(April 24, 1999) The Asian Development Bank is poised to stop funding controversial dam construction in Laos amid fears of poor viability and rampant illegal logging of some of the region’s last rainforests.
Other News Sources
Unforgivable: South Africa’s aparthied debts
(April 24, 1999) Debt is the new slavery. It is heartless to expect democratic third-world governments to repay loans made years ago to their nasty dictatorial predecessors.
Changnoi: Not a picnic for Pak Mool refugees
(April 21, 1999) This project completed in 1994 has proved to be a social and environmental disaster. It is a monument to bad development thinking and bad government. It has enough moral potential to magnify the importance of this remote protest.
Free Nelson Mandela
(April 20, 1999) When Nelson Mandela walked from prison seven years ago, it marked the success of one of the biggest grassroots international campaigns. Working together, we freed Nelson Mandela.
Development-Indochina: recession puts brakes on megaprojects
(April 16, 1999) At a recent symposium on the ‘Comprehensive Development of the Greater Mekong Subregion’ here, representatives mostly from the private sector, government and regional funding agencies complained that the Asian economic crisis had further put off chances of rapid growth for the Mekong Basin.
April 1999 Campaign Letter
Canada’s chief destroyer of the global environment is under review. You can help stop the damage.
News briefs
Special report: Resettlement problems at Three Gorges dam continue unchecked
(April 7, 1999) 10,000 villagers petition central government for help
Damming the Se San
(April 1, 1999) Proposed dams on the Se San River; Case studies and appendices.
Thai villagers occupy dam site, make demands
(April 1, 1999) More than 5,000 villagers have set up camp at the Pak Mun Dam site on the Mun River in Thailand and are demanding compensation from the Thai government and the World Bank for their losses due to development projects. The eight groups of villagers have been affected by various development projects, including six dams which have depleted fisheries, in northeast Thailand.
Pak Mun demonstration
(March 26, 1999) Eight villager groups affected by various development projects have united in struggle at the Pak Mun dam site in Thailand.
Pak Mool Protesters Seek Relief
(March 25, 1999) MORE than 3,000 villagers, who have been affected by the Pak Mool Dam project in Ubon Ratchathani, have gathered at the dam site demanding compensation for a permanent loss of their occupation — freshwater fishing.
Chinese dams damned
Beijing – Thousands of Chinese dams have been described as "time bombs" by Chinese officials. They said more than one-third of the country’s estimated 85,000 dams are defective and need urgent repairs.
Lao dam argument doesn’t hold water
(March 22, 1999) Laos has pinned its economic future on the Nam Theun 2 dam, but there is no buyer for its power and no commercial lenders in sight, writes Grainne Ryder.
A solution to the debt problem
(May 19, 1999) Observatoire de la Finance’s chairman, Jean-Loup Dherse, has a proposal that may improve the chance of building a political consensus for radical debt relief in the West.