(June 12, 2009) A letter and photos from Chinese NGOs after the environment ministry suspended two major hydro projects along the upper Yangtze last week. In the letter, they question the temporary suspensions and call for a halt to dam projects along the upper Yangtze (known as Jinsha).
About 37,000 Chinese dams deemed “unsafe,” some on the verge of collapse
(June 19, 2009) China Daily blames the problem on shoddy construction, unqualified workers and embezzled public funds. Now that the flood season is right around the corner the authorities call for maximum alert to prevent collapses.
June 2009 Campaign Letter
Canadian pension dollars set to fund eco-destruction
PRESS RELEASE: Canada Pension Plan urged to abandon Chile’s Patagonia dam scheme
(June 18, 2009) In a letter submitted yesterday to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, environmental group Probe International urged CEO David Denison to abandon a controversial hydro-transmission scheme in southern Chile’s Patagonia region.
Ship lift at Three Gorges Dam, China − design of steel structures
(June 18, 2009) A detailed look at the colossal ship lift proposed for the Three Gorges Dam: a structure so enormous in dimension and complex in its engineering, it effectively represents a ‘moveable building’.
Probe International reply to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
(June 17, 2009) Last August, HidroAysén submitted its Environmental Impact Assessment to the environmental authorities for its proposed hydroelectric dams in the Patagonia region of southern Chile. The EIA excluded the transmission component of the project, which would be developed by Transelec and includes a 1,500-mile long transmission line and related infrastructure crossing through 14 legally protected natural areas and thousands of private properties, around volcanoes, and over fjords spanning, in all, more than half of Chile’s entire length.
Coalition raises dam worries
(June 18, 2009) Group says Cambodian fisheries vulnerable to planned Mekong hydro dams.
Mekong citizens appeal to Thai PM against construction of dams
(June 18, 2009) Citizens of six countries which share the Mekong River on Thursday submitted a petition with 16,000 signatures to Thailand’s Prime Minister to save the Mekong River.
Dams on China’s Yellow River near collapse
(June 18, 2009) Several dams on China’s mighty Yellow River are close to collapse just a few years after they were built amid concerns that over 40 percent of the nation’s reservoirs are unsafe, state media has said.
Morally repugnant: Britain and the Netherlands bully little Iceland
(June 16, 2009) As officials from Iceland, a nation with a population of only 300,000, sat down to negotiate the conclusion of the IceSave dispute with their counterparts from the U.K. and the Netherlands, the disadvantage of Iceland was apparent from the start.
Three Gorges dam building industry goes global
(June 15, 2009) China’s global dam building business has its roots in the massive Three Gorges project, which is now almost fully operational and was built mainly using Western technology and construction know-how.
Belize Electricity Ltd. blocks channel 7 from its AGM
(June 15, 2009) Canadian-owned power utility Belize Electricity Limited, blocked media from its annual general meeting in Belize last week. The company owned by Fortis of Newfoundland blames Belize’s Public Utilities Commission for its;$10.8 million loss on record earnings of $176 million (Belize dollars) last year.
Ecuador credit rating in highly speculative territory
(June 15, 2009) The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services put its long-term sovereign credit rating on Ecuador in highly speculative territory today in the wake of the country’s debt exchange.
China: New dam builder for the world
(December 28, 2007) Home to almost half of the world’s 45,000 biggest dams, China has embarked on a push to export its hydropower know-how to developing countries — even as it contends with environmental damage and social upheaval at home from the massive Three Gorges Dam.
World Bank seeks to increase lending to the developing world
(June 15, 2009) As the economic crisis continues to work its way through the global economic system, the World Bank is using the slowdown as an opportunity to increase lending to the developing world. According to the bank’s president, Robert Zoellick, the bank will increase its lending by $100 billion over the next three years. In 2009 alone, the bank plans to triple its lending from $13.5-billion to $35-billion.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
Other News Sources
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