A common test of whether a proposed expropriation is legitimate is whether it is “fair, sound, and reasonably necessary.” Expropriations for the Scarborough extension fail all three tests.
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Chalillo Dam dispute goes before Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has given the government of Belize three months to respond to allegations filed 12 years ago by BELPO, an organization representing the Maya people and affected communities.
Dispute between CNOOC and Toronto-listed Husky and Primeline could impact China-Canada trade
This terrific article by the Financial Post echoes the warning signs of an earlier Post piece by Probe International’s Patricia Adams on trade with China and, in particular, China’s state-owned enterprises.
World Bank caution to Tanzania criticised
These comments by Tanzanian economics professor Humphrey Moshi serve as quite an indictment of the wayward World Bank. When China — no stranger to poor practices itself — is your “saviour” from bad World Bank policies … The Daily News reports.
The resource curse comes to Mozambique
Hidden foreign aid to an incompetent and dishonest government is set to rob Mozambique of its gas treasure as no one can explain what happened to billions of dollars the country borrowed for a series of price-inflated, murky projects. The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) reports.
Will NJ consumers be hit with zero-emission surcharge for nuclear?
It may not have been able to compete with fossil fuels but global warming has given nuclear power an edge: on more subsidies. The example of New Jersey shows how desperation on the global warming front is jeopardizing decision-making and ignoring the penalties and perils of “clean energy’s” new good guy.
Keep an eye on this
A USD80-million research project at India’s Koyna dam site will study reservoir-triggered earthquakes (aka reservoir-induced seismicity) and the causes behind them. Dam activity at Koyna was blamed for a powerful earthquake in 1967 that destroyed the village of Koynanagar in western India’s Maharashtra state, left 180 people dead, 1,500 injured, thousands homeless and power cut off to Bombay.
Some countries really are more corrupt than others
According to this fantastic commentary on corruption by Alina Mungiu-Pippidi for Foreign Policy, “the rule of law and control of corruption are nearly synonymous”. Without rule of law, she says, attempts to reign in corruption through legal mechanisms will only be captured by the corrupt system in place. The way forward? The defeat of corruption, she says, is not achieved “by importing legal silver bullets from abroad,” it is a political process enabled “through a mix of policies advanced by domestic advocates”. Read on!
China builds new framework governing civil society organizations
The National Law Review breaks down highlights from China’s controversial new Law on the Management of the Activities of Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations Within China into two parts: the first looks at Charity Law, the second, Foreign NGO Law.
Obama’s global anti-corruption cops should call Internal Affairs: Column
Last week’s anti-corruption summit ignored how western governments and international financial institutions fuel corruption through foreign aid, writes USA Today contributor James Bovard.
Why China’s nuclear exports may struggle to find a market
China seems well placed to trump its competitors in the nuclear export business but buyer concerns about the quality of components, the rigor of the Chinese regulatory system, the risk of dependence on China and the potential leakage of technologies with strategic geopolitical use, may prove a tough sell. China Dialogue reports.
Landslide at Chinese dam site signals looming risks
Another deadly landslide at a hydropower construction site in Fujian, south-east China, highlights the growing risks of dam building in mountainous regions of Asia. Chinadialogue.net reports.
Pak Mun Dam: 25 years after World Bank’s loan, problems remain
The Pak Mun Dam is the only case in the whole Mekong Basin where dam affected people have demanded the decommissioning of the dam.
An alternate past/future for Mekong River dams under the UN Watercourses Convention
This three-part article by international water law consultant Rémy Kinna looks at dams in the Mekong. Kinna examines the existing legal framework for regulating dam development in the region and how its legal gaps and ambiguities have led to ongoing disputes (particularly in regard to the Xayaburi Dam in Laos), and how to improve dispute resolution and strengthen water governance across the Mekong River mainstream and its tributaries under the UN Watercourses Convention.
Mekong Delta loses half of silt to upstream dams: scientists
A soft shield of silt that took over 6,000 years to form and which protects the ‘rice bowl’ of Vietnam against intrusion from seawater, erosion and declining groundwater levels has been seriously stripped by Chinese dams on the Mekong River, say experts. Half of the river’s essential sediment is now trapped upstream and the delta may be in jeopardy of disappearing altogether. Thanh Nien News reports.
Patricia Adams
Brady Yauch
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Lisa Peryman
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