(September 15, 2006) China has intensified its long-term quest to integrate the remote land and people of Tibet by building new infrastructure and drawing up plans to tap the Himalayan region’s virgin water sources and its rich reserves of copper, gold and hydrocarbons.
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Clean environment or economic growth
(September 15, 2006) ‘When the nearby river was first polluted by wastewater from the plant, a villager reported to the higher authorities about the pollution. … Unfortunately, he was viewed by most villagers as crazy.’
Dam the Salween, damn its people
(September 14, 2006) Controversial plans to dam the Salween River in Burma will proceed without a standard environmental-impact assessment study, despite serious concerns about the effect the project will have on the area’s people and natural surroundings.
Construction to start on Henan section of South-to-North canal
(September 14, 2006) Construction of the Henan province section of the central route of China’s south-north water diversion project will kick off by the end of September, Xinhua reports.
Corruption entrenched, audit shows
(September 13, 2006) No central government ministries or organizations are immune from malpractices, China’s National Audit Office annual report reveals.
Cities urged to recycle more water
(September 13, 2006) It is not realistic to alleviate China’s water shortage in cities by digging channels to divert water from other regions, Vice-Minister of Construction Qiu Baoxing told a meeting in Beijing. ‘That would disturb the natural water cycle.’
Key questions for Malaysia’s Bakun dam project
(September 12, 2006) Malaysia’s huge Bakun hydroelectric dam is three-quarters complete and within four years it will drown an area of jungle the size of Singapore. The trouble is, there is still no customer for its power.
China’s water woes could make it world tech leader
(September 12, 2006) ‘China, if it is going to remedy pollution, has to put in wastewater treatment. But that process constitutes an opportunity, because it can leapfrog to the latest technology,’ said Paul Reiter, executive director of the International Water Association.
Water scheme’s western route troubles Sichuan scholars
(September 12, 2006) ‘We are really concerned about the western route of the south-north water transfer project. We wonder whether the proposed scheme could do little or nothing to save the Yellow River, and end up destroying the Yangtze instead.’
Singapore cracks down on civil society activity ahead of annual meetings
(September 12, 2006) The annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, being held in Singapore, are facing controversy over the participation of civil society.
Plant managers blamed for pollution incident detained
(September 11, 2006) The chemical plants blamed for polluting the Xinqiang River in central China’s Hunan province with arsenide have been closed down and their senior managers have been detained.
Top Chinese official promises fight to conserve water and prevent pollution
(September 10, 2006) China will tighten pollution controls over the next five years to provide safe drinking water to its poor, populous countryside, Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said at the opening of the five-day World Water Congress in Beijing.
Official: China’s Songhua River suffering near-daily chemical spills
(September 10, 2006) Every few days, a chemical accident pollutes the Songhua River, Pan Yue, deputy director of the State Environmental Protection Administration, told the official Xinhua news agency.
In China, a water plan smacks of Mao
(September 10, 2006) ‘Under Mao, scientists were often sidelined, but now the government has realized that it needs technical expertise to solve its problems,’ said Zhao Yean, a senior member of the Yellow River Conservancy Commission.
Chinese river contains high arsenide poison level, no villagers sickened
(September 10, 2006) Fire trucks were providing water to villagers in central China’s Hunan province after high levels of arsenide poison were found in the Xinjiang River, although no one has been sickened, officials said Sunday.
Patricia Adams
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Mu Lan
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