(April 1, 1997) The World Bank is preparing to back a hydroelectric dam project in the Mekong region of southeast Asia that will decimate the fisheries, forests, economies, and water supplies of thousands of local people, and threaten endangered wildlife.
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April 1997 Campaign Letter
Canadian mining companies are wreaking havoc on the Third World’s environment – and the Canadian government is quietly helping them to do it.
Probe Alert April 1997
World Bank considering guarantee for controversial dam in Laos
Should we pay the debt of the past regime?
(March 14, 1997) Should the people who were victims of the oppressive machinery of apartheid now be forced to repay those financiers who were immoral enough to finance the machinery?
Thai utility drops Nam Theun 2 hydro project but World Bank tries to keep it alive
(March 6, 1997) The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand has decided not to purchase power from the yet-to-be-built Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos until at least 2004, according to a report in the Bangkok daily, The Nation. The World Bank is still involved in the project, despite EGAT’s withdrawal, insisting it will not make a decision to finance the dam until the Lao government and the project’s private developers have completed environmental impact and resettlement studies. World Bank official Nina Shapiro, contacted last week, was unaware that the Nam Theun 2 power deal was in jeopardy.
Villagers await resettlement, they hope for a new and better life
(February 24, 1997) While debate on the controversial Nam Theun 2 hydro-electricity project rages on, residents of Nakai Plateau, the dam’s site which will be submerged as a result, are anxiously waiting to be resettled, hoping for a new and better life.
US $ 270 million loan to be granted to Laos from ADB
(February 18, 1997) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide Laos of US $90 million in each of the next three years, an ADB representative said in an interview in Vientiane last week. "We sent Mr. Rajendran and some other programmers to Laos to programme assistance for Laos for the next three years, and we can now say that we will grant about US $90 million to Laos each year for the years 1998, 1999 and 2000W said Mr.Rajat Nag, programme manager of the ADB’s Programmes Department.
On the nature of reservoir-induced seismicity
(1997) In most cases of reservoir-induced seismicity, seismicity follows the impoundment, large lake-level changes, or filling at a later time above the highest water level achieved until then. We classify this as initial seismicity. This ‘‘initial seismicity’’ is ascribable to the coupled poroelastic response of the reservoir to initial filling or water level changes.
CIDA responds to Probe’s 1996 Mekong campaign
(January 29, 1997) Letter of January 6, 1997 in reply to concerns about Canada’s involvement in the hydroelectric development projects in the Mekong River Basin.
The Political Ecology of Hydropower Development in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
(December 13, 1996) The Lao PDR government has pinned its national economic future on hydroelectricity export earnings and has joined with international consortia, made up of private companies and state-owned utilities, to develop large-scale hydropower projects along every major river in the country.
Three Gorges dam: investors still suspicious, controversy rages on
Despite China’s optimism in offering a $120 million bond issue for the Three Gorges Project this month, international investors are still hesitant to back the highly controversial dam.
The rise and fall of EGAT: From monopoly to marketplace?
(November 1, 1996) Mekong governments have pinned their national economic futures on multimillion dollar exports of hydroelectricity to serve Thailand’s surging demand for electricity.
It’s time for the World Bank to close its doors
(October 22, 1996) For more than a decade, citizens’ groups from around the world have been trying to stop the World Bank from wreaking environmental havoc, financial ruin, and social harm throughout the Third World.
It’s time for the World Bank to close its doors
(October 22, 1996) For more than decade, citizens’ groups around world have been trying stop World Bank from wreaking environmental havoc, financial ruin, social harm throughout Third World. Bank’s charismatic president, James Wolfensohn, has pledged change “culture” Bank increase “openness, partnership, accountability, effectiveness Bank.”
EGAT cancels plans to purchase power from controversial dam in Laos
(October 1, 1996) The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand has cancelled plans to purchase electricity from the Nam Theun 2 hydro dam, reports the Bangkok daily, The Nation. EGAT’s announcement may be the final blow for the dam’s developers, who have sunk US$30 million into the project so far but have failed to secure either World Bank or commercial financing.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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Probe International 