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Workshop on Geological development in Western East Africa Rift System, Rwanda

Workshop on Geological development in Western East Africa Rift System, Rwanda Karisimbi, Rwanda (source: flickr/ uvioc, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 8 Mar 2016

A technical workshop to take place March 9-11, 2016 will be looking at geological development and geophysics of the Western East African Rift System.

The Workshop on “Technical Workshop on the Geologic Development and Geophysics of the Western Branch of the Greater East African Rift System with Emphasis on Factors that Control the Development of their Geothermal Systems” is planned for 9-11 March 2016 at Gisenyi, Rwanda.

The event will discuss the geologic setup and conditions that would support the development of geothermal systems in the countries of the western branch of East African Rift System (EARS) which include Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique. The workshop that is sponsored by UNEP, ICEIDA/NDF, Energy Development Corporation Limited of Rwanda (EDCL) and EU will be held at Gisenyi in Rwanda.

Geothermal exploration in the western branch of EARS has so far not succeeded in discovering utilizable geothermal resources. Part of the reasons are that (i) the systems in the west are not (or not clearly) associated with a magmatic geologic conditions, (ii) the nature and characteristics of the systems are not fully understood, (iii) experiences and research methods for geothermal exploration used in the eastern branch of EARS have been inappropriately applied to systems in the western branch. It is therefore essential that a full understanding of the occurrences of the geothermal systems in the region, more so, this time when funding from support programmes and donor community are ready to fund projects in both eastern and western branches of the rift. The workshop will be facilitated by international resource persons with wide experience in academic research as well as in the geothermal industry.

Details about the event can be found here (pdf) and via the ARGeo website.