(May 8, 2009) The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), which provides billions of dollars in long-term interest-free grants and loans to the world’s 78 poorest countries, is apparently not too concerned about the fraudulent or corrupt use of its loans.
Mounting pressure on Zipingpu dam’s contribution to Wenchuan earthquake
(May 8, 2009) The debate over whether the Zipingpu dam contributed to the severity or timing of last year’s deadly earthquake in China’s Sichuan province continues to attract attention. Fan Xiao, chief engineer of the Regional Geology Investigation Team of the Sichuan Geology and Mineral Bureau, was recently interviewed by Richard Stone for Science magazine.
China’s dams at risk from excess rain
(May 8, 2009) According to a recent article in AsiaNews.It, China’s Minister of Water Resources has warned that 37,000 dams are at risk of collapsing if the stronger-than-expected rains persist in the coming months and the tropical storms expected by meteorologists materialize.
Sweden admits foreign aid may not have any long-term impact
(May 08, 2009) Sweden’s foreign aid may not have any long-term positive effects for developing countries, according to a comprehensive review of Swedish foreign development assistance.
Dams & Earthquakes
(May 6, 2009) People involved in the design, construction and operation of large dams are normally particularly sensitive to earthquakes.
Patagonia Sin Represas
(May 5, 2009) [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDKcbT3YS2w autoplay:0]
Odious Debt: The Madness of Third-World stimulus
(May 4, 2009) To resuscitate the failing global economy and rescue the Third World’s poor, G-20 leaders have promised to pump the public international financial institutions – the World Bank, the IMF being the largest – with upwards of $1 trillion in new funds.
Fortis in Belize – Comprehensive Summary and Analysis
(May 4, 2009) In the tiny Central American country of Belize (population 300,000) there once was a forested river valley where scarlet macaws nested in giant quamwood trees and jaguars roamed, undisturbed by chainsaws and bulldozers.
Conclusion: Peasant protests: action and reaction
(May 3, 2009) In this book, I have attempted to tell the long and detailed story of how villagers affected by the Dahe dam battled for almost 20 years to protect their interests by seeking help from higher authorities, and how officials at all levels tried everything they could think of to deal with the issues that were raised.
Chapter 11: ‘Time to lay down the law’
(May 3, 2009) At a conference attended by prefecture and county officials on April 21, the joint work team gave a progress report to prefecture commissioner Xu Zerong on efforts to deal with the disturbances at the Dahe hydropower station. The record of the conference showed how the significant decisions were made.
Chapter 10: Baiyang 16 goes into battle
(May 3, 2009) With the dispute over the calcium-carbide factory now a thing of the past, the affected groups in Shanyang turned their attention to another major struggle: extracting compensation for fields eroded by the Dahe dam after 1978.
Chapter 9: Let them eat bread!
(May 3, 2009) On August 1, 1987, 200 peasants marched to the Dahe station, led by Tailor Wang, Jiang Youheng, Wu Qixian, Yao Longshi and Liang Yongwu. The heads of the upstream groups and several representatives went to the office at the station to talk to the people in charge.
Chapter 8: Good guys and bad apples
(May 3, 2009)
"The top leaders in Beijing are our benefactors, the provincial leaders are like our family members, there are good officials at the prefecture, there are more bad eggs than good at the county – while all local cadres at the township level are our enemies." – A Yunyang county folk song
Chapter 7: The conflict heats up
(May 3, 2009) On October 28, 1984, the head of Shanyang township, Yang Yongquan, was riding his bike over the bridge leading to the Dahe station when his way was suddenly blocked by a man in his 60s.
Chapter 6: In search of an honest judge
(May 3, 2009)
After the county and prefecture governments made it clear that local Shanyang cadres had not, in their view, committed any crimes of corruption, the villagers had to decide how to proceed. According to the regulations pertaining to China’s shangfang [appeals] system, petitioners were allowed to appeal to a higher level than the prefecture government – the provincial authorities. But Tailor Wang and the other "elite" of the affected people decided to go to the highest authorities of all, the top leaders in Beijing, by way of the provincial capital.
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