(April 11, 2010) The large amounts of floating garbage brought by the summer floods which had accumulated at China’s Three Gorges Dam has reportedly been cleared to ensure the normal operation of its generators and system of boat channels, the local authorities said.
Dams portend grim future for Mekong Delta: experts
(April 9, 2010) Critics slam China’s hegemonic behavior in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.
How U.S. policy affects other countries’ tax rates
(April 7, 2010) According to Probe International, an independent advocacy group, foreign aid provides financially unsound countries with a crutch – and gives little incentive for reform as long as free money is flowing in from other parts of the world.
The next big idea in conservation: Improving dams for nature and people
(April 6, 2010) Dams block the fluid highways used by migrating fish, and rearrange natural water-flow patterns that have choreographed aquatic life cycles for millennia. Analogs to human health are instructive: While water pollution is as harmful as excessive cholesterol in a bloodstream, the construction of dams has in many rivers been as fatal as cardiac arrest.
Worries related to China’s “Going Out”
(April 5, 2010) In recent years China has become a regional leader in Southeast Asia for the financing of major infrastructure projects, particularly dams—overtaking traditional sources like the World Bank. But China is quickly learning that the rules of investment outside its borders are drastically different than those within it. This report by Wu Aoqi, a researcher based in Beijing, analyzes a number of problems facing both Chinese firms and the central government as they pursue a “going out” policy.
China rejects Mekong River dam criticism
(April 5, 2010) China has rejected claims that its dams on the Mekong River are to blame for record low water levels in downstream nations.
Corruption biting the hand that feeds: food aid industry facing tough questions
(April 5, 2010) The food aid industry is facing a number of scandals and criticisms that are providing fresh evidence that not only does food aid hurt Third World farmers, it is also a revenue source for corrupt politicians and terrorists.
Moyo: international aid to Africa spurs corruption
(April 2, 2010) Billions of dollars in international financial aid do more harm than good on the African continent, economist and best-selling author Dambisa Moyo said in a lecture to students on Thursday. In the lecture, held in Filene Auditorium, Moyo argued that continued financial aid to African nations allows political leaders to ignore their responsibilities to the population in favor of appeals to potential donors.
Mekong nations call for China assistance amid Drought
(April 5, 2010) Downstream nations along Asia’s Mekong River hailed China’s move to share data on reservoir levels and called for more cooperation as a severe drought heightens concerns that its dams have distorted water flows.
Prediction of reservoir-induced earthquake based on fuzzy theory
(April 4, 2010) Abstract—With more and more reservoirs have been and are being built all over the world, reservoir-induced earthquake has received a great deal of attention from geoscientists mainly because of its potential to damage constructions and to cause human losses. Based on the previous researches on the environmental conditions of reservoir-induced earthquake, a criteria hierarchy model has been constructed.
Flood of fears over China’s projects
(April 3, 2010) China’s dam-building spree along the Mekong river in south-western Yunnan province has raised fears among several of its neighbours, who say the dams have led to shrinking levels of water downstream.
Experts say cooperation needed on Mekong river resources
(April 3, 2010) Experts meeting to discuss Mekong River resources have urged countries along the Southeast Asian river to improve cooperation in developing hydropower. Delegates also urged China to share more information about its dam building on the Mekong.
Chinese-funded dams going up
(April 2, 2010) Chinese companies have begun building two large hydropower dams at a combined cost of more than $1 billion to feed electricity-starved Cambodia, officials in Phnom Penh said Thursday.
Countries blame China, not nature, for water shortage
(April 2, 2010) Farmers and fishermen in countries that share the Mekong River with China, especially Thailand, have lashed out at China over four dams that span the Chinese portion of the 3,000-mile river, despite what appears to be firm scientific evidence that low rainfall is responsible for the plunging levels of the river, not China’s hydroelectric power stations.
Foreign aid and Salvadoran corruption
(March 7, 2010) In the midst of the financial turmoil that rocked the international capital markets last year, the World Bank proudly announced a new $250 million "assistance package" for this country. A few months later a scandal erupted over why a similar amount of money was never accounted for on the government’s books.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
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