It was hailed as a model project, but the Theun-Hinboun dam in Laos has harmed the livelihoods of thousands of villagers, writes Grainne Ryder.
Indonesia clashes with IMF over plan to fire top bankers
(April 9, 2001) Indonesia insists on a key change to the central bank law allowing it to fire the entire board, setting itself on a possible collision course with an already frustrated International Monetary Fund.
Dammed if she doesn’t
(April 7, 2001) Dai Qing lives for one thing: to stop China’s Three Gorges dam being built across the Yangtze river. Why? She says it will displace 1.5 million people and cause devastating environmental damage.
Neglect it at your own peril!
(April 5, 2001) It is too easy to dismiss the almost total loss of the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, now acknowledged by government, as an unfortunate accident.
Limestone caverns may drain Chalillo reservoir
(April 5, 2001) The prospect of undetected underground limestone caverns diverting water from the proposed Chalillo dam has come to light by one of Belize’s most experience geologists.
Editorial
(April 5, 2001) Geologist Charles Wright’s work suggests that if the mostly granite area of mountain country is undermined by limestone, it would be sheer folly to proceed with a large dam at Chalillo.
The late Charles Wright, who chose to live in Punta Gorda for much of his life, was a world renowned geologist and consultant. He was the principal architect of the book Land Use Survey in Belize, a valuable resource book now out of print.
Ban demanded on overseas bribes
(April 4, 2001) Britain’s failure to introduce clear legislation to outlaw bribery and corruption in international business was castigated yesterday by a committee of MPs as a “shameful situation” that damaged the reputation of the City of London and the country abroad.
Villagers set to end marathon protest
(April 4, 2001) Cabinet resolution gives hope in an agreement to open all eight sluice gates of Pak Moon dam between May and September this year while an ecological impact study is done.
LatAm indigenous groups claim Canada finances forced dislocation
(April 3, 2001) Alberto Achita, a leader of the Embera Katio tribe in Colombia, and Sara Imilmaqui Aguas of the Mapuche nation in Chile say the Canadian government is contributing to their forced dislocation by helping finance controversial hydro-electic dam projects.
Indigenous leaders from the Americas protest Export Development Corporation trade financing
(April 3, 2001) 130,000 Canadians sign letters addressed to Minister Pettigrew calling for tighter regulation of the Export Development Corporation.
Still Waiting for the Jubilee: Pragmatic Solutions for the Third World Debt Crisis
(April 1, 2001) David Roodman calls for debt relief strategies focused on reducing rich-country import barriers, scaling back export credit agencies and creating a sovereign bankruptcy panel to cancel “odious debts.”
PRESS RELEASE: China’s Three Gorges dam resettlement turns violent, Press Release
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, reports Probe International.
Chinese expert says new resettlement rules won’t solve Three Gorges’ problems
(March 29, 2001) A Three Gorges Probe exclusive: Civil strife and corruption will continue to plague world’s largest civil works project, predicts respected sociologist Dr. Wei Yi.
NGO letter to World Bank Executive Directors
(May 29, 2001) NGO sign-on letter on outstanding issues with the Bujagali falls dam in Uganda, which went to every Executive Director of the World Bank, 29 May 2001.
Looting Indonesia: The energy brokers ‘warm-up’ for California
(March 28, 2001) Micheal Billington argues that American energy companies profited from the “cronyism and corruption” of the Suharto government, and the Indonesian public is now paying the price.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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Probe International 