World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
-
Upload
asociacion-rio-aragon -
Category
Documents
-
view
219 -
download
0
Transcript of World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
1/16
World
revieWrivers
N Rrt Urg Tn-YrDm-Budng Frz n Mkngby Ame Trandem
NSIDE
pecial Focus: Theew Dam Builders
razilsights into the secretive
orld o a huge, global
dustry. Page 4
fricaneo-colonial invasion
dam builders hits the
ntinent. Page 5
outh Asiater ailing at home, Indias
m builders are looking to
pand overseas. Page 6
hinan update on the worlds
ggest dam builder. Page 7
outheast Asiae new power players in
e Mekong basin. Page 14
Pubihd by Intrnatina Rivr V. 25 / N. 4 Dcmbr 2010
internatinalriers.rg
The Mekong region is at
a crossroads. A ground-
breaking new report
urging a 10-year dam-building
reeze on the Mekong Rivermainstream has raised the
prole o the risks o a dam-
boom on the highly produc-
tive and valuable river, while
also putting a spotlight on
the decision-makers who will
determine its ate. The debate
is noticeably shiting away
rom strict belie that dams
are the best way to serve
regional energy needs, and
toward increased recognition
o the value o a healthy river
that supports millions with itsnatural abundance.
While the report hasnt
convinced all key stakehold-
ers some dam proponents
are proposing business as
usual new and unconven-
tional critics, like the US
government and World Bank,
have entered the ray by
expressing support or the
reports main ndings on the
value o a healthy Mekong.
The report,Strategic
Environment Assessment ofHydropower on the Mekong
Mainstream (SEA), cau-
tions that the 11 large dams
planned on the Lower Mekong
Rivers mainstream would
undamentally aect the in-
tegrity and the productivity o
the Mekong aquatic system.
This in turn would disrupt the
worlds largest inland sheries
and result in economic losses
o nearly US$500 million per
year. In a region where the
majority o its population is
rural and dependent on natu-
ral resources, the dams would
condemn millions o people
to severe ood shortages andincreased poverty.
The SEA was commis-
sioned by the Mekong River
Commission (MRC), and is
based on current state-o-the-
art scientic knowledge o the
river system combined with
intensive consultation with
regional governments, devel-
opment partners and NGOs.
Due to the extent o the
risk and scientic uncertainty,
the report recommends that
decisions on mainstream
dams be deerred or a de-
cade. The state o knowledge
about the Mekong is not
adequate or making inormedand responsible decisions
about mainstream dams at
this time, the authors state.
While the Mekong dams
have long been considered by
many o the regions donors as
a regional issue, the issue has
now become global due to the
scale o the dams negative
impacts.
The World Bank was rst
to publically welcome the re-
The site the Xaburi Dam, the rst eleen planned Mekngmainstream dams. Pht: Pianprn Deetes
Continued on page 15
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
2/16 WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2010
CommentaryFArEwEll!
Over the past 17 years Ive written many commentaries or World Rivers
Review. Im sorry to say that this will be my last. Im leaving International River
at the end o January to help oment the clean energy revolution in the US asExecutive Director o Black Rock Solar (www.blackrocksolar.org).
While Im excited about my new position, Im very sad to be leaving
my wonderul colleagues and riends inside International Rivers and in the
broader global dam-ghting and river-saving movement beyond.
In my ve years as Executive Director, and 12 beore that as Campaigns
Director, Ive helped build International Rivers into the worlds premier organization devoted to
protecting rivers and promoting sustainable alternatives to dams. Over the past ve years weve
opened oces in Bangkok, Mumbai and Cameroon to be closer to our allies and the rivers we
are ghting to protect. Weve added a vitally important program to respond to China replacing the
World Bank as the worlds worst builder o destructive dams. Weve documented better alterna-
tives to dams, and created training materials or our partners. Weve greatly improved and ex-
panded our online resources and our coverage in the traditional media. Our credibility has alway
been high, but our visibility has never been higher.But the moments Ill remember most will be those times I got away rom my computer and int
the river valleys. Sleeping on the foor o adivasi huts in the Narmada Valley. Eating barbecue with
dam-displaced armers on a resettlement site in the Uruguay Valley in Brazil. Hearing rst-hand
the community transormations brought about by rainwater harvesters in Rajasthan. The intense
pace o the international meetings o dam-aected peoples and their allies that International River
helped organize, and the unique encounters with indigenous people, activists and scientists, shar-
ing their experiences, cultures, songs, and dances (and Tequila, cachaca or other local rewater)
and their commitments to protect nature and society rom corporate greed and political ambition
Im very proud o the success that Ive been a part o, not just stalling and stopping bad dams,
but also the establishment o the groundbreaking World Commission on Dams, my work in orcing
the Kyoto Protocols Clean Development Mechanism to (partly) clean up its act, and the analyses
Ive done showing the poor perormance o dams and the superiority o alternatives.
International Rivers has helped catalyze and support strong dam-ghting networks and coalition
around the world that turn almost every proposed big dam into a struggle or human rights, river
protection and sound water and energy policies. Whether in Arica, the Amazon, the Himalayas or
the Lower Mekong, the agents o the hydro-industrial complex know that wherever they want to
turn rivers into prot they will ace a ght.
Sometimes river deenders have clear wins one great recent example is the cancellation o a
dam on Australias Mary River but we also have clear deeats. The completion o Three Gorges
Dam, and the near-completion o several dams on Indias Narmada River, are two notable example
rom the past two decades. In both cases our predictions o exaggerated benets and underesti-
mated costs human, environmental and nancial have come true. But saying told you so is
small comort when so much has been lost and so much damage and suering caused.
Every time we put up a ght, we put the dam-builders on notice that they are losing public sup
port and legitimacy and that while they may win some battles, in the long term we will win the wa
and bring the era o river destruction to an end.
Im happy to say that our Campaigns Director, Aviva Imho, will take over as Interim Executive
Director on February 1. Aviva is a terric manager, undraiser and campaigner, so the organization
will be in highly capable hands. Our board co-chairs Deborah Moore and Marcia McNally will
lead an eort to nd a new Executive Director (send ideas and suggestions or candidates to
I'm very grateul or the support that youve given us over the years. We couldnt have achieve
all that we have without your help.
Patrick McCully
Wrld RiersReiewVolume 25, Number 4
ISSN Number 0890 6211
EditorLri Pttinger
Design and ProductionJeanette Madden
PrintingInkwrks
Internatinal Riers
Executive DirectorPatrick McCully
StaMnti Aguirre, Karl
Aparici, Peter Bsshard,
Elizabeth Brink, Pianprn
Deetes, Ian Elwd, JamieGreenblatt, Salam Hassan,
Terri Hathaway, Inanna Hazel,
Aia Imh, Berklee Lwrey-
Eans, Grace Mang, Ikuk
Matsumt, Samir Mehta, Lia
Metz, Carl Middletn, Brent
Millikan, Payal Parekh, Lri
Pttinger, Elizabeth Sabel,
Ame Trandem, Susanne
Wng, Katy Yan
Interns & VolunteersJcelyn Bartlett, Kate Rss,
Chu Sinan, Gu Xin,Peng Xiama
Board o DirectorsMarcia McNally (C-Chair),
Debrah Mre (C-Chair),
Dan Beard, Martha Belcher,
Brent Blackwelder, Andr
Carthers, Rbert Hass
(Hnrary), Susan Kpman,
Leslie Leslie, Carls Mejia,
Sarah Minick, Milan Mmir,
Cymie Payne, Daid N. Pellw
Contact Us2150 Allstn Way, Suite 300Berkeley, CA 94704-1378 USA
Tel: (510) 848 1155
Fax: (510) 848 1008
Printed on 100% post-consumer
recycled waste paper with
vegetable-based inks
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
3/16
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
4/16 WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2010
Were ging t build all the dams we pssibly
can in the Amazn, gien the current legislatin,
and then were ging t reisit the ther p-
tential sites that inle impacts n indigenus
lands and prtected areas, and see hw wemay explit that hydrelectric ptential as well.
Brazils energy uture is in the Amazn.
This statement by the head o energy planning at the ederal
Ministry o Mines and Energy makes it clear that the dam-
building business in Brazil is booming. Two huge hydro-
electric dams on the Madeira River, the largest tributary o the
Amazon, are already under construction, while another highly con-
troversial project, Belo Monte on the Xingu River (which would be
the world's third largest dam) may receive an installation license
at any moment. The Brazilian governments energy plans place top
priority on mega-hydro-projects in the Amazon, calling or con-
struction o up to 40 dams throughout the region over the next 20years. On the Tapajos River and its main tributaries alone, a total o
13 large dams are planned or construction by 2019. The unprec-
edented surge o dam building threatens to cause irrevocable dam-
age to the Amazons biological integrity and to local populations
whose livelihoods depend upon healthy riverine ecosystems.
One o the striking characteristics o todays dam-building in-
dustry in Brazil is the triple alliance o public-private actors driv-
ing it. The scene is dominated by the parastatal energy company
Eletrobras and its subsidiaries (Eletronorte, Furnas, Eletronorte,
CHESF and others), private Brazilian multinational construction
companies (such as Odebrecht, Camargo Correa and Andrade
Gutierrez) and the Brazilian National Bank or Economic and
Social Development (BNDES). This well-unded alliance is increas-
ingly extending its scope beyond Brazil's borders. Currently, theyare deeply involved in the design, nancing and construction o
large dams in other countries o the Amazon basin and elsewhere
in Latin American (Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua, etc.) and
in Arican nations such as Mozambique, Ghana and Angola. Sadly,
Brazilian-led dam-building in other countries tends to repeat the
same destructive pattern.
In Brazil, the current dam-building renzy in the Amazon has
typically been accompanied by a steamrolling o environmental and
human rights legislation. Nevertheless, dam proponents portray
large hydro-projects in the Amazon as clean energy, ignoring
their contributions to climate change through emissions o meth-
ane and other greenhouse gases, their immense social and ecologi-
cal ootprints not to mention the act that dammed rivers and
the communities that depend on them are less able to withstandimpacts o climate change than healthy rivers.
Plitics as usualWhat are the orces behind these alarming trends in the increas-
ingly globalized Brazilian dam industry? A partial answer would
be that the planning elite within Brazil's Ministry o Mines and
Energy is dominated by technicians trained as large dam-builders,
with little or no knowledge in areas such as energy eciency or
alternative sources o generation such as wind and solar, despite
their enormous potential. However, the pronounced bias o Brazil
energy bureaucracy towards large destructive dams is much more
political than technical.
The huge construction companies that dominate Brazil's hydro
industry have grown and prospered by maintaining close relation
ships with powerul politicians and their political appointees withthe energy sector. Such relationships have been cultivated throug
practices such as grating rom contracts that originate rom
rigged public bidding, under-the-table campaign nancing and
other (oten creative) uses o corruption.
The protability o mega-dam projects has been enhanced by
increasingly generous policies o subsidized credit, government-
backed loan guarantees, and tax breaks, as well as the externaliza
tion o social and environmental impacts, oten associated with
violation o environmental and human rights legislation. Such ac-
tors at the same time refect and harbor promiscuous relationship
between dam-builders and the public sector. In the case o the
Eletrobras group, the confation o public and private roles has cr
ated a situation where a parastatal company occupies a privileged
position to lobby or the its own corporate interests and those o iprivate sector partners.
Crruptin cntinuesLuiz Incio Lula da Silva was elected President o Brazil in 2002 o
a platorm o promises to reduce poverty, while ghting corruptio
and reinstating ethics in politics. Once in oce, Lula proceeded
to orm political alliances with many o Brazil's most backward
regional oligarchs, including enemies rom his previous days as a
union leader, supposedly to guarantee a majority o votes in Con-
gress. Following tradition, alliances in the Lula administration we
based on allocating control over key public institutions among
political allies that serve the private interests o political parties
which can be best described as patronage groups. The domination
o the Sarney clan over the Ministry o Mines and Energy is justone example o such practices. Ater an initial Sarney appointee
was dismissed amid corrruption charges, a new minister, Edison
Lobo, known as violent land-grabber in the northeast state o
Maranho, continued his predecessor's obsession with large dams
Lobo became amous or his public statement that demonic
orces were impeding the construction o dams in the Amazon,
reerring to opposition rom indigenous peoples and NGOs.
The opportunities or corruption arising rom multi-billion-
dollar dam contracts, involving political patronage networks that
extend to the local level, cannot be matched in alternative invest-
ments. This goes a long way in explaining the enormous support
that mega-dam projects typically enjoy among politicians, as well
as the interest among political parties to secure control o the
Ministry o Mines and Energy and its aliates.President Lula has portrayed indigenous people, human rights
activists and environmentalists as either woeully nave or as
members o an international conspiracy set out to impede Brazil's
emergence as an economic superpower and violate its sovereign
rights over the Amazon. It's dicult to gauge the extent to which
such positions arise rom true convictions, an outdated develop-
mentalist mentality, expansionist ambitions, or the expediency o
skilled politician with a high tolerance or corruption or perhaps
all o the above. l
Brz Dm-Budng indutry: crny ctm G Gbby Brent Millikan
THE NEW GLoBAL DAM BUILDERS
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
5/16WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2010
More than a billion people spread across 54 countries
inhabit Arica, the worlds second largest continent.
International Rivers is tracking nearly 150 proposed large
dams across those 54 countries. People rom Kenya to Ghana, rom
Sudan to Zambia, rom Uganda to Lesotho are under threat rom
dam building.Yet the immediate threat acing Arican rivers including its
biggest, such as the Congo, Nile, Niger and Zambezi is relatively
small compared to other basins, such as the Mekong. The limited
number o dams is due to the same actors that threaten Aricas
development overall: intense concentrations o poverty, corruption,
violent confict, and political illegitimacy. Once these investment
risks are lessened, Aricas rivers could ace a ar greater assault by
dam builders.
Large hydro is the core o Aricas dam building and power
planning today. Sub-Saharan Aricas power inrastructure has been
described as the least developed, least accessible, least reliable,
most costly to operate, and, on average, highest priced o any region
in the world. A 2010 World Bank report,African Infrastructure:
A Time for Transformation, calculated that Aricas power sectorrequires an annual investment o US$41 billion, ar more than it cur-
rently receives.
But building large hydro dams alls ar short o lighting up A-
rica. Why? Two reasons. Electrication rates in Arica lag behind
every other region in the world. Most stark is sub-Saharan Arica,
where only 8% o the rural population and 26% total have
access to electricity. First, most o those without electricity live
too ar away to be connected to grid-based supplies. Second, or
those closer to the grid, Aricas distribution networks are dispro-
portionately underunded. In 2004, grid distribution needed a total
o $271 billion, nearly equal to the combined investment need o
supply and transmission. But most Arican power sector lending
is earmarked or supply projects like big hydro and high-voltage
transmission lines, leaving distribution networks starved or invest-ments. Without money or distribution, new connections dont
happen.
Aricas dam proponents have a clear message: large hydropow-
er in Arica is a no-brainer. They say hydropower is cheap, clean,
renewable and an indigenous power source.
This is the time or Arica to harness its huge hydroenergy
potential, said Arican Development Bank President, Donald
Kabureka, in 2007. The main challenge is making the schemes so-
cially and environmentally acceptable. Kabureka has argued that
climate change, the quest or cleaner energy and Arica's need or
constant power supply underscore the need or hydropower.
Many would argue the opposite: with a changing climate, and so
many Arican nations dangerously dependent on hydropower or
most o their electricity, hydropower is one o the riskiest invest-ments in a warming world. (See the September 2010 WRR or a
map o Arican hydrodependency.) Saer, cleaner renewable ener-
gies are making slow inroads, but or now, big hydro is getting the
lions share o the attention.
All Talk, N ActinIn March 2006, the Arican Ministerial Conerence on Hydropower
and Sustainable Development was a potential watershed moment.
Prompted by the International Hydropower Association, the South
Arican government agreed to host the tightly controlled event. For
months beorehand, civil society ought or the right to participate,
nally prevailing with more than 20 invitations or some o Aricas
most earnest dam ghters. The conerence would be the largest
orum devoted to Arican dam issues since the World Commission
on Dams, and an unprecedented opportunity to advance the dams
debate in Arica. As the conerence opened, dam builders stood
poised to initiate a widespread assault on Aricas rivers; across theaisle, civil society participants stood poised to protect rivers, rights
and livelihoods.
But the years ollowing the conerence witnessed only a sput-
tering o momentum rom Aricas governments. The conerences
action plan to jump-start hydro projects across the continent
lacked coordinated Arican leadership.
This was not the rst action plan to sputter out. Other dam-
laden plans, such as the New Partnership or Aricas Development
(NEPAD) blueprint or Arica in 2001 and the Commission or
Aricas report in 2005, brought initial excitement, then ailure o
homegrown political will. NEPADs medium to long-term term in-
rastructure plan and various regional energy plans have also ailed
to materialize, resulting in lists o priority projects rather than
thoughtul assessment o needs and options.
Internatinal ArchitectsLarge dams have been imbedded into Aricas regional inrastruc-
ture plans which are then used to legitimize continued donor lend-
ing. The World Bank remains the most infuential player in Aricas
energy development path, despite a limited (but growing) number
o loans or dams in recent years. World Bank documents including
its Arica Action Plan, Energy Sector Strategy, and Water Sector
Strategy help justiy widespread construction o large dams in
Arica. The Bank continues to infuence Arican state policies and
lend money or dams as well as or associated inrastructure.
One o the World Banks infuential roles is implementing the A-
rican Inrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD), a project designed
to catalogue baseline data o Aricas existing physical inrastruc-ture in order to monitor results o donors uture investments. The
AICD steering committee includes the Arican Union, NEPAD,
Aricas regional economic communities, the Arican Development
Bank, and major inrastructure donors.
Aricas energy uture lies in hydropower, wrote the AICD in
its 2008 fagship report Underpowered, despite noting that hy-
dropower already accounts or 70% o sub-Saharan Aricas power
supply (excluding South Arica).
The Arican Development Bank, which was poised several years
ago to take on a regional leadership role in implementing NEPAD
projects, has muddled through years o little action. The Banks
lead role in preparing Ethiopias Gibe 3 Dam ound the Bank lacking
due diligence and good aith in ollowing Bank policies. The Bank is
also home to the Inrastructure Consortium or Arica (ICA) whichcoordinates multilateral and G8 support or regional inrastructure,
including dams. As o 2008, ICA reported 10 hydro dams in its pipe-
line. This is an encouraging trend or Arica, noted ICA.
In Europe, the EU Energy Initiative (EUEI) was created in 2002
to enable achievement o the Millennium Development Goals. In
recent years, the EUEI devoted resources toward sub-regional
plans or improving access to energy and to the three-year Arican
Electrication Initiative. Unortunately, these initiatives have
largely ailed to attract Arican political will at levels required to
advance their implementation. The EUEIs newest initiative, the
wt Drng Dm n ar?by Terri Hathaway
Continued on page 10
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
6/16 WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2010
Indian companies and state-
owned enterprises have
rapidly expanded their
domestic and overseas invest-
ments in recent years. Not
least motivated by the exampleo Chinese investors, they are
trying to gain access to oreign
resources, win international
contracts, and strengthen
their relations with trading
blocks such as the Association
o Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN). They have long
had a presence in neighbor-
ing countries such as Nepal
and Bhutan, and are now also
spreading to more distant
countries in Asia and Arica.
This article looks at thetrack record o Indian institu-
tions that are engaged in build-
ing dams in India and abroad, and analyzes some o the problems
their new projects have created.
The actrs and the stageA large number o Indian companies are involved in the current
oray into domestic and oreign power projects. They include state-
owned and private-sector power plant developers and equipment
suppliers; wind power companies; transmission companies, and
state-owned and private consultancies.
Indian companies are involved in power projects in Aghanistan,
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia,
Iraq, Malaysia, Nepal, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Uganda andVietnam. The Indian government has also oered Nepal, Bhutan
and Tajikistan outright grant assistance or the construction o
some o the hydropower projects by Indian developers. The Export
Import Bank o India has provided support or Indian power proj-
ects abroad through various instruments. They include direct loans
and lines o credit.
On the domestic ront a large number o new dam nanciers have
entered the oray, including some well-unded ventures with capital
to burn. Just to name two o the biggest, Lie Insurance Corpora-
tion o India has extended more than US$2 billion line o credit to
the national dam building agency, the NHPC. And Blackstone group
recently announced that it would invest up to $1 billion in Indias
power sector in the next ve years. This is in addition to internation-
al nanciers such as the World Bank, IFC, JBIC and ADB.With nances available aplenty, new companies are making their
rst orays into dam development. A large number o new companies
are starting with smaller dams with a capacity o less than 25 MW. It
is expected that some o these companies will eventually move into
construction on larger dam projects ater gaining experience.
The impactsNo detailed studies on the impacts o Indias oreign investments
in hydropower projects exist. There is evidence that Indian dams
abroad also have serious impacts on aected communities and the
environment. Here are just a ew examples:
nAccording to students
groups rom the aected
region, the Tamanthi Hydro-
power Project in Burma will
submerge about 68 square ki-
lometers o land, and displaceabout 30,000 people rom 35
villages. The aected commu-
nities belong to the indigenou
Kuki people. Some o the
aected people have already
been displaced by the country
military rulers without any
compensation, and the stu-
dents groups have protested
against the project in India.
nThe West Seti Hydropower
Project in Nepal will submerge
22 square kilometers o land,
displace at least 1,500 amiliesand dry out a long stretch o
the Seti River. The dams pow
will be exported to India.
nThe 1,020 MW Tala Hydropower Project in Bhutan has almost
totally dried up 30 kilometers o the Wangchu River, and damaged
the rich biodiversity o a much larger region. The project is locate
in a geologically ragile area, and suered extensive damages rom
fooding in 2000.
Dmestic dam plansIndias hydropower potential is more than 150,000 MW, according
to the Indian governments Central Electricity Authority. About a
third o the potential has been developed so ar and about 9% is
being developed. It is small wonder that new players are enteringthe market rapidly and orceully. Additionally, the Indian gov-
ernment is escalating dam plans in northeast India or strategic
reasons, including as part o a strategy to establish rst user
rights on the regions water, which are also claimed by China. Th
Indian Government has plans to build 135 large dams in Arunacha
Pradesh state alone. (See back page.) Adding uel to the re, Chin
claims that Arunachal Pradesh is part o China. Building hundred
o large dams in the biodiversity-rich, seismically active, erosion-
prone and mountainous northeast at a time when climate change
impacting river fows is a recipe or disaster.
Indias National Water Mission (part o its National Action Plan
on Climate Change) has as one o its goals the promotion o basin
level integrated water resources management, which appears
to translate into exhausting the nations potential to build dams.Credible and comprehensive basin-wide carrying capacity stud-
ies or cumulative impact studies have not been undertaken in any
basin. That said, the Federal Ministry o Environment and Forest
continues to grant sanctions or hydroelectric projects even or
rivers where river basin studies are just beginning, and mostly
to agencies with questionable track records and where issues o
confict o interest linger.
Discussions on the new National Water Policy, to be nalized b
March 2013, have already begun, but the water sector establish-
ment has shown no interest in consulting the people and organiza
ind Dm Budng abrd: ignrng ln rm hm?by Himanshu Thakkar
Continued opposi
A Day Actin prtest against Indias plans t dam Burmas riers.Pht: KSDF
THE NEW GLoBAL DAM BUILDERS
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
7/16WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2010
ind Dm Budng continued from previous page
tions working at the grassroots or those who have been critical o
the governments water sector agenda.
Exprting cnfict?Dams in India have a long and extremely divisive history. Poor,
marginalized and oten tribal people bore the brunt o dams im-pacts in India, but received ew i any o their benets. Dams have
triggered many large-scale social mobilizations and huge demon-
strations, the blockade o construction sites, hunger strikes, court
cases and other orms o confict. Indian dam builders and nan-
ciers have not developed credible policies to address the negative
social and environmental impacts o their projects. In numerous
cases, they have circumvented laws, government and court deci-
sions. Already, dams with Indian involvement have also triggered
protests and court cases in Nepal, Burma and Uganda.
In many host countries where Indian projects are being built,
there are no appropriate laws or policies to regulate the social and
environmental impacts o dam projects. In countries such as Bhu-
tan, Burma, Ethiopia and Vietnam, there is no political space or
an independent civil society, judiciary or media. In such countries,
oreign investors and nanciers have a particular responsibility to
address the social and environmental impacts o their projects.
As they expand their oreign operations, Indian dam buildersand nanciers risk exporting their negative domestic track record
and creating conficts over their projects abroad. The Export
Import Bank o India and Indian companies now building dams
abroad are well advised to adopt the recommendations o the
World Commission on Dams or good practice in water and energy
sector development, to avoid getting embroiled in international
conficts over their projects, and to avoid bringing disrepute to
their name and that o the country o their origin. l
The author heads up South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People
(Delhi). Samir Mehta contributed to this article.
since World Rivers Review last took stock o Chinese dam
builders in 2007, China has emerged as the world leader
in the international hydropower industry. The number o
overseas Chinese dam projects that we are aware o has increased
rom 46 to 266. Chinese overseas dam builders are now active in
65 countries. Developing countries have welcomed Chinese dambuilders and the loans oered by Chinese banks.
While all these new dams dont bode well or the worlds riv-
ers, some potentially positive trends are emerging. Just a ew
years ago, Chinese companies appeared to be willing to take on
highly destructive projects that had been shunned by western
dam builders. In 2007, Chinese dam builders were involved in
the Merowe Dam human rights disaster in Sudan. Following the
completion o the Three Gorges Dam project in 2006, there was a
concern that Chinas newound expertise would lead to a proliera-
tion o mega-dams around the world.
But in the past three years, the Chinese government has begun
to realize that social and environmental sustainability is in its long-
term interest. It has urged Chinese rms to ollow stricter envi-
ronmental and saety standards abroad. The Chinese ministries oCommerce and Environmental Protection are currently nalizing
environmental policy guidelines or overseas Chinese investment.
Some Chinese companies have also recognized the need to
meet their international responsibilities. Sinohydro, a Chinese
state-owned enterprise and the worlds biggest dam builder, is cur-
rently developing an environmental policy or its overseas opera-
tions. Through a policy dialogue with Sinohydro, International
Rivers has made it clear that i Sinohydro wants to become a global
leader in this industry, it must have an environmental policy that
refects the highest international standards. That message appears
to be heard. Sinohydro has looked at international standards, such
as those adopted by the World Bank, or guidance.
Other Chinese dam builders have also emerged as potentially
big players in the international hydropower market. Dam builderssuch as China Gezhouba, China Southern Power Grid Corporation
and Datang International are some o the new actors that are eager
to obtain a larger share o the international construction market
but currently lack demonstrable environmental or social sae-
guards. While we are hopeul that the positive steps being taken by
the Chinese government and Sinohydro will infuence these dam
builders, International Rivers will push or stronger environmental
and social saeguards as we expand our policy dialogue to include
other Chinese dam builders.
Grwing awarenessOne critical development has been the growing awareness, both in-
side and outside o China, o the huge role China is now playing in
building big dams abroad. In 2007, the political space or monitor-
ing Chinese overseas dam builders, let alone engaging in a dialogue
with them, was non-existent. Today, International Rivers works in
partnership with a growing group o Chinese NGOs to monitor and
engage with Chinese dam builders. Beyond China, environmental
and human rights groups in host countries are more aware o the
dierent strategies and advocacy avenues available to them when
Chinese actors are involved in projects in their countries.
There have been some successes. In Gabon, Brainorest a lo-
cal environmental NGO succeeded in getting China Exim Bank to
suspend a loan because it violated Exim Banks own environmentalguidelines. The dam was to be built in a national park. And in an-
other case, Sinohydro has agreed to work with the Global Environ-
mental Institute, a Chinese NGO, in an eort to address the social
and environmental impacts o the Nam Ngum 5 Dam in Laos.
There have also been ailures. Despite committing to green
nance principles, the Industrial and Commercial Bank o China
recently granted an export credit or hydropower turbines or the
hugely destructive Gibe 3 Dam in Ethiopia, a project that will have
signicant impacts on the ecosystems and people o the Lower
Omo Valley and Lake Turkana region in Kenya.
The story o Chinese dam builders still has no clear ending. Policy
changes at Chinas leading dam builder and nancier are important
rst steps. Yet as we know rom other institutions, there is oten a
big gap between an environmental policy and actual practice on theground. However, three years on, the evidence suggests that Chi-
nese dam builders and nanciers are not becoming the rogue players
we had all eared. Indeed, they might emerge as good corporate
citizens with leading social and environmental standards. l
cn infun n wrd Rr Grby Grace Mang
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
8/16
ViVa Temaca! Rios PThe tiny town o Temaca, Mexico became the center
movement in early October when more than 320 intecountries descended on the town or the third River
solidarity, strategizing and riendship helped build stre
We hope these photos hint at the magic o this rema
A Mapuche indigenous leader rom Chile talks t
other participants at the community air. We c
never take back our rivers, our lost orests, our
our cultures, she said. It is very important to
the dams come. We must pray or living rivers.
Building solidarity wasnt always hard work. In their ree hours,
participants relaxed in local hot springs, walked the towns quiet
cobbled streets, and revealed their wilder sides in unorgettable
cross-cultural parties. Here, the Arican delegates got everyone out
o their chairs. Singers, dancers and musicians rom dozens o other
countries also brought the house down with soulul perormances.
A tile-painting booth
allowed participants to
paint a tile or Temaca;
townspeople used
them to create a wall o
solidarity and riendship
at the towns entrance.
TRaVel diaRy
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
9/16
Participants could choose rom more than 30 workshops,
which covered topics as challenging as the spreading global
infuence o Chinese and Brazilian dam builders, international
human rights law, strategies to advance renewable energy
technologies, and how dam removal can restore rivers.
a Vida!obal river-protection
activists rom 54 meeting. A week o
the struggles ahead.
thering.
Local people made a traditional sawdust tapestry
to commemorate the event (seen here rom
high atop the towns cathedral)
Temaca is itsel threatened by a dam that will supply water
or polluting industries in a neighboring state. The projectis proceeding without required approvals, while another
reservoir nearby sits idle as a monument to corruption.
Here, a eld trip to the El Zapotillo dam site turned into a
spontaneous protest. The next day, activists who protested
rom the tops o bulldozers were happy to learn that a
ederal congressional representative promised to push or
enorcement o a court-ordered construction suspension.
oN THE WEB For background inormation, blogs, and links aboutRivers or Lie meeting, visit www.internationalrivers.org/node/50
More photos: www.fickr.com/photos/internationalrivers/
Photos: Archivo de Proyectos and International Rivers.
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
10/1610 WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2010
The historic town o Hasan-
key , under threat rom
the Ilisu Dam now under
construction on the Tigris
River in Turkey, was the site o
a unique solidarity camp in
October.
Organizers say the intent o
the camp was to raise pub-
lic awareness in Turkey and
worldwide about the problems
with the dam, and to oster an
intense resistance against this
destructive dam, and a public
drive to preserve Hasankey and
the Tigris Valley.
The 12,000-year-old town
once served as an important
commercial center along the Silk Road; Marco Polo is rumored to
have crossed the Tigris here. As many as 20 cultures may have
called the place home over the centuries. Today, more than 85,000people in Hasankey and nearby villages would be aected by the
dam, and downstream communities and ecosystems would be
harmed by changes to the rivers fow.
The week-long camp included demonstrations, concerts, cultural
events, workshops, panel discussions and eld trips. At any one
time, some 80 people were camping along the Tigris River. Directly
aected people were active participants in the camp. A peaceul
protest to the construction site o the resettlement town o New
Hasankey, a drab place a ew kilometers north o Hasankey, man-
aged to avoid disruption despite threats rom police to arrest people.
The dam site is in the highly
militarized Kurdish region.
Construction on the dam
started in spring 2010. The
companies work 24 hours a
day, says Ercan Ayboga, one o
the leading activists behind th
camp. We have a very serious
situation here. The aected
people o Hasankey and Tigri
Valley are very angry because
dam construction is continu-
ing and the historical part o
Hasankey has been closed to
visitors since July, which has r
sulted in a signicant decrease
in tourism the only income o
Hasankey. Millions o visi-
tors have toured the town and surrounding region in recent years
Hasankey contains an ancient bazaar and castle, cave dwellings,
and 1,000-year-old churches and mosques.The campaign to stop the dam has had many successes over th
years. Turkish authorities initially sought and obtained nance
or the dam rom a number o international banks, but most o the
unders have since pulled out o the controversial project. Three
Turkish banks have agreed to und the dam. Four Turkish compa-
nies and Austrias Andritz remain in the project.
Ilsu Dam is one o 22 dams being constructed as part o the
Southeastern Anatolia Project, or GAP, Turkey's largest regional
development project. The dam will be the countrys ourth largest
ater the Atatrk Dam. l
arn Dm continued from page 5
Arica-EU Energy Partnership, intends to support the develop-
ment o 10,000 MW o hydropower.
The New Dam Builders in AricaToday, Aricas new dams are most popularly backed by Chinese
unders and dam builders. Between 2001 and 2007, China com-
mitted more than $3 billion to Arican hydropower projects. Since
then, China has dramatically expanded its interest, now unding
o all new Arican inrastructure, dams included. The Forum on
China-Arica Cooperation (FOCAC) has marked the terms o
Chinas ocial relationship with Arica or the past decade. At the
2009 FOCAC Summit, China pledged a urther $10 billion in con-
cessional lending by 2013. This Sino-Arican collaboration is ar
rom selfess or the Chinese, who benet in two key ways. First, ithelps Chinese companies access Aricas natural resources which
support Chinas own industries. Second, Chinas domestic market
is fooded with too many engineering and construction companies
looking or work; Arica provides a vast market or this expertise.
India Exim Bank has made a slow but noticeable entrance on
the continent, including support or the Tendaho Dam in Ethiopia,
$50 million or Itezhi-Tezhi Dam in Zambia, and $60 million or
Nyabarongo Dam in Rwanda.
Major dam deals by Brazilian companies Odebrecht and Ca-
margo Corra Group have been made in Angola and Mozambique
In Ghana, Brazilian company Andrade was awarded a contract to
build a 90 MW dam on the Oti River.
Change is NeededThe ocial development message that hydropower dams are crit
cal or powering Arica ignores key realities about climate change
and could widen the continents energy divide, not alleviate it.
Power sector investments that unlock Aricas natural resources
or exploitation are not the best path to create decent jobs, ood
security, or sel-determination. The result is the perpetuation o
its inamous resource curse, increased corruption, and a urther
concentration o political and economic power to those who prorom this model.
Saving Aricas rivers or uture generations will require
strengthening governance and public accountability over Aricas
natural resources. We must also reshape the dams debate in
Arica to recognize that large dams are harmul to Arica beyond
their direct social and environmental impacts. We must talk about
corruption, job creation, climate change resilience and access to
energy and water. l
sdrty cm Brng surtr t annt Turk T
Lcal dancers perrm at the slidarity camp.
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
11/16WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2010 11
The energy issue is one o the greatest challenges acing
humanity today. The intensive use o ossil uels that made
the industrial revolution possible has had many unintended
consequences. In Argentina, more than 90% o primary energy is
rom oil and gas. Yet not only are we running out o ossil uels in
Argentina, but we are already beginning to see the impacts romclimate change.
At Taller Ecologista, we believe it essential to more quickly
adopt renewable energy in Argentina not only to reduce energy
consumption rom non-renewable sources, but also to contribute
to improving the quality o lie or all sectors o our society.
My organization is currently working on the ormation o a Solar
Cities Network. The programs goals include the widespread adoption
o solar energy, new regulations to encourage the use o renewable
energies, capacity building, technology transer and the creation o
internal markets so that solar manuacturing jobs are created here.
We are now into the second year o our pilot program, called
Rosario Solar. In order to promote and publicize the potential o
using solar energy and resources, we conducted Rosario Solar
2010, where companies and organizations set up 20 inormationbooths demonstrating solar equipment (water heaters, stoves,
ovens, solar panels, solar lamps, etc.).
More than 5,000 people passed through the exhibition, learn-
ing about the benets o using these products, pricing, operations,and so on. During the exhibition visitors could taste oods made
in dierent ovens and solar cookers, said Paul Bertinat, Energy
Coordinator o Taller Ecologista.
Thanks to the great success o the event, we were able to hold
similar events in other cities. Equally important is the act that in
each o these cities we are working to create new regulations that
may provide a regulatory ramework to promote the use o such
energy sources.
We are also sponsoring a project designed by the Centre or Energy
and Sustainability o the National Technological University, Facultad
Regional Rosario, to develop a mobile solar water heater. It is now being
used or demonstrations in the eld or teaching and training.
Were working to make our region into a model o power gen-
eration in the country with an abundant, sae, renewable, easy andproven technology, concluded Bertinat. l
The author is with Taller Ecologista, an Argentinian NGO that works
on energy issues and promotes the democratic use of water re-
sources. More info: www.tallerecologista.org.ar
Blue Harest: Inland Fisheries as an Ecsystem Serice,by UNEP and WorldFish Center, 2010. 63 pages. Download rom
www.unep.org/pd/Blue_Harvest.pd
Although it borders on being too little, too late, the world isnally starting to pay attention to declining ocean sheries. But
river and lake sheries are being virtually ignored a situation that
Achim Steiner, the executive director UNEP, calls an oversight o
potentially proound implications.
Why? Because an estimated 100 million people in Arica alone
get important levels o daily protein rom these inland sources along-
side essential vitamins and minerals, Steiner notes. Meanwhile,
unocial estimates put the global inland catch at close to 30 million
tons, comparable to ocial marine catches, and employment at 60
million people 13 million more than in equivalent marine sheries.
This new report lays out just what is at stake, and what is caus-
ing the problem. Culprits include the usual insults to nature:
pollution, over-abstraction o water, urbanization and road build-
ing, and climate change. But the biggest actor in the decline o
river sheries is, no surprise, dams.
O the many direct drivers impacting inland sheries, damsand their impact on the hydrological regimes o rivers are the most
important, the report notes.
The authors urge countries to adopt an ecosystem approach
to managing inland sheries given the multiple impacts coming to
bear on their health and productivity.
The global South has the most to lose. Close to 70% o the total
inland catch is in Asia, and 25% in Arica. These also happen to be
areas where many new large dams are proposed, including dams
that we know will cause great harm to sheries.
To paraphrase Bruce the shark inFinding Nemo, sh are
riends, AND ood. Clearly, the time has come to stop building
dams that destroy vital sheries. l
The slar air.
Cking with a slar ste.
ennng sr ct n argntnby Martin Orecchia
In Print
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
12/161 WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2010
News BriefsGrass-green uelA team o Australian and Chi-
nese scientists has pioneered
a method to decontaminate
polluted land and provide a
renewable energy source in the
process. Their secret ingredi-
ent is an Arican relative o the
sugar-cane plant.
An experimental plantationo the miracle plant at Chinas
Shaoguan University is already
being used to generate electric-
ity or 100 households. The
research team is also hoping
to develop pilot projects o the
plant (called Giant Napier grass)
or Nigeria, Egypt, and possibly
Australia, which has an estimat-
ed 160,000 contaminated sites.
The projects managing direc-
tor, Proessor Ravi Naidu, says
giant napier grass was chosen
because it grows in extremelypoor soils and is ecient at
drawing heavy metals and other
pollutants out o contaminated
soil. The trials showed the grass
was eective at removing metals
like copper, nickel and cadmium,
as well as high concentrations o
zinc and lead.
By continually planting and
harvesting these crops, you can
lower the level o toxicity in the
soil and make the land t or
human uses again, including or
housing, says Naidu. The pro-cess may not work well enough
to make contaminated land suit-
able or growing crops, however.
Welsh dam still stingNearly hal a century ater the
lives were devastated, ormer
residents o Capel Celyn, a
village in Wales, are calling
or removal o the dam that
fooded their homes to create
reservoir or Liverpool, the UK
Independent reports.
In 1965, according to thearticle, Nearly 50 people and
way o lie in the Tryweryn val
ley which had lasted centuries
were replaced by nearly 70
billion litres o water to the
amilies and Welsh patriots, th
memories and resentment at
what they saw as high-handed
colonial treatment lingered, an
lingers still.
In mid-October, the last
remaining members o the
aected amilies held a march
and called or the removal othe dam.
One o the marchers is
Elwyn Edwards, now 67, who
saw his mother's amily lose
everything during the fooding
I remember the water com-
ing out in a huge gush. There
was nothing let not a tree,
a hedge, no sheep, cattle, or
birds singing. It was deathly
quiet, like a uneral. My amily
couldn't bring themselves to
watch it. They were rehoused
but were scattered all over theplace. We lost our heritage; we
lost everything.
In 2005, Liverpool ocially
apologized or the fooding o
Capel Celyn and surround-
ing armland, but they're still
waiting or a memorial a
bronze sculpture o a phoenix
rising rom the ashes. We've
raised 15,000 over the past 1
years,Mr Edwards said. "We
need 300,000. We need to
make sure people never orget
Canada dam shelvedTwo private companies have
shelved plans to build a large
hydro dam on the Slave River
in Alberta, Canada, ater a loca
First Nations tribe reused to
back the project.
Alberta-based ATCO and
TransCanada were working on
the proposal, but their eorts
Rating to Save New Zealand RiverIn late October, New Zealand groups Forest & Bird and Whitewa-
ter NZ organized a huge fotilla o rating and kayaking activists to
highlight the plight o the wild and scenic Mokihinui River, which is
threatened by a large dam. Some 140 people boated down the river
gorge, unurling a huge banner along the way. The action got the
attention o the national media.
This demonstrates the passion so many people have to ensure
that the Mokihinui one o New Zealands ew remaining wild riv-
ers should remain protected orever, said Debs Martin o Forest
& Bird. A dam on this river would have a disastrous eect on the
natural environment and also destroy a wild place loved by kayak-
ers, raters, shers and trampers.
In April, state-owned energy company Meridian Energy Ltd was
given consent to build an 85-metre-high (279-eet) hydropower
dam. The dam would food 14 kilometres o wild river gorge, and
drown 330 hectares o river and orests. The decision is under
appeal by both groups and the Department o Conservation (DOC)
with a hearing date o 2012.
Situated on the west coast o New Zealands South Island, the
Mokihinui is ranked seventh in the country or its natural values,
and is one o only a ew large rivers let that hasnt been dammed
or hydro; deorested or logging, arming, or other development;
or dewatered by irrigation.
It is home to 16 threatened animal species, and its many diverse
orest and riparian ecosystems provide important habitat and ood
sources. The river has abundant native sh, including the longn
eel, which is in serious decline across the country. With an historic
pack route through the gorge, and big whitewater, the Mokihinui
also draws wilderness adventurers.
Green Party co-leader Russel Norman, who took part in the fotil-
la, said New Zealand doesnt need the dams electricity, and that two
smaller hydro projects slated to go ahead were enough to meet local
needs. New Zealand also has great potential or energy eciency.
Meridian still needs permission to build the dam rom DOC,
which manages the land on behal o all New Zealanders. Drat
reports by DOC indicate that it would decline the application.
Meridian is now stepping up the pressure.
For more information: www.forestandbird.org.nz
Baters take actin. Pht: Ian Trard/iantrardphts.cm
Haresting Giant Napier Grass
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
13/16WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2010 1
to reach an agreement with the
Smith's Landing First Nation on
easibility studies came to a halt
in October.
A project spokesman said
the proposed run-o-river
acility would not have created
a huge reservoir, but some
reserve land belonging to the
Smith Landing First Nation
would have been fooded. Someo the tribe's people had to relo-
cate beore because o another
dam project.
There was a lot o heart-
ache, a lot o negativity that
happened when the govern-
ment orced Smith's Landing to
move rom Fort [Fitzgerald] to
Fort Smith, so people did not
want to experience that move
again, Smith's Landing Chie
Cheyeanne Paulette told CBC
News.
Atco and TransCanada willnot be advancing any urther
studies on the Slave River at
this time, a spokesman or
TransCanada reported.
Thai oodsoverwhelm damsNearly two weeks o heavy
fooding in October let at least
57 people dead and entire
villages and elds underwater
in Thailand. According to gov-ernment medical and disaster
agencies, the fooding aected
more than three million people
in Thailand alone (earlier
deadly foods also devastated
Vietnam). Many food survivors
were let stranded or days
without government aid. O-
cials called this case the worst
in hal a century.
Ten o Thailands 33 main
reservoirs were over-capac-
ity at the time, and orced to
open their dam gates. One o
the overwhelmed dams was
the Pasak Jolasit Dam, situated110 miles north o Bangkok.
Reports theNew York Times:
Engineers said that despite
many pleas rom cities and
towns downstream to hold
back the water, they instead
opened the gates wider when
the dams reservoir reached 122
percent o its planned capacity.
I we get any more water than
this, we might have problems
with the stability o the dam,
Sornmith Singkanong, the head
o water management, saidrom the dams control room.
The water level was the highest
recorded in the 11 years since
the dam was completed.
Bujagali ofcialsbig gambleSix ocials rom the com-
pany building Bujagali Dam in
Uganda were called beore the
Ugandan Parliament recently
to explain why they had usedgovernment unds intended or
project-aected communities to
make short-term investments
or a prot.
Bujagali Energy Limited and
Uganda Electricity Transmis-
sion Company Limited report-
edly diverted Sh10 billion
(US$4.3 million) in government
unds to their account in a pri-
vate bank in 2008, accumulat-
ing Sh460m in interest over two
years. The money was invested
without prior approval o the
implementing agency. Theinterest was apparently never
declared in the companys
books.
The money, which was in a
government escrow account or
the project, was meant or the
resettlement and compensation
o over 2,600 people aected by
the Bujagali transmission-line
project. The Government is to
spend over Sh30b on compen-
sation.
The project director, Glenn
Gaydar, explained that themoney was invested due to
delays in the project.
This is a serious case o
raud. Did the Government
instruct you to invest the
money and make prots? Why
did you request or money that
you were not ready to spend?
committee chairperson Nandala
Maabi asked.
Arica poised
or clean-energygold rushSub-Saharan Arica is expected
to become the new boom region
or global renewable energy
investment, according to a new
international study.
Market research rm Frost
and Sullivan has ound that
Kenya, Nigeria and South
Arica are instituting renewable
energy-riendly policies that
will attract major investment in
renewables.
The report states the
Sub-Saharan Arican renew-
able-energy market is expected
to triple in investment value
between 2010 and 2015, driven
by a signicant need or energy
diversication and energy secu-
rity o supply.
Indeed, South Arica
recently announced plans to
build the worlds largest solar
energy plant. The 5,000 MW
solar park will house several
solar thermal power stations. A
recent conerence on the park
drew 400 potential investors.
The South Arican govern-
ment hopes the park will have
a capacity o 1,000 MW as early
as 2012, and be at ull capacity
in about 10 years.
The project is part o theSouth Arican government's
plan to create 300,000 green
jobs in the country by 2020.
The Solar Park is expected to
create 12,300 construction jobs
annually in South Arica and
3,010 operations and mainte-
nance jobs by the time the last
solar plant is constructed.
Celebrate WorldToilet Day!Where has the time gone
we almost missed the tenth
anniversary o the World Toilet
Summit! The annual conerence
has the worthy goal o nding
sanitation solutions or the 2.5
billion people now without rea-
sonable access to sae toilets.
The event includes sessions
about innovative toilet design,
micro-nancing to help bring
good sanitation to the poor
communities that need it, and
green plumbing innovations.The topic is one o the major
public health issues acing the
world today; 1 out o 5 children
die o diarrheal disease. Thats
5,000 children a day, every day.
The meeting is organized by
the World Toilet Organisation,
a Singapore-based NGO, which
also sponsors World Toilet
Day on November 19 (put it in
your calendar or next year).
The days message is serious,
but the group brings a dash o
humor to the event, known asThe Big Squat. The premise is
simple: Simply squat or one
minute in a highly visible loca-
tion, and then have a plan to
explain to anyone who notices
why you're all squatting, the
groups website states.
Get ideas or your own
event rom the groups
Big Squat Toolkit at
http://tinyurl.com/256kerr.
on N. 11, thusands peple in 16 cuntries jined in
slidarity t call r the cancellatin Mexics El Zaptill Dam,
which wuld fd the twn where Riers r Lie 3 was held
(see p. 8 r mre n this histric meeting).
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
14/161 WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2010
In the Mekong region, ongoing economic growth despite the
global economic crisis continues to drive a push or extensive
dam-building. Since we last reported on the Mekong regions
new dam builders rom Thailand, Vietnam and China in 2007,
these developers have proposed even more ambitious and con-
troversial projects, including a cascade o 11 dams on the MekongRivers mainstream (see p. 1). Climate change is increasingly cited
as a justication or dam building, as is a serious drought and then
foods that have ravaged the region this year.
Imprting Pwer, Exprting CstsPlans or extensive hydropower development are nothing new to
the Mekong region, yet the decades o regional confict prevented
many large dam projects rom proceeding. As peace returned
in the early 1990s, plans or extensive dam construction were
revived. These plans are shaped by growing political cooperation
between the Mekong countries, and aspirations or a regional
transmission grid ueled largely by hydropower projects (a plan
originally conceived by the Asian Development Bank).
The massive nancial fows pouring into inrastructure andother investment projects throughout the Mekong region rom
Thailand, Vietnam and China is increasingly marginalizing the
Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and Western donors
that at one time were the regions principal hydropower propo-
nents. Even without the development banks, hydropower remains
high on the agenda o the regions governments.
Massie Hydrpwer PtentialThailands government estimates that electricity demand in
Thailand will approximately double to 65,600 megawatts (MW)
by 2030. Vietnam, one o the worlds astest growing economies,
predicts its demand will triple to 69,500 MW by 2020. Burma,
Cambodia and Laos have more modest domestic demand growth
predictions, although all governments have committed to urgentlydevelop electricity inrastructure. These government projections
are challenged by civil society groups who argue that improved
power planning and pursuing energy eciency and renewable
and decentralized energy projects is the best way orward, not the
business-as-usual mega-projects proposed by the governments.
Thailand, which has already developed much o its domestic
hydropower potential and aces sti opposition to urther projects
at home, plans to import at least 14,000 MW o hydroelectric-
ity rom neighboring Burma, Laos and Yunnan Province over the
coming 15 years. Vietnam plans to develop almost all o its viable
hydropower over the next 20 years, totaling at least 17,000 MW,
as well as importing electricity rom Cambodia, China, and Laos.
Responding to this demand, the governments o Burma, Cambodia
and Laos are keen to develop their relatively unexploited hydro-power potential or both electricity export, which would earn
these governments oreign currency, and domestic demand.
The New Dam PrpnentsAs the new century dawned and new economic realities and political
relationships emerged, private-sector hydropower developers rom
Thailand, Vietnam, China, Malaysia and Russia picked up the hy-
dropower plans that were abandoned by Western companies during
the 1997 Asian nancial crisis. These developers are now proposing
dozens o projects throughout the region, bringing with them the sup-
port o nanciers rom their own countries, and are oten backed by
infuential political players and their governments bureaucracies.
Project developers rom Vietnam include the state-owned utility
Electricity Vietnam (EVN), and Song Da Corporation, Vietnams
largest construction company. They are building tens o dams in
Vietnam and several more in Laos that will export power to Viet-nam. Dam developers rom China include the worlds largest dam
builder, Sinohydro Corporation, and China Southern Power Grid
(CSG). These and other Chinese dam builders have tens o project
under construction or under consideration in Burma, Laos and
Cambodia or the domestic and regional power markets.
Thailands electricity utility, EGAT, is a state-owned enterprise
that dominates power planning and development in Thailand. It
has increasingly avored importing power rom neighboring coun
tries. Several o Thailands largest independent power companies
including the Electricity Generating Company o Thailand and
Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Company, have stated
that investing in regional energy projects is core to their business
strategies. Thailands major commercial banks have proven to be
willing backers o these regional dam projects. While most majorThai energy companies and Thai banks have committed to some
orm o corporate governance and corporate social responsibil-
ity on paper, in the case o the regional hydropower projects that
they are involved in there is little evidence that they are seriously
implementing these commitments in practice. These publicly
ELLEN WOHL, a fluvialgeomorphologist, exploresthe confluence of human and
environmental change on ten of
the great rivers of the world,and makes a strong case for theneed to steward positive change
in these diverse waterways.
Cloth $40.00
The University of Chicago Press www.press.uchicago.edu
Unrng t Mkng Rgn N Dm prnntby Carl Middleton
Continued opposi
THE NEW GLoBAL DAM BUILDERS
ADvERTISEMENT
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
15/16WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2010 1
Mkng Dm Frz continued from page 1
ports ndings upon its release in October, calling it an important
new body o inormation on the Mekong and the potential impacts
o these projects on the rivers mainstream. The World Bank also
conrmed that it would not nance or invest in the projects.
US Senator Jim Webb, Chairman o the Senate Committee on
Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacic A-
airs, next warned that the US has a strategic interest in averting
regional confict and should consider withdrawing unding to the
MRC i the dams proceed. This sentiment was echoed by US Sec-retary o State Hillary Clinton during recent travels to the region,
as she called on the Vietnamese and Cambodian governments to
pause beore major construction continues.
Damn the trpedsThe million-dollar question now is whether the members o the
MRC Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam will heed the
warnings oretold by the report. Just weeks beore the SEA was
publicly released, the MRC announced the start o regional deci-
sion-making procedures or the Xayaburi Dam, the rst o the
planned mainstream dams.
As signatories o the 1995 Mekong Agreement, regional gov-
ernments have committed to the equal and sustainable use o
the Mekong River and thus must notiy, consult, and then reachagreement with their neighbors on proposed mainstream projects.
The SEA was commissioned as a rst step toward this, in order or
regional governments to understand the implications o the main-
stream dams and provide recommendations on whether or not the
projects should be pursued. The move orward with decision-mak-
ing without consideration o the SEA has placed the legitimacy o
the MRC as an advisor to regional governments into question.
The Save the Mekong coalition, an international coalition o
NGOs, academics and riends working to keep the Mekong ree-
fowing, has called on the MRC to halt the decision-making process
and cancel the Xayaburi Dam. In a letter submitted to the MRC,
the coalition states: Abundant evidence produced by the MRC
itsel has already demonstrated the Xayaburi dam to be exception-
ally destructive, and a project that should not go ahead. As theMRC has ailed to take the most basic o measures in ensuring
public participation, transparency and due consideration o the
SEA report, the coalition states that the MRC is racing irrespon-
sibly ahead in support o the construction o the Xayaburi Dam.
The MRC has yet to announce how it plans to give the report the
due diligence it requires.
Despite the MRCs silence, the SEA is now stirring a debate
within regional government agencies. Thai Senator Prasarn Maruk-
pitak, Chair o the Senate sub-committee on Mekong Development
helped lead a roundtable discussion on the issue among commit-
tee members. One clear message rom this roundtable was the
need or greater dialogue within Thailand. The Thai Senate is now
planning to organize a orum on the SEA and Xayaburi Dam with
the Thailand National Mekong Committee. Additionally, a seminar
organized by Save the Mekong partners inside Vietnam was well
attended by deputies o Vietnams National Assembly, who voiced
worry over the impacts the dams would cause to the Mekong Delta
and the rise in regional tensions that could result.As the warnings o a disaster on the Mekong continue to
resonate in the region, International Rivers, along with the Save
the Mekong coalition, will continue to press or a moratorium
on mainstream dam building, while working to ensure that the
voices and needs o riparian communities are a central aspect o
regional decision making. Together, we will challenge the Mekong
River Commission and its development partners to live up to
international standards o accountability, transparency and public
participation, and to work toward nding solutions or the regions
energy needs that dont sacrice this magnicent lieline. With so
much at stake, the need is both urgent and tremendous. l
Download the SEA report here: www.mrcmekong.org/ish/SEA.htm
Learn more about Save the Mekong Coalition:www.savethemekong.org/
Mkng Dm prnnt continued
traded energy and construction companies and commercial banks
are driven to maintain investor condence and keep stock priceshigh, and thereore have a keen interest in promoting new large-
scale power projects even where better energy options exist.
Many civil society groups have concluded that existing elec-
tricity plans mostly serve the interests o the electricity utilities,
energy companies, and the construction industry, rather than the
needs o electricity consumers. Yet, through community protests
at individual project sites, NGO policy analysis o national energy
plans, and regional civil society campaigns such as the Save the
Mekong movement, these out-o-date and destructive dam plans
continue to be doggedly challenged with the belie that a more
sustainable and equitable energy uture is possible. l
Key Findings the SEA
nThe dams would turn more than hal the Mekonginto a series o reservoirs
nThe dams would block important sh migrationroutes, resulting in US$476 million per year in lost
sheries income.
nFisheries are the main source o protein in theregion, but Cambodia and Laos would be the hardest
hit, as little to no alternatives exist. Livestock produc-
tion would be unable to compensate or the loss.
nBy inundating agricultural land and blocking vitalsediment and nutrient fows, the dams would reduce
agricultural productivity by more than $25 million/year.
nAs a biodiversity hotspot, the dams would lead topermanent losses o species o global importance.
Some areas o the Mekong would see losses o up to
hal the recorded species, along with the extinction
o fagship species such as the Giant Mekong Catsh
and Irrawaddy dolphin.
nThe dams would contribute to growing inequalityin the region, as the regions poor would suer thegreatest impacts.
nMany o the risks associated with the dams cannotbe mitigated and would represent losses o economic,
social and environmental assets.
nRecommendations include a 10-year deerment indecision making, the ull translation and systematic
distribution o the SEA report, urther studies to be
undertaken, and that the mainstream never be used
as a test case.
-
8/8/2019 World Rivers Review 25, diciembre 2010
16/16
over the past several months, protests against big dams in
northeast India have been a regular eature in the headlines.
What initially started as students movement against big
dams in the state o Arunachal Pradesh has now snowballed into
becoming a major election issue or next years election in the state
o Assam.
Spearheading the anti-dam protest in Assam is the Krishak
Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), a peasant movement which has
declared that political parties supporting the construction o mega-
dams in Assam would be voted out. Giving a call o nal warning
to central government, KMSS sent a petition signed by more than
110,000 people to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, demanding a
complete moratorium on all government clearances to mega-damsin the Northeast.
In Arunachal Pradesh, the state government has signed 168
memoranda o understanding with private and public companies
or big dams in the mountainous region. Alarms are being raised in
the state o Assam over the dams downstream impacts. A detailed
study on the downstream impacts o 2000 MW Lower Subansiri
Dam by an expert group o aculty rom three Indian universities
has recommended that no mega-dams should be built in tectoni-
cally unstable northeastern India.
The Arunachal government, however, chose to downplay these
concerns, saying the downstream impacts are exaggerated. It
strongly lobbied or speedy clearances o all hydro projects in the
state by writing to concerned ministries, ignoring suggestions by
Indias environment minister that the Prime Minister stop all dam
construction work in the region until an assessment to survey the
dams impacts was completed. Several Arunachal parliamentarian
have gone so ar as to label people opposing the dams as anti-na-
tionals.
Agitated by this response, protesters in Assam burnt egies o
Arunachal states Chie Minister. Two student groups have issued
call or joint resistance against the dams.
Aware o the growing public opinion against big dams, the As-
sam government has been taking a posture expressing concern
over wanton building o dams in Arunachal Pradesh. The credibil-ity o such statements remains to be time tested.
In one U-turn development, the environment minister has
been accused o contradicting his own earlier statement calling
or a halt on mega-dams in the region. In an October 14 letter to
the Prime Minister on the Lower Siang project, he writes that it
should go orward because o its strategic importance. The Lower
Siang Project would be built on the Siang River, which fows rom
China into Arunachal Pradesh. The Adi Students Union, which ha
been ghting this project, says it is not demoralized by the sudden
change o tone rom the o Environment Minister, and vows to
continue its ght. l
ant-Dm prtt Gt ludr n Nrtt indby Raju Mimi
2150 Allstn Way, Suite 300
Berkeley, CA 94704-1378 USA
internatinalriers.rg
Intern the MnthKate Ross joined the Rivers orLie 3 (see p. 8) team in June andmanaged to dive right into thethick o things. Whether it wasassisting international delegateswith housing or making lastminute travel arrangements,Kate handled it all with a broadsmile and great competence. Inher own words, The meetingwas an inspiring, exhilarating and
exhausting experience. It wassuch an honor to meet everyonein person, to be inspired by theirstories, their struggles and theirexpertise. Ros para la vida, nopara la muerte!