(September 3, 2009) The Chalillo Dam on the Macal River in Belize is facing renewed criticism after a local watchdog group released photographs that show the dam is discharging discoloured orange-brown sediment-laden water, polluting downstream users and threatening the river’s ecology and ocean reefs where it empties into the Caribbean Sea.
India and China depleting aquifers
(September 3, 2009) India and China may differ in their political structures—the former the world’s most populous democracy, the latter the most populace one-party state—but they share a ruinous use of ground water in which each is draining their aquifers faster than they can be replenished.
Finance Ministry urges China to write off Iraqi debt
(September 2, 2009) The Iraqi Ministry of Finance has called on the Chinese government to cancel the Iraqi debt, totaling $8.5 billion U.S. dollars, according to a ministry statement.
Water crisis in parched northern China
(August 4, 2009) The controversial North-South Water Diversion Project is putting more strain on local farmers already struggling from drought that has plagued parts of the country for much of the past decade. One local farmer, Li Yunxi, talks openly about his struggle for access to water.
Aid minister calls for debate over corruption
(Aug. 24, 2009) Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation, Gunilla Carlsson, has called for an open debate over the role of development aid in the wake of a corruption scandal in Zambia.
But she seems so happy…
(August 19, 2009) A recent article in China Daily details the beginning of what will be the second largest relocation project in China’s history—just behind the Three Gorges dam. The article, and the picture shown above, make light of the relocations, saying the residents are receiving compensation and keys to fully-equipped apartments in downtown areas.
The Three Gorges tax revolt
(August 19, 2009) Chinese citizens are beginning to ask questions about the official estimates and management of the Three Gorges dam.
More odious debts for the Democratic Republic of Congo if the World Bank gets its way
World Bank President Robert Zoellick is urging the Democratic Republic of Congo to pursue better governance as a way to entice more companies to build dams in the country. In his sights are the rehabilitation of the notoriously dysfunctional Inga 1 and 2 dams. But it’s projects like these that will create more odious debts for the country’s citizens.
Rainwater collection projects gather 24.5 million cubic meters of rainwater in Beijing
(August 17, 2009) One rainfall may create a new “Kunming Lake” in Beijing. Although rainfall for 2009 has been relatively less than that of prior years, rainwater collection projects across urban and rural areas have been playing a big role.
China moves 10,000 people for massive water diversion project
(August 17, 2009) Chinese authorities began Sunday relocating the first batch of rural residents totaling 10,600 in central Henan Province to make way for one of the three routes of the country’s massive South-to-North Water Diversion Project.
A plan for water shortage in Mekong River needed
(August 14, 2009) Experts who attended a seminar about Vietnam’s economy in Can Tho last week said Vietnam needs to develop a plan to confront the water shortage of the Mekong River.
Flood torrents pass Three Gorges Dam safely
(August 7, 2009) Photographs taken on August 6, 2009 show a panorama of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in Yichang City of central China’s Hubei Province, include shots of the flood waters moving through the dam.
Call for cooperation in fish conservation related to Dams (Chinese sturgeon)
Hi, here is Dr. Parker Stone in China Three Gorges University call for international cooperation.
Beijing “borrows” water amid less precipitation
(August 13, 2009) Less rainfall has prompted Beijing to channel in more than 300 million cubic meters of water from the neighboring Hebei Province as of July, an official said here Wednesday.
Memo from Dr. Guy R. Lanza to Belize Institute of Environmental Law and Policy (BELPO)
(August 12, 2009) Memo from Dr. Guy R. Lanza to BELPO concerning the discolouration of the Macal River in August 2009.
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