(November 25, 1999) Joseph E. Stiglitz said Wednesday that he would resign as the World Bank’s chief economist after using the position for nearly three years to raise pointed questions about the effectiveness of conventional approaches to helping poor countries.
China’s longest river ‘cancerous’ with pollution
(November 19, 1999) China’s longest river is "cancerous" with pollution and rapidly dying, threatening drinking water supplies in 186 cities along its banks, state media said on Tuesday. Chinese environmental experts fear worsening pollution could kill the Yangtze river within five years, Xinhua news agency said, calling for an urgent clean-up.
Water power in Asia : The dry facts about dams
(November 19, 1999) Look across Asia, and you might think that the Big Dam is alive and well. The region is home to much of the world’s dam building, including two of its most ambitious projects: those in India’s Narmada valley and China’s Three Gorges.
EDC is buying off its opponents public-private collusion to create export cartel
(November 18, 1999) In 1993, the federal government greatly expanded the powers of the Export Development Corp. by allowing it to move into the private sector’s turf and finance Canadian firms’ activity in Canada. As a sop to the banking and insurance industries, which cried foul upon learning that they would soon face unfair competition from this Crown corporation, the government promised to review the new EDC legislation five years hence. That review, conducted by the law firm of Gowling Strathy & Henderson and now before the standing committee on foreign affairs and international trade, fails utterly to address EDC’s fundamental problems.
Wolfensohn will lose face if he gives nod to dirty dozen
(November 17, 1999) The simple issue on the agenda at a World Bank meeting in Pretoria is corruption – specifically the padding of Katse Dam construction costs by a "dirty dozen" of multinational corporations.
The Three Gorges Project: an error in ‘democratic decision-making’
(November 16, 1999) After eleven and a half years, the construction of Three Gorges Dam located on the Yangtze River at Sandouping of Yichang City, Hubei Province was officially completed on the morning of May 20, 2006.
Crisis as Yangtze evacuees rise to 4m
China is to move 700,000 people from low-lying areas along the Yangtze River before next summer’s flood season, the official China Daily newspaper reported yesterday.
Statement to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade on the Review of the Export Development Act
(November 16, 1999) Patricia Adams’s Statement to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Drought worsens China water woes
(November 10, 1999) Parts of China are suffering their worst drought in over 50 years. But in the cities, demand for water is increasing as China’s economic boom continues..
In search of the new China
The Middle Kingdom has seen great advances and horrible setbacks. Where is it heading now?
PM urged to address woes of villagers: Dam projects affect Northeasterners
(November 5, 1999) The prime minister has been urged by 28 international organisations to address the plight of Northeastern villagers affected by dam projects.
Thailand’s Electricity Generating considers stake in Lao dam
(November 4, 1999) Thailand’s Electricity Generating Plc. –a privatised subsidiary of Egat– said Thursday it was considering acquiring a stake in the 1.2 billion dollar Num Thuen 2 hydro power project in Laos.
Letter from Canada’s Executive Director to the World Bank: Nam Theun 2, Lao PDR
(November 2, 1999) “Accordingly, it is clearly understood that, if the Bank is to support the Nam Theun 2 project, the latter would need to be in full compliance with the Bank’s environmental and social policies and that higher standards would need to be applied.”
Letter from Canada’s Executive Director to the World Bank: Nam Theun 2, Lao PDR
(November 2, 1999) Terry O’Leary, Executive Director to the World Bank, responds to Probe International’s October 6th letter to the World Bank regarding the Nam Theun 2 hydroelectric project.
Laos mess worsens, donors seek action
(November 1, 1999) With the financial sector in a precarious state and half the population living below the poverty line, donors say authorities must quickly launch strong stabilisation measures to curb inflation, stabilise the kip over the long term and restore a growing loss of local and foreign confidence in the economy and currency.
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