(July 19, 2013) Images show the ugly side of China’s grand dam and its effects on the country’s beloved Yangtze River: rubbish crusts, floating islands of garbage — a plague of filth and issues that exacerbate existing problems and introduce new dangers. Policymic.com reports.
Back to the future for the World Bank and hydropower
(July 19, 2013) The World Bank is once again getting back into the risky business of building large-scale dams.
Indigenous leader killed in resistance fight over Honduras mega-dam
(July 17, 2013) Tomás Garcia, a leader of the indigenous Lenca community in Honduras, was fatally shot on Monday, and his son Alan seriously injured, when members of the Honduran Army began firing indiscriminately at a demonstration protesting the construction of the 22-megawatt Agua Zarca Dam already underway on the Gualcaeque River in the country’s southwest. International Rivers reports.
Massive new dams remind China of human price of ‘tofu constructions’
(July 20, 2013) China is on the cusp of another dam-building binge. Nowhere is the aggressive dam push raising more eyebrows than in the country’s southwest. Last year, a report by the environmental group Probe International said of the 130 proposed dams on rivers in the region, nearly 50 per cent “are located in zones of high to very high seismic hazard.”
Beijing’s new water polluter – the suburbs
(July 4, 2013) A new study reveals that sewage treatment facilities in Beijing’s suburbs are below standard and poorly regulated. The absence of tough water protection laws and enforcement is turning Beijing’s townships into regional sources of pollution in a city already overburdened by threats to water safety.
Indian high court splits trial charge sheet in SNC-Lavalin graft case
(June 27, 2013) The Kerala High Court has directed India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to divide the SNC-Lavalin trial charge sheet so the trial can begin. Two of the nine accused, SNC-Lavalin VP Klaus Triendl and SNC-Lavalin itself, have failed to appear in court despite several summons. According to press reports, Indian authorities are now seeking the extradition of Mr. Triendl, but Canada’s Department of Justice won’t confirm or deny the existence of the extradition request “due to the confidential nature of state-to-state communications.”
Chile’s Bachelet says Patagonia dams not viable
(June 26, 2013) Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, who hopes to regain power at election time later this year, has come out against Chile’s HidroAysén mega-dam scheme. Most Chileans also oppose the controversial plan that would flood globally rare forest ecosystems, river valleys and farmlands in the country’s southern Aysén region and tame two of the world’s wildest rivers. In a complete about-face from her stance as President, Bachelet openly declared her opposition to the five planned dams in Patagonia in a televised debate.
Key source in giant Chinese water scheme polluted
(June 25, 2013) The Danjiangkou Reservoir, a major supply source for China’s high-cost South-North Water Diversion project — slated to provide Beijing with water by 2014 — is heavily polluted with untreated sewage. Lax enforcement of environmental laws and a shortage of funds are making the situation worse, says the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. A deeper problem is the absence of legislation governing water sources, China Daily reports.
Small dam construction to reduce greenhouse emissions is causing ecosystem disruption
(June 20, 2013) A new report says the global push to reduce greenhouse gases by building small dams, with the help of the Kyoto Protocol, is causing unanticipated and potentially significant losses to habitat and biodiversity.
Officials from China’s Three Gorges Corporation visit troubled U.S. lock
(June 19, 2013) Officials from China’s Three Gorges Corporation and Project Construction Committee (TGPCC) paid a visit earlier this month to the troubled U.S. Chickamauga Lock in Tennessee as part of an information sharing exchange organized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) — responsible for the operation and maintenance of navigation locks on the Tennessee River. TGPCC, established by China’s State Council to oversee construction of the massive Three Gorges Dam project, has concerns regarding its own ship locks: some 733 cracks were reported to have appeared in the east and westbound channels of the Three Gorges dam’s five-step shiplock, along with a worrisome distortion that may have been caused by crustal plate movement, among other issues. The dam’s ambitious and intensely complex ship lift, slated for completion in 2015, has yet to be tested.
BECOL warning system failed
(June 16, 2013) Belize: Various reports indicate a planned test of an early warning system in the event of a break at the Chalillo dam has failed.
China detains journalist who documented labour camp abuses, Tiananmen crackdown accounts
(June 12, 2013) Beijing-based photojournalist Du Bin has been detained by Chinese state security officials after he disappeared following the release of his documentary on Chinese labour camp abuses — profiled here by Probe International last month. His sister, high-profile human rights activist Hu Jia, says Du is being held because his work directly challenges the authorities: “They are suppressing him to send a message to others,” she says. Gillian Wong reports for the Associated Press.
Uprooted
(June 14, 2013) Yang Yi’s surreal photo memoir of his childhood home, flooded for the construction of China’s Three Gorges Dam project, received special mention as one of New York’s Best Weekend Art Events in May when it debuted at Galerie Richard. Its run ends tomorrow, June 15.
NY regulators approve Fortis takeover of CH Energy, with advice to “understand our rules and regulations”
(June 13, 2013) The New York state Public Service Commission unanimously approved the $1.5 billion bid by Canadian-based Fortis Inc. to take over Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp.’s parent company, CH Energy Group despite “fierce public hostility.” Commission Chairman Garry Brown warned Fortis to avoid looking at the local utility as a profit-generating holding. “Get to know New York,” he advised Fortis. “The way you may do things, business, elsewhere is not New York,” in a probable reference to Fortis’s controversial record of dam-building in Belize.
Fortis proposed buyout of NY utility jeopardized by corporate reputation
(June 12, 2013) As Canadian electric utility holding company Fortis Inc. awaits a decision on its proposed $1.5-billion buyout of New York’s CH Energy Group, a coalition of groups opposed to the takeover see Fortis’ past performance in Belize and British Columbia as a warning of what may lie in store for them. Probe International provides a round-up of reports on the controversy.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
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Probe Media
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