(December 2, 2012) Four workers are missing and presumed drowned after a Chinese dam project, in the throes of construction in western Cambodia, partially collapsed on Saturday.
New action guide targets Chinese dam construction
(November 29, 2012) As the most dammed country in the world and the largest exporter of dams abroad, China ranks as a hydropower-producing powerhouse with a wealth of experience that should inspire reassurance. The opposite is often the case, however, given China’s disregard for international social and environmental standards, both at home and overseas. A new action guide produced by the US-based environmental NGO, International Rivers Network, aims to help watchdogs of China’s ‘going out’ projects in their efforts to ensure safety and the rights of local communities affected by Chinese dam construction.
Why we should say no to CNOOC
(November 23, 2012) The proposed takeover of Calgary-based oil and gas producer Nexen by China’s state-owned oil giant CNOOC should be nixed by the Canadian government, says Probe International’s Patricia Adams. As instruments of the Communist Party, China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are undisciplined by markets or the rule of law. Without subsidies, their rate of return on equity is negative. It would be impossible to stop them from distorting the Canadian economy, so Canada should just say no to CNOOC.
China’s challenges to human security
(August 9, 2012) A new book on human security and China features a chapter by Patricia Adams and Dai Qing of Probe International that asks ‘at what cost China’s rise?’. Dai Qing argues, at great cost.
Myitsone cancellation sends a message to China
(October 22, 2011) The recent suspension of the Myitsone dam in Myanmar shows just how unpopular China’s international dam-builders are becoming. In recent years, China has built a spate of new hydropower projects on rivers outside its borders, without much concern for their ecological and economic impacts downstream. Myitsone is a sign of growing resistance to these projects.
Dam postponement seen as rebuke to Beijing
Myanmar’s announced cancellation of the Myitsone dam on the Irrawaddy River has brought long-standing tensions with China into the open – including setting off conflicts with the Kachin Independence Organization in the north of the country. “It may be that the Myanmar government sees Chinese investment, in particular the Myitsone dam, as a destabilising force,” said Patricia Adams.
Joy amid caution as Burmese halt Chinese mega-dam
(October 8, 2011) The Burmese president announced that the controversial Chinese-financed Myitsone dam on the Irrawaddy River would be suspended. Now the Chinese government is threatening legal action if the rights and interests of its state enterprises aren’t protected.
Pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi urges Burma to save the Irrawaddy
(August 16, 2011) Burma’s pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, has called for a reassessment of Burma’s massive 6,000 MW Irrawaddy Myitsone dam project.
Sinohydro denies Malaysian dam unsafe
(June 20, 2011) The practice of adding excessive water to cement – regarded as unsafe by the construction industry – was endemic in the building of Malaysia’s biggest dam, a new exposé claims.
China and the Cascading Geopolitics of Lower Mekong Dams
(May 10, 2011) Much has been written on the downstream impact of China’s dams on the Lancang-Mekong River, which flows through or along the borders of five other countries after exiting China. Most of the discussion relates to the hydrological impact of impounding water in the eight dams along the mainstream Lancang Jiang in Yunnan Province.
Ethiopia: The Politics of Ethiopian Grand Millennium Dam
(March 26, 2011) Several days ago, an acquaintance called to invite me to participate the next day in a panel discussion prepared by Deutsche Welle’s Amharic service program. The panel was to discuss about the Ethiopian Grand Millennium Dam (GMD). I was told that I was approached because of my training and practice in Water Resources Engineering.
China outsources its pollution
(March 25, 2011) In an effort to reduce air pollution, the Chinese government has found a way to outsource its problem.
Shouldering China’s toxic burden
(March 23, 2011) Four years ago a World Bank report landed on the desk of the Chinese health ministry containing shocking statistics on pollution-related deaths in the country, so much so that Beijing promptly engineered the removal of a third of it over fears that the findings, if they went public, could spark “social unrest”.
Kenyans to protest Chinese involvement in Ethiopia’s Gibe III Dam
(February 16, 2011) Members of the civil society and other concerned individuals will on Sunday, 20 February 2011 stage a peaceful protest march to petition the Chinese government against the involvement of several Chinese companies in the ongoing construction of the controversial and potentially devastating Ethiopian Gilgel Gibe III mega-dam.
Chinese “Going out” investments in Southeast Asia facing increased scrutiny says report
(September 8, 2010) As China continues to invest in major infrastructure projects abroad, a new reports says it’s quickly learning that the rules outside of its borders aren’t the same as those within it, writes Brady Yauch.
Patricia Adams
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Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
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