(July 31, 2008) The World Bank is a leading financier and political promoter of Brazil’s campaign for sugar cane based ethanol. Currently, the Bank’s private sector arm, International Finance Corporation, is lending about US$200 million for three ethanol projects in Sao Paulo state.
World Bank funds Amazon slaughterhouse
(July 31, 2008) The World Bank’s private sector arm, International Finance Corporation, is providing Brazil’s cattle industry with US$9 million to expand their slaughterhouse operations in the southern Amazon, depite an environmental study showing the expansion would lead to the loss of up to 300,000 hectares of forest.
China National Energy Administration commences operation
(July 29, 2008) China’s newly-established National Energy Administration (NEA) has begun operation, according to sources with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
PRESS RELEASE China’s Three Gorges dam resettlement turns violent
(March 30, 2001) Chinese officials are using police force and violent means to force reluctant migrants to make way for the Three Gorges dam, and to punish anyone accusing local officials of wrongdoing.
China dams up dissent of Three Gorges project
He Kechang retired to a village above the Yangtze River hoping to spend his last years with his family working their half-acre of land.
PRESS RELEASE Imminent trial of Three Gorges dam protesters
Two international organizations appealed today for the release of farmers arrested for trying to petition Chinese authorities to end abuses linked to the Three Gorges Dam project.
Three Gorges: resettlement and marginalization
Thesis by Chinese academic and scholar, writes that a lack of adequate compensation is a common feature of dam resettlement schemes the world over, and the Three Gorges resettlement is no exception.
Beijing’s water crisis
(July 26, 2008) Within a generation Beijing may cease to exist, environmentalists warn.
Beijing to plant 40 million flowers for Games
(July 22, 2008) Beijing’s planting of thousands of hectares of lawn and trees has been criticized by some environmentalists who say the city of more than 16 million people can ill afford to divert scarce water reserves for their upkeep.
World Bank should improve environmental record, review says
(July 22, 2008) An internal World Bank evaluation of the lending giant’s environmental record gave the Bank a low rating for follow-through, the International Herald Tribune reports.
The Zipingpu dam: after the quake
(July 22, 2008) The May 12 earthquake hit hard at the largest hydropower project in Sichuan province. Li Xiaoming was on the scene soon after the quake, and writes that even if the immediate dangers have passed, caution is still needed.
Business as usual for Fortis in Belize?
(July 21, 2008) On facing legal and regulatory battles in Belize, Fortis CEO Stanley Marshall says its a "normal aspect" of doing business.
Peddling yesterday’s technology: Aid for large hydro dams must be stopped
Grainne Ryder Speech to the World Commission on Dams, Hanoi, Vietnam February 27, 2000 Thank you ladies and gentlemen for this opportunity to speak today to the World Commission on Dams. The […]
Chinese geology experts question South-North Water Diversion Scheme’s viability
(August 31, 2007) Officially it’s the answer to northern China’s water crisis but senior Chinese geologists and experts are not confident that the central government’s plans for diverting water from the upper Yangtze into the parched Yellow River valley is worth the extraordinary risk and cost.
Three Gorges fund could be diverted to massive South-North Water Transfer Scheme
Money raised to build China’s Three Gorges dam could soon be diverted to a massive south-north water diversion scheme the building of which one senior official is calling "suicide."


