(September 17, 2008) In addition to displacing 14 families and flooding major sections of Region XI’s Baker and Pascua river valleys, the controversial HidroAysén dam project – by the company’s own admission – looks to encroach on a nearby national park. HidroAysén is a joint entity created in 2006 by Spanish- Italian electricity giant Endesa and Chilean utility Colbún. HidroAysén project would flood portions of the Baker river valley.
Nam Theun electricity consortium: Rising water, falling expectations
(September 17, 2008) In June of this year, the World Bank-financed and French-led Nam Theun 2 Electricity Consortium began filling the Nam Theun 2 reservoir in central Laos despite its failure to produce feasible plans and the necessary budget for restoring displaced people’s livelihoods, Shannon Lawrence of US-based International Rivers reports.
Lao-Thai Hydropower Purchase
(September 16, 2008) A possible increase in the price of electricity from Laos forces Thailand to consider seeking alternative electricity sources.
New geomorphological index created for studying active tectonics of mountains
(June 3, 2008) To build a hospital, nuclear power station or a large dam you need to know the possible earthquake risks of the terrain. Now, researchers from the Universities of Granada and Jaen, alongside scientists from the University of California, have developed, based on relief data from the southern edge of the Sierra Nevada, a geomorphological index that analyses land form in relation to active tectonics, applicable to any mountain chain on the planet.
Chinese think tank report warns on relations between public, go’t officials
(September 12, 2008) A report from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the country’s leading think tank, warned conflict between the public and government officials had become more obvious in recent years.
U.S., other nations step up bribery battle
(September 12, 2008) The Wall Street Journal’s Russel Gold and David Crawford look at the
PRESS RELEASE China’s Three Gorges dam faces financial death spiral
(December 16, 1999) Uneconomic and outmoded, the Three Gorges dam will have difficulty finding customers for its electricity in China’s rapidly modernizing electricity market, according to a new Probe International report
PRESS RELEASE Three Gorges dam to create huge, stagnant, stinking pond
(November 29, 1999) After thousands of years of letting their sewage flow downstream and out to sea, Chongqing and other Yangtze cities now face the prospect of it staying in the water that laps their shores.
PRESS RELEASE Three Gorges resettlement in chaos, awaiting central directives
(October 1, 1999) The resettlement of up to two million people who will be flooded out of their homes by China’s massive Three Gorges dam is in chaos, according to a Chinese sociologist.
PRESS RELEASE Internet news service on controversial Three Gorges dam launched
(July 9, 1998) Probe International is today launching the first bilingual Internet information news service about China’s Three Gorges dam, the world’s largest hydro-electric project. Although already under construction, debate about the controversial dam on China’s Yangtze river continues. Technical problems, such as rapidly accumulating silt and a weaker-than-expected rock foundation, have already slowed construction. Meanwhile popular resistance to the massive resettlement of nearly 2 million people is threatening to provoke conflict between the state and the affected public.
Three Gorges: the last chance
(January 8, 2006) Next year China will flood the Yangtze valley, and one of the world’s great sights will be lost forever. Go now before it’s too late, the author urges.
Theme park by Three Gorges dam
(January 9, 2006) Chongqing announces plans to draw tourists to the dam area.
90-year-old academician wins 1 million yuan prize
Professor Zhang Guangduo is honoured for his design work on controversial big dams in China.
Three Gorges to maintain original splendour
(January 13, 2006) The water level in the reservoir after the dam is completed in 2009 will affect local scenic sights to some extent, but is expected to add to the beauty of the Three Gorges, the official Chinese news agency says.
Three Gorges cofferdam dismantled
(January 20, 2006) The temporary cofferdam in front of the Three Gorges Dam was demolished May 1, introducing the next phase of construction.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
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Probe Media
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