(September 10, 2006) Environmental agencies even lack authority to intervene on their own as they answer to more powerful provincial bodies that are often in league with polluters, corrupt and riddled with nepotism.
Other News Sources
‘Still Life’ surprise winner in Venice
‘Still Life (Sanxia Haoren) was shot in the village of Fengjie, which has since been submerged in water to make way for the Three Gorges dam. It recounts two stories of local people in times of relocation and their emotional upheavals,’ China Daily says.
GDP takes on a green hue in new figures
(September 8, 2006) Pollution caused losses of US$64 billion in 2004, which was 3.05 per cent of China’s gross domestic product that year, according to a "Green GDP" report calculating the impact of the environment on the economy.
Fitting venue for World Water Congress
(September 8, 2006) China will be looking to the 5th World Water Congress, held in Beijing Sep. 10-14, to tap the latest technology and attract more foreign participation in its water industry.
Freeing the South from debt bondage
(September 7, 2006) The Jubilee South-Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development will call for immediate 100 percent cancellation of multilateral debt owed by countries of the South at the upcoming International People’s Forum versus the International Finance Institutions.
Global call to action against the Salween dams in Burma
(September 6, 2006) Groups opposed to the dams planned for the Salween River in Burma are circulating a petition and planning demonstrations outside Thai embassies and consulates on Sept. 21.
The Cost of Power in China
Black Opal Press September 5, 2006 This new book by photographer Steven Benson is his much acclaimed photo essay documenting the Yangtze River valley which is now under the water of the […]
NGOs in China: Helping those devoured by the dragon
(September 5, 2006) ‘We are not fundamentally against the [Nu River dams] project,’ Yu Xiaogang insists. ‘But we want the consequences for the environment, for the people and for the economy to be assessed first, just as the law requires.’
China to provide potable water for rural residents
(September 5, 2006) China will invest billions of dollars over the next 10 years to provide drinking water for 300 million rural residents who face shortages or are without access to clean water.
Bring back Sh74 billion: Change Constitution to clip President’s powers
(September 5, 2006) Former Kenyan Permanent Secretary for Governance and Ethics, John Githongo, has renewed his anti-corruption crusade from abroad accusing the Kenyan government of failing to recover a whopping Sh 74 billion he says he established was stashed away in foreign banks by senior people in the present and former governments, Kenya Times Online reports.
Salween dam project ‘likely to go ahead without study’
(September 4, 2006) The controversial Salween dam projects are likely to go ahead without social and environmental impact studies to avoid interfering in Burma’s internal affairs, a senior official of the Thai utility EGAT says.
Water project trial targets Italian giant
(September 4, 2006) Impregilo, the last remaining company to be charged in the landmark Lesotho corruption trials and one of the world’s largest construction companies, was charged on Sept. 4 with five counts of bribery involving millions of rands in connection with the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
SEPA pledges to probe serious polluters
(September 3, 2006) China’s top environmental watchdog has launched investigations into six of the nation’s most notorious polluters.
Rules ignored, toxic sludge sinks Chinese village
(September 3, 2006) There is no shortage of environmental laws in China, but the dire pollution problems persist, in part because environmental protection is often subverted by local protectionism, corruption and regulatory inefficiency.
As China spews pollution, villagers rise up
(September 3, 2006) Villagers say a few people in China are getting rich by destroying the environment. ‘This whole system is unfair,’ one farmer is quoted as saying, ‘They’re getting wealthy on the backs of poor people like us.’
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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Probe International 