date= 25 November 1963|access-date=24 September 2016}}</ref> The Kariba Dam is now owned and operated by the [[Zambezi River Authority]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lusakatimes.com/2016/02/17/kariba-dam-water-levels-will-soon-improve-says-zambezi-river-authority/|title=Kariba Dam water levels will soon improve, says Zambezi River Authority|publisher=Lusaka Times|date=17 February 2016|access-date=24 September 2016}}</ref> which is jointly and equally owned by [[Zimbabwe]] and [[Zambia]].<ref>{{cite web |ref={{harvid|Legal Status}} |url=http://www.zaraho.org.zm/legal-status.html |title=Legal Status |publisher=Zambezi River Authority |access-date=2012-09-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406050532/http://www.zaraho.org.zm/legal-status.html |archive-date=2010-04-06 }}</ref>

Since Zambia's independence, three dams have been built on the Kafue River: the [[Kafue Gorge Dam|Kafue Gorge Upper Dam]], [[Kafue Gorge Lower Power Station|Kafue Gorge Lower Dam]] and the [[Itezhi-Tezhi Dam]].<ref>[http://www.zesco.co.zm/iterzhitezhi.html Zesco: "History of Itezhi-Tezhi"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050907062009/http://www.zesco.co.zm/iterzhitezhi.html |date=2005-09-07 }} website accessed 1 March 2007.</ref>