(April 2, 2010) Farmers and fishermen in countries that share the Mekong River with China, especially Thailand, have lashed out at China over four dams that span the Chinese portion of the 3,000-mile river, despite what appears to be firm scientific evidence that low rainfall is responsible for the plunging levels of the river, not China’s hydroelectric power stations.
Foreign aid and Salvadoran corruption
(March 7, 2010) In the midst of the financial turmoil that rocked the international capital markets last year, the World Bank proudly announced a new $250 million "assistance package" for this country. A few months later a scandal erupted over why a similar amount of money was never accounted for on the government’s books.
China’s shadow looms over the Mekong
(April 2, 2010) Fishermen and farmers in downstream countries are protesting the impact of China’s dams. But experts say that the dams also give China a huge potential for geopolitical influence.
Drink water from Yangtze or ‘cocktail’
(March 24, 2010) Residents in Beijing may be drinking a cocktail of water in 2014 if they don’t get used to the taste of water from southern China. The Beijing Water Authority initiated a program on Monday to determine whether residents in Beijing can accept the taste of water from the Yangtze River.
Zipingpu and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake: The debate continues
(April 1, 2010) More scientists are joining the debate over whether China’s Wenchuan May 2008 earthquake was triggered by the Zipingpu dam.
China dam plans raise Mekong fears
(April 1, 2010) China will ramp up construction of dams, reservoirs and wells in response to a severe drought in the country’s south-west, but the move is likely to raise tensions with downstream countries, which have already blamed reduced river flows on Beijing.
Golf clubs told to save water
(March 31, 2010) Fewer than 7 percent of Beijing’s golf courses use reclaimed water for irrigation, despite municipal guidelines that strongly suggest they should do so.
For whom the mighty Mekong flows
(March 31, 2010) The current drought is now widely declared as a water crisis by government officials in Thailand, Laos and China’s Yunnan province. And it is, but that’s not the whole story.
Rebuilding Haiti depends on redeveloping Haiti’s government
(March 31, 2010) Yet if there is to be any hope of breaking the cycle of aid dependency that has haunted the impoverished nation, building up Haiti’s government to the point where it can manage its own affairs is critical. Unless that succeeds, de facto trusteeship, perhaps even direct responsibility for the country, could last for years.
China’s drought regions are turning into Venezuela
(March 31, 2010) Southwest China is enduring a savagely long drought, forcing the government to resort to cloud-seeding measures. Yet artificial rain has been slight, and not enough for the farmers who haven’t seen natural rain since October.
Aid in Haiti creates competition with local business owners
(March 31, 2010) Haiti-based businessman Maulik Radia has weathered two coup d’etats, two major hurricanes and now an earthquake in the country he’s worked in for the past 25 years.
How best to help Haiti
(March 31, 2010) All past international efforts to turn Haiti into a functioning democracy have failed. There are better ways forward.
Another alleged scam unearthed in the carbon markets
(March 30 , 2010) Carbon markets are again facing allegations of a scam involving the trading of carbon credits. Reuters reports the Australian company WesternField Holdings Inc. has been accused of defrauding investors down under of A$3.5 million ($3.2 million) through a telemarketing swindle. Although blacklisted by the country’s securities regulator, the firm continues to operate.
Tackling corruption in Haiti is possible. Here’s how
(March 30, 2010) Haiti and its donors need to face up to bad governance and failed aid. They need to develop a strategy against corruption. This means more than controls and audits, more than training and technical assistance, needed though they are. We must ask how the design and implementation of Haiti’s reconstruction and development strategy might address what public administration experts Derick Brinkerhoff and Carmen Halpern called the sanctioned plunder that was and remains the core of Haitian politics.
Running on empty: Severe drought threatening China’s power sources
(March 30, 2010) The severe drought plaguing southwest China has not only left millions of people without adequate water supply, it has also dramatically reduced power production in the region.
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