International Rivers

China Gezhouba secures US$1.4 billion contract in South Sudan (Bedden Hydropower Project)

2012-02-10T16:02:00.000-08:00

China Gezhouba secures US$1.4 billion contract in South Sudan
(Bedden Hydropower Project)

1 February 2012

China Gezhouba Group Co Ltd, the main contractor of the Three Gorges
Hydroelectric Project, today said that it has signed a contract worth
nearly US$1.4 billion or RMB 8.87 billion to build a hydropower station
in South Sudan.

The project, which is designed to have an installed capacity of 540
megawatts, is expected to be completed in 80 months or seven years with
a powerhouse and several dams for electricity generation.

At the end of the first year, China Gezhouba is estimated to complete
12.15% of the total project, and then 17.95%, 21.46%, 18.93%, 13.02%,
10.58% and 5.91% of the entire project in the remaining six years,
respectively, said analysts.

Investors of the projects intend to acquire loans from Bank of China,
which is still subject to the approval of both the Chinese and the South
Sudanese governments.

Last month, Shanghai-listed China Gezhouba started construction on a
554-kilometer railway project worth US$160 million in East Nigeria. The
project would be completed in eight months and is part of a 2,119-km
railway project.

Source: http://www.energychinaforum.com/news/59614.shtml

Further information from Gezhouba about the signing ceremony (in
Chinese):
http://www.gzbgj.com/article.aspx?menuid=1329&tab=tab_News&tabid=1144

Technical details of the project: http://www.diu.gov.sd/en/announcement.htm
________________________________________________

This is International Rivers' mailing list on China's global footprint, and particularly Chinese investment in
international dam projects.

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: chinaglobal@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Good article on concentrating solar power for SA

2012-02-09T16:57:00.000-08:00

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/what-should-be-done-about-concentrating-solar-power-2012-02-10

What should be done about concentrating solar power

By: Saliem Fakir

10th February 2012

For a long time, concentrating solar power (CSP) was seen as a cutting-edge renewables technology that would best meet South Africa's energy security needs and support the creation of new industries and technology innovation.

CSP was the thing to do. It still is. It is one of the few new renewables technologies that are pregnant with the capacity for diverse innovations, provided somebody is willing to take the risk involved in developing the full potential of CSP. If these breakthroughs are achieved CSP, can compete with gas, coal and nuclear in terms of baseload in the next 10 to 15 years.

Large-scale CSP roll-out was first envisaged in the long-term mitigation scenarios as a renewables technology pathway that would help reduce South Africa's emissions.

At least ten years ago, Eskom put forward plans to build a solar tower project with molten salt to increase the solar plant's capacity factor. This is now being funded through the Clean Technology Fund and other soft loan schemes under a deal struck when the Medupi loan was concluded two years ago.

Stellenbosch University has been doing work on CSP for the last two decades at least. The initial Integrated Resource Plan envisaged large-scale roll-out to 2030, but this has been trimmed down to a meagre 1 000 MW.

Suddenly, CSP is no longer sexy. While developers are eager to up the ante on CSP, investors are not that eager. Two things have come to work against CSP: cost reductions in photovoltaics (PVs) and investor cold feet – given the financial crisis inflicting Western markets, investors are more risk averse.

In South Africa, the push to get cheap electrons into the grid as fast as possible and the State's low appetite to provide loan guarantees for large CSP projects have stalled the pace at which CSP projects can be built in South Africa.

It is clear that just putting electrons into the grid is not enough to stimulate growth in CSP installed capacity, as CSP is currently not price competitive, compared with wind and PV, depending on the CSP technology option– of the four available– that one promotes and whether it comes with storage or not.

The general view is that CSP requires a lot more ramp-up and experience in the handling of the technology to assuage investor perceptions of technology performance risk and that the increased levels of complexity associated with the installation of solar power plants may lead to cost overruns.

In contrast, wind and PV are viewed as simpler to deal with, as both are mature and easier to ramp up because they are more modular.

Without exaggerating, wind and PV are like mass car manufacturing today – they are easy to roll off production assembly lines and pluck in the ground.

For countries looking to start new industrial ventures in wind and PV, these technologies have the do-it- yourself feel and involve far less effort and risk than CSP.

New technologies require significant government support in the form of research and development, tax write-offs and loan guarantees to ensure that the development of these technologies is done over the long haul.

Technologies that have yet to be proven on a large scale stir anxiety in already nervous investors, be they from the private sector or the public sector. It did not help that, in the US, government's bet on a solar technology promoted by Solyndra through generous loan guarantees went pear-shaped.

The US government's support was aimed not only at driving electricity generation from new renewables but also at making the US a leading pro- ducer of clean technologies, given the competition from China.

It is important that, when a country makes a strategic industrial choice, the level of effort and risk associated with developing the technology is understood.

CSP in South Africa requires a relook. The attempt to ramp up installed capacity on the back of the demand for electricity alone will not work unless the industrial case for CSP has strong economic justification and returns to back it.

CSP will continue to suffer from a lack of investor confidence, as investors are not willing to take the risk on their own, despite the fact that, two years ago, we saw strong market confidence in CSP, even though 90% of the pipeline of projects showed a tendency for troughs.

Sentiment has now shifted away from CSP. The CSP fraternity will have to do a lot more work than promise cost- effective renewables electricity when the technology development side and industrial case are still clouded in doubt.

The South African government is faced with the stark choice of investing precious funds in technology development for global breakthroughs, which it can ill afford, or waiting while others with better resources make these breakthroughs.

CSP has promise, but the industrial and economic cases have to be worked on. Further, innovative finance has to be secured from local and international sources to drive CSP's technology development.

It is best also that the CSP fraternity makes the case watertight because, at present, there is a lot of fanfare and talking up of CSP. But CSP promoters should also be honest about the tech- nology performance risks and what it will take to iron them out.

Edited by: Martin Zhuwakinyu

2012: A Breakthrough for Renewable Energy?

2012-02-09T11:31:00.001-08:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/manish-bapna/2012-a-breakthrough-for-r_b_1263543.html

2012: A Breakthrough for Renewable Energy?

by Manish Bapna
Interim President, World Resources Institute

Posted: 02/ 9/2012 11:00 am

In his annual State of the Union address, President Obama declared: "I
will not walk away from clean energy."

His words were a sharp rebuttal to critics harping on the Solyndra
bankruptcy and others making dire predictions about the downfall of
the renewable energy industry.

So, who is right? Will 2012 be a breakthrough year for renewable, or
will it collapse?

Despite conventional wisdom, there is a growing body of evidence
showing that renewables are no longer decades away from being a viable
and affordable alternative to fossil fuels. Instead, onshore wind and
solar photovoltaics are close to a tipping point to compete head-to-
head with coal and natural gas in many countries.

In fact, it's likely that 2012 could be the year when renewable energy
(not counting hydropower) will surpass fossil fuels, signaling a
profound shift toward a global clean energy economy.

Investors are leading the charge toward a clean energy future, betting
heavily on renewable energy. Global investment in clean energy
generation capacity reached a record high of $260 billion in 2011,
Bloomberg New Energy Finance announced last month. That was up 5
percent above 2010 levels and almost five times the 2004 total. The
United States, surprisingly, led the world in renewable energy
investment at nearly $56 billion, and China was second with more than
$47 billion.

Wind farms in China and solar panels on rooftops in Europe are the
biggest signs of growth. But the renewables boom is a global
phenomenon. In South and Central America, investments rose 39 percent
to $13 billion. In India, they rose by 25 percent to almost $4
billion; and in the Middle East and Africa, by 104 percent to $5
billion.

So what is getting investors -- from asset financiers to venture
capitalists -- so excited?

The answer is simple: wind and solar energy is becoming increasingly
cost competitive with coal and natural gas. In the past few years, the
costs of PV modules and wind turbines have tumbled, driven mainly by
technology innovations and a maturing supply chain. The results are
evident in falling clean energy prices around the world.

Take just a few examples:

ï¿½ In the United States, the authoritative National Renewable Energy
Laboratory forecasts that solar PV residential electricity prices
could be cost competitive by 2015 across two-thirds of the country.
ï¿½ In Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, and Japan, solar PV is on course
to match retail electricity fossil fuel prices next year, without the
benefit of subsidies, according to Pike Research.
ï¿½ In Brazil, wind power plants undercut natural gas competitors in
bidding for government power contract tenders last summer.
ï¿½ And in China, wind power prices are expected to be competitive with
coal within two years

But before rushing to invest your entire pension in clean energy,
there are some important caveats. Renewable power is not yet a
mainstream global industry. It made up only a little over 3 percent of
total world electricity generation, as of 2009.

While its future seems bright, the outcome may hang on how two key
issues play out:

First is the unpredictable effect of the shale gas boom. In countries
like the United States, where low electricity prices already make it
tough for renewables to become cost competitive, abundant and cheap
shale gas may drive energy prices down even further and divert
investment from wind and solar power. Low-priced natural gas is good
for consumers, but it could slow the growth of renewable. This could
have additional negative environmental consequences, including on
greenhouse gas emissions.

The second key issue is whether governments will keep up their
investor-friendly commitments to clean energy policy and incentives.
The BNEF report, Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2011,
showed significant progress on that front. By early 2011, some 119
countries had policies or targets in place to support renewables, more
than half of them in the developing world.

But given the turbulent global economy, it is likely that fiscal and
political constraints will continue to bite across much of the globe
in 2012. Governments may see support for wind and solar as tempting
for budget cuts.

In the United States, for example, wind power developers are nervous
about the potential expiration of the Production Tax Credit in
December 2012. If Congress fails to renew or replace it, the
industry's robust growth will likely falter. President Obama
acknowledged as much during State of the Union, when he called on
Congress to extend support for wind power and solar power. So the
outlook for the year is still sunny, but not cloudless for renewables.

Given the significant strides the industry has made, it would be
unfortunate if governments and investors turned their backs now. If
they forge ahead, 2012 could indeed see global investment surpass that
for fossil fuels, crossing an important threshold toward a clean
energy future.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: dams@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Laos, Nam Ou: Hydropower projects to light up northern provinces

2012-02-09T10:59:00.001-08:00

Laos, Nam Ou: Hydropower projects to light up northern provinces  February 9, 2012 Vientiane Times  Electricite du Laos (EDL) and Sinohydro Corporation Ltd of China yesterday signed a contract and memorandum of understanding (MOU) on four hydropower development projects in two northern provinces.  Among the documents signed were an engineering procurement and construction contract for the Nam Khan 3 hydropower project in Luang Prabang province, and a tariff MOU for the Nam Ou 2, 5 and 6 hydropower projects in Phongsaly and Luang Prabang provinces.  The signing was witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad, Chinese Ambassador to Laos Ms Bu Jianguo, energy developers, and officials from various ministries.  The Nam Khan 3 dam, located in Xiengngeun district, will have an installed capacity of 60MW and will be able to generate 241 million kWH of electricity per year, according to a press release provided at the signing ceremony. The dam will take about 3.5 years to build, with developers expecting it to be fully operational in 2016, the press release noted.  "The Lao government will invest about 1 trillion kip (US$127 million) in the project through a low interest loan from the Exim Bank of China," EDL representative Mr Komonchanh Phet-asa said, adding that the project will provide farmers in Luang Prabang with more access to water for irrigation.  Nam Ou projects 2, 5 and 6 will have a combined installed capacity of 540MW and will be able to generate 2,092 million kWH of energy per year.  "The energy generated from the three power plants will be sold to EDL starting in 2018," Mr Komonchanh said, explaining that negotiations regarding a power purchase agreement will take place in the future. He said the electricity generated will mainly supply the northern provinces and the high speed Laos-China railway project, while the rest will supply the central and southern provinces.  "The three projects are expected to require investment of about 8 trillion kip (US$1,000 million) and EDL will hold 15 percent of shares," Mr Komonchanh said.  Investment in hydropower projects in the northern provinces is growing rapidly, which is helping the government to meet its plan to supply mains power to over 90 percent of families in the area by 2020.  Construction of three new projects officially began in December, namely the Nam Long project in Luang Namtha province, the Nam Ngiep 2 project in Xieng Khuang province and the Nam Khan 2 project in Luang Prabang province, with many more set to be built soon. "Only 65 percent of families in the northern provinces currently have access to electricity," Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Mr Khammany Inthirath said recently.  "About 802,400 families living in 5,934 villages in 139 districts nationwide have access to electricity, which represents 76.9 percent of the total households in the country."  "By 2015 we want to increase the number of households with access to electricity to about 85 percent. We hope we can increase this number to more than 90 percent by 2020."

Most fish in the sea evolved in rivers

2012-02-08T13:10:00.001-08:00

Most fish in the sea evolved on land
New Scientist, 8 February 2012, by Colin Barras
www.newscientist.com/article/dn21441-most-fish-in-the-sea-evolved-on-land.html

Family histories don't come much more bizarre. Three-quarters of the
fish in the sea can trace their origins back to a freshwater ancestor.
The finding highlights how important rivers and lakes are as a source of
new species, just as that supply is under threat from disappearing
freshwater habitats.

Fish first evolved in the sea. The oceans have been teeming with them
for almost half a billion years, so there is no reason to doubt that the
fish living there today did all their evolving in salt water - until you
take a closer look at their family tree.

Greta Vega and John Wiens at Stony Brook University in New York noticed
something peculiar while studying the evolutionary tree of ray-finned
fish, a mega-group comprising 96 per cent of all freshwater and marine
fish species on the planet.

They realised that all the fossils belonging to the ancestral group that
gave rise to ray-fins some 300 million years ago - known as the
polypteriformes - came from freshwater deposits. In fact, according to
Vega and Wiens's tree, the ray-fins may not have taken to the sea in
large numbers until about 170 million years ago. Their descendants now
make up three-quarters of all marine fish (see diagram).

We've seen this kind of topsy-turvy evolution before. Most whales,
dolphins and porpoises, live in the sea, but like the ray-finned fish,
they all evolved in rivers.

Michael Benton of the University of Bristol, UK, says that combined with
what we know about whales and dolphins, the new study may point to a
more general pattern: that most major groups of vertebrates came from
land-based ecosystems. But we'll need many more studies to confirm that,
he says.

What could be driving such a pattern? Wiens says it is possible that
seas may be more prone to extinctions than land, rivers or lakes; while
rivers and lakes form an "arc of survival" that can reseed the oceans
when marine species are lost.

"I don't think our results show that seas are strongly inhospitable, but
they may become so at certain points in time," he says. Unfortunately,
the strong ocean acidification that is predicted for the near future
means we may be heading for one of those times now, he adds.

Today, however, rivers and lakes may not be healthy enough to help
re-supply the oceans. "Freshwater ecosystems suffer from a higher rate
of species loss than any other major ecosystem," says Peter Bosshard,
policy director at International Rivers, a non-profit NGO based in
Berkeley, California. "This study shows that by damming, diverting and
polluting the world's rivers, we may deplete the seed bank of future
generations."

Journal reference: Proceedings of the Royal Society B, DOI:
10.1098/rspb.2012.0075

(For the full research paper, see
www.stonybrook.edu/sb/docs/diversity.pdf. For an International Rivers
blog post on the topic, see www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/7160.)
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: dams@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

China alters controversial Poyang dam plan

2012-02-08T09:38:00.001-08:00

China alters controversial Poyang dam plan
Xinhua News
February 3, 2012

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-02/03/c_131390703.htm

NANCHANG, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- China has altered a plan to build a
hydropower dam on the Poyang Lake after the plan was criticized by
academicians for its potential damage to the already fragile ecology.

But officials with the eastern province of Jiangxi, where Poyang,
China's largest freshwater lake, is located, said they would still
search for other water control facilities to halt water levels of Poyang
declining, as the lake is a key water supply source for about a million
people and a natural habitat for numerous migratory birds and aquatic
species.

Over the past years, reduced rainfall, rampant sand dredging, and the
building of about 29 dams at the upstream parts of the Yangtze River,
have caused the size of the Poyang Lake to rapidly shrink, from 4,000 sq
kms at its peak to 200 sq kms in January, with water levels plunging to
a six-decade low of 7.93 meters.

"We now plan to build only sluice gates at the mouth of the lake where
water flows into the Yangtze," said Zhu Laiyou, head of the Poyang water
control projects construction office. "The gates will help maintain
Poyang's water levels during the drought season."

Zhu said the project would improve the wetland ecology, boost fishery,
and help develop tourism -- all being threatened amid the continuous
decline of water levels during the drought seasons over the past few years.

The original water control plan was canned after 15 academicians
submitted a report to the State Council opposing the proposal to
construct a dam.

"The dam and its hydropower stations will bring disastrous damage to
Poyang's ecology and wildlife," said Cao Wenxuan, a biologist with the
Chinese Academy of Sciences and one of the leading signatories.

Cao said he also had doubts about the government's latest plan as the
sluice gates would still narrow the lake's mouth by one third and result
in rapid water flows that might disrupt the activities of fish.

Dai Nianhua, a backer of the project, said the issue at the table is not
whether a water control project was needed but what to build and how to
build it.

"People are talking about the ecological impact that a massive water
control project might have on the wildlife but the problem is if the
lake is left to continue to shrink, the fish and birds will lose their
habitat already," said Dai, a fellow with the provincial academy of
sciences of Jiangxi.

Poyang Lake is considered a major destination of migratory birds in the
region, attracting more than 500,000 birds of 52 species including
endangered hooded cranes and white-naped cranes, in the winter of 2011.

The lake is also home for near-extinct Yangtze river dolphins and many
other endangered fishes. Some environmentalists estimate that about 70
percent of Poyang's fishery resources had been wiped out in the past
three decades.

Chen Fu, a deputy head of Poyang fishery bureau, said at least five
Yangtze River dolphins were found belly up in Poyang Lake last year.

The historic low water levels had forced lakeside residents to look for
alternative water supplies and fishermen out of business.

Liu Guibao, a 46-year-old fisherman from the lakeside county of Duchang,
said his income shrank by more than three quarters last year as only two
months, instead of traditionally six, were good for fishing.

Hundreds of fishing boats in Liu's village had been left lying idle on
dry lakebed since September.

Liu said that ironically he had to buy fish from the market this Chinese
New Year, the first time in three decades of working as a fisherman.

Editor: An
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: china@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Screening Africa's renewable energies potential

2012-02-08T08:46:00.001-08:00

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/ecjr-sar020812.php

Public release date: 8-Feb-2012
[ Print | E-mail | Share ] [ Close Window ]

Contact: Berta Duane
berta.duane@ec.europa.eu
39-033-278-9743
European Commission Joint Research Centre
Screening Africa's renewable energies potential

The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has published
today a study mapping the potential of renewable energy sources in
Africa. The report analyses the current energy consumption in Africa
and assesses potential of renewable energy sources - solar, wind,
biomass and hydropower - and their cost efficiency and environmental
sustainability. Its publication coincides with the official European
Launch of UN's Year on "Sustainable Energy for All" being held today
in Brussels.

The map of Africa's solar electricity potential, for example, based on
the JRC's Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS), shows
that in many parts of Africa the same photovoltaic panel could produce
twice as much electricity as it would produce in Central Europe.
However, in order to assess the suitability of solar energy to provide
electricity in rural areas, this option has to be assessed against
costs for grid extensions and with the traditional diesel generators.
A combined analysis of photovoltaic systems, grid extensions and
diesel options shows for each area which option is the most cost
efficient.

In Northern Africa, the promising potential of renewable energies, in
particular solar and wind energy, has to compete with cheap fossil
fuel. Meanwhile the challenge in the Sub-Saharan regions is to improve
sustainability and efficiency of traditional biomass use and to
provide a suitable alternative to biomass overexploitation. This
alternative should be based on cleaner energy sources, particularly in
Sub-Saharan Africa where firewood and charcoal represent 80% of total
energy use and where most of the population lives in rural areas with
no access to electricity.

Small hydroelectric power plants have strong potential in Equatorial
Africa due to an extended network of permanent rivers and the fact
that most households are located closer to a river than to an existing
electricity grid.

Considering the current grid infrastructure, the report suggests that
wind energy is the most exploitable on a larger scale in northern
parts of Africa, in particular along the Mediterranean coast, and in
the most southern parts of the continent.

As for biomass, the report highlights a dramatic difference between
the EU and Sub-Saharan Africa in the efficiency of the production and
use of this fuel and discusses the development of a wood fuel
sustainability index and the unexploited potential of energy crops
like sugar cane.

###
About the JRC

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission's in-house
science service. Its mission is to provide customer-driven scientific
and technical support for the conception, development, implementation
and monitoring of European Union policies. The JRC serves the common
interest of the Member States, while being independent of special
interests, whether private or national.

For further information:

The report 'Renewable energies in Africa' can be downloaded at: http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/111111111/23076

IP "Energy tops the Development agenda: Commissioner Piebalgs to
attend the European launch of the UN's Year of Sustainable Energy for
All" (Feb. 7): http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/12/104&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

NTPC eyeing 9,750-MW Siang Upper hydropower project

2012-02-07T13:57:00.001-08:00

India's NTPC eyeing 9,750-MW hydropower project
www.hydroworld.com/index/display/article-display/6644517620/articles/hrhrw/News-2/2012/01/india_s-ntpc_eyeing.html?cmpid=EnlHydroFebruary72012

ARUNACHAL PRADESH, India 1/31/12 (PennWell) -- India's NTPC power
company has submitted a pre-feasibility report for a 9,750-MW
hydroelectric project on the Brahmaputra River in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Siang Upper hydropower facility would be the second largest in Asia
after China's Three Gorges plant and would increase the state-owned
utility's overall production by more than a quarter.

Sources say NTPC's filing was partially prompted by reports of Chinese
plans to construct a hydro project upstream on the Brahmaputra (called
Yarlung Tsangpo in China).

The countries currently have a doctrine of prior appropriation, which
says the river's rights of first appropriation belong to whoever
utilizes it first.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: sasia@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

New World Bank infrastructure strategy: Paving over development?

2012-02-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

New World Bank infrastructure strategy: Paving over development?
News|Bretton Woods Project|7 February 2012|update 79
www.brettonwoodsproject.org/art-569563

A World Bank infrastructure strategy update, developed because of a G20
push for more infrastructure investment, reaffirms the Bank's commitment
to large-scale projects and scaled up private finance through
public-private partnerships (PPPs, see Update 77), despite questions
about bloated costs and development impact.

The updated strategy, Transformation through infrastructure: World Bank
Group infrastructure strategy update, was leaked in November last year.
The Bank strategy actually functions as an update to its previous
infrastructure strategy, and this seems to have precluded any
substantial consultation process (see Update 77). It outlines three main
pillars of future Bank infrastructure investment. The first is to
continue its more typical infrastructure projects, "while increasing
effectiveness in the areas of poverty, governance, gender and knowledge."

The second pillar is a new focus on large "transformational" projects
that "maximise green, regional, and inclusive/broader development
benefits". These will also represent "points of leverage in the universe
of potential infrastructure investments opportunities", meaning projects
that involve a greater diversity of financing sources such as donor
governments, including new middle-income donors, international
mechanisms such as climate funds, and the private sector.

The third pillar aims to bring in "more private sector financing". The
International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Bank's private sector arm,
is creating a new global equity fund for infrastructure to "ramp up"
business, while the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the
Bank's political risk insurance agency, will "continue to scale-up its
guarantee support to the infrastructure sector". The Bank is also
implementing an action plan to double private sector engagement in PPPs
in infrastructure.
Familiar themes

These areas match the priorities of the G20 development working group, a
body of officials preparing plans for G20 development ministers meetings
(see Update 77). The final report of the G20-commissioned High Level
Panel (HLP) on infrastructure also emphasises "transformational
projects" and scaled-up PPPs. The G20-mandated Infrastructure action
plan, produced by the Bank with input from other multilateral
development banks (MDBs), lays out the role of MDBs in this process. The
Bank's strategy is firmly in line with these documents, outlining the
role of Bank in the implementation of this agenda.

Both reports were made available after the G20 meeting in Cannes in
November 2011. Infrastructure is one of the three top development
priorities of the Mexican G20 Summit in June.

In a November analysis of the policy formation of the G20-MDB agenda,
Nancy Alexander of the German political foundation Heinrich Boell notes
that "the role of the HLP and the dominance of private financiers in its
composition create the impression that, hand-in-hand with the MDBs, the
G20 has created a mechanism to design and implement an infrastructure
agenda with minimal involvement by the governments and stakeholders of
affected low-income countries much less any democratic debate or
processes." She observes that "there has been a serious democratic
deficit in the formulation of the G20 and MDB agenda. The Action Plan
was a joint document by six MDBs, so it circumvents the individual MDB
policies on consultation. Furthermore, the Bank's new strategy
demonstrates the profound impact of the G20 process on the MDBs,
possibly leaving the 173 countries which are part of MDB governance, but
not part of the G20, by the wayside."

Transformation?

A November paper by UK NGO network Bond questions the developmental
impact of the G20 agenda. It argues that "the focus is very much on
infrastructure investment as key to economic growth rather than to
poverty reduction." It also says that "there is concern that the
involvement of the private sector will divert both private and public
spending from critical areas and may lack the appropriate safeguards
surrounding the social and environmental impact on local communities."
The paper notes that an emphasis on PPPs implies a danger of the "the
privatisation of financial gains", while the Heinrich Boell report
argues that "many low-income countries are not in a position to use
scarce domestic resources to support the scale or nature of
infrastructure investments envisioned by the G20."

The Inga hydropower project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (see
Update 70, 67) is touted by the HLP as one of 11 "exemplary
transformational" projects. Peter Bosshard of NGO International Rivers
notes that the first phases of Inga "have turned into an expensive white
elephant that hardly provides any benefits to the poor. Even the
rehabilitation that the World Bank is currently funding has turned into
a bottomless pit of mismanagement. The future stages of the Inga scheme
foresee the construction of hydropower dams ... [whose] outputs are
primarily destined to serve the needs of mining companies and urban
centres in far away places such as South Africa, the Middle East, and
Europe." He argues that "if the new approach proposed by the World Bank
and the G20 promotes transformation, it is the transformation of aid
into corporate welfare."

Srinivas Krishnaswamy of Indian NGO Vashudha Foundation also questioned
how 'transformative' projects devised under the new strategy will be.
"The pathways proposed by the Bank have no real plans to address poverty
and the desperate need for energy access in low-income countries.
Instead they are in favour of conventional energy infrastructure, which
has not delivered energy access or alleviated poverty".
________________________________________________

This is International Rivers' mailing list on the role of international financial institutions in promoting large dams.

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: ifi@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Doubts abound over new Bujagali deadline

2012-02-06T15:09:00.000-08:00

http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16903:doubts-abound-over-new-bujagali-deadline-&catid=38:business&Itemid=68

Doubts abound over new Bujagali deadline
Business

Wednesday, 01 February 2012 02:51
Written by Emma Mutaizibwa

The large turbine beneath a towering structure roars like a tremor as
it spins around the pale-blue waters of the Nile.

Itï¿½s this complex structural edifice constructed at the Bujagali falls
where Uganda will generate about 250 MW to add to the national grid.
Last week, the minister for Energy, Irene Muloni, put behind her busy
schedule to rush to Bujagali to see the latest progress. Her visit
came after The Observer, quoting a World Bank report, revealed that
Uganda could lose about $450 million annually as a result of the delay
in the completion of the dam.

Upon arrival, the site was a beehive of activity as Italians, Chinese,
Indians and local porters worked tirelessly under a blazing orange sky
to try and connect the first 50 MW to the national grid. Itï¿½s inside
this structure that the Italian engineers from the construction firm
Salini have been trying to switch on the 50 MW from the first turbine,
which amongst the five is the only one fully assembled.

As the constructors grapple with the completion of the dam, acute
power outages continue to cripple businesses, slow economic growth and
stymie industrialisation.
ï¿½I am excited with the progress. You can all see at least there are
tests and we can see about 5 mw have been added to the national grid,ï¿½
says an elated Muloni.

But a source at the dam who was not speaking on official record told
The Observer that the engineers have been tinkering with this process
and ï¿½sometimes it works and other times it does not work.ï¿½

With heightened power blackouts, government last year said the first
50 mw from Bujagali to the national grid would be connected by
December 2011, a deadline that once again was not met.

ï¿½There was an oil leakage after the first turbine had been assembled
so we had to fly in 20 engineers during the festive season to
dismantle and repair this leakage,ï¿½ said Muloni.
Muloni also said earlier in 2010, that the discovery of a soft rock,
which had to be excavated and filled, caused the first delay.She has
since issued a new deadline of February 7.
ï¿½We are asking the contractor to work even harder and meet the
deadline.ï¿½

Muloni hopes the second turbine, which will produce another 50 MW will
be ready by March, the third turbine by May, the fourth by June and
lastly the fifth turbine by July.
Muloni also refuted allegations about the capacity of the new dam
saying, ï¿½it will produce the 250 MW during the peak demand.ï¿½

Former Energy minister Hillary Onek, who is a structural engineer said
the most Bujagali will generate is 220 MW and only for about three
hours, after which the water levels would dictate that generation be
scaled down. Going with the past experience, there is scepticism that
the dam will be complete within the new deadlines recently announced
by the Energy minister.

The cost of the 250 MW Bujagali, which was estimated to cost about
$798.6 million, is expected to hit the $1 billion mark, raising
further questions whether the cost is inflated. Today, Bujagali dam
stands out as one of the costliest dams in the World.

Bujagali timeline:
As far back as 2001, the government of Uganda started to plan for the
construction of a hydroelectric power plant at the location of the
Bujagali Falls. But Museveni said some lawmakers in the Sixth
Parliament attempted to frustrate the construction of the dam, many of
whom had lobbied the World Bank not to fund the project because it
would affect the environment.

On August 13th 2003, energy giant AES Corporation, which initially had
planned to construct the dam announced that it was pulling out of the
project. The Virginia-based firm, the worldï¿½s largest independent
energy producer then, was under investigation by the US Justice
Department for alleged bribery, in violation of the US Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act. The company, which owned and operated power generation
and distribution facilities in 28 countries, later pulled the plug on
a number of its operations worldwide and plans to write off the $75
million it invested in the AES Nile Power Bujagali project.

Then Bujagali got new developers, who formed a company called Bujagali
Energy Company Limited in 2006. Construction of the dam and powerhouse
started in June 2007, with loans from the World Bank, the European
Investment Bank and the African Development Bank. Salini, an Italian
construction company was selected to be the lead contractor on the
project.

The consortium that is constructing the power station invested
approximately $190 million of their own money into the project. The
rest of the funds were borrowed from the following International
lenders; The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the
World Bank Group, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European
Investment Bank (EIB), the German Investment Corporation (DEG), the
German Development Bank (KfW), PROPARCO of France, the French
Development Agency (AFD) and the Netherlands Development Finance
Company (FMO).

mutaizibwa@observer.ug
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

China presses Myanmar on stalled dam

2012-02-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

China presses Myanmar on stalled dam
By Melody Kemp
Asia Times, February 7, 2012
www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NB07Ae01.html

One of the first indications that change was afoot in Myanmar came when
President Thein Sein announced last year the suspension of the
China-backed, US$3.6 billion Myitsone dam slated for the country's
remote Kachin state. Now, signs are that the fight is not over as
Chinese hydro-power lobbyists go on the offensive to have the
mega-project restarted despite extreme environmental risks.

A PowerPoint presentation made by a delegate to the recent Mekong Energy
and Ecology meeting in Bangkok indicates that China's hydro-power
industry is working hard to resurrect the shelved project. The
presentation along with other Chinese-language documents indicate that
China wants to resurrect the project as a symbol of its still strong
clout in Myanmar at a time the United States and European Union bid to
make diplomatic and commercial inroads.

The Myitsone dam is also apparently viewed by Beijing as a bellwether on
Myanmar's stance on other major Chinese investments, including the $17.5
billion oil and gas pipelines designed to transport fuel from Myanmar's
southern coast to China's southwestern, land-locked Yunnan province.

The Chinese press have reported the pipelines create 50,000 new jobs and
yield Yunnan economic returns estimated at 33 billion yuan (US$5.2
billion) in refined products per year. The pipelines will also allow
China to avoid sending its energy imports through the congested and, in
case of a future conflict with the United States, easily blocked Malacca
Straits.

The Chinese Hydropower Association, government officials and Chinese
media have all accused Myanmar's government of breach of contract and of
being in the thrall of foreign, read Western, non-governmental
organizations that have campaigned steadily against the mega-project's
potential negative environmental and social impacts.

Chinese officials have asserted that Myanmar needs China's foreign
investment, which currently amounts to over 44% of the country's foreign
direct investment, to fuel economic development. However, 90% of the
estimated 3,600-6,000 megawatts of electricity that would have been
generated by the dam was slated for export to China.

Chinese hydropower interests, meanwhile, continue to assert that the
environmental impacts of the dam would be minimal. That is the portrait
painted by the upstream Ayeyawady Confluence Basin Hydropower
Corporation, a local subsidiary of the China Power Investment
Corporation, one of China's top five electricity producers, in their
latest publication "A Better Tomorrow on the Ayeyawady River."

Zhang Boting, deputy secretary general of the Chinese Society for
Hydropower Engineering and who writes for the government's mouthpiece
People's Daily newspaper, has led the propaganda offensive against
Myitsone's suspension. In a recent newspaper column he referred to Thein
Sein's safety concerns over the project as ""illogical".

"Will the natural beauty of Kachin and Myanmar be destroyed by the
project? Absolutely NOT - dams and even earthquakes have been proven to
create new beautiful scenery. This is the case with [China's] Three
River Gorges Dam, which is now more beautiful than before. Don't listen
to the extreme statements of environmentalists," he urged Thein Sein in
a newspaper column.

Striking a more assertive pose, he also recently wrote: "It is
impossible that the investor move the hydropower projects out of Myanmar
... If the Myanmar people are at risk, the investment by the investor is
at risk as well. The investor and the Myanmar people are both
stakeholders in dam construction."

"Will the reservoir cause people upstream to lose livelihoods? ... As a
World Bank official once learned in China, many people hope that they
will be lucky enough to be resettled as a result of a dam project ... as
this is a way out of poverty," Zhang's China Society for Hydropower
recently said in a statement.

"The people who designed the Myitsone are the same that designed the
Three River Gorges Dam - for them resolving resettlement issues are very
simple. The people living in the [Myitsone] resettlement area now live
like people in upscale villas in China," the statement said.

World Bank officials could not confirm the anonymous quote attributed to
it in Zhang's statement. Nor have those resettled from the Myitsone dam
site been resettled into "upscale villas", as he claimed. Photographs
and reports received by this correspondent indicate that most of the
resettled villagers - estimated by the opposition National League for
Democracy to number 12,000 - have been forced off their fertile
ancestral lands and lucrative orchards into tiny houses on clay beds
incapable of producing basic crops.

Dam high risks
The environmental risks of Myitsone, meanwhile, are enormous by
threatening the flow of the Irrawaddy River, Myanmar's main and most
culturally significant waterway. The proposed 152-meter high dam, which
if built will create a reservoir the size of Singapore, would be
situated between the Yunnan and Sagaing Faults.

A recent geological study jointly conducted by Myanmar's Ministry of
Transport and Japan's International Institute of Seismology and
Earthquake Engineering indicates that a major shift in the Sagaing
fault, situated only 100 kilometers west of the dam site, could soon
occur and might affect the new capital Naypyidaw. Their analysis and
maps showing the fault extending south into the Andaman Sea and north
into Kachin State is thought to have influenced Thein Sein's decision on
the dam.

Independent geologist and blogger Ole Nielsen noted in a blog entry that
previous dams built in Myanmar have collapsed and suggested that the
Kachin state capital Myitkyina would be wiped out in the event of a
Myitsone dam collapse. He added that the Ching Hkrang dam 16 kilometers
north of Myitkyina and the agricultural Washawng dam in Wiangmaw
district collapsed in 2006 after incessant rains.

Experts say a dam as large as Myitsone, in combination with its seismic
location, could also trigger earthquakes though so-called reservoir
induced seismicity, a geological phenomenon where water in large
reservoirs shifts land masses and through infiltration weakens
underlying fault lines. There have been over 90 identified incidences of
earthquakes triggered by water reservoirs worldwide, including in
China's Sichuan province in 2008.

Meanwhile, a United States Geological Survey team indicated in a recent
report that the Himalayan glaciers, some of which feed the Irrawaddy
River, are retreating at an alarming rate. (If so, in a few years the
Myitsone dam could become a giant sandpit.) The survey warned that the
glacial retreat brings a greater risk of so-called Glacial Lake Outburst
Floods, which occur when melt water inside a glacier breaks out with
extreme force and sends a tsunami of silt carrying water down stream
slamming into dam walls. This has already had devastating effects in
nearby Nepal.

The controversy over Myitsone runs deeper, however. Myanmar's military
junta first proposed the dam's construction in 2006 and three years
later contracted the local Asia World Company and China Power Investment
Corp (CPI) to build it. Asia World was established by Lo Hsing Han, a
Kokang Chinese from the opium-producing region of Myanmar 's Golden
Triangle who has been identified by the United States Drug Enforcement
Agency for involvement in narcotics trafficking and money laundering.

Asia World is now controlled by his son Stephen Law (Tun Myint Naing)
and close to Myanmar Vice President Aung Myint Oo who in turn is a close
ally of former junta leader Senior General Than Shwe.

The now stalled joint venture agreement between the CPI and Asia World
involves many powerful interests. The deal enabled CPI to build and
operate Myitsone in partnership with Myanmar Electric Power Enterprises
and a consortium of Chinese companies, including the China Gezhouba
Group Corporation, whose contract is worth $153 million, China Power
Investment Corporation Materials and Equipment Company, whose concrete
work had been priced at $75 million and the politically connected
Sinohydro Corp, which was responsible for road building and civil
engineering.

Despite those big commercial interests, Thein Sein said he was
responding to the "will of the people" in suspending the dam. The
decision has raised bilateral tensions, with China's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs spokesman Hong Lei saying in October soon after the announcement
that Myanmar must "protect the legal and legitimate rights of Chinese
companies". It's unclear if Myanmar has paid any compensation since the
mega-project was stalled.

CPI president and Communist Party secretary Lu Qizhou said in interviews
soon after the September 30 suspension was announced that he was
"shocked" by the decision and insisted that his company had followed all
legal procedures in winning the contract.

The various interested parties in the dam maintain that hundreds of
scientists had agreed that the environmental impacts would be minimal
despite the size of the reservoir and the biodiversity significance of
the dam site. (Some Yangon-based cynics say that this is because Chinese
poachers have already cut or mined everything of value around the dam site.)

Myanmar has yet to formulate comprehensive laws supporting regulations
or even research teams capable of completing the rigorous testing and
reporting necessary to properly assess such a massive project. However,
it is clear from Thein Sein's "will of the people" statement that his
government takes environmental concerns more seriously than the previous
ruling military junta.

While the dam has been deferred until 2015, coinciding with the end of
Thein Sein's term, wrangling over the multi-billion dollar mega-project
is expected to animate China-Myanmar relations in the years ahead.
Taking into account the cultural significance of the Irrawaddy River and
the ongoing conflict in Kachin state, it is possible that Thein Sein's
suspension will eventually lead to an outright cancellation. (Already
some of the resettled families have returned to their home villages,
according to on-the-ground sources.)

In a survey published in Myanmar Affairs, a website maintained by
Myanmar academics, 58% of respondents surveyed approved of Thein Sein's
environmental initiatives. The survey found that 90% of the 1,000 people
interviewed opposed the Myitsone dam for environmental, socioeconomic
and cultural reasons. While China continues to propagandize that the
Myitsone dam is Myanmar's national interest, Myanmar's people and
leadership view it differently.

Melody Kemp is an environmental journalist currently living in Indonesia.
________________________________________________

This is International Rivers' mailing list on China's global footprint, and particularly Chinese investment in
international dam projects.

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: chinaglobal@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Sudan dam protest at president's doorstep

2012-02-02T18:09:00.001-08:00

Sudan dam protest at president's doorstep
The Daily Nation (Kenya), February 3, 2012

By AFP - Supporters of residents displaced by a dam north of Khartoum
took their long-running protest to the doorstep of Sudan's president on
Thursday.

About 25 people gathered beside the headquarters of the Sudan Armed
Forces and faced the adjacent home of President Omar al-Bashir, an AFP
reporter saw.

"We call for the rights of people affected by the dam," their signs said.

The peaceful protesters dispersed at the request of security officers.

It is the latest gathering in Khartoum by supporters of residents
displaced by the Merowe dam. City police forcibly broke up two
sympathetic demonstrations in December.

On November 20, about 1,000 people affected by the hydroelectric project
began a sit-in at Al-Damer, a town around 300 kilometres (180 miles)
north of Khartoum, over the government's alleged failure to compensate
them with new homes as promised.

The sit-in continues.

Completed in 2009 at a cost of more than $2 billion (1.5 billion euros),
the Chinese-built development, northwest of Al-Damer, doubled Sudan's
power generation capacity.

But it also forced 15,000 families from their homes three years ago to
make way for the dam and the huge reservoir that formed behind it.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

International Rivers Seeking Lao Program Coordinator

2012-02-02T13:15:00.000-08:00

Please circulate - apologies for cross-posting

Position Available

Lao Program Coordinator

Bangkok, Thailand

International Rivers supports communities around the world in protecting their rivers, watersheds and human rights. We work to halt destructive dams and encourage better methods of meeting needs for water, energy and protection from floods.

International Rivers is looking for an experienced campaigner to work in our Southeast Asia Program. The position will be a permanent, full-time position based in Bangkok, Thailand. The Lao Program Coordinator will monitor the implementation of mitigation and compensation measures for existing dams in Laos, advocate for compensation for dam-affected communities, research and highlight the impacts of new hydropower projects planned for Laos, and push for the implementation of the Lao National Hydropower Policy and other relevant laws. S/he will also help build the capacity of local and regional organizations working to protect the rivers of Laos.

The campaigner will be expected to travel within the Mekong region and occasionally to other parts of the world. The Lao Program Coordinator reports to the Southeast Asia Program Director.

Primary responsibilities

1. Campaigns and Advocacy

Conduct field research into the impacts of existing dams such as Nam Theun 2 and Theun-Hinboun and use this research to develop campaign strategies aimed at pressing project funders and owners to implement better compensation and mitigation measures for affected communities. Produce field reports, write letters, and conduct media and other communications activities aimed at key decision-makers and opinion-formers. Conduct field research into priority proposed hydropower projects and use this research to develop targeted strategies to persuade project developers and their financiers from building destructive dams in Laos.

2. Information Dissemination, Research and Writing

Coordinate dissemination of information to key decision-makers, bilateral donors, other NGOs, and the general public. This includes writing of action alerts, press releases, blogs, articles for publication in International Rivers’ newsletter World Rivers Review, fact sheets, briefing papers, campaign updates and other materials where necessary. Update and maintain relevant sections of the International Rivers website. When Environmental Impact Assessments and other technical documents are released, work with experts to prepare critical reviews.

3. Policy Analysis

Monitor implementation of Lao policies and laws governing hydropower development, and maintain a watching brief on World Bank, Asian Development Bank and bilateral technical assistance and capacity building projects for Laos in the hydropower sector with an eye to strengthening Lao government policies and implementation of those policies.

4. Networking, Outreach and Capacity-Building

Work to support the nascent movement of civil society organizations in Laos concerned about hydropower development in the country, including through developing outreach and popular education materials, organizing and attending local and regional meetings, answering emails and information requests, public speaking, managing small grants applications, and active outreach to groups in the country and regionally.

5. Media, Communications and Outreach

Devise and implement communications strategies at the regional and international level for drawing public attention to the impacts of Lao dams. Maintain active and regular contact with the foreign press corps based in Thailand, and with Thai media. Conduct regular briefings with journalists, promote International Rivers’ messages and campaigns, and conduct media interviews.

6. Supervision

Supervise a consultant based in Pakse, Laos, whose primary responsibility is to conduct field research on hydropower projects under consideration or under development in Laos.

Skills and Experience Required

· Strong written and verbal communication skills in English. Research and writing is a primary component of the job and strong written communication skills in English are essential.

· At least three years experience conducting advocacy campaigns, preferably at the international level.

· Knowledge of Mekong region politics, developments and issues, including some knowledge of hydropower issues.

· Excellent organizational, planning and interpersonal skills, including the ability to work both independently and within a team

· Commitment to environmental integrity, social justice and the mission of International Rivers

· Excellent computer skills

· Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Desired Qualifications

· Ability to speak, read and write Lao language preferred

· Knowledge of Lao politics, developments and issues

· Experience with campaigning to influence financial institutions such as private banks, export credit agencies and international financial institutions

Salary and Benefits

Competitive salary and benefits package includes health insurance and excellent vacation and sick leave. Salary dependent on experience.

Application Procedures

Please send an application letter in English with resume, English writing sample and expected salary to jobpostreg@internationalrivers.org by February 20, 2012, with subject line “Lao Program Coordinator.”

International Rivers is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from all qualified candidates regardless of age, class, disability status, ethnicity, gender, race and sexual orientation.

International Rivers offers a stimulating, casual and flexible work environment.

--  ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Aviva Imhof Campaigns Director International Rivers tel: +1 510 848 1155, ext. 312 skype name: avivaimhof aviva@internationalrivers.org www.internationalrivers.org  :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rio+20: a Milestone Birthday for Planet Earth

2012-02-02T08:54:00.001-08:00

A Milestone Birthday for Planet Earth
The Daily Nation (Kenya), January 30, 2012
By Peter Bosshard

Milestone birthdays are opportunities to take stock of our family,
health and financial situation. So how is Planet Earth doing 20 years
after the Earth Summit, the historic UN Conference on Environment and
Development in Rio de Janeiro? The planet's economic output has more
than doubled since 1992. Some members of the global family are doing
extremely well, but the number of hungry people is increasing. And the
planet's health is steadily deteriorating, with vital ecosystems nearing
the point of collapse.

We can celebrate milestone birthdays with empty rhetoric, or we can use
them to change course. Twenty years ago, governments adopted resolutions
that aimed to bring the global community into social, environmental and
economic balance. They resolved to follow basic rules of global
housekeeping such as the precautionary principle, the internalization of
environmental costs, and the polluter-pays principle. They prepared a
specific roadmap of global change in the Agenda 21. And most of them
made binding commitments by signing the conventions on biodiversity and
climate change.

Looking back, we have failed to live up to our resolutions and
commitments as a global community. We can't relive the past, but as we
prepare for the Rio+20 summit in June, we have another chance to take
stock and change course. Unfortunately world leaders have so far not
risen to the challenge. The draft document for the Rio+20 summit, which
governments discussed last week in New York, is devoid of substance and
ambition. Entitled, The Future We Want, it contains no honest analysis,
few specific recommendations, and no binding commitments. Instead, it
tries to hide its lack of ambition with vague concepts such as a new
Green Economy.

In the water sector – the area I know best – there are indeed measures
that could improve the planet's economic and ecological health at the
same time. We could start by dramatically improving the water efficiency
of our existing infrastructure and agriculture. We could safeguard vital
ecosystems and the services that they provide by protecting free-flowing
rivers and restoring environmental flows. We could phase out public
funding for unsustainable agricultural practices, polluting industries
and destructive dams. And we could redirect development aid towards the
decentralized, small-scale technologies that strengthen the food, water
and energy security of the poorest without destroying the environment.

Unfortunately, the language of the Rio+20 draft document is so vague
that it can easily be abused by the money lenders, consultants and
contractors that benefit from the current course of action. Under the
motto of the Green Economy, the World Bank proposes to build more large
multipurpose dams that would clog the arteries of the planet while
bypassing the poor. As the World Commission on Dams found ten years ago,
these complex projects have the worst track record among all dams in
terms of economic viability, poverty reduction and environmental
protection – the main pillars of sustainable development.

Milestone birthdays rarely come at a convenient time. When economic
strife and political drama dominate large parts of the world, it
requires a lot of courage to take a long-term view. Yet we are living
beyond our means and drawing down the natural capital on which the
poorest people and future generations depend for their livelihoods. As a
recent UN report found, "natural systems that support economies, lives
and livelihoods across the planet are at risk of rapid degradation and
collapse." Once these ecosystems have reached their tipping point, no
other planet will bail us out. Will we find the courage for an honest
assessment and change of course at the Rio+20 summit?

Peter Bosshard is the Policy Director of International Rivers, an
international environmental and human rights organization.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Environmental risk analysis of Sino-Russian Cooperation released by WWF

2012-02-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

Book announcement:
Environmental risk analysis of Sino-Russian Cooperation released by WWF
www.transrivers.org/2012/301/

Just 5 days after US congress held China's quest for resources, which
largely omitted Sino-Russian resource trade issues, WWF Russia released
English edition of a comprehensive analysis of environmental
consequences of cooperation between Russia and China presented in a
collection of essays written by 18 authors coming from diverse
backgrounds. RwB Coalition coordinators and experts actively
participated in preparation of this book, which was published in Russian
version in 2010. New English edition is supplemented with updates on
most important recent developments.

SEE: Environmental Risks to Sino-Russian transboundary cooperation: from
brown plans to a green strategy. WWF's Trade and Investment Programme
report. Evgeny Simonov, Evgeny Shvarts, Lada Progunova (Eds.).
Moscow-Vladivostok-Harbin: WWF, 2011. DOWNLOAD from
www.transrivers.org/2012/301/

The study analyzes development strategies and programs of the border
regions; programs of transboundary cooperation between Russia and China;
environmental risks associated with individual resource-intensive
sectors; as well as approaches to the greening of economies and natural
resource management in both countries. It also provides practical
recommendations aimed at the governments of Russia and China, as well as
at the environmental and business communities in these two countries.

Book contains several essays very relevant to RwB work: analysis of
Sino-Russian Regional Cooperation Program by Oksana Yengoyan, paper on
cooperation and competition for transboundary water resources by
Vladimir Karakin, economic critique of plans to export electricity from
hydropower by Konstantin Tattsenko.

RwB Coalition wants You to pay specific attention to a paper by Eugene
Simonov on history and several conceptual scenarios for the future
development of hydro-power in the Amur River Basin. It describes in
detail history of Sino-Russian relations in the context of river basin
management and joint and unilateral efforts in hydro-engineering.The
paper pays specific attention to the risks associated with the
Trans-Sibirskaya hydropower plant on Lower Shilka River planned by
YES-Energo-a joint venture that was founded by Chinese Yangtze Power and
Cyprus EurosibEnergo (belongs to Russian billionarie Deripaska).
Environmental risks associated with new hydropower plants are evident,
while the economic need for their construction seems questionable-and
these doubts are getting stronger with time.
________________________________________________

This is International Rivers' mailing list on China's global footprint, and particularly Chinese investment in
international dam projects.

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: chinaglobal@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Interview with Dr. Yu Xiaogang, "Civil society should look behind the curtain"

2012-01-31T11:24:00.000-08:00

State-owned companies are pushing for a "Great Leap Forward" in dam
building. But Chinese NGOs can hold them to account, environmentalist Yu
Xiaogang tells chinadialogue.

"We should look behind the curtain"
By Isabel Hilton
chinadialogue
January 30, 2012

English:
http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/4744--We-should-look-behind-the-curtain-

Chinese:
http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/ch/4744--We-should-look-behind-the-curtain-

Yu Xiaogang is director of the NGO Green Watershed, based in the city of
Kunming, in south-west China. A veteran environmentalist and past winner
of the Goldman Prize, an award for grassroots green campaigners, he has
been at the forefront of Chinaï¿½s debate on dam building. At a recent
meeting in Delhi, Yu Xiaogang sat down with Isabel Hilton to explain his
concerns about powerful special interest groups in China who, he claims,
exercise undue influence on government policy.

Isabel Hilton: Who are these special interest groups and why are you
concerned?

Yu Xiaogang: One characteristic is their monopoly. The second is the
combination of their power and capital. China is in a transition period:
in the state-planned economy, every big company or industry was under
government control. Then we changed to the market economy, but big
state-owned enterprises (SOEs) still have power and they now get the
advantages of the market economy. So they use their influence with the
government to ensure they are allocated the assets; then they can get
resources from the stock or the bond markets.

The state benefits from this in several ways: through taxation, or
because such companies listen to the government most of the time. The
government can dominate the market economy because its share in some
industries is much bigger than in others. In energy for instance, it is
as much as 70%.

IH: What impact does this have on dam building in China?

YX: The government can dominate some very critical industries, like
railways, air transport, power industries and telecommunications. They
like to control them, but this also creates contradictions with their
ideology or the targets that the Chinese government is pursuing ï¿½
targets such as a just and harmonious society. These monopoly companies
go in the opposite direction.

The Chinese government wants to improve policy and reach "political
civilisation", but we think that the SOE monopolies have a triple role:
they are company owners; they are decision makers (or at least they can
capture the decision makers); and they also manage the market. So they
control everything and thatï¿½s not good for the free market or "political
civilisation". Also it creates conflict with the people, because this
combination of power and capital often works against the peopleï¿½s
interests, against democracy and against public participation.

IH: Civil society managed to bring a halt to dam building under the 11th
Five-Year Plan. In the 12th Five-Year Plan, there seems to be a "Great
Leap Forward" in dam building in preparation. Will civil society be able
to mobilise again?

YX: We have realised that the 12th Five-Year Plan was influenced by
these interest groups. Before this plan was finalised, we observed a lot
of academics, official insiders, like the National Energy
Administration, decision-makers and think-tanks combined saying that
NGOs and civil society have misled the leaders under the 11th Five-Year
Plan and that hydropowerï¿½s environmental and social impact was not
negative. They portrayed it as a conspiracy between the international
community and civil society to attack hydropower development. Also they
said that because of the frozen period during the 11th Five-Year Plan,
we now need a "Great Leap Forward" in dam building.

We can see very clearly that this advocacy influenced the
decision-makers and we also think that NGOs can do something. I think
itï¿½s very important to deconstruct this discourse, because Chinese
government decision-making is often influenced by this kind of
discourse. NGOs should debate it. The special interest groups often
operate behind the curtain ï¿½ people donï¿½t know about it. People think
that SOEs are better than private companies because at least they
operate in the interests of the taxpayer. People donï¿½t know that they
are destroying the economy and the political system and hurting the
taxpayersï¿½ interests. So we need to tell people about this.

Why do these interest groups not pay attention to the environmental and
social impacts? Because they want the maximum profit. They donï¿½t care
about the impacts. Thatï¿½s why I think that civil society should look at
what interests there are behind the curtain; so we can understand why
they donï¿½t listen to us and how they capture the government to make
decisions that favour special interest groups. NGOs can investigate this
and tell people the truth. Then people can perhaps find a solution
individually, or campaign on projects.

IH: What would your solution be?

YX: There are many possible solutions. Some are more political. For
example, some people say that these SOEs should make a profit. Many
donï¿½t. They may pay their taxes but they donï¿½t share their profits. The
taxpayer is the owner and should be recognised as such. The government
should represent the peopleï¿½s view.

[First], the SOEs should make their profits transparent and share them
with social security funds or foundations for poverty alleviation or
some other public purpose. Second, the government should not be too
dependent on them. For example, in energy saving and emissions
reductions, we have hundreds of solutions and methods. We need to pay
attention and invest, to develop small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
that can solve this. We have many demand-side management opportunities
with small technologies. There are two general approaches: restraint and
counterbalancing with an increase in SMEs. The third element is checking
and monitoring. We should train the SOEs to follow market rules and
reduce their monopoly.

IH: Would you like to see a halt to the kind of dam building that is
proposed in the 12th Five Year Plan?

YX: Of course. We think that in the last 60 years, China has built so
many dams already. Very big dams were constructed, especially in the
last decade. Now the remaining rivers are in seismic-risk areas, so
building in these areas will be very risky to people downstream and we
must assess the environmental impact. We think we must assess the full
cost first.

They may say that we need energy, but we should also rationalise energy
consumption. This needs investment and education and the government to
change its orientation. In this way, the people can save energy and
reduce consumption. Only this way can we stop the dam construction.
First, tell the people the risks and then have the government pay
attention to the many small approaches that can solve the problem.

Isabel Hilton is editor of chinadialogue
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: china@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Tanzania: drought's impacts on economy

2012-01-26T17:25:00.000-08:00

Tanzania's over-reliance on hydro has had many ramifications for its economy... right down to a reduction in new rural electrification connections.

http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LY1TXB07SXKX01-4B2GO3U9GV1UGB4VIE19AHUGGM

Tanzania Seeks $257 Million Loan From Citibank, Other Lenders

Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Tanzania's state-owned power utility said it's in talks with a group of lenders including Citigroup Inc.'s domestic unit for a 408 billion-shilling ($257 million) loan to fund electricity generation.

The discussions may conclude this week, William Muhando, managing director of Tanzania Electric Supply Co., said in an interview today in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital.

"The money is needed to fund emergency power projects that we undertook last year to meet demand," Muhando said. "We expect to conclude negotiations with a group of financiers led by Citibank today or tomorrow."

Tanzania, East Africa's second-biggest economy, had an electricity deficit of 264 megawatts last February following a drop in hydropower generation after a drought. The resulting power outages caused a slowdown in economic growth to 6.4 percent in the third quarter of 2011 from 6.7 percent a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Jan. 17.

Tanesco, as the utility is known, is also pursuing financing for new generation projects to be commissioned this year, Muhando said. The government is expected to complete an agreement with HSBC Holdings Plc to fund a 100-megawatt gas- fired plant in Dar es Salaam, estimated to cost $165 million, he said.

"This and another 70-megawatt plant fired by heavy fuel oil in Mwanza have been contracted to Jacobsen Elektro AS," the Norwegian power-plant builder, Muhando said. In addition, the utility is seeking 83 million euros ($107 million) for a 70- megawatt plant in the northern region of Tanga, he said.

Loss

Tanesco expects to report an annual loss of 200 billion shillings for year 2011 and the same amount for this year because of the drought, Muhando said.

"We made a profit of 15 billion shillings in 2010, and 5 billion shillings in 2009," he said. "But the low water levels caused a loss in 2011, and this will continue this year."

Tanesco last year entered into a power-purchase agreement with Washington, D.C.-based Symbion Power LLC to produce 125 megawatts of electricity using both gas and Jet-1 fuel, as one of the emergency projects. The company also contracted Glasgow, U.K.-based Aggreko Plc to produce 100 megawatts using diesel, and boosted production at heavy fuel oil-fired generators run by Independent Power Tanzania Ltd. to 100 megawatts from 20 megawatts.

The 408 billion-shilling loan will be used to pay for fuel used until December 2011 and for a charge demanded by power generators when their plants aren't running at full capacity, Muhando said.

Power Output

Electricity output in Tanzania is currently 700 megawatts, matching demand, "which means the impact of any shortfall is significant," he said.

The talks on the loan are concluding a week after the country's energy regulator approved a 40 percent increase in electricity powers. Tanesco had applied for prices increase by 155 percent. The utility was hoping to use a "cost-reflective" tariff as a bargaining chip for the loan, as it would guarantee a specified amount of revenue, Muhando said.

A 155 percent increase in tariffs would have raised income to 359 shillings per kilowatt hour from 141 shillings per kilowatt hour currently, the power utility told the regulator in an application for the adjustment.

"We understand it is going to be an average hydrology year, meaning there will be water to generate electricity at the hydropower dams," Haruna Masebu, director-general of the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority, said in a Jan. 12 interview. "We also cannot increase the tariff so much because that could cause inflationary pressures."

Tanzanian Inflation

Tanzanian inflation accelerated to 19.8 percent in December, as energy and food costs increased.

Tanesco is revising its budget for 2012 to reflect a "non- cost-reflective" power tariff, and will postpone projects whose return on investment is long-term, Muhando said.

"We shall postpone some projects in rural electrification, and concentrate on those that bring returns in at most two years," he said.

In the event that the loan raised is less than the amount required, the utility expects to receive a government subsidy, Muhando said.

--Editors: Paul Richardson, Antony Sguazzin.

Davos 2012: Africa leaders urge co-operation on infrastructure, energy

2012-01-26T10:06:00.001-08:00

26 January 2012

Davos 2012: Africa leaders urge co-operation

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16740064

Some of Africa's leaders have urged closer co-operation within the
continent on energy and infrastructure projects to help its growth
prospects.

Speaking at Davos, South Africa's President Jacob Zuma urged massive
investment in infrastructure to promote trade within Africa.

Guinea's President Alpha Conde said there should be pan-African
ministers for energy, infrastructure and trade.

He said he hoped the new ministries could be agreed by the African
Union.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi agreed on the need for closer co-
operation on infrastructure projects and said the planning and
coordination body of the African Union, Nepad, was already working on
this.

But he urged caution, warning it would and should be a long process.

"It took 50 years for the Europeans to come up with a single currency
and it appears they went too fast for some of its members," Mr Zenawi
said.

The leaders were taking part in a session called Africa: From
Transition to Transformation, at the annual gathering of economic,
business and political leaders at the ski resort of Davos in
Switzerland.

Mr Zuma said infrastructure was at the heart of one of the key issues
for the continent, namely how Africa leads itself.

"Africans must trade amongst themselves," he said.

"Intra-Africa trade is negligible," Kenya's Prime Minister Raila
Odinga pointed out. "Europe trades more with itself that with the rest
of the world."

The chair of the session, the former UK prime minister Gordon Brown,
said the continent needed billions of dollars of investment in
infrastructure, but red tape and cross-border problems were getting in
the way.

Mr Zuma said those issues, or bottlenecks, were being addressed.

"How we open up borders for the free flow of people, or workers, as
well as goods - that is being discussed as well as infrastructure," he
said.

'New Africa'
Speaking at his first visit to the World Economic Forum, Guinea's Mr
Conde, who described himself as the country's first democratic
president after ten years of dictatorship, said: "If we want to move
ahead we have to help ourselves. If we do that we can agree on
producing our own energy, breaking down barriers to trade.

"The African leaders have to change our attitudes... not have money in
banks abroad... to develop our own resources for our own people."

"We have alot of faults, we are a bit selfish, fight for power rather
than our people.

"I am here to show there is a new Africa... that we can be the
continent of the 21st century."

For some of the leaders, the Indian economy, which developed rapidly
thanks to developing its manufacturing sector, was a model African
countries could follow.

"We are where India was in the early Nineties, we have the same size
of population," said Ethiopia's Mr Zenawi. "That is our ambition,
based on the growth of the past few years. It is not an idle ambition."

He said although the Millennium Development Goals - on relieving
poverty and disease in the world's poorest nations - concentrated on
advances in primary education, that would not be enough to create the
skills necessary to transform economies.

"Africa is a natural destination for manufacturing," he said, adding
that he hoped companies who relocated to Asia for cheap, efficient
labour, would relocate to Africa, given the necessary investment in
education and infrastructure.

However tackling the problem of corruption was still a "major issue",
said Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.

"The first thing to fight against corruption is transparency," he
said, adding that his country was now publishing all mining contracts
as part of a new mining code.

"The best guarantee for an investor is transparency."
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Sharing benefits of large dams in West Africa

2012-01-24T14:00:00.000-08:00

A follow up article to the report Sharing the benefits of large dams in West Africa by IIED (published late last year), from China Dialogue:

Sharing the benefits of large dams
Jamie Skinner
January 17, 2012

http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/4729-Sharing-the-benefits-of-large-dams

It's been nearly 50 years since the Akossombo dam was built in Ghana in 1965, flooding the lands and homes of 80,000 people, creating the largest manmade lake in the world, and securing Ghana's electricity supply.

Since then, west African countries have built more than 150 large dams. Like Akossombo, many have stimulated national development while also bringing considerable environmental and social challenges. Some local grievances have even passed down through the generations, clogging up government offices and courts with complaints over the way ageing dams were built.

Large dam construction largely went out of fashion among major donors after 1990, as global concern grew over local impacts. But the past decade has seen the World Bank and other major multilateral banks renew their support for large dams in the face of increasing energy and food demand. Can these projects avoid repeating history?

As part of the Global Water Initiative (GWI), the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) set out to help communities and governments learn from past experience to improve dam planning, benefit sharing and resettlement practices in west Africa. Their findings, published in a study at the end of last year, show that large dams could bring greater benefits to local populations.

Currently, more than 60 large dams are being built, or are on the drawing board, across Africa, 39 in west Africa. The new dams face a very different economic and political climate from those built before 1990. The 1983 Sélingué dam in Mali was constructed under military dictatorship, for example, whereas region-wide decentralisation and democratisation surround the country's latest dam project, at Taoussa. Donors' policies have also evolved to give much more attention and funding to safeguard the environment and people.

Yet flawed planning can still cause tragedies, and donor-funded megaprojects like dams lack the financial flexibility to respond to unexpected social consequences. Lessons from past projects could radically improve the impacts of dams being planned now, which might start construction in five years and stand for another hundred. And while authorities sometimes resist addressing the legacies of dams built 20 years ago, many are more open to considering better ways forward.

Between 2008 and 2011, GWI and local researchers reviewed documents from west African dams and talked with people who had to move out of the dams' paths. Focusing on six large dams in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal, we asked about the effects of resettlement, the dams' perceived benefits and who profited from them. Could these benefits be shared more fairly and effectively to allow development for all, and give affected people a stake in the project throughout its lifetime?

National workshops, involving both government and local actors discussed the emerging stories and drew out lessons for national policy. One broad message was that governments and donors should put dams' local development objectives on an equal footing with national objectives. Large dams are built for nationwide goals such as supplying electricity or irrigation, and people living near dam sites have often been seen as mere obstacles – needing to be moved and then compensated for their losses.

Disputes over compensation and resettlement lands dragged out and sometimes turned violent. Claims from Akossombo are still being submitted to land tribunals, for instance, while in Bagré, Burkina Faso, local chiefs are trying to protect what they regard as their customary land, ejecting immigrants attracted to new jobs and markets around the dam.

Instead of bearing the costs of conflicts – in both money and lost development opportunities – governments could channel a portion of resources created by dams to displaced communities, ensuring local people gain directly from the projects.

For example, GWI is now helping authorities in Niger design a local development fund receiving 2% to 3% of hydropower revenues from a new dam. Over the dam's 100-year life, this fund can meet the changing needs of local people – such as additional schooling, investments in agriculture or better water supplies – and provide flexible support that reduces dependence on the government to resolve resettlement conflicts. Besides hydropower revenues, shared benefits might include access to irrigated land, a share of electricity, or a structured fishery.

The research shows another crucial step is to codify legal rights to the land, houses and other resources that dams redistribute. Local people affected by dams need their rights protected by written agreements to avoid accusations of broken promises, conflict within host, resettled and immigrant communities and litigation around compensation.

In many cases, such as at Sélingué, immigration has added pressure on resources, and the transition from customary resource tenure (rights to resources held through long local custom, rather than positive law) to modern legal rights has been complicated. Decades into a dam project, traditional chiefs who allocated land to immigrants or watched the government do so may come to believe their own groups were left behind in the resettlement process.

In oral cultures, colourful predictions by government speakers can also sow tensions. A resettled village head at Sélingué recalled, "We were told there would be so much rice that we'd be able to eat it and sell it to buy millet if we ever needed any." In reality, irrigated rice plots proved harder and more expensive to cultivate than rain-fed millet. To ensure that plans for land rights, compensation and benefit sharing are clear and binding, governments must put them in writing.

GWI's research has shown that better sharing of the benefits from dams is in everyone's interest – government, local communities, private sector and donors. Supporting local development alongside a dam's national goals is not costly or complicated, and prevents protracted disputes that drain government resources over the long term.

The GWI initiative is working with dam development authorities, civil society and local communities to build these lessons into dam plans in Guinea, Mali, and Niger. It also contributes to thinking by international river basin agencies and the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), on good practice for large water infrastructure in West Africa. And with the new wave of African dam building still gathering momentum, there is more need than ever for projects to learn from the past.

Jamie Skinner is a principal researcher at the IIED and co-author of the report, "Sharing the benefits of large dams in West Africa".

Download the full report here.

Homepage image by ZSM/ Wikipedia

--
Katy Yan
International Rivers | 国际河流
Office: 510.848.1155 x317
Skype: katyyan85
Follow us on Twitter, Weibo and Facebook

Save China's Rivers | Climate Change and Dams | Blog

**Good planets are hard to find -- please consider the environment before printing this email.**

Uganda: Donors Locked Out of Karuma Power Project

2012-01-23T11:14:00.001-08:00

http://allafrica.com/stories/201201231282.html

Uganda: Donors Locked Out of Karuma Power Project
Esther Nakkazi

22 January 2012

The battle between Uganda and Western donors over the 660MW Karuma
power station has escalated with a key lender now accusing the
Ministry of Energy of locking it out of the project as well as
refusing to accept free advisory services.

"Various development partners have made offers to support the
implementation of the Karuma Project, for instance through technical
advisers or financing for an international panel of experts for dam
safety.

Thus far, these offers have not been taken up," said Dr Jan Martin
Witte, senior project manager at KfW Entwicklungs bank.

KfW had offered to get an international firm to evaluate the tender
process but the government of Uganda refused.

Arguing that they want to avoid the kind of "environmental and
financial noise" that frustrated the first attempt at developing the
250MW Bujagali power station, which is coming on-stream 16 years late,
senior Ministry of Energy officials were unapologetic about their
stance, despite the risk that locking out alternative views could
result in grave design errors or a faulty procurement process.

The World Bank and Norway also wanted to support the project, but
government officials accuse them of failing Karuma One, the project
first proposed by Norwegian developer Norpak Power Ltd.

Norpak wanted to develop the site first but was allegedly frustrated
by the World Bank, which insisted that the project would only be
financed after Bujagali was complete. Norpak eventually abandoned the
project in 2008.

"Having learnt a lesson from Bujagali, we are not prepared to go
through that again," said Bukenya Matovu, head of communications at
the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

"They will not listen to anything that in their view will delay the
project. We have not been asked for any support. Everybody at the
ministry is keeping the information close to their chest, and I
understand this is due to the Bujagali experience. Nevertheless, we
would like to be engaged in the procurement process for the EPC
contractors," Dr Witte said.

Nine international firms, including four Chinese contractors, will put
in their bids at the end of this month for construction of the Karuma
hydropower dam.

KfW says it anticipates problems because Uganda has difficulties in
attracting private sector investors for large-scale durable investments.

The proposed site for Karuma, which is downstream of Lake Kyoga, is
the only remaining spot on which Uganda can build a dam along the Nile.

The Ministry of Finance has been putting aside $70 million annually
since 2007 and now has some $350 million to finance the initial phases
of the project.

The cost of the dam is not definite at this point, though, and could
rise past the initial estimate of $2.2 billion, depending on what the
geology throws up.

According to Henry Bidasala, assistant commissioner at the Ministry of
Energy, Uganda has contracted the India-based firm Energy Infratech as
project consultants to conduct feasibility studies and act as project
supervisors. The government is also recruiting a project manager. The
position has already been advertised.

Chinese equipment worry

The donors also caution that the four Chinese contractors bidding for
the construction contract may not be up to the job.

While acknowledging that there are many experienced and qualified
Chinese contractors who have successfully delivered projects in
Africa, they say there are exceptions: Electrical and electro-
mechanical equipment from China tends to be of lower quality than
equipment manufactured in Europe or the United States.

"The electrical and electro-mechanical equipment has a big impact on
the efficiency, durability and operation and maintenance costs of
hydropower plants," said Dr Witte.

However, Mr Bukenya said this was not an issue. "We are not even sure
that the Chinese will win the bid, but if they do I am sure they will
do their best to demonstrate their competencies.

Relevant Links
ï¿½ East Africa
ï¿½ Uganda
ï¿½ Energy
There is a cut-throat competition between the East and West with
campaigns to capture resources," he said.

The government of Uganda continues subsidising electricity to make it
affordable to the end users. Since 2005, the subsidies provided have
cost the government $200 million a year.

The National Planning Authority recommends that Uganda increase its
power generation capacity to 3,500 MW by 2015 to meet growing.
However, key projects are still far down the pipeline with Karuma
expected to have a procurement to delivery cycle as long as 10 years,
according to independent estimates.

Uganda has an installed capacity of 630MW but almost half of it is off
the national grid due to various factors including; non-payment of
power generators, and the reduced water level of Lake Victoria.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Next Uganda dam to take 10 yrs, cost $2.2bn

2012-01-20T09:49:00.001-08:00

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1310626/-/b1i27uz/-/

Karuma dam works to take at least 10yrs

By NELSON WESONGA

Posted Friday, January 20 2012 at 00:00

Electricity consumers will have to wait even longer for relief from
the power crisis since the 600MW Karuma dam project will take at least
10 years to complete, an energy expert from the United Kingdom has said.

The project estimated to cost $2.2b (about Shs6 trillion) will start
in May and according to the original government plan, should be
complete in five years, but Mr Neil Pinto, the chief executive officer
of Power Planning Associates Ltd, a UK firm contracted to work on the
project, Karuma would take a minimum of 10 years to complete.

ï¿½Bujagali is estimated to have cost $1b. My estimate is that Karuma
will cost $2.2b. There are several engineering challenges that are
going to be presented by Karuma such as long tunnels that shall have
to be built,ï¿½ he said.

Mr Pinto said unless government establishes new electricity plants by
2014, Ugandans would be in exactly the same position in two years that
they are presently in. He proposed that government builds heavy fuel
oil power station in the meantime because it can be done faster.

Mr Pinto was on Wednesday speaking in Kampala during a public dialogue
organised by the Makerere University Economic Policy Research Centre
brainstorm on energy sector reforms. Electricity demand is growing at
10 per cent annually whereas generation is growing at 4.7 per cent,
which has partly led to power shortage and subsequent load-shedding in
the country.

The chairperson of Parliamentï¿½s Committee on the National Economy, Mr
Stephen Mukitale, said government had ï¿½over-hypedï¿½ large
hydroelectricity projects at the expense of other energy sources. He
said Parliament is considering compelling citizens to use solar energy.

The proposal would require that before a residential plan is approved,
it should have solar panels. He said this was meant to save the little
power that is generated for other purposes.

While Energy Minister Irene Muloni said power subsidies had reached
ï¿½unsustainable levels, especially given the need to invest in new
generation capacity and increasing access to rural areas.ï¿½

nwesonga@ug.nationmedia.com
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

China urges hydropower developers to heed environment, must "put ecology first"

2012-01-19T15:14:00.001-08:00

China urges hydropower developers to heed environment
Reuters
BEIJING | Tue Jan 17, 2012 3:17am EST

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/17/china-hydropower-idUSL3E8CH2AC20120117

Jan 17 (Reuters) - China's hydropower developers must "put ecology
first" and pay strict attention to the impact of their projects on local
rivers and communities, the country's environment ministry said on
Tuesday, as the country embarks on another dam-building boom.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection said in a notice posted on its
website (www.mep.gov.cn) that projects should be planned
"comprehensively" and must pay attention to "economic and ecological
benefits, local and overall interests (as well as) immediate and
long-term interests."

It ordered developers to make sure that residents affected by hydropower
development are fully informed and given a role to play in the
decision-making process, and stressed that building dams in protected
zones remains prohibited.

The ministry's intervention comes in the wake of a controversial
decision to reduce the size of a protected nature reserve in southwest
China's Chongqing in order to allow the construction of the massive
30-billion yuan ($4.75 billion)Xiaonanhai hydropower plant on the
Yangtze River.

The size of the reserve was already reduced in 2005 to make way for the
Jinsha hydropower plant, currently being built by the Three Gorges
Project Corp.

"It is the last freshwater wildlife reserve on the Yangtze, but even
with the legal protection, it is still a strong possibility that it will
be dammed," said Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and
Environmental Affairs.

"That by itself demonstrates how far the dam builders like the Three
Gorges Project Corporation want to move forward."

China's hydropower building boom slowed considerably following the
completion of the controversial 185-metre Three Gorges Dam in 2005, with
regulators unwilling to approve new construction plans amid concerns
about environmental risks and massive relocation costs.

Regulators vetoed controversial plans to dam the Nu River and the Tiger
Leaping Gorge, two ecologically fragile zones in southwestern China's
Yunnan province.

Over the 2006-2010 period, around 50 gigawatts of hydropower capacity
went into operation out of a total 77 GW originally planned, according
to Zhang Boting, vice-secretary general of the China Hydropower Society.

A cabinet session last May chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, who has been
critical of hydropower development, also admitted the Three Gorges
project had caused serious social and environmental problems that needed
to be urgently addressed.

But with new nuclear reactor construction suspended as a result of last
year's disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan, analysts say big hydro
is back in favour as the government tries to meet a pledge to increase
the share of non-fossil fuel energy to at least 16 percent of the total
by 2020.

China's hydropower capacity stood at 230 gigawatts by the end of 2011,
22 percent of the total, and another 55 GW are now under construction,
according to figures issued by the National Energy Administration last week.

Zhang of the China Hydropower Society said 120 GW of new hydro capacity
was likely to be built over the 2011-2015 period. ($1 = 6.3165 yuan)
(Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Ken Wills)
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: china@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Announcement: www.worldbankpresident.org is back!

2012-01-19T09:10:00.001-08:00

Announcement from the Bretton Woods Project: www.worldbankpresident.org
is back!

With World Bank President Robert Zoellick's term up this year and
rumours circulating that he plans to step down from the post, the
website worldbankpresident.org has been redesigned and relaunched. The
blog is dedicated to tracking the selection of the next World Bank
President and serves as a space for debate over the Bank's anachronistic
and unfair selection process and how the Bank should be reformed.

With new members in the blogging team and masses of energy,
worldbankpresident.org will continue to provide the most active forum
for democratic debate about this deeply undemocratic institution, feed
journalists tips for stories, inspire activists to ramp up their
challenges, and embolden more officials to speak out.

Everyone is welcome to get in touch with the site editor on
contact@worldbankpresident.org
Also don't hesitate to get involved at
www.worldbankpresident.org/get-involved

Two articles on the Yangtze River: diversions and climate change impacts

2012-01-13T16:49:00.000-08:00

[Two articles on the Yangtze River, one on massive diversion project
known as the South-North Transfer project, and one from Nature on the
thawing permafrost at the mouth of the Yangtze and its implications for
river runoff.]

China to divert flows of its rivers
Moscow Time
12 January 2012
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/01/12/63753961.html

This year, China will spend over 10 billion U.S. dollars to divert the
flows of its rivers in the direction of the arid areas in its north.
This was announced by E Jingping, head of the South-to-North Water
Diversion Project commissioned by the State Council. It must be said in
the past few years that China has spent about 22 billion U.S. dollars on
this project, which has been compared to the Great Wall of China in
grandiosity.

Late Chairman Mao Zedong first put forward the idea of the river
diversion project in 1951. At the time, he said that there was ample
water in the south but little in the north. It would be helpful if the
south lent some water to the north. The Water Resources Ministry took
the Chinese leader's idea as a guideline for action and embarked on a
plan to implement it. However, some time later, the Chinese leaders
shifted priorities to other projects. As a result, the process dragged
on for years. Only in 2002, after years-long droughts, the plan was
adopted. It provided for the construction of canals running along
Western, Central and Eastern routes.

As the year 2010 approached, it became clear that the project was far
from completion. The Central route which will be completed in 2014,
while the Eastern route in 2013. The work on the Western route which
involves building massive dams and tunnels has not started yet.
South-East Asian countries flatly oppose the diversion of the water from
the River Mekong, whose headstreams are located in China. The reason the
project has been put on hold is the delay in resettling 330,000 people
who live along the Central route.

"Any plan that interferes with the nature is dangerous from
environmental point of view," says head of the Yabloko Party's Greens
faction Alexei Yablokov, a Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy
of Sciences. "These plans might be effective for some time but will
produce unfavourable consequences in 20-40 years. The government will in
fact have to spend much more cash than what the project will yield the
first few years after the implementation," Alexei Yablokov said.

The head of the "Greenpeace Russia's" energy programme Vladimir Chuprov,
on his part, recalled that there was a similar project in the Soviet
Union. It was designed to fill the Aral Sea and irrigate Central Asia by
diverting water from Siberian rivers. It was not implemented because the
country broke up.

"It's very unfortunate that dozens of billions of dollars are being
spent on outdated technology, and this doesn't make sense," says
Vladimir Chuprov. "New technology would make it possible to implement
this task at a lower cost. Israel does not build canals worth billions
of dollars but water is brought directly to its plants. The U.S. is
doing the same in Arizona. China should make use of new technologies
rather than needlessly waste huge sums of money," he added.

According to Vladimir Chuprov, blocking the River Amur to build a
hydropower station would also be dangerous. Because of China's usage of
water taken from the River Argun, the border tributary of the River
Amur, the water level in the Argun River basin has fallen sharply. As a
result, the Zabaikalsky district is drying up, and the Dauria reserve is
on the brink of an environmental disaster. The common usage of water
resources in border regions should be approved by an international
commission, says the ecologist.

China's Water Resources Ministry insists that at present, 700 million
people in the country drink polluted water, and this has triggered
unrest in rural areas. After the planned diversion of water, this
problem is expected to be solved. The scale of environmental damage that
could incur is well known but this is a question of survival for a lot
of people, says the Ministry.

Meanwhile, Chinese ecologists say that large projects of this kind are a
niche for corruption. They regret the fate of the River Yangtze, which,
according to their forecasts, will dry up in 30 years.

********

Thawing permafrost reduces river runoff
China's Yangtze River is receiving less water as climate warms.
By Jane Qiu
6 January 2012
http://www.nature.com/news/thawing-permafrost-reduces-river-runoff-1.9749

Chinese researchers have revealed that the amount of water entering the
Yangtze River near its source on the Tibetan plateau has fallen by 15%
over the past four decades, despite a 15% increase in glacial melt and
increased rainfall over the same period.

Wang Genxu, an ecologist at the Chengdu-based Institute of Mountain
Hazards and Environment, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS),
says that the findings came as a surprise. "It is in contrast to results
from the Arctic where global warming has generally caused increased
river discharge," he says.

The source of the Yangtze River, on the Tibetan plateau, has been taking
in less water despite melting glaciers and increased precipitation.

Wang and his collaborators at the Cold and Arid Regions Environment and
Engineering Research Institute (CAREERI) in Lanzhou, also part of the
CAS, have just completed a five-year project to document changes in
glaciers, snow and permafrost and to assess their impact on water
resources in western China.

Ding Yongjiang, CAREERI's deputy director, notes that by contrast, many
other river systems in western China have seen more water input as
glacial retreat and rainfall have increased with a warming climate. The
runoff into the Tarim River headwaters, for instance, has increased by
13% since 1961, mainly as a result of increased glacial melt, which has
risen by 26%. "But the Yangtze headwaters are an exception," says Ding.

So why is the Yangtze different?

Permafrost puzzle

The decrease in runoff into the Yangtze is accompanied by widespread
changes in permafrost, says Wang. Across the Tibetan plateau, 10% of the
permafrost has degraded in the past decade. The area of alpine wetland
and high-vegetation-cover alpine meadow has decreased by 37% and 16%,
respectively.
Related content

This prompted Wang and his colleagues to assess whether these changes
had affected the amount of water running off the land. At a research
station near Fenghuoshan Mountain in the northeast of the Tibetan
plateau, they studied how the runoff from permafrost into the Zuomaokong
River, a Yangtze tributary, is affected by air and soil temperatures,
the depth to which permafrost has thawed and the levels of vegetation cover.

The researchers found that the depth of the 'active' ground layer ï¿½ the
part that freezes and thaws every year ï¿½ is crucial for water passage.
Runoff increased if the thawing layer was less than 60 centimetres deep,
but decreased if the thaw went deeper. The reasons are unclear but the
researchers suspect that when more of the permafrost thaws, the
thickened active layer may act like a sponge, soaking up water that
would otherwise have run off into the river. Alternatively, more water
may leak deep into the ground, also reducing surface discharge.

The thickness of the active layer is dictated both by air temperature
and vegetation cover, especially during thawing seasons. The researchers
found that nearly twice as much heat gets into severely degraded
permafrost alpine meadow compared with healthy meadows. "So the soil is
easier to thaw and more difficult to freeze, thereby deepening the
active layer," says Wang.

Wetland degradation may be even a bigger killer of headwater discharge,
says Wang. Runoff from moderately degraded wetland was up to 40% less
than in healthy wetland.
Warm response

Wang stresses that it is still early days for this research into what is
a complicated issue, but says that "the hydrology of the Tibetan plateau
seems to be responding to a warming climate differently from the
Arctic". In central Alaska, for instance, permafrost degradation has
resulted in the expansion of wetlands, whereas on the Tibetan plateau,
it has caused the land to become drier and more prone to desertification.

Shemin Ge, a hydrogeologist at the University of Colorado in Boulder,
says that the work "highlights the complexity of permafrost hydrology
and the importance of permafrost as a headwater source".

Until recently, the role of permafrost in water resources was largely
neglected, with glaciers hogging the spotlight. "Glaciers are
spectacular and get a lot of attention, whereas permafrost is humble and
less visible," says Ge.

But permafrost constitutes up to a quarter of Earth's land surface. "It
could be just as important [as glaciers] in terms of water resources,
especially in places like the Tibetan plateau where you have a lot of it."

A better understanding of the various components of runoff processes
will help to develop permafrost hydrological models, says Wang. Such
models could then be combined with other parts of the water cycle, such
as atmospheric circulation, to predict changes in water resources.

"Being able to make accurate projections is crucial for informing
polices and mitigation measures," says Wang.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: china@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Ethiopia's 'grand dam' rouses citizens, dismays critics

2012-01-12T12:17:00.000-08:00

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2012/0112/Ethiopia-s-grand-dam-rouses-citizens-dismays-critics

Ethiopia's 'grand dam' rouses citizens, dismays critics
In April, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced plans to
build Africa's largest hydropower plant along Blue Nile river. The
project is popular, but lack of transparency is a concern.

By William Davison, Correspondent / January 12, 2012

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

In the western fringe of Ethiopia on the banks of the Blue Nile river,
the nation's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi thundered that the country
would overcome all obstacles to complete Africa's largest hydropower
plant.

"No matter how poor we are, in the Ethiopian traditions of resolve,
the Ethiopian people will pay any sacrifice," he said. "I have no
doubt they will, with one voice, say: 'Build the Dam!'"
The government portrays the dam as a 5,900-foot long, 475-foot high
beacon of progress that will banish the country's reputation for
famine and dependency. The $4.8 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance
Dam will lift the country out of poverty, the government argues, by
electrifying the country's industrialization and making Ethiopia a
regional power-hub - and all without a drop of the aid Ethiopia is
synonymous in the West for.

But critics worry that the country may have taken self-sufficiency and
ambition a bit too far in the way it pushed ahead with its largest-
ever project unilaterally and with little transparent planning.

Secrecy has shrouded the 5,250-megawatt plant, nearly 20 miles from
the Sudanese border. Although the site was identified in 1964, the
decision to go ahead with what had been known as Project X became
public less than a month before construction began on April 2.

Its unveiling shocked a host of interested parties.

At a launch in Addis Ababa, the Egyptian embassy's spokesman was
astonished to learn a reservoir more than twice the size of Singapore
would be created by a barrage Cairo had not been consulted on. Over
four-fifths of the water for the Nile, Egypt's lifeblood, comes from
Ethiopia's highlands, leading to historic tensions over usage.

Also uninformed was the Eastern Africa Power Pool, which was just
putting the finishing touches on a regional integration study that
leans heavily on exported Ethiopian hydropower. "We look forward to
getting more information so we can factor it into our master plan,ï¿½
Jasper Oduor, its Executive Secretary, said.

Similarly, the unilateral move was a blow to the Nile Basin
Initiative, which is supposed to establish cooperative management of
the river, and Norwegian consultants whose ongoing studies on a
potential cascade of Blue Nile dams were rendered obsolete by the
announcement.

The covert approach may have had the twin purposes of minimizing
foreign opposition to the scheme while maximizing the impact of its
announcement on Ethiopians - if so, it seems to be working.

Since Meles' speech, the public has been bombarded with
advertisements, posters, reports, and speeches about the dam, as the
state sells bonds to partially fund it. Most of a patriotic citizenry,
who consider Egypt's domination of the Nile an acute injustice,
approve of the scheme - even opposition politicians.

"We need this resource to lift people out of the abject poverty we
have been wallowing in for centuries,ï¿½ former member of parliament
Temesgen Zewdie says. ï¿½Thereï¿½s no question itï¿½s an idea the Ethiopian
people support.ï¿½

The popular cause combined with the ruling party's extensive influence
- around 1 in every 17 Ethiopians is a member - has made for a highly-
effective fundraising campaign. Often following a collective decision
at staff meetings, public and private sector workers have bought
bonds, taking the total raised to 7 billion Ethiopian birr ($408
million) in September, according to Bereket Simon, a longstanding ally
of Meles and co-head of a GERD Public Mobilization Council.

Some, such as former president and leading opponent of the government
Negasso Gidada, say the hype and pressure of the campaign makes it
very difficult for people to opt out. However, the attitude of a lady
selling a handful of vegetables on the streets of one of Addis Ababa's
most dilapidated districts is typical: "I would give more money if
could afford to." So far, she has donated 30 birr (equivalent to $1.73).

The populist approach may alarm Western liberals, but unity in pursuit
of national goals is key to Meles' "developmental state."

The bond-buying will also foster a savings culture, Bereket hopes. At
less than 10 percent of gross domestic product, national savings are
under half the rate that funded the investment of much-admired Asian
tigers.

So far, no friction with the two downstream nations, Sudan and Egypt,
has resulted. A joint committee between the three countries has been
set up to study the dam, which Ethiopia insists will benefit all by
generating electricity for the region and reducing evaporation due to
its deep, elevated reservoir. Indeed, such are the mutual gains,
Sudan and Egypt should rightfully cover half the costs of the project,
Meles believes. Despite the cordiality, given the political
instability in Khartoum and Cairo, relations could rapidly deteriorate.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam also has its detractors and dangers.

The Economist claims a flaw is that export deals have not been struck.
However, links with Djibouti, Sudan, and Kenya are complete or
underway, and the dam's scheduled 2017 completion date gives the power
pool time to advance regional integration.

Also of concern is whether the government will conduct thorough
technical studies and environment and social impact assessments.
Institutions like the World Bank require them. But government
supporters consider these types of activities unacceptable conditions
imposed by a hypocritical, carbon-emitting West - not responsible due
diligence. Unconditional Chinese funds are much-preferred.

Although the desire to be unshackled is admirable, the impatience
could be costly. At the GERD site buzzing with construction activity
in late June - 3 months into the project - an Italian engineer
explained his team were surveying the rock edifices the dam will bind
to. Yes, it was possible they would be found unsuitable, he casually
admitted.

For International Rivers, which works "to stop destructive dams," the
project is following worst international practice. "No-bid contract,
an air of secrecy, and repression of debate. Such a flawed planning
process could doom the project from the start," says its Africa
campaigner Lori Pottinger.

There's also concern about how the country will pay for the dam given
it will cost around 70 percent of this year's government budget.
Optimists such as Ernst and Young's Zemedeneh Negatu say continued
double-digit economic growth will make it affordable. Private banks,
which have been forced to lend to the government for development
projects, will be an important source of funds.

But the former World Bank country director Ken Ohashi says a need for
foreign loans to finance Ethiopia's ambitious infrastructure projects
could lead to debt problems. To the guffaws of a parliament containing
one opposition member, Meles dismissed the concerns as the parting
shot of a disgruntled neo-liberal.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Rivers must flow: The case against big dams

2012-01-12T12:03:00.000-08:00

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/01/2012199452986826.html

Rivers must flow: The case against big dams
Large dams threaten the planet's riverine lifelines and action must be
taken soon.

10 Jan 2012

By Lori Pottinger

Berkeley, CA - Rivers act as the planet's circulatory system. Like our
body's circulation system, the planetary one doesn't work very well
when it's clogged. If a river's flow is its heartbeat, then we humans
are the heart disease. We've blocked most major rivers with dams, bled
them dry with water diversions, and given up all too many once-great
rivers for dead once we've used them up.

More than 50,000 large dams now choke about two-thirds of the world's
largest rivers. The consequences of this massive engineering programme
have been devastating. Large dams have wiped out species; flooded huge
areas of wetlands, forests and farmlands; displaced tens of millions
of people, and affected close to half a billion people living
downstream.

Large dams hold back not just water, but silt and nutrients that
replenish farmlands and build protective wetlands and beaches. Dams
change the very riverness of our waterways, in ways we can't always
see, but that the earth can certainly feel.
US dam removed to check salmon decline

Of all the complex and interconnected environmental disruptions that
dams inflict on the landscape, the most obvious is the permanent
inundation of forests, wetlands and wildlife. Reservoirs have flooded
vast areas - at last count, the world's dams had flooded an area
bigger than the United Kingdom.

Equally important is the quality of these lost lands: river and
floodplain habitats are some of the world's most diverse ecosystems.
Plants and animals that are closely adapted to valley habitats often
cannot survive along the edge of a reservoir.

Dams also are usually built in remote areas that are the last refuge
for species displaced by development elsewhere. In large measure due
to dams, freshwater ecosystems are losing species and habitats faster
than any other type of ecosystem.

Large dams also fragment the riverine ecosystem, isolating populations
of species living up and downstream of the dam and cutting off
migrations and other movements. Because almost all dams reduce normal
flooding, they also fragment ecosystems by isolating the river from
its floodplain. The elimination of the benefits provided by natural
flooding may be the single most ecologically damaging impact of a dam.

Rivers that capture carbon

A newly significant environmental impact of dams is how they might
eliminate a source of carbon capture in some watersheds. Scientists
have discovered that major rivers play a surprisingly large role in
helping tropical oceans absorb carbon.

The vast flow of major river basins delivers phosphorus, iron and
other nutrients far offshore, where it is consumed by certain forms of
sea life such as phytoplankton. These microorganisms "fix" carbon by
taking it out of the atmosphere. The organisms eventually sink, taking
carbon with them to the deep seafloor. Dams could change the delicate
workings of this ecosystem service by holding back the river-borne
sediment that feeds this cycle.

At least two major river basins slated for damming - the Amazon and
the Congo - are important planetary sources of nutrient flows. A 2009
study of Africa's biggest proposed hydropower project, the Grand Inga
Complex on the Congo, says that "plans to divert, store or otherwise
intervene in Lower Congo River dynamics are truly alarming" and
"ignore the river's significant influence on the equatorial Atlantic,
which, in turn, is central to many climate change models".

Scientists predict that damming the Amazon, the Congo, the Mekong and
other high flow rivers in warm ocean areas could reduce their ability
to mitigate climate change. Research on other rivers' carbon-sink
capacity is underway.

What can be done?

"Free-flowing rivers are now such a rarity that they would be
classified as an endangered species if they were considered living
things rather than merely the support systems for all living things."

- Lori Pottinger

Over time, all of the efforts to engineer dynamic, powerful and
unpredictable rivers will inevitably fail, and the river will have a
chance to restore itself. As renowned river explorer Richard Bangs
wrote in his book River Gods, "Wild rivers are earth's renegades,
defying gravity, dancing to their own tunes, resisting the authority
of humans, always chipping away, and eventually always winning." We
all win when rivers are allowed to flow freely.

But we can't just wait for rivers to chip away at the dams that clog
them. First, we need to protect remaining free-flowing rivers while we
still have some to protect. A growing movement of citizen activists in
countries where damming is on the rise is working to get governments
to pass laws that would protect free-flowing rivers. A number of
countries have devised legislative tools that are useful models for
such efforts; the US Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is just one effective
model.

Where entire rivers cannot be protected, we must prioritise the
protection of areas of great ecological integrity. This "landscape
approach" requires that a network of regional-scale ecosystems be
protected; that sufficient levels of each ecosystem are included to
make protected areas ecologically viable and to maintain the integrity
of populations, species and communities, and that the protected areas
encompass variability of habitat within ecosystems.

The biggest challenge is not the science of evaluating what to save,
but generating the political will needed to maintain the protections.

When rivers are dammed, we must insist on naturalistic flows to
support the basic ecosystem functions of dammed rivers. So-called
"environmental flows" are planned releases intended to support the
basic ecosystem functions of dammed rivers. Such systems can be
complex to devise and maintain, and many dams around the world
currently lack the mechanisms needed to control water discharge.
Therefore, as with medicine, the best approach is to "first, do no
harm" - no dams unless there are no better options (and there almost
always are).

But once a dam is inevitable, it is imperative that the river be
maintained with as natural a flow as possible. As water expert Sandra
Postel has written, "an ethic of stewardship toward fresh water and
its dependent species requires that we err on the side of allocating
too much water to ecosystems rather than too little."

And finally, we must remove the worst dams to restore flows that
support habitats, fisheries and other natural services lost to poorly
planned dams. A growing movement to remove dams and restore rivers in
the United States is a global inspiration. American Rivers estimates
that more than 925 dams have been removed over the past 100 years in
the US.

We must also undertake a greater study of the world's river-dependent
biodiversity, much of which still remains unknown to us. As Pulitzer-
prize-winning biologist EO Wilson has said:

In reality, we don't know 90 per cent of what we're losing,
because we've only discovered about ten per cent of the planet's
species. When we're trying to stabilise the environment - trying to
stop ecosystems from collapsing in the face of global warming or big
dams or whatever - we really need to know what's in each of these
habitats. We need then to move ecology way ahead of where it is today,
really make it a much bigger priority.

Chileans mobilise against proposed dam

Because most new dams are being built in the global south, we must
move more quickly to help the developing world adopt clean energy and
water supply systems that preserve riverine lifelines. Large dams are
an ineffective approach for solving the water and energy needs of the
poor majority. Small projects take less time to build, are more easily
phased, and are more adaptable to a changing climate.

Breakthroughs in clean energy technologies and water-efficiency
methods are not only better suited to strengthen energy and water
access for the poor, they will also strengthen our resilience to
climate change. They do, however, require greater investment in
research, development and deployment.

The world's wealthiest countries should assist the world's poorest in
developing a cleaner, more efficient energy path and water-secure
future rather than in destructive mega-projects that repeat the
mistakes of the past.

The final piece of the puzzle is personal. Protecting our rivers now
is the health insurance policy we all need for a climate-challenged
future. Finding ways to become an advocate for a river near you in
2012 would be a good way to celebrate the new year.

Lori Pottinger has worked for the California-based International
Rivers for 17 years. She works on African river issues, and is the
editor of the group's magazine, World Rivers Review.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not
necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.
Source:
Al Jazeera
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

China vows backing for firms investing abroad

2012-01-11T17:37:00.000-08:00

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/china/2012-01/06/content_14390224.htm

China vows backing for firms investing abroad
Updated: 2012-01-06
By Hu Yinan and Zhang Yunbi (China Daily)

The suspension of a $3.6 billion joint hydropower project in Myanmar in
September has sent alarming signals to Chinese companies investing in
emerging markets, said Luo Zhaohui, director-general of the Asia
Department of the Foreign Ministry.

Beijing will boost political diplomatic backing for its companies
overseas, particularly in Asia, the most preferred and concentrated
destination of Chinese investment, Luo said during an online interview
on Thursday.

By the end of 2010, 71.9 percent of China's foreign direct investment,
which totaled $300 billion, was based in Asia, official figures showed.

"As the scope of these companies broadens, the risks and challenges they
face, such as shifts in political affairs, disruption by external
factors and a lack of experience in operating internationally, are
rising as well," said Luo, a former ambassador to Pakistan.

Thursday's interview, the first in a series with a dozen senior Chinese
diplomats, was co-hosted by websites of People's Daily, China Daily,
China News Service and the Foreign Ministry.

Myanmar President Thein Sein's sudden suspension of the Myitsone
hydropower plant, a project both sides agreed upon in 2006, on Sept 30,
came as a surprise to many. The country's foreign minister and
vice-president paid consecutive visits to China to hold consultations in
the wake of the incident.

The two countries are still in the process of properly resolving the
issue, Luo said, adding that China supports reconciliation efforts by
the Myanmar government and is willing to see its relations improve with
Western countries.

Yang Baoyun, a professor of Asian studies at Peking University, said
State-owned companies should "be more cautious" in investing overseas.

"The overseas operation of large State-owned enterprises serves as a
component of public diplomacy," he said. State-owned China Power
Investment is Myitsone's largest investor.

At the diplomatic level, Luo said Beijing is calling on relevant
countries to ease sanctions against Myanmar to facilitate the stability
and development of the country.

William Hague on Thursday became the first UK foreign secretary to visit
Myanmar since 1955. His visit came three months before the European
Union is scheduled to hold its annual sanctions review, and followed an
unprecedented visit to Myanmar by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
in early December.

US billionaire investor George Soros recently wrapped up a weeklong trip
to Myanmar, during which he met President Thein Sein and Aung San Suu
Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy.

In Beijing, Luo said the US' increasing strategic input in the
Asia-Pacific is testament to the vitality, potential and growing
significance of the region.

China is "fully capable of well managing its surroundings", he said.

Dismissing concerns of potential clashes as Washington's interests in
Asia come to intersect with those of Beijing, Luo said Sino-US
cooperation in the Asia-Pacific is the common aspiration of all
countries in the region.

China respects the legitimate interests of the United States in the
Asia-Pacific, welcomes the US to play a constructive role in regional
affairs and urges it to "respect Asian characteristics, respect the
Asian model and respect the interests of relevant parties", Luo said.

Beijing will be neither provocative nor afraid of tackling issues, he added.

"We're clear on where the bottom line of our interests is," said Luo.

He added: "We disagree with the concept of zero-sum games, and are not
of the view that a rising nation will necessarily collide with an
existing power. China is on the path of peaceful development, a path
that we chose ourselves."

Shi Yinhong, a researcher at the China Institute of International
Studies, said this reflects what President Hu Jintao told his US
counterpart Barack Obama in November - that he hopes Washington, too,
can respect China's legitimate interests in the Asia-Pacific.

China Daily
________________________________________________

This is International Rivers' mailing list on China's global footprint, and particularly Chinese investment in
international dam projects.

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: chinaglobal@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Rivers must flow: The case against big dams/Al Jazeera

2012-01-10T17:09:00.001-08:00

Rivers must flow: The case against big dams
Large dams threaten the planet's riverine lifelines and action must be
taken soon.

Rivers act as the planet's circulatory system. Like our body's
circulation system, the planetary one doesn't work very well when it's
clogged. If a river's flow is its heartbeat, then we humans are the
heart disease. We've blocked most major rivers with dams, bled them
dry with water diversions, and given up all too many once-great rivers
for dead once we've used them up.

Free-flowing rivers are now such a rarity that they would be
classified as an endangered species if they were considered living
things rather than merely the support systems for all living things.
We can take small comfort from the fact that rivers have a natural
ability to self-heal ï¿½ but we can't just wait for rivers to chip away
at the dams that clog them. First, we need to protect remaining free-
flowing rivers while we still have some to protect.

(Learn more about what we must do to protect rivers, and why. Read the
full article on Al Jazeera:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/01/2012199452986826.html)
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: dams@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Uganda ignores donor concerns on Karuma

2012-01-09T12:37:00.001-08:00

(The GoU is apparently claiming this new dam on the Nile could produce
more energy than some donors believe is possible. The new Bujagali Dam
was also "oversold"--as a 250MW project, when in reality it is
expected to produce much less... see for example http://allafrica.com/stories/201111030117.html)
-----------------------------------------------------------

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Uganda+ignores+donor+concerns+on+Karuma+/-/2558/1301908/-/item/1/-/157407l/-/index.html

Uganda ignores donor concerns on Karuma

By ESTHER NAKKAZI

Posted Sunday, January 8 2012 at 14:21

East-West rivalry is emerging as a possible factor in the controversy
surrounding the sizing of Ugandaï¿½s 660MW Karuma power project, which
Western donors want built at a much lower rating of 450MW.

Speaking off the record about a debate that has seen donors argue that
the power project is oversized relative to the available stream and
the excess capacity is a wastage of scarce resources, Ugandan
officials now suspect Western opposition to the project could be
motivated by the role Chinese finance and civil contractors are likely
to play in the project.

Ignoring donors who argue that the proposed capacity will be available
only partially during the year, Uganda will this month proceed to
receive bids for the power station, which it urgently needs to bridge
a rapidly growing energy gap.

Uganda is apparently sticking to its guns because ï¿½ in a departure
from previous power projects, where it has had to deal with donors
from project design to financing, ï¿½ the country will go it alone this
time, building the power station from its own resources and financing
from friendlier partners.

The turnkey project will be funded by the government while Scandinavia
is the preferred technology source.

With only 9 per cent of its population connected to the power grid,
Uganda still has an official supply gap of 130MW. With demand
increasing by 40MW annually and the economy expected to grow at an
average of 5.5 per cent over the next five years, experts say power
supply will still be chasing demand even if the new power station were
to deliver to its design specification.

Consumers now have to endure 12 hours of power rationing at a time as
contracts for thermal generation tail off in anticipation of the 250MW
power station, which is running a year behind schedule.
Now a permanent feature of Ugandaï¿½s energy mix, accounting for up to
30 per cent of available energy, thermal electricity has seen the
domestic tariff rise to Ush426 ($0.21).

Given the initial investment cost for new power projects as well as
the proposed removal of a government subsidy that would see the
consumer tariff double, new hydro capacity is not expected to bring
about a reduction of tariffs in the short to mid-term.

Ministry of Energy officials said the controversial 660MW installed
capacity is at optimum usage. However, they conceded that the 700MW
initially proposed was not sustainable in the long run, but insisted
the 400-450MW that the donor community proposed is not supported from
a technical point of view.

Echoing his permanent secretary, who in an earlier interview told this
newspaper that donor concerns were not informed by feasibility
studies, Henry Bidasala, Assistant Commissioner of the Electrical
Power Division in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development,
commented: ï¿½We had a presentation by the contractor who did the
feasibility study and the energy donor technical team in attendance
asked all the questions they wanted and seemed okay with it.ï¿½

Energy Infratech Pvt Ltd of India carried out the feasibility study
and environmental impact assessment in 2010.

Energy Permanent Secretary Fred Kabagambe Kaliisa had earlier argued
that even if 450 or 500MW were the target generation output, it made
sense to factor in redundancy to assure constant supply at those times
when some units have to be shut down for maintenance.

National Planning Authority officials said Uganda needs to increase
its power generation capacity to 3,500 MW by 2015 as the country
experiences a steadily rising population and economic expansion.
According to the Electricity Regulatory Authority, demand has been
growing by nine per cent per annum since 2009. This translates into an
increase of 40MW per annum.

An independent source said whatever decisions the technocrats were
making in respect of Karuma were feasible and the donor community are
only crying foul because of the possible participation of China and
its rising profile in other projects in Africa.

The donors, led by key financier KfW, at one time said they would
engage a new firm to do an independent feasibility study, but have yet
to do so.

The source said without a new feasibility study, the donors are still
referring to the Norwegian consortium Norpak Power Ltd study that had
developed a ï¿½conservative designï¿½ in the mid-1990s, informed by the
notion that there was low demand for electricity in Uganda.

Keith Muhakanizi, Deputy Secretary to the Treasury, said the projected
cost would be lower than the initial estimates of $2.2 billion because
of a ï¿½new approach.ï¿½

Initial design proposals suggest a dam with a headrace, tailrace and
an underground facility housing 6 turbines each with nominal rating of
100MW and a spinning reserve of 10 MW.

It will be located about 3km upstream of Karuma Bridge and 80km
downstream of Lake Kyoga on the River Nile.

Construction of the project will be supervised and managed by the
Uganda Electricity Generation Company, the government nominee and
licensee of the project.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Egypt’s enemy or a blessing in disguise?

2012-01-05T11:40:00.001-08:00

(Note that those who see the giant dam as a way to induce cooperation
over the Nile are ignoring the fact that the giant dam will do more
than just regulate water flow--it will also change flood patterns, the
chemistry of the river, reduce silts, etc.--all of which are as
serious to the longterm health of the river as the changes in water
flow.)

http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/585731

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Egyptï¿½s enemy or a blessing in
disguise?

Steven Viney

Thu, 05/01/2012 - 10:59

Preliminary construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GRD)
began in April 2011 on the Blue Nile River near the Sudanese border.
Scheduled for completion in 2014, it is planned to be the biggest
hydropower dam in Africa, with more than twice the generating capacity
of the Aswan High Dam. But long before the completion date, the
project is already generating significant concern amongst the nine
other countries that share the Nile, especially Egypt.
Over the past century many treaties have been signed in an attempt to
assure each riparian country a right to Nile water, with Egypt
generally receiving the lionï¿½s share. But sub-Saharan African
counties have long argued that the old treaties deny their modern
right to livelihood, and after a decade of political to-and-fro
between these countries and Egypt, the GRD is now underway.

Most recently, the Egyptian government protested that no quantitative
studies have been conducted with regard to the damï¿½s effects, a
complaint that resulted in a trilateral ministerial meeting being held
in November between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan. During this meeting,
it was announced that an independent technical committee of experts
from each country would be formed in six months time to produce such a
study.

But at the same meeting, Alemayehu Tegenu, the Ethiopian minister of
water and energy, declared that regardless of the studyï¿½s outcome, the
construction of the dam will continue unabated due to high confidence
that the GRD will ultimately benefit all parties.

Adel Darwish, a British journalist and historian who co-wrote the 1994
book ï¿½Water Wars: Coming Conflicts in the Middle East,ï¿½ told Egypt
Independent that Egypt never should have ruled out the option of
military intervention, because the stakes are so high for the
countryï¿½s livelihood.

While Egypt Waits

Various experts have recently shared with Egypt Independent their own
input on the potential pros and cons of the GRD.

Sherine al-Baradei, an AUC professor in the department of construction
and architectural engineering with a focus on hydraulics, points out a
number of major issues with the dam.

ï¿½Obviously, dams provide both good and bad effects,ï¿½ she says. ï¿½But
with Egypt being so dependent on the Nile, serious agreements must be
made to ensure that the bad effects are minimized, and in advance.ï¿½

According to Baradei, hydropower dams create immense turbulence in the
water, where chemical reactions such as dissolved oxygen can destroy
fauna and flora. While the water will return to its normal state
before reaching Egypt, the damage to these populations will be
permanent. In addition, many nutrients and silt, which are essential
for agriculture, will be retained in the large dam.

ï¿½When the Aswan High Dam was built, farmers, fisheries and many others
were seriously affected for decades by the lowering of nutrients,
silt, flora and fauna in the water,ï¿½ she says.

Baradei explains that these levels will certainly drop further with
the GRD, not to mention many other unforeseen problems that will
likely occur.

Perhaps the most significant concern is that Egypt may no longer
receive its appropriate share of water. But according to Baradei,
issues of water regulation can be solved through negotiations with
Ethiopia, whereas there is no solution for the loss of flora and fauna.

The Nile Basin Core Group (NBCG), a team of Nile specialists, has a
more positive analysis of the situation. In their view, the GRD is an
opportunity to create strong ties between Egypt and sub-Saharan
countries, and there may also be many positive effects of the dam.

ï¿½The right question is not what the effects of the GRD will be, but
how the Nile basinï¿½s water can be used to integrate all riparian
countries in a stable and efficient way,ï¿½ says Mohamed al-Mongy, an
environmental development specialist from the NBCG. ï¿½Instead of
looking North, East and West for our solutions, we need to begin
looking South, where the source of our livelihood lies.ï¿½

One of Mongyï¿½s colleagues at NBCG, Haytham Awad, a hydrologist from
the University of Alexandria, has conducted research that indicates
the GRD may actually increase water flow to Egypt.

Awadï¿½s research shows that during the flood season in late August and
early September, the majority of Egyptï¿½s water arrives in Lake Nasser,
where it is stored for approximately ten months until peak agriculture
season in July the following year. During this period, approximately
twelve percent of the stored water evaporates.

However, with the water being stored in the GRD, where there will be
less evaporation and that will help conserve water.

Another finding is that the GRD is expected to produce power surpluses
which, assuming cooperation, could be exported to Egypt, leading to
strengthened ties between the two countries.

ï¿½Collaboration is key,ï¿½ says Lama El Hatow, a member of the NBCG doing
her PhD research on water governance of the Nile basin. ï¿½When we
negotiate with the riparian states, it is vital that we understand all
the facts and science holistically.

ï¿½Good science should lead to the right political negotiations, as
opposed to jumping to haphazard conclusions based on partial
understandings that may lead to Egyptï¿½s own detriment,ï¿½ she concludes.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Justice delayed 30 years in Guatemala [Al-Jazeera, 04.01.12]

2012-01-05T08:26:00.001-08:00

Justice delayed 30 years in Guatemala

Over 440 men, women and children were massacred to make way for the Chixoy Dam - a World Bank and IADB project.
Al-Jazeera

Last Modified: 04 Jan 2012 12:38

Springfield, Massachusetts - On the morning of March 13, 1982, 10-year-old orphan Jesus Tecu Osorio woke up in his rural Maya Achi village of Rio Negro, Guatemala, with the crushing burden of satisfying the most basic needs of survival for himself and his siblings. A month earlier, his parents, along with 70 other Rio Negro villagers, were killed by Guatemalan soldiers and civil defence patrollers from the neighbouring village of Xococ.

By the end of that harrowing day, Jesus had witnessed the brutal slaughter of 177 women and children. Jesus was "spared" to serve as a conscripted servant for one of the paramilitary members who massacred his community, including his two-year-old brother who was yanked from his arms, garroted and smashed into rocks as Jesus watched in horror.

In 1982, over 440 men, women and children from Rio Negro were killed, in large part to make way for the Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam, a project of the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).

The Rio Negro massacres were among hundreds committed during Guatemala's internal conflict, in which the majority of over 200,000 Guatemalans killed or disappeared by the military regimes were unarmed indigenous Mayan civilians. The United Nations-sponsored Truth Commission concluded that in certain Mayan regions, including the Chixoy Dam area, the Guatemalan government committed genocide.

The Rio Negro massacres were emblematic of the forces that left Guatemalan civilians at the mercy of their entrenched oligarchy and powerful military (which received training in ruthless counter-insurgency techniques at the US Army School of the Americas), and a range of external actors, including wealthy nation governments, multinational corporations and international financial institutions.

Resistance is futile

The World Bank and IADB are constituted as development institutions that invest in projects to aid economic growth in the global south. From 1975-1985, the World Bank and the IADB loaned US $292m to successive Western-backed military regimes in Guatemala to finance the Chixoy Dam. Consistent with their operational protocols, the World Bank and IADB assigned full-time staff to provide constant project management and oversight.

The US possesses the highest percentage of World Bank voting shares, over 16 per cent, which combined with the shares held by Western Europe and Japan (which routinely vote with the US) comprises a majority of votes. Given this allocation of power, the World Bank's policies often reflect the economic priorities of the wealthier donor governments and not necessarily those favoured by the poor recipient communities in which the projects are based.

Among the 32 communities along the river slated for forced resettlement, the village of Rio Negro opposed the plan most vigorously, a principled resistance for which they paid an unconscionable price. Impatient with unsuccessful efforts to threaten and intimidate the villagers into involuntary departure, the regime settled on a brutally effective relocation strategy - emptying the community through the systematic massacre of its inhabitants.

By 1977, Amnesty International was reporting on systemic human rights abuses in Guatemala. The United Nations, Organisation of American States and numerous non-governmental organisations subsequently documented that the state was committing atrocities associated with the Chixoy Dam, well prior to its completion.

Despite credible evidence of egregious human rights abuses, the banks continued their unconditional support for the project. The World Bank made its final investment in the project in 1985, long after the massacres silenced the village of Rio Negro. At best, the banks were willfully and intentionally blind to state repression before, during and after the project; at worst, they were complicit in these atrocities.

Justice for Jesus?

The 30-year anniversary of the Rio Negro massacre approaches, yet there has been no justice for the victims and survivors of these atrocities: no reparations for the destruction of communities, nor for the loss of cultural artifacts, homes, property and livelihoods. While justice is elusive for the victims, impunity prevails for those who perpetrated these wrongs.

Today, the Chixoy Dam-harmed communities, both down and up-river from the dam wall, are worse off than before the project. Communities dispersed by the dam construction subsist in varying conditions of poverty, violence and impunity that result directly and indirectly from the forced evictions, loss of ancestral lands and riparian way of life, separation from longstanding community support and inadequate access to water caused by the Chixoy Dam project. Environmental damage continues unchecked.

After decades of struggling for justice, advocates filed a petition seeking just and fair reparations for the people of Rio Negro in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The petition was summarily denied, and has been recently appealed. The international community's moral outrage about the role of international financial actors in the Rio Negro massacre and the demand for justice are long overdue.

In response to significant criticism for the deleterious environmental and social impacts of major hydroelectric dam construction during the 1990s, including atrocities associated with the Chixoy Dam, the World Bank began backing away from funding these projects. Recently however, the World Bank has announced a new policy to increase its commitment to financing hydroelectric projects.

Despite the history of human rights abuses and poorly administered forcible displacements associated with its various hydroelectric projects, the World Bank has argued that its Articles of Agreement, which predated various human rights instruments, does not require consideration of human rights in its funding decisions.

The World Bank is currently undergoing a safeguard policy review process. This process provides the bank an opportunity to adopt a rights-based approach to ensure that future projects comport with international law standards. Particular care must be taken while making decisions that affect tribal communities that continue to be threatened by hydroelectric projects, including those in Brazil, Peru, Guyana, Ethiopia and Malaysia. As required under international law, these projects must be accompanied by procedures that ensure the informed consent, participation and protection of dam-affected communities.

The World Bank must be held to account for the realisation of its core mission: the alleviation of poverty and sustainable development for marginalised communities. As a matter of justice, the World Bank and IADB must own up to their responsibility and provide their share of reparations to the communities that were irreparably harmed by the Chixoy Dam project, they were instrumental in funding. Prospectively, the banks must develop safeguards that ensure that all future projects comport with both their mission and with international human rights standards.

Jesus Tecu Osorio, and the children he is determined to raise near his once thriving ancestral community of Rio Negro deserve nothing less.

Lauren Carasik is a Clinical Professor of Law and the Director of the International Human Rights Clinic and the Legal services Clinic at Western New England University School of Law.

Grahame Russell is a human rights lawyer and co-director of Rights Action, a Canadian NGO engaged in community development, environment and human rights work throughout Central America.

The views expressed in this article are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/01/20121394150158844.html

Day of Action for Rivers 2012 Internship

2012-01-04T12:07:00.001-08:00

Dear all,

We are extending the deadline for applications to the Day of Action for Rivers Organizer internship. Please share with anyone you think may be interested. Thank you!

Sincerely,
Intern & Volunteer Coordinator
International Rivers

*******

Day of Action for Rivers Internship 2012

http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/jobs

International Day of Action for Rivers - March 14, 2012

International Rivers is looking for an intelligent, inspired and motivated multi-tasker to help organize the 15th Annual International Day of Action Against Dams and for Rivers, Water and Life. This rewarding internship will be offered from January 2012 to April 2012. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to communicate with river and human rights activists around the world, contribute to print and web publications, engage our social media network, and be an integral part of a dynamic Berkeley non-profit office environment. Compensation will include training and $10 per hour for 10-15 hours per week.

Learn more about the Day of Action for Rivers (internationalrivers.org/dayofaction) and then apply for the position by sending your resume, a cover letter detailing your interest in this project, and a short writing sample to internship@internationalrivers.org by January 31, using the subject line "Day of Action for Rivers 2012."

Statement regarding the National Nature Reserve of Rare and Endemic Fish in the Upper Yangtze River

2012-01-03T17:21:00.001-08:00

[Below is a statement from Professor Fan Xiao, a geology and
environmental scientist in China, which has been endorsed by a number of
Chinese groups including Friends of Nature and Green Earth Volunteers.]

The original text in Chinese can be found here:
http://www.greensos.cn/ContentPage.aspx?xh=97420
and here:
http://www.guojiheliu.org/a/rivernews/china/2012/0104/373.html?1325639555

On December 12, 2011, the State Council of the People's Republic of
China, through Decree [2011] No. 156, issued a notice that the State
Council supports the Ministry of Environmental Protection in adjusting
the range of the National Nature Reserve of Rare and Endemic Fish in the
Upper Yangtze River. At 16:26 on December 14, 2011, this notice was
promulgated on the website of The Central People's Government of the
People's Republic of China.

These modifications to the areal extent of the National Nature Reserve
of Rare and Endemic Fish in the Upper Yangtze River are intended to
eliminate the obstacles associated with the proposed Yangtze River's
Xiaonanhai Hydropower Station. The size of the protected area will
drastically shrink as a result. The dam will also sever the rare and
endemic fishes' only passage to their breeding grounds, critically
transforming the protected area's natural habitat and ecology. This
approval not only damages the entire structure and function of the
Reserve, but also seriously undermines conservation targets and goals.
Furthermore, it violates relevant rules stipulated by the People's
Republic of China's "Environmental Protection Law," "Wildlife Protection
Law," "Regulations on Nature Reserves," "Regulations on Amending the
Range and Function and Changing the Names of National Nature Reserves."

When deliberating on decisions for major issues or projects, the
government should prioritize the overall interests of society and
citizens as its key consideration. It should exercise justice, promote
harmony, and administer its public responsibilities in accordance with
the law, not succumb to its own or industries' short-term interests.
Doing so not only undermines the interests of society and future
generations, but also escalates progress for non-scientific and
non-rational development all the while exacerbating environmental
damages. In 2005, this Reserve's extent was already modified for the
downstream construction of the massive Jinsha Hydropower Station. The
Ministry of Environmental Protection firmly declared at the time that,
"It should be clarified both in revised planning and in construction
that no more hydropower project is to be developed in the trimmed nature
reserve."

However, this repeated approval to amend the size of the Reserve is
undoubtedly a major detriment to the supremacy of the law and
credibility of the government. It is also a serious deviation from the
government's commitment to uphold only scientifically-sound development
that concurrently accounts for environmental impacts. These changes mark
a new "milestone" - one that will devastate the Upper Yangtze's aquatic
organisms and ecosystems - and leave behind a shameful chapter in
China's social development and environmental protection.

We express our opposition to modifying the areal extent of the National
Nature Reserve of Rare and Endemic Fish in the Upper Yangtze River. We
express our opposition to constructing the Xiaonanhai Hydropower
Station. We call upon all who are concerned about the global environment
and sustainable development of human society to think about the Yangtze
River. Protect the Yangtze River!

Fan Xiao (Chinese Citizen, Geology and Environmental Scholar, Professor
and Senior Engineer)
December 16, 2011

(Unofficial translation: C. Ngo)
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: china@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

No Clear Studies on Impacts of Merowe Dam

2012-01-03T13:01:00.001-08:00

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106351

SUDAN
No Clear Studies on Impacts of Merowe Dam
By Reem Abbas

KHARTOUM, Jan 2, 2012 (IPS) - The multi-billion dollar Merowe Dam on
the Nile River more than doubled Sudan's electricity supply, but its
environmental impacts are still unknown to the public, and communities
whose villages were flooded have not yet received compensation.

The Merowe Dam, which was completed in 2010, will affect the aquatic
ecology of the Nile River in Sudan by blocking fish migration and
degrading water quality.

It will also cause at least eight percent of Sudan's annual share in
the Nile Water Agreement to evaporate and will produce carbon dioxide
and methane, two harmful greenhouse gases.

"Sudanese people are unaware of the devastating environmental impact
of the Merowe Dam," said Ali Askouri, a human rights activist and the
representative of the Hamdab Affected People, a group fighting for
compensation and accountability for the populations affected by the
dam, told IPS.

No detailed study of the Merowe Dam impact on downstream communities
has been published and Askouri is worried that when the effects become
clear, it will be too late to take action.

No compensation for displaced villagers
International Rivers estimates that at least 70,000 were displaced as
a result of the Merowe Dam. In November, some 1,000 people hailing
from the Manasir ethnic group, one of the groups displaced by the dam,
took matters into their own hands and travelled close to the capital
to hold a sit-in at Al Damar, the capital of River Nile State, about
300 km from Khartoum.

Dam activists and international rights organisations prompted the
European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) to look
into the case and investigate the human impacts of the dam.

"ECCHR started working on the case in 2009 after it was asked by other
organisations to consider the legal responsibilities of the companies
involved in building the dam," said Miriam Saage-Maasz, program
manager for business and human rights at ECCHR.

In May 2010, the ECCHR filed a complaint against the German company,
Lahmeyer International, at the department of public prosecution in
Frankfurt for human rights abuses due to the construction of the dam.

The criminal complaint charged two Lahmeyer employees for knowingly
flooding villages and causing displacement. The ECCHR states in their
report that Lahmeyer was aware of the 2008 flooding caused by the dam
and carried on with the project without building alternative houses
for the affected families. In 2008, 30 villages inhabited by at least
4,700 families were flooded as a result of the dam.

Years later, the Manasir have still not been compensated for their
losses. In a statement issued by the Council responsible for
organising the sit-in and protests, the protestors have asked the
government to abide by their promises and provide them with housing
and agricultural projects.

Sudanese opposition parties have asked the government to take
immediate action and meet the demands of the protestors as well as
investigate the humanitarian situation in Kajbar and Amri, the site of
two dams under construction.

"No one knows what the impact will be on downstream communities, but
from other similar projects, we can anticipate a catastrophic impact
that may take some time to materialise," Askouri told IPS.

The Merowe Dam or Merowe Multi-Purpose Hydro Project is the largest
contemporary hydropower project in Africa. Located in the town of
Merowe in northern Sudan, its main aim is to provide electricity for
Sudan's growing population.

Ahmed Saad*, who worked on one of the projects constructed for the
Merowe community by the contractors, believes that the residents of
the town are torn between appreciating the new positive changes the
dam has brought to their community, through the construction of a
hospital and schools, new services and the renovation of the
university campus, and realising the negative impact the dam has had
on their livelihoods.

"People have complained that humidity from the dam's lake has affected
the production of dates, one of the important items in their diet and
one of their main exports," said Saad, who added that it rained in
Merowe when he was there and rain is a very rare occurrence in that
area.

The residents of Merowe even started to observe the changes during the
construction of the dam. Saad, who was stationed there for a few
months, noted observations on fish output as it continued to dwindle
and dryness in areas that were wet or flooded before the dam ï¿½ a
change that affected agriculture in the area.

The dam was built on the Nile's fourth cataract between 2003 and 2009
by Lahmeyer International, a German engineering consulting firm; two
Chinese companies, China International Water and Electric Corp and
Harbin Power Engineering Co; and the French energy company, Alstom. It
was funded by the Sudanese government, China Export Import Bank and
Arab banks and development organisations.

Lahmeyer International, one of the contracting companies, was tasked
with producing the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) and
the document was produced in April 2002.

"The companies behind the Merowe Dam have never prepared a proper
Environmental Impact Assessment Report, and the government has never
published the shoddy study that was prepared," stated Peter Bosshard,
policy director at International Rivers Network (IRN).

The IRN, an organisation that support sustainability and aims at
stopping destructive dams while promoting environmentally-conscious
water and energy solutions, has written about the environmental
impacts of the Merowe Dam since 2005.

In 2005, the international organisation received a copy of the
confidential EIAR produced by Lahmeyer International and handed it
over to EAWAG, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and
Technology, to review.

The review, published in 2006, revealed that the report does not
follow World Bank or World Commission on Dams Guidelines on writing
EIAR for dam projects. IRN then asked the contractors to suspend the
project until further inquiry into the environmental impacts could be
made.

"The riverbanks are the most fertile grounds in the region, they are
now flooded and new lakeshores are developing and due to the
fluctuations in water levels, the lake shores are difficult to use
for crop production," Professor Bernhard Wehrli, who co-authored the
EAWAG report, told IPS.

He added that productive fisheries rely on stable riverbanks and
lakeshores, and that fluctuations in water levels caused by the dam
will harm the reproduction of fish and the growth of juvenile fish.

The report brought up the Aswan High Dam of Egypt, also on the Nile
River, as an example since it has been studied numerous times, and
pointed out that the Merowe project's EIAR did not mention the High
Dam and did not look into steps taken to solve the growing
environmental problems there.

"The High Dam of Egypt revealed that there are serious consequences
for the population and the life-support systems in the downstream
part," said Wehrli.

The EAWAG team used their experience looking at dams in different
countries, such as the High Dam, to assess the possible consequences
of the Merowe Dam and suggest options to help minimise the
environmental harm.

"To preserve water in reservoirs, you minimise the surface area of a
lake for an effective dam design. Also, the outlet to the turbines
should be variable in order to use oxygen-rich water," said Wehrli,
adding that oxygen-rich water curbs serious harm to downstream
fisheries and the deterioration of water quality.

IRN calculates that the Merowe project will produce two harmful
greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane, when plant matter, algae
and soil decompose. The dam's production of greenhouse gases is
equivalent to a natural gas project that generates the same amount of
electricity.

"African countries have a huge potential of renewable energy such as
wind and solar, which in many cases is not more expensive than large
dams," Bosshard said.

He added that government officials, corporations, financiers and
bureaucrats continue to favour projects like big dams. "Such projects
provide huge contracts, prestige, political control and often
kickbacks under the table," he said.

BOX
No compensation for displaced villagers
International Rivers estimates that at least 70,000 were displaced as
a result of the Merowe Dam. In November, some 1,000 people hailing
from the Manasir ethnic group, one of the groups displaced by the dam,
took matters into their own hands and travelled close to the capital
to hold a sit-in at Al Damar, the capital of River Nile State, about
300 km from Khartoum.

Dam activists and international rights organisations prompted the
European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) to look
into the case and investigate the human impacts of the dam.

(END)
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Finally – Team of Experts to Evaluate Impact of Massive Ethiopian Dam

2012-01-03T10:48:00.001-08:00

Two articles... While we are hopeful that this team will lead to more
info on the huge project, but we have also learned that heavy
equipment has been moved to the site to begin construction.... Never
good when construction starts before a project's impacts are known!

http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/12/evaluate-impact-ethiopias-dam/

Finally ï¿½ A Team of Experts to Evaluate Impact of Massive Ethiopian Dam

Tafline Laylin | December 27th, 2011
The politics surrounding Ethiopiaï¿½s Grand Millennium Renaissance Dam
changes only slightly more frequently than the projectï¿½s name, and we
are excited to bring you one of the most positive updates since the
saga began. Ethiopia has being posturing against Egyptï¿½s historical
monopoly of the Nile riverï¿½s waters for months, even though the
country lacks the funds to see a potentially environmentally
destructive 5,250MW dam to completion without help.

Loyal Ethiopians unaffected by urging from UNESCO to halt another dam
contract awarded to a similar consortium of cronies accused us time
and again of turning a blind eye to their distressing energy poverty.
But that was never the case. We have always advocated for a fair
distribution of the Nile river, as well as for a thorough
investigation of the projectï¿½s potential environmental impact. We may
finally have received our wish, but itï¿½s probably not as altruistic as
it seems.

According to our friends at Almasry Alyoum, Egyptï¿½s Foreign Minister
Mohamed Kamel Amr will take a tour of six Nile Basic countries in the
second week of January.

Nile Basin Coordinator Maddy Amer said in a statement that solving the
Nile river issue is top priority for the country that is still
struggling under the weight of political mayhem.

Amer added that while Egypt has not changed its position on the Nile
dam, it wonï¿½t accept an Ethiopian solution that jeopardizes either
Sudan or Egypt, and that Ethiopia has to cooperate if it hopes to
receive any funding.

If the dispute over Nile waters has not been settled, then aid groups
will be unwilling to put forth financial assistance.

Impartial assessment

But the most promising development weï¿½ve seen is the commitment from
Addis Ababa, Cairo, and Khartoum to finally prepare a technical
report that evaluates the potential impact of Ethiopiaï¿½s Grand
Renaissance Dam.

6 experts ï¿½ two from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan ï¿½ will choose an
additional 4 international experts to help them conduct a year long
study that is expected to start as soon as next month.

The team of 10 experts should be able to produce an impartial
scientific document which lays out exactly what is at stake if the dam
is allowed to continue ï¿½ without favoring any one country.

One hopes that up and downstream ecological consequences will be
considered, as well as the potential effects that climate change will
have in the future.

Ethiopia needs power, everyone needs water, but there must be a way to
accomplish this without hasty planning. This recent news gives us hope
that finally this dispute is taking a constructive, diplomatic turn.

:: Almasry Alyoum

http://www.heavyliftpfi.com/content/NewsItem.aspx?id=3725Grand Success
for Steder Group

December 29 - Steder Group FZE, Djibouti, a member of the Worldwide
Project Consortium (WWPC), recently completed the transport of five
large pieces of earthmoving equipment from Djibouti Port to the Grand
Renaissance Dam project in western Ethiopia, writes Charlotte Matheson.
A distance of around 1,800 km was covered in about three weeks and
road conditions were occasionally extremely tough which meant that
only 25 km could be covered in a day.

The convoy transported two wheel-loaders both weighing 72 tonnes, two
excavators of 65 tonnes in weight and a dump truck of 50 tonnes. This
equipment will be used on the construction of the dam itself.

The Grand Renaissance Dam, formerly known as the Millennium Dam and
also referred to as Hidase Dam, is a gravity dam under construction on
the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia about 40 km east of Sudan. At 5,250
MW, the dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa
when completed, as well as the tenth largest in the world.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Neelum-Jhelum project: delays and 50% cost over-run

2012-01-02T18:19:00.001-08:00

Neelum-Jhelum project: delays and cost over-runs
Daily the Pak Banker
December 31, 2011
www.hydroworld.com/index/display/news_display.1573925740.html

Karachi, Dec. 31 -- ON December 12, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza
Gilani emphasised importance of timely completion of 969mw Neelum-Jhelum
hydropower project to minimise electricity loadshedding vital to
economic development.

This strategic project, which is also on the high priority list of
Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec), has been
delayed, resulting in cost over-runs. Ecnec had approved the project at
a total cost of $1,408 million, whereas the revised estimates are about
$2,160 million.

Overall cost of integrated project is likely to escalate to over $3
billion including additional cost of construction of 500-kv transmission
line by Wapda/NTDC to connect the project to national grid and higher
compensation for resettlement of population.

The project, originally due for completion in July 2010, was scheduled
to achieve commercial operations by October 2015 as per contractual
terms. Now a minimum of another two years' delay is estimated at this stage.

Historically, the project has been marred with faulty planning and lack
of external financing. Initially, the project was offered to private
sector under Power Policy 2002 on Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT)
basis. In response, four international companies China International
Water and Electric Corporation (CWE) and Sino Hydro Corporation of
China, Excellence Group and Union Group of the UAE had presented
proposals on different terms of implementation mode, financing and equity.

Total project cost, as offered by these firms on turnkey basis, was in
the range of $1,500 million to $1,600 million, with 6 -7 years
completion period. Though an MoU was signed with one of these companies
in November 2003, there was no further headway.

Later, public sector was entrusted with the project that became a major
constituent of Wapda's Vision 2025, identified therein as a medium-term
project.

Subsequently, the mega project was included in the National Energy
Secu-rity Plan (2005-2030). Somehow, project initiation was delayed and
interna-tional tenders were issued by Wapda in April 2006.

In response, only two Chinese companies participated for the EPC
(engineering, procurement and construction) contract for the project
that included civil works, electro-mechanical works and hydraulic steel
structure. Though not meeting essential requirement of receiving at
least three bids, the contract was awarded to a consortium of China
Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) and China National Machinery
Import-Export Corporation (CMEC) on July 7, 2007, to avoid further delay
in commencement of construction.

The Chinese consortium was to arrange $800 million through the Exim Bank
of China. Commencement date being determined as January 2008, the
project was to be completed by contractor in less than eight years. The
EPC contract was awarded at a cost of $1,300 million - 58 per cent
higher than 2001 estimates of $823 million and 18 per cent more than
updated cost of $1,100 million based on re-design in the wake of
October-2005 earthquake.

This was the single largest hydropower project contract ever awarded in
the country's history. Incidentally, it is also the largest hydropower
project being undertaken by any Chinese contractor in a foreign country
that deploys some 2,000 Chinese engineers, technicians and workers at site.

Physical progress achieved so far on the project is less than 30 per
cent compared to about 50 per cent projected by the fourth year as per
implementation schedule.

While infrastructure at site has progressed well and damming of
diversion canal has been completed, work on main tunnel has just
started. Likewise, fabrication of hydraulic structure and manufacturing
of electrical and mechanical equipment has not yet been undertaken,
whereas according to schedule, the supply was to commence from the third
and fourth years of implementation, respectively.

Design and engineering for structure and machinery is still in progress.

First of its kind in the country, power station (including allied
services and transmission system) has been designed underground to
achieve optimum hydraulic head, given topographical limitations of the
area. Thus, almost 98 per cent of the project structure will be underground.

According to contractual terms the consortium was required to mobilise
all necessary machinery, equipment and accessories required for
construction at his own cost and charges-and well in time. Also, the
contractor could not arrange for adequate power required at site for
construction activities that was his responsibility, and instead, is
totally dependent on Wapda/AJK government for the supply of required
23MW electricity that remains interrupted and instable, causing delays
in the ongoing works.

The strategic project, original plan of which was approved by the Ecnec
as early as in December 1989, has been delayed so much, coupled with
increased cost, that it would perhaps not be any more an economically
viable power generation unit on completion. Generation cost projection,
originally at 2.77 cents per kWh as per PC-1, then revised to 4.70
cents, is no longer valid now.

Published by HT Syndication with permission from Daily Pak Banker. For
any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement,
please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com
Copyright 2011 Right Vision NewsAll Rights Reserved
Daily the Pak Banker
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: sasia@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Ten held after demonstration against Merowe Dam in Sudan

2012-01-02T08:04:00.001-08:00

Ten held after demonstration in Sudan
IOL News, December 29 2011 at 12:27am
www.iol.co.za/news/africa/ten-held-after-demonstration-in-sudan-1.1205411

Khartoum - Two students were hurt and 10 others were arrested when
Sudanese police again broke up a protest in support of residents
displaced by the giant Merowe dam, the protesters' spokesperson said on
Wednesday.

The latest incident occurred in Al-Damer, a town around 300km north of
Khartoum, when about 300 students attempted to rally, he said.

ï¿½We are demonstrating for the rights of our families but when the
students went out from their colleges the riot police used teargas and
batons against them,ï¿½ the spokesperson said.

A female protester was hurt in the head while a teargas canister hit
another demonstrator in the stomach, he added.

Police could not be reached for comment.

About 1 000 people displaced by the Merowe dam began on November 20 a
sit-in, at another location in Al-Damer, over the government's alleged
failure to compensate them with replacement homes as promised.

Completed in 2009 at a cost of more than $2-billion, the Chinese-built
hydroelectric project, located northwest of Al-Damer, doubled Sudan's
power generation capacity.

But it also displaced 15 000 families, who were ordered to leave their
homes three years ago to make way for the dam and the huge reservoir
that formed behind it.

Protests by villagers opposed to the project broke out in 2006, leaving
three people dead and dozens injured.

Twice last week in the capital Khartoum police forcibly broke up
protests by youth supporting people displaced by the Merowe dam.

Khartoum sits on the confluence of the Blue and White Niles. The
government has aggressively sought to tap the power of the river waters,
a valuable resource that could help offset the loss of oil revenues from
South Sudan's separation in July. - Sapa-AFP
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Sudanese police in second crackdown against dam protestors

2011-12-23T21:01:00.000-08:00

Sudanese police in second crackdown against dam protestors
Sudan Tribune, Friday 23 December 2011
www.sudantribune.com/Sudanese-police-in-second,41069

December 22, 2011 (KHARTOUM) ï¿½ The Sudanese capital Khartoum has
witnessed a second round of demonstrations against a government dam
project upcountry as President Omer Al-Bashir pledged to find a quick
solution to the issue.

Anti-riot police forces on Thursday fired teargas and used batons to
disperse a protest staged in downtown Khartoum by dozens of students
affiliated to, or acting in solidarity with, Al-Manasir, one of three
tribal populations which incurred severe losses of properties due to the
construction of Merowe Dam in their homelands on the Fourth cataract of
the River Nile, 350 kilometers north of Khartoum.

A similar crackdown was meted out earlier on Tuesday against Al-Manasir
demonstrators in downtown Khartoum, leading to the arrest of around ten
protestors.

Thursdayï¿½s protest moved to the University of Khartoum where several
other students joined the protestors, eye witnesses told Sudan Tribune.

Around 300 students marched out of Khartoum Universityï¿½s main campus,
chanting slogans denouncing president Al-Bashir.

Police forces then arrived at the scene and clashed with the protestors,
firing tear gas and chasing them inside the campus. Dozens were
arrested, according to the witnesses.

The police also dispersed another protest staged later in the evening by
female students affiliated to Al-Manasir. The students had earlier
blocked the road in front of their house near Khartoum University and
chanted slogans calling for overthrowing the government.

These protests came one month after Al-Manasir started a sit-in in El
Damer town in the Nile River State to protest against the governmentï¿½s
failure to compensate them for the damage of their properties.

Meanwhile, president Al-Bashir held a meeting with the Nile River
Stateï¿½s governor Al-Hadi Abdallah and discussed Al-Manasir issue. The
governor told reporters following the meeting that Al-Bashir had
promised resolve the issue ï¿½within daysï¿½ and declared his intention to
visit the state in mid-January.

The construction of Merowe dam, which was financed by China, the Arab
Fund for Social & Economical Development, the Saudi Fund for Development
and other Arab funds at a cost of more than 2 billion US dollars, has
displaced more than 100,000 local persons belonging to three riverian
communities, Al Hamdab, Amri and Al-Manasir.

Local opposition to Meroew dam began in 2003 when its construction
started. In 2006, a militia linked to the Merowe Dam Implementation Unit
(MDIU) attacked a peaceful protest by local communities with live
ammunitions, killing three people on the spot and injuring more than forty.

According to Sudanese and International Human Rights Organisations the
Merowe Dam project has been marred by massive human rights abuses since
its inception. Members of the affected communities have been subjected
to detention, torture, injury, and killings.

(ST)
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Sudan riot police break up dam protest

2011-12-21T18:11:00.001-08:00

Sudan riot police break up dam protest
News24, 2011-12-21 07:44
www.news24.com/Africa/News/Sudan-riot-police-break-up-dam-protest-20111220

Khartoum - Sudanese riot police on Tuesday used batons to beat youths
shouting anti-regime slogans in support of residents displaced by the
giant Merowe dam, an AFP reporter witnessed.

About 100 young demonstrators gathered at Khartoum's crowded main bus
station to stage their afternoon protest.

They held a banner proclaiming support for those displaced by the dam
and shouted: "People want to change the regime."

Police then forcefully moved in and detained an unknown number of the
demonstrators.

Their protest came exactly one month after about 1 000 people displaced
by the dam began a sit-in over the government's alleged failure to
compensate them with replacement homes as promised.

They are continuing their sit-in at Al-Damer, a town around 300km north
of Khartoum.

Completed in 2009 at a cost of more than $2bn, the Chinese-built Merowe
dam doubled Sudan's power generation capacity.

But it also displaced 15 000 families, who were ordered to leave their
homes three years ago to make way for the dam and the huge reservoir
that formed behind it.

Protests by villagers opposed to the project broke out in 2006, leaving
three people dead and dozens injured.

Khartoum sits on the confluence of the Blue and White Niles. The
government has aggressively sought to tap the power of the river waters,
a valuable resource that could help offset the loss of oil revenues when
South Sudan separated in July.
- SAPA
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Pastoralists weigh in on Gibe Dam, land grabs

2011-12-21T11:28:00.001-08:00

Two articles by Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/ethiopias-gibe-iii-a-dam-too-far

Ethiopia's Gibe III - A dam too far?
Published on : 20 December 2011 - 3:24pm | By RNW Africa Desk
(Photo : RNW)

Michael Irgiena doubts if his ten children will ever be fishermen like
him, or have any future living on the shores of the worldï¿½s largest
desert lake Turkana in the barren border region of Ethiopia and Kenya.
By Luc van Kemenade, Addis Ababa

Lake Turkana, in the barren border region of Ethiopia and Kenya, is
home to the Dasanech and Turkana tribes. Michael, a Dasanech
tribesman living in a small village in northern Kenya, has been a
fisherman for 26 years and, like his fellow tribesmen, he fully
depends on the salty lake for his livelihood.

The semi-nomadic desert tribes often fight bloody battles over the
region's scarce water and pasture which they use for fishing and
cattle grazing. Michael explains that the construction of an ambitious
cascade of dams along Ethiopia's Omo river may make life even more
challenging for nomads in the region.

ï¿½I was shocked when I heard the news about Ethiopiaï¿½s dam on the
radio,ï¿½ he says while sitting on his bed in his dusky dome-shaped hut
at the shores of Turkana. ï¿½What came to mind very quickly was: what
about the lake I am fishing in? What about my children?ï¿½

Hydropower
In a push for development, Ethiopia is building one of Africaï¿½s
largest hydropower dams in the Omo River that flows into Lake Turkana,
providing 90 percent of its water. The two billion dollar dam called
Gibe III is said to nearly double the East African nationï¿½s power
capacity and transform its southern wilderness into highly productive
cultivated farm lands, irrigated by the damï¿½s regulated outflow.

According to the Ethiopian government, the dam will develop the region
and end a ï¿½backward lifestyleï¿½, transforming its southern wilderness
into highly productive cultivated farmland, irrigated by the damï¿½s
regulated outflow. It says that domestic and foreign investors will
grow sugar cane and other cash crops on a large-scale in the south, an
area known for its numerous indigenous tribes.

Although Michael admits that development would be good for the tribes
of Lake Turkana - a drought-stricken area with no electricity and poor
infrastructure, he remains cautious and worries that water levels in
Turkana will drop. ï¿½The water will be too salty, so there will be no
fish living in the lake,ï¿½ he says. ï¿½And all the animals we have, all
the cattle, will die. If there is no water, there will be no grass.ï¿½

For Michael, like many of his fellow tribesmen, loss of fish means
loss of work. He also fears that the dam will lead to further
bloodshed as the Dasanech and Turkana will be forced to move into
neighboring tribesï¿½ territory in search of water and pasture.

Drying up
While Ethiopia denies that its dam will reduce water levels, a group
of scholars from the United States, Europe and East Africa shares
Michaelï¿½s concerns.

In a 2009 study the Africa Resources Working Group estimated that
water levels could drop ten to twelve metres drying up fish stocks and
drinking water. The United Nations subsequently called on Ethiopia to
cease construction of the dam, fearing it would destroy Lake Turkana,
listed as a UN world heritage site.

But Ethiopia says there is ï¿½no wayï¿½ that the project will be stopped,
claiming its own studies show that Lake Turkanaï¿½s water levels would
increase and the damï¿½s regulated flow would put an end to drought and
floods.

Like other members of the Dasanech, Michael fears that Ethiopiaï¿½s
decision to move forward with the project without informing its people
will have a negative impact: ï¿½If you do something without informing
people, you know it will have an effect,ï¿½ he says. ï¿½It would be better
if we all sit together and negotiate about what they are going to do
for our people.ï¿½

Ethiopia tribesmen fear forced end to ï¿½backwardï¿½ lifestyle
Published on : 21 December 2011 | By RNW Africa Desk (Photo: RNW
Africa/ Luc van Kemenade)

ï¿½We are a dying people,ï¿½ says Gorgis, a cattle herder from the Bodi
tribe who lives in the bush near Hana town in South Ethiopia, home to
the semi-nomadic Mursi and Bodi tribes.

By Luc van Kemenade, Addis Abeba

Like his fellow tribesmen Gorgis moves around with cattle in search of
water and grasslands.

His family of two wives and eleven children grows crops along the
banks of the Omo River that flows through Ethiopiaï¿½s Lower Omo Valley,
a world heritage site and the territory of sixteen indigenous tribes.

Sugar
Just outside Hana, Ethiopiaï¿½s state-owned sugar corporation has seized
150,000 hectares to set up a sugar plantation, annually sucking up
three billion cubic meters of water from the river and occupying its
fertile banks.

The plantation is part of a development plan that will transform the
uncultivated area into cash crop producing farmland, Ethiopia says.
Upstream the country is building one of Africaï¿½s largest hydropower
dams.

The two billion-dollar dam called Gibe III will double Ethiopiaï¿½s
power capacity, it says. The damï¿½s regulated outflow will be used to
irrigate large plots of sugar farmland from a 150 kilometers-long
reservoir.

Development
The push for development includes the resettlement of thousands of
tribesmen into permanent settlements where Ethiopia says they will
have access to health facilities and schools. The days of southern
tribes, popular among tourists and academics, ï¿½walking around nakedï¿½
and living a ï¿½backwardï¿½ lifestyle are over, Ethiopia says.

ï¿½There are people who say they are concerned about pastoralists,ï¿½
longtime leader Meles Zenawi said in a speech earlier this year. ï¿½But
they want pastoralists to remain a tourist attraction forever. The
pastoralists donï¿½t want to live as a tourist attraction. They want a
stable, improved life.ï¿½

Most of the Bodi around Hana say Ethiopian officials havenï¿½t informed
them. ï¿½The government is already building new villages and wants us to
move there,ï¿½ Gorgis says. ï¿½We havenï¿½t been asked anything and our King
says they are thieves.ï¿½

ï¿½ Ethiopiaï¿½s Lower Omo Valley
ï¿½ Photo: RNW/ Luc van Kemenade - http://www.rnw.nl/africa
ï¿½ Duri Bela prefers a life of living in the bush to a modern life in
a permanent settlement
ï¿½ Photo: RNW/ Luc van Kemenade - http://www.rnw.nl/africa
ï¿½ Lake Turkana
ï¿½ Photo: RNW/ Luc van Kemenade - http://www.rnw.nl/africa
ï¿½ A Bodi man on guard at a sugar plantation under construction
ï¿½ Photo: RNW/ Luc van Kemenade - http://www.rnw.nl/africa
ï¿½

ï¿½

Criticism
Rights groups have criticised Ethiopiaï¿½s dam and the United Nations
called for an immediate end to construction. The opponents say the dam
will forever alter the lives of hundreds of thousands indigenous
people depending on the Omo River. They fear widespread hunger and
conflict over water.

Duri Bela, a Bodi pastoralist wearing a red chequered toga, says he
never heard about the plans until bulldozers arrived in Hana to build
the plantation. Now ï¿½they have taken our land, use our water, and are
building on our fieldsï¿½, he says. ï¿½We might grow hungry.ï¿½

Survival International, a rights group campaigning for tribal rights,
reported a crackdown on locals in Hana opposing the dam, saying ï¿½over
a 100ï¿½ protestors had been arrested. People in the area wouldnï¿½t
confirm the report, but said they are afraid to speak out against the
plans.

Revolt
An expert in the region who asked to remain anonymous said there is no
doubt that the tribes will take up arms against the government: ï¿½A
revolt is going to happen.ï¿½

Ethiopian officials say this is ï¿½false propagandaï¿½ from
environmentalists trying to undermine their development agenda. It
says locals will benefit from new jobs and will be compensated for
resettlement.

But policemen in Hana detained Radio Netherlands Worldwideï¿½s
correspondent for five hours after visiting the sugar corporationï¿½s
local office, only to release him after a regional manager dashed into
town in his four wheel drive, showing little confidence about
journalists nosing around at the project site.

Duri Bela says he prefers living in the bush to a new life in a
settlement. ï¿½I need my children to be pastoralists,ï¿½ he says. ï¿½When I
see the town, I see few people making money. They sleep on the streets
and beg. We donï¿½t want to become beggars in a town. Pastoralists donï¿½t
beg.ï¿½
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Ten "Rules-of-Thumb" to Select Better Hydro Projects

2011-12-20T11:12:00.001-08:00

sorry for x-postings, but this is a good summary of how to avoid the
worst problems for big dams, by a former World Bank enviro specialist.

http://ieds.newsvine.com/_news/2011/12/20/9584548-ten-rules-of-thumb-to-select-better-hydroelectricity-projects

Ten "Rules-of-Thumb" to Select Better Hydroelectricity Projects

Dec 20, 2011 1:11 PM EST

By Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security, Univ. of Vermont

Guest post by Dr. Robert Goodland
Comments and corrections to: RbtGoodland@gmail.com

1. Adopt Best Practice

Follow ï¿½Best Practiceï¿½ to the fullest extent possible. This
includes utilizing best technology, as per rule 10 below. All dam
proponents and financiers need an environmental and social policy.
Much best practice for hydro selection, planning, construction,
monitoring (starting with adequate pre-project surveys which are
required if progress is to be measured), including panels of social
and environmental experts, is well codified by the World Commission on
Dams (2000). Follow best practice throughout the Environmental and
Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) process -- beginning with adequate pre-
project demographic, environmental, health, and socio-economic
baseline surveys ï¿½ and then throughout construction, operations, and
decommissioning. Teams who have worked in any one country should
uphold or strengthen standards when working on dams in foreign
countries; avoid double standards.

2. Perform regional planning

Reduce environmental impacts by cramming many dams on the fewest
rivers in a country or region. Often, the first dam imposes most of
the impact of a cascade of dams. But scrutinize social risks
beforehand. Interpolating one more dam to a cascade generally is lower
impact. The highest impacts would be to site a single dam on each of
the nationï¿½s rivers. Interpolation of a dam between two existing
dams or shortly upstream of an existing dam greatly reduces the impact
of the new dam. The first dam on a river normally has the biggest
impact, compared with the impacts of subsequent dams on the same river.

3. Rehab existing projects before new projects

Rehabilitate, refurbish, renovate or upgrade existing hydros before
going ahead with new hydros. Adding new turbines or replacing old
turbines with more efficient or bigger ones are almost always much
lower impact than building new dams. Rehabs should normally be well
in hand before a new dam is contemplated, just as energy conservation
and demand management should be well in hand before new generation is
permitted. For example, it has been calculated that 70,000 MW could be
developed in the USA by rehab alone, with no new dams. Now that
Venezuelaï¿½s Guri hydro complex, Nigeriaï¿½s Kainji and the Zambia/
Zimbabwe Kariba hydros, for example, are several decades old, they are
being usefully upgraded with low impacts.

5. Dam tributaries before the mainstem

Develop dams on tributaries before dams on the mainstem. If a
mainstream dam is necessary based on comprehensive options assessment,
it should be sited as far upstream as feasible. That will often impose
less impact. Outstream diversions may be high impact.

6. Uphold Human Rights, especially Free Prior Informed Consent

Seek free prior informed consent from stakeholders, as well as
meaningful consultation. Reject any use of force, and reject any
measure that would be involuntary. Choose sites with little or no
need for resettlement. All resettlement must be strictly voluntary
(UN FPIC). As soon as oustees consent to their move, it should proceed
expeditiously. Oustees must promptly become better off project
beneficiaries as soon after their move as possible. If the dam is
built and owned by Indigenous People or ethnic minorities (e.g.,
Canadaï¿½s Minashtuk Hydro) other rules will apply.

Avoid conflict zones and militarized areas. Ensure effective grievance
mechanisms and respect for human rights. All potentially impacted
stakeholders (upstream, reservoir basin, downstream, and other
(including those living along transmission lines and project roads)
must be consulted and participate in decisions affecting them from the
options assessment stage, to get away from a project-centered
perspective, thru pre-feasibility and construction and afterwards.

7. Promote irrigation before electricity

Many dams are labeled ï¿½multipurposeï¿½ nowadays, suggesting that the
purpose of the dam in question includes more than one purpose, such as
generation of electricity, flood control, water supply, fisheries,
navigation and irrigation. This can be misleading because in
operating the dam, power generation is almost always the topmost
priority, as compared to secondary uses such as irrigation.
Electricity generation earns by far the most revenue. Some of this
revenue is best allocated to promoting other uses, such as irrigation.
Most so-called ï¿½multipurposeï¿½ dams indeed have more than a single
purpose, but the other purposes are subsidiary to power generation.

In many poor rural areas, water to grow food is much more important
than electricity. Irrigation often depends on water storage during the
wet season for release during the lean season. While it is possible
for irrigation to be combined with hydro in multi-purpose schemes,
there are often inherent incompatibilities between generation of
electricity and provision of irrigation water when water is scarce but
most needed during the dry season. When dam operators must choose one
over the other, electricity generation almost always trumps
irrigation. This is important in several ways, especially when in
contrast to hydro electricity generation, there are few alternatives
to irrigation dams, and agricultural intensification is much needed as
world population may exceed 9 bn by 2050.

8. Manage both climate mitigation and climate adaptation

All new dam designs nowadays need a thorough greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions assessment. Choose low emissions designs. Dams likely to
emit as much GHG as a coal-fired equivalent should not be developed.
Conversely, dams likely to emit less GHG than a gas-fired equivalent
should be promoted. Reduce the amount of biomass in the reservoir
before filling. More than 27 European nations and Australia, and many
jurisdictions (e.g., Vancouver) now mandate a charge for GHG
emissions. Hydro must internalize its GHG emissions in project design
and cost/benefit analysis.

The best hydros will be designed to take climate change into account.
Hydros are designed based on the best historic river discharge data
obtainable. Now climate change has arrived, the best hydros will be
designed using the most reliable predictions of climate change on the
future of river flows. Extreme events (heavy rains, storms, droughts)
may become more frequent. Appropriate adaptation strategies will
include diversified and decentralized investments, to avoid putting
all eggs into one basket in a time of increasing hydrological
uncertainty.

9. Conserve Biodiversity

Choose sites with little or no valuable biodiversity habitat (such as
tropical forest). Lower the dam height or move the dam to minimize
forest loss. If some forest loss cannot be avoided, finance
compensatory offsets that provide better benefits than the area
inundated. Conservation units (e.g. National Parks, UN World Biosphere
Reserves, UN World Heritage sites, protected forests) should normally
always be avoided.

10. Reduce reservoir size and minimize hydraulic head

Optimize the potential of hydrokinetic turbines or non-dam hydro.
Select no-head, ultra-low head (c.3 m), and micro-hydro ï¿½ all before
higher-head hydros. Hydros in which the reservoir fills the riverbed
up to the annual wet season level are usually low impact. In the
paramount tradeoff between reservoir area and impacts, reduce
reservoir area by optimizing flow (by tube turbines), and reducing
head, preferably to zero. Select engineering (e.g., by kinetic
turbines) to reduce the size of the reservoir area.

Caveat

Pithy ï¿½Rules-of-Thumbï¿½ suffer from simplification and these are no
exception. Although these Rules-of-Thumb apply only to
hydroelectricity dams, and not to irrigation dams, they would also all
apply with minor revisions to most development projects (except # 10,
which is entirely hydro-specific). These Rules-of-Thumb apply only to
hydroelectricity dams which supply about 20% of world electricity, and
for which there are many alternate sources of electricity,
particularly renewables (e.g., solar, wind, wave). They apply mainly
to big dams, rather than to microhydro, which impose lower impacts.
The ï¿½Rules-of-Thumbï¿½ are offered mainly to hydro designers, hydro
financiers and those seeking to reduce the impacts of big hydro.
Renewable energy is fast becoming more feasible as climate change,
democracy and biodiversity are accorded more importance.

The author, Robert Goodland, served the World Bank Group as
environmental adviser for 23 years, where he drafted and persuaded the
Bank to adopt its current mandatory social and environmental
ï¿½Safeguardï¿½ policies. He helped set up the World Commission on
Dams in Cape Town. After retirement, he was the Technical Director of
the independent Extractive Industry Review of the World Bankï¿½s oil,
gas and mining portfolio (EIR.org). He was elected chair of the
Ecological Society of America (Metropolitan), and President of the
International Association for Impact Assessment. Last year he was
awarded IUCNï¿½s Coolidge Medal for outstanding lifetime achievement
in environmental conservation.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: dams@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Ten "Rules-of-Thumb" to Select Better Hydro Projects

2011-12-20T10:54:00.001-08:00

http://ieds.newsvine.com/_news/2011/12/20/9584548-ten-rules-of-thumb-to-select-better-hydroelectricity-projects

Ten "Rules-of-Thumb" to Select Better Hydroelectricity Projects

Dec 20, 2011 1:11 PM EST

By Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security, Univ. of Vermont

Guest post by Dr. Robert Goodland
Comments and corrections to: RbtGoodland@gmail.com

1. Adopt Best Practice

Follow ï¿½Best Practiceï¿½ to the fullest extent possible. This includes
utilizing best technology, as per rule 10 below. All dam proponents
and financiers need an environmental and social policy. Much best
practice for hydro selection, planning, construction, monitoring
(starting with adequate pre-project surveys which are required if
progress is to be measured), including panels of social and
environmental experts, is well codified by the World Commission on
Dams (2000). Follow best practice throughout the Environmental and
Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) process -- beginning with adequate pre-
project demographic, environmental, health, and socio-economic
baseline surveys ï¿½ and then throughout construction, operations, and
decommissioning. Teams who have worked in any one country should
uphold or strengthen standards when working on dams in foreign
countries; avoid double standards.

2. Perform regional planning

Reduce environmental impacts by cramming many dams on the fewest
rivers in a country or region. Often, the first dam imposes most of
the impact of a cascade of dams. But scrutinize social risks
beforehand. Interpolating one more dam to a cascade generally is lower
impact. The highest impacts would be to site a single dam on each of
the nationï¿½s rivers. Interpolation of a dam between two existing dams
or shortly upstream of an existing dam greatly reduces the impact of
the new dam. The first dam on a river normally has the biggest
impact, compared with the impacts of subsequent dams on the same river.

3. Rehab existing projects before new projects

5. Dam tributaries before the mainstem

6. Uphold Human Rights, especially Free Prior Informed Consent

7. Promote irrigation before electricity

8. Manage both climate mitigation and climate adaptation

9. Conserve Biodiversity

10. Reduce reservoir size and minimize hydraulic head

Caveat

The author, Robert Goodland, served the World Bank Group as
environmental adviser for 23 years, where he drafted and persuaded the
Bank to adopt its current mandatory social and environmental
ï¿½Safeguardï¿½ policies. He helped set up the World Commission on Dams in
Cape Town. After retirement, he was the Technical Director of the
independent Extractive Industry Review of the World Bankï¿½s oil, gas
and mining portfolio (EIR.org). He was elected chair of the Ecological
Society of America (Metropolitan), and President of the International
Association for Impact Assessment. Last year he was awarded IUCNï¿½s
Coolidge Medal for outstanding lifetime achievement in environmental
conservation.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: dams@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Africans Must Adapt to Drought in Warming World: Report

2011-12-20T10:26:00.001-08:00

(suggests fewer inflexible big dams, more rainwater harvesting
structures, among other things)

Africans Must Adapt to Drought in Warming World: Report
by Ker Than

For National Geographic News

Climate change will call for more flexible solutions to water
challenges.
A new report cautions African countries to look beyond dams (like this
one in Zimbabwe) to deal with water supply issues for an uncertain
future.
Photograph from Images of Africa Photobank/Alamy

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/12/111216-africans-adapt-rainfall-shortages-warming-world/

Published December 16, 2011

Flexible farming methods and the ability to quickly change tactics
to deal with unpredictable swings in rainfall will be vital if African
nations are to survive climate change in the coming decades,
scientists say.

"Adaptability I think will be the key," said Mark Mulligan, a
geographer at King's College London in the United Kingdom.
"There's the assumption that we know what the future will be like. We
doï¿½more or lessï¿½for temperature, but we really don't for rainfall," he
said.

Global warming is expected to raise temperatures around the globe in
the coming decades. Perhaps less intuitively, it will also increase
rainfall in other parts of the world because as the temperature goes
up, evaporation speeds up, and the air's ability to retain moisture
rises.

More evaporation creates a hydrological cycle that is turbocharged
with energy, leading to more rainfall. However, the geographical
distribution of rainfall will change in a warmer world, greening some
current arid zones and triggering droughts in other areas such as the
American southwest.

See the global impact of your water footprint >>

Click to start interactive >>

Affecting Africa

According to a five-year global research project conducted on behalf
of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR), climate change is expected to lead to unpredictable changes
in rainfall patterns in most African river basins.

This could present opportunities for improved agriculture in some dry
regions that get wetter, orï¿½if farmers are not well preparedï¿½could
lead to less food production and increased poverty as agriculture
struggles to adapt.

"Climate change introduces a new element of uncertainty precisely when
governments and donors are starting to have more open discussions
about sharing water resources and to consider long-term investments in
boosting food production," Alain Vidal, director of the CGIAR's
Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF), said in a statement.

"To help prevent this uncertainty from undermining key agreements and
commitments, researchers must build a reliable basis for decisions,
which takes into account the variable impacts of climate change on
river basins," Vidal said.

(Related: "India and Pakistan at Odds Over Shrinking Indus River")

To counter such uncertainty, nations must remain nimble and provide an
enabling environment for their farmers to adapt to a highly uncertain
and geographically variable ï¿½changescape,ï¿½ said Mulligan, who was the
lead author of a report published in January in the journal Water
International that detailed the CGIAR findings.

"The key is to be thinking about flexible arrangements that are fine-
tuned to local geographical conditions and that can change quickly and
effectively as the future unfolds," Mulligan said.

"Because we've had 10,000 years of [climate] stability, we've grown
accustomed to assuming that things don't change and so we now support
very high populations that are dependent on sophisticated
agricultures, markets and infrastructures that may not adapt well to
the period of environmental instability that is ahead of us," he said.

"Bottom up" Solutions

For example, large dams that retain water to supply urban areas, for
irrigation projects, and to generate hydropowerï¿½of which there are at
least 36,000 around the worldï¿½are usually designed on the basis of
historical river flow data that climate scientists warn could become
obsolete in a warming world where river courses can change.

Because large dams are significant and long-term investments they
cannot easily be adapted to respond to the implications of changing
climate, Mulligan said.

A more flexible solution, he argues, is rainwater harvesting: the
construction of a series of small, farm-scale rainwater harvesting
schemes, or "micro-dams,ï¿½ that capture rainfall for agricultural use
near the point at which it will be used rather than trapping it at a
single large dam and then pumping it elsewhere.

(Related: "See Spectacular Video of a Historic Dam Removal")

Also, because the pattern of rainfall change across Africa is
essentially unpredictable, CGIAR advocates a bottom-up approach to
adaptation, in which solutions are highly specific to local
geographical conditions rather than being defined on the basis of
regional or national-scale generalities.

The role of African governments, Mulligan said, will be to facilitate
locally driven adaptation and to stay out of the way of sustainable
development.

"The impact of climate change on water and food security will be
different in different parts of a river basin, even on different sides
of a hill," he added.

"So the real adaptation will have to come from the farmers up. They'll
be able to react in a way that is specific to their specific
environment and needs."
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Nile group calls for less hydro, more renewables

2011-12-19T16:50:00.001-08:00

Appeal for support for the Nile Basin power initiative
http://www.esi-africa.com/node/13984

Kampala, Uganda --- ESI-AFRICA.COM --- 19 December 2011 - Civil
society organisations within the Nile basin initiative (NBI) have
challenged development partners and international financial
institutions to consider directing more support towards the
development of renewable energy in the region.

The civil societies under the umbrella body of the Nile Basin
Discourse [NBD] have also pushed for more capital injection into the
development of solar energy, wind and geothermal power, instead of
concentrating on hydroelectric power.

ï¿½Development partners are funding the multi-billion-dollar sub-region
hydro power and interconnection projects of the NBI countries. But 60%
of the local communities cannot be connected to this high voltage
grid,ï¿½ said NBD vice-chairman Wesley Chirchir.

ï¿½Over-dependence on hydroelectric power may not produce any
significant impact because it is highly affected by changes in climate
and environmental degradation. In order for all communities to
benefit, let the implementing agencies and funders consider other
means of energy that are conducive for the local people,ï¿½ reads part
of the recommendations.

Chirchir also called on development partners and international
financial institutions to include rural electrification projects in
their major interconnection power lines, as that would also take care
of the interests of the local communities.

These demands come at a time when NBI countries are close to
implementing the regional power trade programme, which aims to
facilitate the development of an integrated regional power grid inter-
connection to all its member states.

The NBI secretariat is already funding the construction of the US$450
million regional Rusumo Falls hydropower project, whose power lines
are in: Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

In Benin, Solar-Powered Irrigation Pollutes Less and Produces More

2011-12-19T10:44:00.001-08:00

In Benin, Solar-Powered Irrigation Pollutes Less and Produces More

http://www.good.is/post/in-benin-solar-powered-irrigation-pollutes-less-and-produces-more/

ï¿½ by Sarah Laskow

ï¿½ December 15, 2011 ï¿½ 3:00 pm PST

In 2007, the nonprofit Solar Electric Light Fund began helping womenï¿½s
collectives in the west African nation of Benin water their vegetable
gardens using solar power. The system they used was simple enough:
solar-powered water pumps, paired with drip irrigation. Each of these
two technologies have been shown to improve the lives of people living
in poverty, off the grid. But few people had ever tried combining them.

ï¿½Neither of them were particularly innovative in their own right, but
bringing them together truly was,ï¿½ says Bob Freling, SELFï¿½s executive
director. ï¿½I found precious few examples of solar drip irrigation.
Frankly, it was puzzling, because it seemed like a perfect fit.ï¿½

This technological innovation means the womenï¿½s collectives can keep
producing crops during the regionï¿½s six-month dry season, provide
greater food security to their families, and start thinking about
sending their kids to school. It also could help communities survive
and adapt to climate change. The project is now expanding: At least
eight more villages in Benin will start using the solar irrigation
systems.

Drip irrigation delivers water directly to plant roots, increasing
crop yields and using 40 to 80 percent less water than traditional
irrigation systems. Itï¿½s particularly well suited for dry places, like
the semi-arid Sahel region of which Benin is part. But it also
requires power inputs, which can be hard to come by in off-the-grid
communities. When SELF began working on the project, one of the
pioneers of drip irrigation, Dov Pasternak, was working to spread the
irrigation technology across west Africa. Pasternak had designed a
vegetable garden that used diesel generators to pump water into the
irrigation system, but Freling says ï¿½That was going to be a non-
starter for us.ï¿½

Although Pasternak was skeptical of the affordability and longevity of
solar systems, he agreed to work with SELF, and soon, Freling says,
became "a die-hard believer in solar." The system installed in the
pilot villages pumps water into a holding tank from a surface stream
in one and from an underground source in the other. Gravity pulls the
water to the plants, a mix of vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, okra,
and cabbage. Because itï¿½s powered by the sun, the system self-
regulates: more water goes to the plants when itï¿½s sunny, which is
when theyï¿½re most thirsty.

Since the beginning of the pilot program, SELF has worked with
researchers at Stanfordï¿½s Center for Food Security and the Environment
to monitor the impacts of the program on the communities using the
irrigation systems. The women involved the project document their
plantings, their haul from the gardens, the portion they feed to their
families, and the portion they sell. Already, the women report that
theyï¿½re better able to provide for their families: Women growing
vegetables with the technology fed their families 3 to 5 more servings
of vegetables each day during the project's first year. The women in
the project use the extra income to buy staples for their families,
and the community as a whole benefits from the increased availability
of vegetables during the dry seasons.

While SELF installs solar irrigation systems in additional villages,
monitoring of the pilot villages will continue to measure the long-
term impacts of the project. ï¿½Are people actually able to make longer
term investments? Beyond that initial boost, are they on a path to
growth and reinvestment that could be long lasting?ï¿½ says Jennifer
Burney, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California at San
Diego who is affiliated with the Stanford food security center.

The pilot is the first step in a larger vision of bringing solar power
to households, clinics, schools and business centers in the district.
SELF started with the gardens, because the local communities said that
was where their need was greatest. But some day, solar power could
electrify the entire district of Kalalï¿½44 villages with a total
population of more than 100,000 people. While the garden project has
shown short-term impacts, it could help improve communities'
resilience to climate change in the long run. The same agricultural
problems that faced these villages to begin withï¿½poor yields and
infrequent rainsï¿½will likely get worse in the decades to come. The
solar irrigation systems not only keep down emissions while
encouraging development, they provide the tools to tackle climate
challenges they could face in the future.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Analysis: No stopping big hydro projects, despite Lao veto/Reuters

2011-12-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

Analysis: No stopping big hydro projects, despite Lao veto

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/14/us-dams-idUSTRE7BD0GN20111214
By Niluksi Koswanage

KUALA LUMPUR | Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:56am EST

(Reuters) - A surge in mega-hydropower projects across the world in
the coming decade will only be affected marginally by last week's
decision to delay building a large dam across the Mekong, Southeast
Asia's longest river.

Hydropower remains a proven way to produce electricity on a large
scale, and some governments are extremely reluctant to opt for
alternatives such as nuclear. But last week's decision could mean
there will be increased focus on minimizing environmental and social
costs of new hydro projects, analysts say.

Laos suspended the $3.5 billion Xayaburi dam project on the lower
Mekong, awaiting a study into the environmental impact of the river,
the world's largest inland fishery.

The 1,260-megawatt project has been hugely controversial and
underlined growing global concerns that mega-dams were a damaging and
outdated way of generating power. Protests from India to Brazil and
Malaysia to China have called for a halt to massive building programs.

"The decision is certainly a game changer in the lower Mekong," said
Marc Goichot, who works for environmental group WWF's Greater Mekong
program on sustainable hydropower.

"We hope this decision will have influence in the rest of Asia," he
told Reuters in an e-mail from the Lao capital Vientiane.

But he added it was hard to pinpoint whether the decision was related
to environmental concerns or something else. In September, Myanmar
scrapped a $3.6 billion Chinese-led mega-dam across the Irrawaddy
River also after environmental worries, but the decision was
additionally seen as an attempt by its government to distance itself
from Beijing.

"(Last week's) decision also raises the risk profile of these projects
for investors, which will undoubtedly scare some investors away or
make them more hesitant to fund mainstream dams in the future," said
Aviva Imhof, campaigns director at International Rivers, an NGO which
opposes large hydropower dams.

"Unfortunately, it's unlikely that the decision will affect dams (now)
being built in other parts of Asia or even on tributaries of the
Mekong river," she said.

The World Bank, a major hydropower investor, says the social and
environmental costs of such projects have to be addressed and resolved
at the planning stage -- a failure to do so can sharply increase the
impact.

Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia share the lower reaches of the
Mekong.

Concern has grown after China completed a series of dams on the upper
reaches, with more planned, causing lower flows during the wet season
and greater flows during droughts, Imhof said.

The Chinese dams also block sediment flowing downstream, causing
massive erosion and affecting productivity of floodplain agriculture
and in the Mekong Delta, she told Reuters in an e-mail.

The Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower plant at 22.5
gigawatts when it reaches full capacity, is a symbol of China's quest
for energy and is also a taste of what is to come.

A total of 1.25 million people were displaced over 16 years for the
Three Gorges dam, leading to widespread criticism and protests. Many
blamed the project for widespread drought earlier this year in
downstream areas of the Yangtze River.

COAL UNFASHIONABLE, NUCLEAR A WORRY

With countries trying to limit greenhouse gas emissions from coal and
other fossil-fuel based power plants, and questions over nuclear
power, China and the world's other energy-hungry nations are turning
to hydro in a big way.

China wants to raise installed power capacity by 470 gigawatts (GW) to
1,437 GW by 2015 -- the largest in the world. At least 110 gigawatts
of the new capacity will be from hydro power -- equivalent to five
Three Gorges hydropower projects. Current hydropower capacity is 216
GW, also the world's largest.

Earlier this year, the country said it has committed 400 billion yuan
($62 billion) to build four hydropower stations that would contribute
43 GW by 2015, to be built by China Three Gorges Corp.

Longer-term plans call for China to reach 450 GW of hydropower
capacity by 2030. That will involve tapping the largely untouched
Tibetan plateau, the source of major rivers that feed nations
downstream.

This has triggered distrust at home and in Southeast Asia and a test
case will be if China gives the go-ahead in the coming weeks to a
series of dams on the Nu, or Salween, river that flows through
China's Yunnan province and then Myanmar and Thailand.

India, which generates 18 percent of its electricity from hydropower,
is implementing a large-hydro plan totaling 50 GW, or roughly
Australia's total generating capacity. Government data shows that
India has potential hydropower capacity of 148.7 GW, with 33.9 GW
developed and a further 14.6 GW on the way.

But India's hydropower program has also been dogged by protests,
especially a decades-long project along the Narmada river in central
India. The scheme proposes 30 dams, with two large dams built and a
third under construction for power and large-scale irrigation.

In the northeast state of Arunachal Pradesh, a planned 11 GW dam on
the Siang river has run into environmental problems and objections
from neighboring China. The government is looking to build it further
downstream and, if completed, it would be India's largest hydropower
dam.

"Hydropower has issues of resettlement, which is the most serious, it
has issues of biodiversity conservation," said Pradipto Ghosh, former
top civil servant in the environment ministry, and member of the prime
minister's panel on climate change.

"But the point is that hydropower is very much part of the energy mix
and it will continue to remain part of the energy mix," he told Reuters.

"We have to address these issues," he said. "The way that hydropower
projects are now designed and implemented is a far cry from how they
were back in the 1950s."

MALAYSIAN PROTESTS

Malaysia, which generates most of its power with fossil fuels, is
pushing ahead with a huge hydropower program in Sarawak state on
Borneo island that is displacing indigenous communities, disrupting
river flows and triggering deep anger.

The 2.4 GW Bakun dam, which started generating power this year, is by
far the nation's most controversial project with more than 100 cases
still pending in Malaysia's courts. The dam was first proposed in
1960s and shelved twice.

It is the second highest concrete faced rockfill dam in the world at
207 meters high (680 feet), with a reservoir roughly the size of
Singapore.

Much of the power will feed an industrial zone with another 12 dams to
be built to feed industries such as smelters and solar panel
manufacturers.

"The building of these monuments of corruption will be a key issue
that we will bring up in the upcoming elections. I believe the
unhappiness among the local tribal communities is growing," said Baru
Bian, a land rights lawyer in Sarawak.

"I think if the people of Sarawak can appreciate how international
pressure has forced Laos to delay the Mekong dam project ... there is
a possibility of stopping these projects," Bian, who is also an
opposition politician with Anwar Ibrahim's People's Justice Party,
told Reuters.

FULL CAPACITY

But a senior government official with knowledge of the Sarawak's
hydropower plans denied the concerns of local communities have been
ignored.

"We would not proceed if there is a big risk and so far there has not
been any major risk," the official said. "We expect the opposition to
use the Laos issue to campaign for stopping the dams. But it is a
completely different scenario in Laos."

The International Energy Agency says the technical potential for
hydropower globally is five times current production based on 2008 data.

It said China had developed 24 percent of its potential, the United
States 16 percent and Brazil 25 percent and that by 2050, global
hydropower generation could nearly double.

For China, India, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo and others,
that means more dam developments in a world where nations are under
pressure to cut fossil fuel emissions. Brazil approved the 11.2 GW
Belo Monte dam, the world's third largest, in June, while the DRC and
South Africa last month signed a deal for a multi-billion dollar
project.

"I think eventually there will be real problems. The whole hydropower
sector is now in full gear and at full capacity to expand as fast as
it can," said Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and
Environmental Affairs, which monitors China's water supplies.

"We are pressing to the very corners of our territory. If they
continue at this speed, quite soon they are going to finish the
damming of all our major rivers and at that time, the whole industry
will hit a wall," he said.

(Additional reporting by David Stanway in Beijing, Frank Jack Daniel
in New Delhi, Biswajyoti Das in Guwahati and David Fogarty in
Singapore; Writing by David Fogarty; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: dams@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Commentary: Helping the Poor by Helping the Rich?

2011-12-13T17:02:00.001-08:00

Helping the Poor by Helping the Rich?
Huffington Post & International Rivers
December 13, 2011
www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/7057 and http://huff.to/uLMYVz

Most of the world's poorest people lack access to basic services such as
clean water and electricity. The World Bank and the Group of 20 are now
proposing a new strategy to scale up infrastructure investment in
developing countries. They pay lip service to the needs of the poor, and
promote subsidies for large private projects such as the proposed Inga
Dam on the Congo River. A new report from Christian Aid demonstrates
that a more promising approach to reducing poverty and protecting the
climate is possible.

More than one billion people neither have access to clean water nor
modern energy. The situation is particularly precarious in sub-Saharan
Africa, where 70 percent of the population – and a much higher
percentage of rural people - have no access to electricity and clean
water supply. Over the past 50 years, centralized water and power
projects have largely bypassed these population groups.

Over the past two months, the powerful Group of 20, the World Bank and
other development banks have produced three reports on how to tackle the
infrastructure needs of the poor. (Unlike in the past, they have not
consulted civil society - let alone poor people - on this challenge. The
G20 simply outsourced the task to a high-level panel of experts,
primarily from the private sector.) The three reports all make similar
suggestions:

The banks propose to focus support on big, complex projects such as
large dams, transmission lines and transport networks that can modernize
and transform whole regions. The World Bank for example announces that
it will concentrate on "fewer, but more transformational projects." The
Green Climate Fund plans to support transformational projects with
billions of dollars, and the Bank clearly tries to position itself as a
recipient of such support. Yet the new infrastructure strategies do not
aim to transform the global economy into a low-carbon enterprise, but
rather define "transformation" as increasing access to markets and
accelerating growth.

The second pillar of the new strategy is to strengthen support for
private infrastructure investments. The authors propose to expand the
use of public guarantees for private investments, to make public funds
"directly available to the private sector," and to soften the
regulations that may discourage private enterprises from investing. The
World Bank for example announces that it will "align" its own safeguard
policies and work on "reforming labor and land regulation" in Africa.
And even though the strategy papers acknowledge that 10-30 percent of
project values are lost to corruption and mismanagement, they all
propose to make procurement rules, which aim to cut down on corrupt
practices, more flexible.

The new documents only pay lip service to poverty reduction,
environmental protection, and climate change. The G20 report for example
includes a list of six criteria, according to which development banks
should prioritize future infrastructure projects. The criteria list
factors such as regional integration and attractiveness for private
investors, but don't mention poverty or the environment. As my colleague
Doug Norlen at Pacific Environment has observed, the report contains 184
mentions of the word "private," but only seven references to "poor" or
"poverty." If the new approach proposed by the World Bank and the G20
promotes transformation, it is the transformation of aid into corporate
welfare.

One project that is used again and again to illustrate the new approach:
the Inga Dam on the Congo River. This example is telling. Its first
stage - the Inga 1 and 2 dams - have turned into an expensive white
elephant that hardly provides any benefits to the poor. Even the
rehabilitation that the World Bank is currently funding has turned into
a bottomless pit of mismanagement. The future stages of the Inga scheme
foresee the construction of hydropower dams with a capacity of 3,500 or
even 40,000 megawatts. In a country where only 6 percent of the
population have access to electricity, their outputs are primarily
destined to serve the needs of mining companies and urban centers in far
away places such as South Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

The new World Bank report, astoundingly, claims that "large
infrastructure projects have often been successful in making project
affected people the beneficiaries of the project displacing them." Yet
in the case of the Inga 1 and 2 dams, just like in many other such
projects, the affected communities still fight to get compensated for
their lands decades after their displacement.

Luckily, there is a better way. As the International Energy Agency
found, 70 percent of rural areas in Africa are best served not by big,
centralized projects, but by mini-grids or off-grid solutions. Africa
has a huge potential of renewable energy sources such as wind, micro
hydro, solar and geothermal power. This potential has so far been hardly
tapped, and its exploitation is rapidly becoming cheaper.

Based on this potential, a new report by the British charity Christian
Aid documents, Africa has "a big opportunity to leapfrog and transition
to a low-carbon path and at the same time still expand access to energy
services." The Green Climate Fund, Christian Aid argues, should include
a "leapfrog fund" that can support access to clean energy and
sustainable development at the same time. While the World Bank and the
G20 propose a failed model of top-down development and corporate
welfare, the Christian Aid report shows that technologies exist that can
be scaled up, reduce energy poverty and protect the climate at the same
time.

Peter Bosshard is the policy director of International Rivers. He blogs
at www.internationalrivers.org/en/blog/peter-bosshard and tweets
@PeterBosshard.
________________________________________________

This is International Rivers' mailing list on the role of international financial institutions in promoting large dams.

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: ifi@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

East African Countries Drive Geothermal Development

2011-12-13T16:35:00.001-08:00

http://www.afribiz.info/content/east-african-countries-drive-geothermal-development

East African Countries Drive Geothermal Development

United Nations climate talks ended last week in South Africa and the
United States and China played chicken on who would take the lead in
stewarding the environment well while also driving economic
development.[1][2] Quietly, Kenya has signed major deals just this
year that will see the opening of at least three plants that will grow
Kenyaï¿½s geothermal capacity to 514 megawatts (MW) by 2014. By 2030,
Kenya aims for geothermal energy to make up 5000 MW of the total
15,000 MW of power the country will produce to meet growing demand ï¿½
an estimated $16 billion investment.[3] Imagine that, an African
country driving the uptake of clean and renewable energy.

Experts estimate that Kenya has the potential to generate 7,000 MW to
10,000 MW. The country began developing geothermal in the 1980s and
currently produces about 209 MW. In 2008, the country set its
geothermal power goal in the Vision 2030 strategic plan.[4] Since that
time Kenya has aggressively grown geothermal with the 36 MW expansion
of the 48 MW Olkaria III, the construction of the 280 MW Olkaria IV,
and the drilling of the 1,600 MW Menengai field.

Contrary to what the Wall Street Journal reported on December 6, Kenya
is not the only African country developing geothermal energy.[5] Kenya
lies within the East African Rift System that runs 6,500km from
Tunisia to Mozambique. In a recent conversation with Dr. Meseret
Zemedkun of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), she
explained that some countries in the East African region are looking
to complement their current hydropower capacity, while others like
Eritrea and Djibouti are looking for primary renewable energy sources.
[6] Ethiopia has drilled a pilot 7 MW plant. Eritrea is conducting
detailed exploration. Djibouti is drilling wells, and Uganda and
Rwanda are conducting semi-detailed and detailed exploration.

According to Dr. Zemedkun, ï¿½[African] countries are very keen to
develop their resources.ï¿½ She cited the high availability rate of
geothermal compared to hydropower ï¿½ 90-95 percent versus 50-55
percent. Changes in weather impact the availability of hydropower
whereas geothermal energy is not impacted by changes in weather.
Furthermore, enhanced technology is reducing the unit price of
geothermal energy, increasing its accessibility to African countries.

Dr. Zemedkun is currently driving the African Rift Geothermal Project,
an initiative that brings together several African countries in
working to build their geothermal capacity.[7] It also helps reduce
the risks of exploration through exploration studies, site selection,
and surface exploration. UNEP partners with the World Bank in this
work, leveraging its risk mitigation fund to further the exploration
of geothermal energy.

I am excited about the work Kenya is doing to develop its geothermal
energy capacity. Its leadership has also kickstarted the exploration
of geothermal energy in other countries along the East African Rift
System. Hopefully, the US and China will figure out a way to do their
part and contribute to the preservation of this earth while meeting
the economic needs of their citizens.

Featured image is geothermal well at Menengai Crater by Suileman
Mbatiah.

Notes

[1] ABN Digital, Mitigating Effects of Climate Change in Africa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-UBR6o2r74&feature=g-user

[2] New York Times, At Climate Talks A Familiar Standoff Emerges
Between the United States and China: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/08/science/earth/at-climate-talks-a-familiar-standoff-emerges-between-the-united-states-and-china.html?_r=1

[3] Geothermal Development Company, Investment Highlights: http://www.gdc.co.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=192&Itemid=164

[4] Vision 2030: http://www.vision2030.go.ke/

[5] Wall Street Journal, Power out of Africa, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204346104576638553875004940.html

[6] United Nations Environment Program: http://www.unep.org/

[7] UNEP African Rift Geothermal Project, Tapping into the Geothermal
Energy to Power the Region beyond Kenya: http://www.unep.org/newscentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=2653&ArticleID=8847
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

One-year consultant position at International Rivers

2011-12-12T17:14:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

International Rivers is currently seeking a Consultant to the China Program who has experience working on environmental issues in China, possesses solid research, writing and communication skills, and is a Chinese native speaker. The consultant will be an integral part of the China Program, communicate with International Rivers' staff and partners, and contribute to print and web publications. The position will be full-time and will be based in Beijing. Travel within China will be required for 10-20% of the time.

The deadline for applications is January 9, 2012.
The full consultant description can be found here: http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/7055.

Best wishes,
Katy

--
Katy Yan
International Rivers | 国际河流
Office: 510.848.1155 x317
Skype: katyyan85
Follow us on Twitter, Weibo and Facebook

Save China's Rivers | Climate Change and Dams | Blog

**Good planets are hard to find -- please consider the environment before printing this email.**

Africa’s Solar Energy Moment

2011-12-12T09:43:00.000-08:00

Africaï¿½s Solar Energy Moment

http://resourceinvestingnews.com/27758-africa-solar-energy-abengoa.html

Mon, Dec 12, 2011
Feature Articles
Post by James Wellstead, Resource Reporter
By James Wellstead ï¿½ Exclusive to Resource Investing News

While falling solar panel prices have been sinking the ships of some
solar producers, emerging markets utilities are finding attractive
cost incentives in building solar into their grids as prices of solar
panels have fallen by 40 percent in the past year alone.

African countries in particular, alongside a number of other emerging
market economies, appear to be the saving grace of clean energy
markets. Ernst and Young recently reported in its Renewable Energy
Country Attractiveness Index that as American and Western European
markets have been besieged by a ï¿½perfect stormï¿½ of political and
economic uncertainty, emerging energy consumers in markets like North
Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia now represent the
immediate future for renewable energy.

While legal and political support persist as stumbling blocks for a
variety of African countries, the regionï¿½s physical geography, minimal
existing grid infrastructure and the persistence of energy poverty of
its collective citizens offer powerful arguments in favor of Africa
becoming a solar-stronghold in both grid-integrated generation and
small-scale, decentralized applications.

Africaï¿½s solar potential

Home to some of the best geographical conditions on earth for solar
power production, solar energy developers are finding fertile ground
in Africaï¿½s sunbelts. Contrasted against its abundant sunshine,
however, is a dramatic scarcity of energy production which has left
some 587 million people across the continent without access to
electricity, according to the International Energy Association.

While the majority of electricity production in Africa is currently
supplied from fossil fuel sources (particularly coal and oil and gas),
solar remains highly competitive as a grid production source. Despite
its relative abundance of fossil-fuel energy resources, the continent
has long grappled with its ability to establish sufficient electricity
infrastructure to supply its own inhabitants.

Some 85 percent of that 587 million without access to electricity are
people living in rural areas. To these groups, solar (despite its cost
premium in developed economies) is actually quite cost competitive.
David Nickols, Managing Director of WSP Future Energy, recently said
in a Wall Street Journal interview that rural people who get their
power from diesel generators pay about US $1 per kilowatt hour,
compared with just US $0.20/kwh for solar photovoltaic power.

ï¿½Because renewables [in Africa] are compared against decentralized
diesel generators off-grid, the financials for renewables may well
look attractive,ï¿½ said Nickols.

With the abundance of solar panel supply currently flooding world
markets, now is a particularly opportune time for low income markets
like those in sub-Saharan Africa to look to solar as a practical
electricity solution. To date, the majority of solar energy projects
in Africa have been small scale systems for homes where South Africa
and Kenya, with 11,000 kWp and 3,600 kWp respectively, are the most
developed markets.

But more recently, a number of countries have begun to fund and
develop large-scale solar installations set to support grid
development of local markets, as well as supply neighbouring European
markets. The following are a few of the most recent large-scale
projects.

Namibia

On the sunny southwest coast of the continent, Namibia is looking to
duplicate its mineral sector success within its solar energy sector.
Recently, the nation of 2 million, which relies heavily upon coal
imports from South Africa, has announced a new 25 year power purchase
agreement with a group of Washington, DC-based investors which would
see the government purchasing electricity from a 500 megawatt (MW)
solar plant near its capital, Windhoek.

The ground mounted solar photovoltaic power project will cost between
US $1.6 and $2 billion for its initial engineering and construction
costs, the project could double in production output (to 1 gigawatt)
from the addition of wind generation additions.

Africa Energy Corp., the group leading the project, is headed by Jigar
Shah (also the head of Virgin mogul Richard Bransonï¿½s Carbon War Room)
and was created specifically to finance the project. The project will
commence in January of 2012 and will take about two years to complete.

Morocco

With a distance of only 8 miles separating the country from Spain,
Morocco is probably the best example of the external opportunities for
African solar power producers. Recently, the World Bank approved a US
$297 million loan to finance the countryï¿½s Ouarzazate Concentrated
Solar Power Plant Project which will have a 500 MW capacity, with the
potential to expand to 2,000 MW by 2020.

This project is also the testing ground for the much larger US $530
billion renewable energy Desertec Industrial Initiative which seeks to
provide 100 percent of North Africa and the Middle Eastï¿½s power supply
by 2050, as well as 15 percent of Europeï¿½s electricity supply.
Desertecï¿½s next solar development will include a smaller 150 MW solar
project in Egypt.

The Ouarzazate project is also a case study in the cost savings
African countries can offer. Similar sized projects in the United
States, such as BrightSource Energyï¿½s 370-megawatt Ivanpah project,
received a $1.6 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy
this past April.

South Africa

Home to the 2011 Durban round of International Climate Change
Conference, South Africaï¿½s Department of Energy recently announced
that it has awarded Spanish renewable energy developer Abengoa the
rights to build two concentrating solar power (CSP) farms in South
Africa. The deal is one of a number of projects recently approved
under a government tender which totaled 1,416 MW of CSP, solar
photovoltaic and wind projects.

With US $1.3 billion in investments, the two CSP developments (the 50
MW Khi Solar One and 100 MW KaXu Solar One) will be the first CSP
facilities in South Africa. The projects will contribute towards South
Africaï¿½s target of building 17,800 MW of renewable energy capacity by
2030.

Long reliant upon coal to provide upwards of 90 percent of the
countryï¿½s electricity, South Africa is looking keen to see itself as
an African leader into a new era of renewable energy.

Securities Disclosure: I, James Wellstead, hold no direct investment
interest in any company mentioned in this article.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Gansu tightens control of hydropower projects on environmental concerns

2011-12-08T10:31:00.000-08:00

Gansu tightens control of hydropower projects on environmental concerns
China Business Newswire
December 6, 2011

http://www.hydroworld.com/index/display/news_display.1556615756.html

West China's Gansu Province, one of the country's driest regions, has
introduced policies aimed at better regulating small-scale hydropower
projects to protect fresh water resources, according to a policy
statement issued by the Gansu provincial government Dec. 5.

According to the statement, effective Dec. 1 all planned hydropower
plants with installed capacity ranging from five to 250 megawatts (MW)
must receive approval from the Gansu arm of the National Development and
Reform Commission (NDRC) before breaking ground.

Additionally, projects with les than five MW of installed capacity need
to obtain approval from municipal NDRC offices, the policy said,
stressing that hydropower operating licenses were not transferrable.

The latest regulations are aimed at protecting scarce water resources
and farmers from potentially harmful hydropower project development, the
Gansu provincial government said.

Calls to the Gansu NDRC for further comment went unanswered.

Tian Zhongxing, director of hydropower development with the Ministry of
Water Resources (MWR), told the China Small Hydropower Projects Forum in
Beijing Oct. 12 that a number of small-scale hydropower projects have
damaged the environment and affected downstream irrigation systems,
noting that the MWR has sent representatives to Gansu this year to
investigate a number of such incidents.

Gansu has 1,077 cubic meters of fresh water per person, roughly half of
the national average, according to the Gansu arm of the MWR.

By the end of 2010 Gansu housed 1.68 gigawatts (GW) of hydropower
installed capacity, according to provincial MWR statistics.

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: china@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Kuki women urge Burma and India: Stop damming the Chindwin and let us return home

2011-12-07T20:42:00.001-08:00

Kuki women urge Burma and India: Stop damming the Chindwin and let us
return home
Press Release by Kuki Women's Human Rights Organization, December 8, 2011

Impacted Kuki women are demanding that India and Burma immediately
cancel the giant Tamanthi dam project on the Chindwin River and let over
2,400 relocated villagers return home.

In a campaign booklet launched today, the Kuki Womenï¿½s Human Rights
Organisation (KWHRO) exposes how the planned hydropower dam will flood
an area the size of Delhi, displacing over 45,000 people, including the
entire town of Khamti, from along the Chindwin River in Sagaing
Division, northwest Burma.

Over 2,400 villagers, including indigenous Kuki, were forcibly relocated
from the dam site in 2007 by Burma Army troops, who bulldozed their
houses and lands. Ordered into a barren relocation site 40 miles away,
many families are continuing to suffer from food shortages and poor health.

Surveying at the dam site by engineers from NHPC Limited, Indiaï¿½s
largest hydropower producer, has been ongoing this year under tight
security. Burma plans to sell 80% of power from the 1,200 megawatt dam
to India, although the majority of people in Burma have no access to
electricity.

The Chindwin, the largest tributary of the Irrawaddy, is a vital
watershed for millions in Burma. According to a 2006 project EIA, the
damï¿½s reservoir will flood parts of Tamanthi Wildlife Reserve, home to
several globally endangered species. Since dam surveying began, there
has been large-scale logging along the river banks. The entire river
basin is also a seismically active zone.

In September 2010, Burmaï¿½s President Thein Sein abruptly suspended the
massive Chinese-funded Myitsone hydropower project on the Irrawaddy
river, due to widespread public pressure against the dam.

ï¿½The Tamanthi dam is a social and environmental disaster in the making.
Burma and India must stop the project now or the public backlash will be
huge,ï¿½ said Ngangai, spokesperson of KWHRO.

The KWHRO are demanding that relocated villagers be allowed to return to
their homes immediately and be provided with proper compensation.
Villagers received as little as 5,000 kyats (US$5) in total for the loss
of their homes and farms.

The booklet can be viewed at: www.burmariversnetwork.org, www.ksdf.net.
www.kwhro.blogspot.com
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: sasia@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Additional reporting on Kamchay Dam: Cambodia opens controversial mega-dam

2011-12-07T11:34:00.001-08:00

[Apologies for not consolidating our media alerts on the operation of
Kamchay Dam]

Cambodia opens controversial mega-dam
7 December 2011
Agence France Presse

Energy-starved Cambodia on Wednesday opened the country's largest
hydropower dam to date, a multi-million dollar Chinese-funded project
that has attracted criticism from environmental groups.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said the start of operations of the 194-megawatt
hydroelectric dam, which cost more than $280 million, in southern Kampot
province was a "historic event" in the development of the nation.

He brushed aside the concerns of local and foreign activists, saying the
environmental impact of the dam had been "well studied" and it would
help bring down electricity prices in areas including the capital Phnom
Penh.

"There is no development that will not impact on the environment," he
said in a speech broadcast on national radio, urging "extreme
environmentalists" to "look at the whole forest rather than each single
tree".

US-based campaigners International Rivers said the Kamchay dam had
destroyed hundreds of hectares of forest and farmland and warned it
would have a negative impact on fisheries and on local people's livelihoods.

"Consideration of the dam's environmental impacts had no place in the
project's decision-making," said Ame Trandem, the non-profit group's
Southeast Asia programme director.

"As the first large dam in Cambodia, we hope this project does not set
precedent for future energy planning and development in the country."

Around a quarter of households in the impoverished nation currently have
access to electricity.

Spiralling utility prices, driven by the lack of supply, are a major
obstacle for Cambodia to attract foreign investment, and the government
has struggled to find a way to bring down the cost of power.

Nine more dams, including at least four funded by China, are set to open
by 2019, and once they are all operational the government says they will
generate 2,045 megawatts of power, serving all Cambodia's provinces.

The inauguration of the Kamchay dam came a day before Cambodia, Laos,
Thailand and Vietnam are set to announce whether Laos will push ahead
with the development of the controversial Xayaburi megadam on the lower
Mekong River.

Cambodia has called for more examination of the cross-border impacts of
that project before a final decision is made by Laos on whether to go ahead.
________________________________________________

This is International Rivers' mailing list on China's global footprint, and particularly Chinese investment in
international dam projects.

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: chinaglobal@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Two articles on drying lakes and dying fisheries in China

2011-12-07T11:12:00.001-08:00

[Summaries of two articles on drying lakes in China, a result of
drought, reservoir storage on the Yangtze, and sand excavation. Courtesy
of China Environment Brief, http://eng.greensos.cn/default.aspx]

No fish left in the "region of fish and rice"
China News Service
December 2, 2011

Poyang Lake, in eastern Jiangxi province, is China's largest freshwater
lake. Once a region teeming with fish and rice (鱼米之乡), Poyang Lake
is now running dry, posing a lasting challenge for both the fishermen
and migratory birds. According to the Fishery Management Bureau of
Poyang Lake, around 100 thousand fishermen are expected to suffer at
least a 60 percent drop in their incomes this year. Meanwhile, the
fishermen are asked to reserve some fish and shrimp for over a million
migratory birds which arrive here every October from north China.

Low water levels are expected as an ongoing trend in coming years. So
far the water surface of Poyang Lake has contracted from about 1,000km2
in September to current levels of around 536km2. Below average rainfall,
water storage by reservoirs in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River
and excessive sand excavation are to blame for the problem. Local
officials and fishermen are appealing for government compensation and
preferential policies including job transfer (转产专业). Experts suggest
increasing fishery resources and hydrological monitoring stations.

[Source: China News Service:
http://www.chinanews.com/df/2011/12-02/3505078.shtml, Xinhua (English):
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-09/20/c_131150117.htm]

China to spend 18 billion yuan treating its second largest freshwater lake
Liaowang Newsweek magazine
December 5, 2012

The southern Hunan province will invest 18 billion yuan (US$ 2.8
billion) in improving the ecological environment of Dongting Lake, the
second largest freshwater lake in China. An important priority of the
Hunan provincial government, this project is expected to increase the
water surface by 1500 square kilometers and create a modern water
transport system by 2030.

During the first half of this year, the middle and lower reaches of the
Yangtze River witnessed one of the worst droughts in 50 years. The
Dongting and Poyang lakes entered low water season much earlier than
usual. Dubbed the "kidney of the Yangtze," Dongting Lake not only failed
to function effectively in times of flood and drought but also faced
potential ecological disasters caused by water shortage.

[Source: Liaowang Newsweek magazine:
http://env.people.com.cn/GB/16491714.html]

Compiled by Tong Jun and Angela Merriam
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: china@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

International Petition Calls for Thailand, Laos to Cancel Xayaburi Dam

2011-12-07T09:20:00.001-08:00

November 30, 2011

International Petition Calls for Thailand, Laos to Cancel Xayaburi Dam

Ron Corben | Bangkok

An international petition from more than 100 countries is calling for the Laos and Thai governments to cancel a massive hydropower dam project on the Lower Mekong River.

The $3.5 billion Xayaburi Dam in Laos is one of 11 proposed dams for the Lower Mekong River that also flows through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

But environmentalists say the 1,280 megawatt dam will have far-reaching implications, especially in areas such as Vietnam's Mekong Delta region, prime rice growing country.

International Rivers, a U.S.-based environmental group, says 22,580 people from more than 100 countries signed a petition calling for canceling the project due to grave concerns about the future of the Lower Mekong basin.

The petition comes just a week before ministers of Mekong River Commission member states, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, are to meet to make a final decision on the project.

The petition highlights concerns about the dam's impact, says Thailand campaign coordinator for International Rivers Pianporn Deetes.

"We would like the Mekong governments particularly the main players which are the Thai and Lao governments to be aware that the world is watching that there is a large number of people [who] would like to protect the Mekong River and livelihood of millions who depend on the Mekong River and would like them top make a good decision - not a decision that is based on politics."

Proposals for the 11 mainstream dams date back to 2006. Under an agreement Thailand will purchase 95 percent of the electricity generated by the Xayaburi Dam.

Thailand's Energy Ministry says it has found no proof to back environmentalist claims of long-term damage on the river. But Vietnam and Cambodian officials have backed environmentalists, saying it will severely harm fish stocks.

In April, the Lower Mekong river countries agreed to a suspend the dam's development pending further studies. But recent reports point to ongoing construction at the site to the dam by Thai contractors.

Carl Thayer, an academic at the University of New South Wales in Australia, says a decision by Laos to press ahead with the project will lead to diplomatic tensions.

"Both Vietnam and Cambodia even consulted, made statements they were quite concerned, both were very pleased to postpone it," says Thayer. "The first thing we have not said is the very strong remarks that would be made diplomatically to the Laos. And I think you might see some high level visits from Hanoi to Vientiane to please explain because [the dam] worked up a lot of concern."

Thayer says Vietnam would also look to countries which financially support the Mekong River Commission, including the United States, Australia and Japan, to apply diplomatic pressure on the Laos and Thai governments to further delay the project.

Analysts have called for a decade-long halt to the project to further assess the ecological and environmental impact from both the Xayaburi Dam development as well as further construction of dams along the Lower Mekong River system.

The Mekong River Commission ministerial meeting is scheduled to take place in Siem Reap, Cambodia on December 7.

Africa Review - Protest against Sudan dam enters third week

2011-12-07T09:03:00.000-08:00

(For background on Merowe Dam see http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/350)

--------------------------------------------------
Protest against Sudan dam enters third week

By REEM ABBAS in Khartoum

Posted Tuesday, December 6 2011 at 17:51

http://www.africareview.com/News/Protest+against+Sudan+dam+enters+third+week/-/979180/1285136/-/tyjapf/-/
A sit-in by the Manasir community in Al Damar, the capital of Sudan's
River Nile State, has entered its third week.

The Manasir who come from Merowe in northern Sudan, are one of the
ethnic groups claiming to have been disadvantaged by the multi-billion
dollar Merowe Hydropower Dam project.

Hundreds of ethnic Manasir have been camping at the Tahrir Square in
Al Damer and many more are joining the protests from other states.

International Rivers, a global organisation that has been reporting on
the ecological and human cost of the Merowe Dam, estimates that at
least 70,000 people were displaced as a result of the project.

In 2008, 22 villages inhabited by the Manasir were flooded, forcing
people out of their homes.

In a statement by the committee responsible for organising the
protests and subsequent sit-in since November 20, the Manasir demanded
compensation for the ignored deal between them and the government.

Mr Al Rashed Al Affendi, the spokesperson of the Manasir executive
committee, stated that they would not stop protesting just because the
government promised to resolve their problems, insisting they wanted
to see proof.

The State minister for Finance in River Nile State has admitted that
there had been a delay in solving the Manasir case that had led to
complications, but he criticised the protest.

National parties have asked the government to meet the demands of the
protestors and look into the killings of protestors in Kajbar and
Amri, where the Kajbar and Dal dams are set to be built.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Climate Change Threatens Africa’s Biggest Water Sources

2011-12-06T16:17:00.001-08:00

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/pan/Climate-Change-Threatens-Africas-Biggest-Water-Sources--134258698.html

November 21, 2011
Climate Change Threatens Africaï¿½s Biggest Water Sources
by Darren Taylor | Johannesburg, South Africa

Part 3 of a 5-part series on Climate Change

ï¿½Water is the primary medium through which people in Africa will
experience climate change impacts. By 2020, it is estimated that (up
to) 250 million Africans will be exposed to increased water stress,ï¿½
writes South Africa-based scientist Dr. Mary Galvin in a recent
analysis of the effects of hotter weather on Africaï¿½s water supplies.
According to leading climatologists, large parts of Africa could warm
by as much as four degrees C by 2100. But an increase of just one
degree C will have ï¿½terribleï¿½ consequences for the continentï¿½s water
sources and the people who rely on them to survive, said Kenyan
ecological economist, Dr. Kevin Chika Urama.

Scientists say the world is warming because mainly industrial nations
have for a long time pumped harmful emissions, such as carbon from
coal burning for energy, into the earthï¿½s atmosphere.
Urama is co-author of an internationally acclaimed paper that has
examined the effects of climate change on water in Africa. He
concluded that the regionï¿½s water sources will face, and in fact are
already facing, a ï¿½multitudeï¿½ of challenges because of the phenomenon.
These include intense droughts and floods, the drying up of rivers and
lakes that have sustained life for centuries, associated ï¿½warsï¿½ for
scarce water and huge increases in the numbers of ï¿½water refugees.ï¿½

64 African river basins in jeopardy

Urama said increasingly strange weather patterns are already causing
havoc across Africa. He recalled a visit to Nigeria in mid-October,
which is usually a dry period for that country. But heavy rain, said
the economist, had washed away crops and flooded cities and towns.

Taryn Pereira, an environmentalist with South Africaï¿½s Environmental
Monitoring Group, is researching changing weather systems in Africa.
She said areas accustomed to regular rainfall are now suffering
prolonged droughts.

Pereira highlighted the example of South Africaï¿½s Southern Cape
region, which up until recent years experienced regular rainfall year
round. ï¿½That area has just had the lowest rainfall in 130 years of
recording rainfall,ï¿½ she said. ï¿½Entire districts and towns ran out of
water. People were sharing water with livestock.ï¿½

Extreme variability in weather will be more prevalent in Africa in the
near future, Urama said, resulting in widespread water scarcity.
ï¿½Weï¿½re seeing how much carnage that is causing at the moment in
Somalia and Kenya,ï¿½ he pointed out.

The water resource expert predicted that future droughts will be worse
than ever before, especially in areas that are traditionally dry, such
as the Horn of Africa.

Zambian environmental engineer Alex Simalabwi agreed. ï¿½With the
increase in temperatures, some regions are going to become much drier,
such as in North Africa along the Sahara desert,ï¿½ he said. ï¿½For
southern Africa, the areas around the Kalahari desert and going down
to the west coast in Namibia are going to become much, much drier.ï¿½

Simalabwi is director of the Global Water Partnershipï¿½s water, climate
and development program. The organization is based in Stockholm and
advocates for a ï¿½water secure world.

As an advisor to several African governments, Simalabwi emphasizes
ï¿½intergovernmental protectionï¿½ of Africaï¿½s 64 river and lake basins.
He said if these arenï¿½t properly managed and if states donï¿½t use them
responsibly and put aside ï¿½narrow self interestsï¿½ to cooperate to
share the water, the consequences for the entire continent are
ï¿½myriadï¿½ and ï¿½horrible.ï¿½
The scientist explained, ï¿½These basins are shared by various
countries. The economic development of Africa is dependent on these
water sources.ï¿½

But according to many environmental projections, climate change is
already harming the basins, such as Lake Victoria, which is shared by
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Water and fish: ï¿½slow disappearanceï¿½

Urama said flows from the thousands of streams that feed the worldï¿½s
largest tropical lake have dwindled in recent years because of factors
including hotter and drier weather.

The United Nations Environment Program has estimated that 30 million
people rely directly on Lake Victoria for their survival, with
millions more indirectly dependent on it for water and food. Itï¿½s one
of the biggest inland fisheries in the world.

But Urama said, ï¿½Lake Victoria is very prone to climate change impacts
because it has a large surface area compared with its volume. Itï¿½s
shallow, so this means that higher temperatures will mean much more
water evaporating from it.ï¿½

He said the higher temperatures, combined with over-fishing, are
causing the ï¿½slow disappearanceï¿½ of the lakeï¿½s most important
commercial fish species, the Nile Perch.

Lake Victoria is also the major source of the Nile, the longest river
in the world. Simalabwi said, ï¿½A shrinking Lake Victoria means a
shrinking Nile,ï¿½ which could threaten the livelihoods of 160 million
people in 10 African countries that depend on the Nile.

All over Africa, said Pereira, ï¿½Negative human impacts on water
resources are being worsened by the effects of climate change. Fish
species and fish numbers are declining and changing their behavior,
and that makes it very, very difficult for subsistence fishermen to
draw a livelihood from the environmentï¿½.ï¿½

Water wars

In the near future, said Urama, more people will be struggling for
less water ï¿½ resulting in conflict across Africa. Simalabwi said the
ï¿½first signsï¿½ of this are already happening, in the form of violence
between pastoralists and farmers.

ï¿½The pastoralists graze their cattle in the wilds of Africa. But as
grazing areas dwindle because of higher temperatures, you find the
pastoralists encroaching on arable land where people grow their crops.ï¿½

Urama said the potential is also growing for conflict between local
African communities and foreign companies, which are increasingly
buying land in Africa.

ï¿½Theyï¿½re buying that land because of decreasing resources in their own
countries, to produce food for export to their home countries. Theyï¿½re
using up water resources that many Africans depend on. So we are
likely going to see conflicts between communities that are going to be
trying to resist these kinds of external investments that, though
economically viable for a country, may not be sustainable for the
communities that have relied on these water resources for ages.ï¿½

Simalabwi said people will be forced to flee from country to country
in search of water. ï¿½The refugee situation in Africa will become much
worse. This has a lot of implications in terms of regional stability
and peace.ï¿½
Urama said battles over meager water supplies will also pit humans
against animals. ï¿½Already you see a lot of conflicts between elephants
and humans in Kenya because of these dwindling resources,ï¿½ he said.

According to Pereira, the tension over water wonï¿½t be limited to
Africaï¿½s rural areas. She expects piped water to soon become much more
expensive in the cities. ï¿½The urban poor will be faced with much, much
higher water bills. When they donï¿½t pay, the authorities will cut
their water off.ï¿½

This, Pereira said, had already resulted in riots in several African
countries, most notably in South Africa.

Floods may destroy communities, economies

While a lot of attention is on the droughts that look set to sweep
Africa, some regions will become much wetter, said Simalabwi. He
expected ï¿½transforming precipitation patternsï¿½ because of hotter
weather to result in more rain falling in Central Africa in the near
future.

ï¿½The region is already very wet, with the Congo Basin being one of the
biggest water towers in Africa. Itï¿½s expected to be much, much wetter
as a result of climate changeï¿½and this is going to lead to excessive
flooding.ï¿½

The floods, Simalabwi said, could be on such a large scale that theyï¿½d
ï¿½wipe outï¿½ entire communities and destroy economic growth in Central
Africa. ï¿½Agriculture will not be possible and mining and other
industries will shut down.ï¿½

Urama said African coastal areas will also experience more flooding,
as the sea level rises because of melting ice in polar regions.

Poor water management

The harm done by extreme weather caused by climate change is made
worse by the fact that water resources are poorly managed in Africa,
said Urama.

ï¿½While some places will see heavier rains, Africa generally does not
have the necessary systems of water harvesting so most of the water is
lost. So when the long droughts hit, Africans really suffer,ï¿½ he said,
adding, ï¿½Itï¿½s the normal story in Africa ï¿½ we have food abundance
during the harvest seasons, and we have starvation, famine in some
cases, during the lean periods. The same logic happens in the water
resources case.ï¿½

Simalabwi agreed, commenting, ï¿½Whatï¿½s missing in many parts of Africa
is not the water, but the good management of the water.ï¿½

He maintained that one of the biggest constraints on Africaï¿½s water
resources is ï¿½poor and inadequateï¿½ information. Simalabwi said most of
Africaï¿½s hydrological monitoring stations, which are supposed to
calculate how much water theyï¿½re receiving and the sources of such
water, are dysfunctional.

ï¿½They are dilapidated; they are disused; they are not in a way that
you can rely on them to get accurate information of how much (water) a
country is using and how much water is moving from one country to the
other,ï¿½ he said, asking, ï¿½If countries donï¿½t know exactly how much
water they have available on average, how can they plan for climate
change events?ï¿½
Simalabwi also pointed out that many dams in Africa are in poor
condition. ï¿½They arenï¿½t maintained,ï¿½ he said. ï¿½So at the same time as
we are moaning about droughts, we are wasting our water.ï¿½

Urama called for big investments in the repair of existing dams and
the large scale construction of new water saving technologies. ï¿½We
live in a hot region so much water is lost through evaporation. Letï¿½s
prevent this by building water storage dams that are below ground so
when thereï¿½s drought, communities will have access to clean water.ï¿½

But South African environmentalist Taryn Pereira said she sees little
evidence of any ï¿½real, tangible, practical planningï¿½ for climate
change in African water sectors.

Small steps

Simalabwi said itï¿½s ï¿½very disappointingï¿½ that water wonï¿½t be on the
official agenda at the United Nations global climate talks scheduled
to begin in South Africa on November 28.

ï¿½Why the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) has not
dedicated special attention to discussing water resources is difficult
to understand,ï¿½ he said. ï¿½When considering the already very bad
impacts climate change is having on water resources, itï¿½s very
discouraging.ï¿½

Nevertheless, said Simalabwi, the Global Water Partnership still has
hope that at least small steps will be taken towards ensuring the
protection of water resources from present and future effects of
climate change.

ï¿½We are hopeful that during the talks some of the parties will call
for some of the references to water resources that are already in the
UNFCCC text to be made operational,ï¿½ he said. ï¿½We are also hopeful
that the parties can agree on specific funding to protect water
resources from climate change, from the Green Fund, which is being
designed to help the world adapt to climate change.ï¿½

------------------

Learn more about climate change's impacts on dams and rivers in an
animated Google Earth tour, "The Wrong Climate for Damming Rivers": http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/6928

The video and tour allow viewers to learn about topics such as
reservoir emissions, dam safety, and adaptation while exploring real
case studies in Africa, the Himalayas and the Amazon.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp