[For background information about the proposed projects, visit
www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/malaysia]
Sarawak scales back Borneo dam plans
The Malay Mail, Friday, February 08, 2013
www.mmail.com.my/story/sarawak-scales-back-borneo-dam-plans-47114
Location: KUCHING
SARAWAK'S state minister today said the government would not push ahead
with controversial plans to build 12 dams on Borneo island, after
outrage from local tribes and environmentalists.
The proposals sparked fears that the dams would destroy pristine
rainforests, endanger wildlife, and displace natives in Sarawak, a
Malaysian state crossed by powerful rivers with rich jungle habitats.
"It is not a firm plan to build 12 dams. I don't think we will need
that. We will only need four of them," Tan Sri Dato Sri Dr. James
Masing, Sarawak's state minister of land development, told AFP in an
interview.
He said the government was backing off in response to widespread
criticism. Protests over the years have seen activists and locals
staging blockades of roads into dam areas.
"I'm pleased that this type of thing (protests) takes place. Not all
that we do is correct, and this shows we need to refine our plans and
think again," he said.
The government mooted plans for the dams as part of an industrial
development drive to boost the resource-rich state's backward economy.
But the now-complete Bakun mega-dam deep in the interior has been dogged
for years by allegations of corruption in construction contracts, the
flooding of a huge swathe of rainforest and displacement of thousands of
local tribespeople.
Besides Bakun, another dam at Murum is nearing completion and two others
are in the planning stages.
The four dams - at Bakun, Murum, Baleh and Baram - are already expected
to put out nearly 6,000 megawatts of power, six times what Sarawak
currently uses, Masing said.
"The protests are becoming more vocal on the ground so (the dam rethink)
is a very good development for me," said Peter Kallang, member of a
Sarawak tribe and chairman of SAVE Rivers, an NGO that has campaigned
against the dams.
However, he said plans for the Baram and Baleh dams should be scrapped
as well, noting that the Baram dam would displace about 20,000 people,
compared to about 10,000 at Bakun, and destroy irreplaceable forest.
He said SAVE Rivers last month organised a floating protest along the
Baram river that cruised down river for three days and was met with
support along the way by local tribespeople.
The Swiss-based jungle-protection group Bruno Manser Fund says about 90
per cent of Sarawak's rainforests have been damaged as the state
government has opened up virgin forest to loggers and palm-oil plantations.
Critics also allege chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, who has
ruled Sarawak since 1981, has enriched himself and his family through
corrupt timber and other dealings, and have called the dams white elephants.
He has dismissed the corruption allegations.
His critics accuse the federal government of failing to act against him
because his tight control of Sarawak has kept it a vital ruling
coalition stronghold. -AFP
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Friday, February 8, 2013
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Egypt & Sudan outraged by Ethiopia's Blue Nile Dam
http://www.hydroworld.com/news/2013/02/05/hydro-power-egypt-sudan-outraged-by-ethiopia-s-blue-nile-dam-by-thomas-land.html
Egypt & Sudan outraged by Ethiopia's Blue Nile Dam
-By Thomas Land
Egypt and Sudan are outraged by a new hydro-electric dam construction
project on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia that threatens to endanger
agricultural productivity across huge swathes of Arab land. The
6,000MW dam, 40km from the Sudanese border, designed to alleviate
regional energy shortages and to produce power for export, is
scheduled for completion in 2015.
But it may also damage the fragile environment of Sudan and Egypt down
river. The Blue and the White Niles, both originating in Africa, are
the principal tributaries of the river on which both Egypt and Sudan
depend for survival. There have been reports, played down by officials
but treated very seriously by the Ethiopian press, of contingency
plans prepared by Egypt to deploy air strikes delivered across Sudan
airspace to wreck the $4.8bn hydro-power project.
This is one instance of many frictions spreading between thirsty
neighbours across the Middle East, fed by disastrous, mounting water
shortages challenging economic development and threatening to engulf
the region in conflict. The issues involve desertification,
investment, agricultural productivity and intergovernment relations.
The construction of Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam (GRD) is now
under way by the Italian concern Salini Costruttori, working in
collaboration with Metal & Engineering Corporation, a local
electromechanical enterprise.
Alemayehu Tegenu, the Ethiopian minister of water and energy, recently
received his Egyptian and Sudanese counterparts in Addis Ababa to sign
a diplomatic accord in search of technical cooperation in the
management of shared natural resources.
Egypt's contingency plans for the alleged physical destruction of the
dam under construction at a later, advanced stage were disclosed by
Wikileaks. The immediate relevance of the embarrassing revelations has
been unconvincingly dismissed by Magdy Amr, the Egyptian assistant
foreign minister responsible for Nile basin affairs, on the grounds
that the plans had been formulated in 2010, preceding the public
announcement of the construction.
Abdelrahman Sirelkhatim, the Sudanese ambassador to Ethiopia, has also
emphatically denied propositions that his country was engaged in any
military conspiracy with Egypt for the destruction of the GRD project.
Both countries are nevertheless deeply concerned with
the prospect of a substantial reduction of their principal fresh water
supply. Both depend on the Nile for water as well as its reliable
annual yield of nutrient-rich sediments producing food crops essential
for the survival of their rapidly growing populations.
The GRD hydro-power scheme, the biggest in Africa, will change the
vital water balance of both countries. Its giant turbines capable of
generating electricity at twice the volume produced by Egypt's Aswan
High Dam, will be fed a by a massive reservoir containing 63bn cubic
metres of water. The lake will take several years to fill. And it may
well substantially reduce the flow of the river permanently afterwards.
Haydar Yousif, a noted Sudanese hydrologist and an authority on water
management issues of the Nile, estimates the GDR's reservoir "will
hold back nearly one and a half times the average annual flow of the
river. Filling the reservoir, which could take up to five years, would
drastically affect agriculture, electricity and water supply
downstream. Evaporative losses from the dam's reservoir could be as
much as 3bn cubic metres a year."
The dam will also retain silt. The Ethiopian government argues that
this will be a net positive effect of the construction as it would
increase the lifetime of other dams downstream. Indeed, Sudan has just
increased the height of its heavily sedimented Roseires Dam on the
Blue Nile near the Ethiopian border in a $441.5m investment programme
financed by Gulf donors to boost irrigation as well as hydro-power
production. Discussion papers published at a recent Sudan symposium
added that the GRD project would assist in the regulation of water
supplies downstream for irrigated agriculture and provide assured
electricity supplies for the entire region. Nevertheless, tension
between Ethiopia and its Arab neighbours have periodically flared
since the 1970s when the GRD scheme was first publicly discussed.
Egypt and Sudan have both vigorously lobbied against the project.
To calm their concerns, Ethiopia has recently agreed to the
establishment of an intergovernmental expert committee including
several independent specialists to review the likely environmental
effects of the dam downstream. The experts are to report shortly. But
an Ethiopian foreign affairs spokesman has already declared his
country's resolve to stick to its existing plans in the face of "any
external pressures."
Ethiopia is the home of a dozen great river basins with a combined
hydro-power potential estimated in excess of 45,000MW, but its
industrial development is encumbered by persistent electricity
blackouts.
Its current five-year national Growth and Transformation Plan for the
period ending in 2015 envisages the quadrupling of hydro-power
generating capacity from 2,179MW now, eventually to supply much of the
Middle East, Africa and markets as far as Europe. The construction of
high-capacity power transmission links to Sudan and Djibouti has begun.
The only treaty on sharing the waters of the river once honoured by
all the affected countries was based on a colonial era deal set out by
Britain in 1929. But it was replaced in 2010 by a new instrument
adopted by the five upstream African countries led by Ethiopia - and
rejected by Egypt and Sudan.
The Middle East is plagued by potentially perilous conflicts over the
sharing and management of precious natural resources including the
waters of the Nile, the Jordan and the Euphrates as well as Iraq's
disastrously shrinking marshlands. Nouri Al Maliki, the Iraqi prime
minister, warned a recent Baghdad conference that, to avert disaster,
the Arab World must unite in the search for goodwill and trust between
hostile neighbours in a collective endeavour to meet the looming
shortages.
Humanity's collective demand for water is expected to outstrip
supplies by some 40% within a decade and as half, according to
American intelligence estimates, threatening massive conflicts. A
United Nations study endorsed by 40 retired world leaders reckons
that, by the year 2025, essential agricultural productivity alone will
demand an additional global supply of 1,000 cubic km of fresh water a
year, 20 times the equivalent of the annual flow of the Nile. N
The GRD hydro-power scheme, the biggest in Africa, will change the
vital water balance of both countries. Ethiopia is the home of a dozen
great river basins with a combined hydro-power potential in exces of
45,000MW
Copyright 2013 IC Publications
Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company
All Rights Reserved
________________________________________________
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
Egypt & Sudan outraged by Ethiopia's Blue Nile Dam
-By Thomas Land
Egypt and Sudan are outraged by a new hydro-electric dam construction
project on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia that threatens to endanger
agricultural productivity across huge swathes of Arab land. The
6,000MW dam, 40km from the Sudanese border, designed to alleviate
regional energy shortages and to produce power for export, is
scheduled for completion in 2015.
But it may also damage the fragile environment of Sudan and Egypt down
river. The Blue and the White Niles, both originating in Africa, are
the principal tributaries of the river on which both Egypt and Sudan
depend for survival. There have been reports, played down by officials
but treated very seriously by the Ethiopian press, of contingency
plans prepared by Egypt to deploy air strikes delivered across Sudan
airspace to wreck the $4.8bn hydro-power project.
This is one instance of many frictions spreading between thirsty
neighbours across the Middle East, fed by disastrous, mounting water
shortages challenging economic development and threatening to engulf
the region in conflict. The issues involve desertification,
investment, agricultural productivity and intergovernment relations.
The construction of Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam (GRD) is now
under way by the Italian concern Salini Costruttori, working in
collaboration with Metal & Engineering Corporation, a local
electromechanical enterprise.
Alemayehu Tegenu, the Ethiopian minister of water and energy, recently
received his Egyptian and Sudanese counterparts in Addis Ababa to sign
a diplomatic accord in search of technical cooperation in the
management of shared natural resources.
Egypt's contingency plans for the alleged physical destruction of the
dam under construction at a later, advanced stage were disclosed by
Wikileaks. The immediate relevance of the embarrassing revelations has
been unconvincingly dismissed by Magdy Amr, the Egyptian assistant
foreign minister responsible for Nile basin affairs, on the grounds
that the plans had been formulated in 2010, preceding the public
announcement of the construction.
Abdelrahman Sirelkhatim, the Sudanese ambassador to Ethiopia, has also
emphatically denied propositions that his country was engaged in any
military conspiracy with Egypt for the destruction of the GRD project.
Both countries are nevertheless deeply concerned with
the prospect of a substantial reduction of their principal fresh water
supply. Both depend on the Nile for water as well as its reliable
annual yield of nutrient-rich sediments producing food crops essential
for the survival of their rapidly growing populations.
The GRD hydro-power scheme, the biggest in Africa, will change the
vital water balance of both countries. Its giant turbines capable of
generating electricity at twice the volume produced by Egypt's Aswan
High Dam, will be fed a by a massive reservoir containing 63bn cubic
metres of water. The lake will take several years to fill. And it may
well substantially reduce the flow of the river permanently afterwards.
Haydar Yousif, a noted Sudanese hydrologist and an authority on water
management issues of the Nile, estimates the GDR's reservoir "will
hold back nearly one and a half times the average annual flow of the
river. Filling the reservoir, which could take up to five years, would
drastically affect agriculture, electricity and water supply
downstream. Evaporative losses from the dam's reservoir could be as
much as 3bn cubic metres a year."
The dam will also retain silt. The Ethiopian government argues that
this will be a net positive effect of the construction as it would
increase the lifetime of other dams downstream. Indeed, Sudan has just
increased the height of its heavily sedimented Roseires Dam on the
Blue Nile near the Ethiopian border in a $441.5m investment programme
financed by Gulf donors to boost irrigation as well as hydro-power
production. Discussion papers published at a recent Sudan symposium
added that the GRD project would assist in the regulation of water
supplies downstream for irrigated agriculture and provide assured
electricity supplies for the entire region. Nevertheless, tension
between Ethiopia and its Arab neighbours have periodically flared
since the 1970s when the GRD scheme was first publicly discussed.
Egypt and Sudan have both vigorously lobbied against the project.
To calm their concerns, Ethiopia has recently agreed to the
establishment of an intergovernmental expert committee including
several independent specialists to review the likely environmental
effects of the dam downstream. The experts are to report shortly. But
an Ethiopian foreign affairs spokesman has already declared his
country's resolve to stick to its existing plans in the face of "any
external pressures."
Ethiopia is the home of a dozen great river basins with a combined
hydro-power potential estimated in excess of 45,000MW, but its
industrial development is encumbered by persistent electricity
blackouts.
Its current five-year national Growth and Transformation Plan for the
period ending in 2015 envisages the quadrupling of hydro-power
generating capacity from 2,179MW now, eventually to supply much of the
Middle East, Africa and markets as far as Europe. The construction of
high-capacity power transmission links to Sudan and Djibouti has begun.
The only treaty on sharing the waters of the river once honoured by
all the affected countries was based on a colonial era deal set out by
Britain in 1929. But it was replaced in 2010 by a new instrument
adopted by the five upstream African countries led by Ethiopia - and
rejected by Egypt and Sudan.
The Middle East is plagued by potentially perilous conflicts over the
sharing and management of precious natural resources including the
waters of the Nile, the Jordan and the Euphrates as well as Iraq's
disastrously shrinking marshlands. Nouri Al Maliki, the Iraqi prime
minister, warned a recent Baghdad conference that, to avert disaster,
the Arab World must unite in the search for goodwill and trust between
hostile neighbours in a collective endeavour to meet the looming
shortages.
Humanity's collective demand for water is expected to outstrip
supplies by some 40% within a decade and as half, according to
American intelligence estimates, threatening massive conflicts. A
United Nations study endorsed by 40 retired world leaders reckons
that, by the year 2025, essential agricultural productivity alone will
demand an additional global supply of 1,000 cubic km of fresh water a
year, 20 times the equivalent of the annual flow of the Nile. N
The GRD hydro-power scheme, the biggest in Africa, will change the
vital water balance of both countries. Ethiopia is the home of a dozen
great river basins with a combined hydro-power potential in exces of
45,000MW
Copyright 2013 IC Publications
Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company
All Rights Reserved
________________________________________________
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
Africa Program Research Fellow – 2013 – Pretoria
Dear all,
We are seeking a part-time Research Fellow for 20 hours per week for 8 months, based in Pretoria, South Africa.� Please share this with anyone you think may be interested. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Intern & Volunteer Coordinator
International Rivers
*******
Africa Program Research Fellow � 2013 � Pretoria
http://www.internationalrivers.org/node/7818
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 recruiting a researcher for an eight-month Fellowship to work in our Pretoria office for 20 hours a week. The purpose of the Fellowship is to conduct research on dam developments on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and assist in developing links with organizations and individuals working on renewable energy and relevant campaigns in the Southern Africa region. The Fellowship will provide research-training experience, new knowledge and skills to the successful applicant, while helping International Rivers develop our programs and base in South Africa. The Research Fellow will work under the supervision of the Africa Program Director.
The Research Fellow's primary responsibilities include:
The fellowship will pay ZAR 6000.00 a month for 20 hours a week for 8 months. This is not a full-time position and therefore does not include benefits.
Application Procedures
Please send an application letter in English with resume and writing sample to jobpostreg@internationalrivers.org with the subject "Africa Program Research Fellow." The position will remain open until filled.
We are seeking a part-time Research Fellow for 20 hours per week for 8 months, based in Pretoria, South Africa.� Please share this with anyone you think may be interested. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Intern & Volunteer Coordinator
International Rivers
*******
Africa Program Research Fellow � 2013 � Pretoria
http://www.internationalrivers.org/node/7818
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 recruiting a researcher for an eight-month Fellowship to work in our Pretoria office for 20 hours a week. The purpose of the Fellowship is to conduct research on dam developments on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and assist in developing links with organizations and individuals working on renewable energy and relevant campaigns in the Southern Africa region. The Fellowship will provide research-training experience, new knowledge and skills to the successful applicant, while helping International Rivers develop our programs and base in South Africa. The Research Fellow will work under the supervision of the Africa Program Director.
The Research Fellow's primary responsibilities include:
- Support the Africa team�s activities on the Inga Dams in the DRC, including research, contribution to reports, outreach to partners, and review of documents.
- Continue our outreach efforts to Southern African groups working on Inga dams and energy issues.
- Investigate the feasibility of working with South African civil society groups to initiate a campaign focused on discouraging ESKOM from investing in destructive hydropower projects outside of South Africa and instead, encouraging ESKOM to invest in domestic renewable energy resources.
- At least one year research experience in a relevant discipline.
- Ability to work both independently and with a team.
- Excellent written and spoken English skills.
- Excellent computer skills, including Word, Excel, and web savvy.
- Possession or in pursuit of a Master�s degree in environmental sciences, water resources management, geography, environmental economics, energy planning or any other relevant discipline.
- French language skills are an added advantage.
The fellowship will pay ZAR 6000.00 a month for 20 hours a week for 8 months. This is not a full-time position and therefore does not include benefits.
Application Procedures
Please send an application letter in English with resume and writing sample to jobpostreg@internationalrivers.org with the subject "Africa Program Research Fellow." The position will remain open until filled.
AfDB working to expand geothermal in E. Africa
Apologies for the inadvertent mailing of a plea for money--mistakenly
sent to the list, please disregard.
And now for some real news...
http://www.afriquejet.com/201302061332/East-Africa-AfDB-to-boost-Geothermal-development.html
East Africa: AfDB to boost Geothermal development
Geothermal development - Building on its Kenyan experience in the East
African Rift Valley with the Menengai geothermal project, the African
Development Bank (AfDB) says it is working on an ambitious geothermal
development programme for Africa.
Apart from the gigantic projects such as the 400-MW geothermal
development project under implementation in Menengai, Kenya, the AfDB
is also working on a series of small-scale geothermal units, adapted
to the specific context of each country of the East African Rift
Valley having geothermal potential.
In a press statement here Wednesday, received by PANA, the AfDB said
it is currently working with the government of Djibouti on the
development of a 50-MW power plant in the Lac Assal region.
In Ethiopia, the AfDB has played a leading role in defining a
geothermal development roadmap and in Tanzania, the AfDB is leading
the development of the scaling-up renewable energy programme of the
Climate Investment Funds, which will include the financing of a
geothermal development project.
In the Comoros, the AfDB has started the identification process for a
20-MW geothermal plant, matching the needs of the archipelago,
according to the press statement.
Tonia Kandiero, the AfDB Resident Representative in Tanzania, had
said, during the fourth African Rift Geothermal Conference in November
2012 in Nairobi, that �Our ambition is to support the accelerated
development of the large untapped geothermal resource potential in the
Eastern Africa region.
'Geothermal development has been relatively limited in this region in
the past. Only about 217 MW of geothermal energy has been developed so
far, most of it being in Kenya. This is insignificant compared to the
region�s huge potential, estimated at 10,000 MW in Kenya alone.�
According to Youssef Arfaoui, the Chief Renewable Energy Expert, �The
African Development Bank is now pushing the geothermal agenda with
innovative models that help overcome the several risks associated with
geothermal development, among which the most important one is the
exploratory drilling risk, which is related to the probability of
hitting dry wells during the exploration and appraisal drilling phase.
The mitigation of the risks will also make off-taker and consumer
tariffs affordable.�
He said that a new model had emerged to fast-track the development of
geothermal resources in the East African Rift Valley.
This model entails the financing of the early stage and high-risk
activities mainly related to drilling by development finance
institutions such as the African Development Bank using concessional
financing.
The financing goes to a special purpose company in charge of
undertaking the drilling activities and hence taking most of the
drilling risk, which in turn paves the way for private investors to
step in and convert the steam into power by channeling high pressure
steam sources deep underground to operate power generation turbines.
�An eloquent illustration of this new model is the Menengai geothermal
development project in Kenya, which the African Development Bank has
recently supported with approximately US$ 150 million highly
concessional financing from its own resources blended with climate
investment funds,� explains Thierno Bah, the AfDB Senior Power Engineer.
The Menengai Project is the first ever project to be approved under
the Scaling-up Renewable Energy Programme for low-income countries of
the Climate Investment Funds.
The Menengai project, once completed, will have tremendous development
impact for the Kenyan people by increasing the energy supply in the
country by an amount equivalent to the current consumption needs of
500,000 Kenyan households, 300,000 small businesses and some 1,000 GWh
for other businesses and industries.
The project will also displace around two million tons of CO� per
annum, thereby significantly contributing to the fight against climate
change.
Building on the success met in Kenya with the Menengai project, the
AfDB is focusing on developing the geothermal potential in Tanzania,
as Tanzania has been identified as the next country having an
important geothermal potential, with the appropriate institutional
framework and being ready with concrete geothermal sites already
identified.
It will use and try to replicate as much as possible in Tanzania the
model developed in Kenya: financing by development finance
institutions using concessional financing for the early stage and high-
risk activities mainly related to drilling activities to be undertaken
by a special purpose company like the Kenyan Geothermal Development
Company (GDC).
The 2012 African Rift Geothermal Conference, which is the most
important African geothermal conference, held in November 2012 in
Nairobi, attended by more than 630 delegates and 25 exhibitors,
enabled the AfDB to flaunt its strong involvement in geothermal energy
development.
It also helped spread awareness of AfDB�s role as Africa�s premier
development finance institution in the geothermal energy sector in
East Africa.
Pana 06/02/2013
________________________________________________
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
sent to the list, please disregard.
And now for some real news...
http://www.afriquejet.com/201302061332/East-Africa-AfDB-to-boost-Geothermal-development.html
East Africa: AfDB to boost Geothermal development
Geothermal development - Building on its Kenyan experience in the East
African Rift Valley with the Menengai geothermal project, the African
Development Bank (AfDB) says it is working on an ambitious geothermal
development programme for Africa.
Apart from the gigantic projects such as the 400-MW geothermal
development project under implementation in Menengai, Kenya, the AfDB
is also working on a series of small-scale geothermal units, adapted
to the specific context of each country of the East African Rift
Valley having geothermal potential.
In a press statement here Wednesday, received by PANA, the AfDB said
it is currently working with the government of Djibouti on the
development of a 50-MW power plant in the Lac Assal region.
In Ethiopia, the AfDB has played a leading role in defining a
geothermal development roadmap and in Tanzania, the AfDB is leading
the development of the scaling-up renewable energy programme of the
Climate Investment Funds, which will include the financing of a
geothermal development project.
In the Comoros, the AfDB has started the identification process for a
20-MW geothermal plant, matching the needs of the archipelago,
according to the press statement.
Tonia Kandiero, the AfDB Resident Representative in Tanzania, had
said, during the fourth African Rift Geothermal Conference in November
2012 in Nairobi, that �Our ambition is to support the accelerated
development of the large untapped geothermal resource potential in the
Eastern Africa region.
'Geothermal development has been relatively limited in this region in
the past. Only about 217 MW of geothermal energy has been developed so
far, most of it being in Kenya. This is insignificant compared to the
region�s huge potential, estimated at 10,000 MW in Kenya alone.�
According to Youssef Arfaoui, the Chief Renewable Energy Expert, �The
African Development Bank is now pushing the geothermal agenda with
innovative models that help overcome the several risks associated with
geothermal development, among which the most important one is the
exploratory drilling risk, which is related to the probability of
hitting dry wells during the exploration and appraisal drilling phase.
The mitigation of the risks will also make off-taker and consumer
tariffs affordable.�
He said that a new model had emerged to fast-track the development of
geothermal resources in the East African Rift Valley.
This model entails the financing of the early stage and high-risk
activities mainly related to drilling by development finance
institutions such as the African Development Bank using concessional
financing.
The financing goes to a special purpose company in charge of
undertaking the drilling activities and hence taking most of the
drilling risk, which in turn paves the way for private investors to
step in and convert the steam into power by channeling high pressure
steam sources deep underground to operate power generation turbines.
�An eloquent illustration of this new model is the Menengai geothermal
development project in Kenya, which the African Development Bank has
recently supported with approximately US$ 150 million highly
concessional financing from its own resources blended with climate
investment funds,� explains Thierno Bah, the AfDB Senior Power Engineer.
The Menengai Project is the first ever project to be approved under
the Scaling-up Renewable Energy Programme for low-income countries of
the Climate Investment Funds.
The Menengai project, once completed, will have tremendous development
impact for the Kenyan people by increasing the energy supply in the
country by an amount equivalent to the current consumption needs of
500,000 Kenyan households, 300,000 small businesses and some 1,000 GWh
for other businesses and industries.
The project will also displace around two million tons of CO� per
annum, thereby significantly contributing to the fight against climate
change.
Building on the success met in Kenya with the Menengai project, the
AfDB is focusing on developing the geothermal potential in Tanzania,
as Tanzania has been identified as the next country having an
important geothermal potential, with the appropriate institutional
framework and being ready with concrete geothermal sites already
identified.
It will use and try to replicate as much as possible in Tanzania the
model developed in Kenya: financing by development finance
institutions using concessional financing for the early stage and high-
risk activities mainly related to drilling activities to be undertaken
by a special purpose company like the Kenyan Geothermal Development
Company (GDC).
The 2012 African Rift Geothermal Conference, which is the most
important African geothermal conference, held in November 2012 in
Nairobi, attended by more than 630 delegates and 25 exhibitors,
enabled the AfDB to flaunt its strong involvement in geothermal energy
development.
It also helped spread awareness of AfDB�s role as Africa�s premier
development finance institution in the geothermal energy sector in
East Africa.
Pana 06/02/2013
________________________________________________
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
Uganda awards Karuma hydropower deal to Chinese firm
Government awards Karuma deal to Chinese firm
By NELSON WESONGA & DEAR JEANNE
The Monitor (Uganda), Sunday, January 27 2013
China International Water & Electric Corporation (CWE) has been awarded
the deal to construct the multi-billion Karuma Hydropower Dam.
This follows two years of protracted legal battles that witnessed
several cancellations, injunctions, investigations and a repeat of the
technical evaluation processes.
The bid was opened on Friday at the Ministry of Energy boardroom in
Kampala. Available information indicates that CWE offered $1.4 billion
(Shs3.4 trillion) for engineering, procurement and construction of the
600MW dam.
Perlite Construction Company Ltd is the other company that had made it
to the final stage. The total project cost is estimated at $2.2 billion
(Shs5.9 trillion).
Eng. Paul Mubiru, the acting permanent secretary, said the project,
rocked by claims of irregularity in the tendering process, is two years
behind schedule.
And even the final stage was not without controversy as Sunday Monitor
learnt that the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) had directed that the
process be halted.
The IGG on Friday wrote to the permanent secretary, citing allegations
that some officials in the ministry had been compromised by one of the
six bidding firms.
The IGG wrote: "It is therefore hereby ordered that the ministry…do halt
any further action in the procurement of a contractor for the Karuma
Hydropower Project, including the award of a contract to the best
evaluated bidder."
'Biased' evaluation
The IGG spokesperson, Ms Ali Munira, told the Sunday Monitor yesterday
that they have "insider information" that the procurement might have
been compromised.
According to the IGG, the results of the re-evaluation ordered by court,
seems biased and could be contrary to procurement principles.
The IGG said the court intervention had not improved the process because
the technical evaluation returned a company that is alleged to have
falsified information in its bid.
The IGG's notice, which the ministry disregarded, is the second halt
order—the first having been issued by the High Court months back. The
court process was disposed of and the ministry went ahead to evaluate
the financial bids before announcing the winner on Friday.
Neither Energy Minister Irene Muloni nor State Minister for Energy Simon
D'Ujanga could be reached on phone.
The Karuma dam, whose 600MW is a key factor to the country's energy
security plans, is almost a year behind schedule after intense lobbying
by politically-connected factions delayed the bidding process.
________________________________________________
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
By NELSON WESONGA & DEAR JEANNE
The Monitor (Uganda), Sunday, January 27 2013
China International Water & Electric Corporation (CWE) has been awarded
the deal to construct the multi-billion Karuma Hydropower Dam.
This follows two years of protracted legal battles that witnessed
several cancellations, injunctions, investigations and a repeat of the
technical evaluation processes.
The bid was opened on Friday at the Ministry of Energy boardroom in
Kampala. Available information indicates that CWE offered $1.4 billion
(Shs3.4 trillion) for engineering, procurement and construction of the
600MW dam.
Perlite Construction Company Ltd is the other company that had made it
to the final stage. The total project cost is estimated at $2.2 billion
(Shs5.9 trillion).
Eng. Paul Mubiru, the acting permanent secretary, said the project,
rocked by claims of irregularity in the tendering process, is two years
behind schedule.
And even the final stage was not without controversy as Sunday Monitor
learnt that the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) had directed that the
process be halted.
The IGG on Friday wrote to the permanent secretary, citing allegations
that some officials in the ministry had been compromised by one of the
six bidding firms.
The IGG wrote: "It is therefore hereby ordered that the ministry…do halt
any further action in the procurement of a contractor for the Karuma
Hydropower Project, including the award of a contract to the best
evaluated bidder."
'Biased' evaluation
The IGG spokesperson, Ms Ali Munira, told the Sunday Monitor yesterday
that they have "insider information" that the procurement might have
been compromised.
According to the IGG, the results of the re-evaluation ordered by court,
seems biased and could be contrary to procurement principles.
The IGG said the court intervention had not improved the process because
the technical evaluation returned a company that is alleged to have
falsified information in its bid.
The IGG's notice, which the ministry disregarded, is the second halt
order—the first having been issued by the High Court months back. The
court process was disposed of and the ministry went ahead to evaluate
the financial bids before announcing the winner on Friday.
Neither Energy Minister Irene Muloni nor State Minister for Energy Simon
D'Ujanga could be reached on phone.
The Karuma dam, whose 600MW is a key factor to the country's energy
security plans, is almost a year behind schedule after intense lobbying
by politically-connected factions delayed the bidding process.
________________________________________________
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
Malawi DoA fyi
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: China gives green-light to new era of mega-dams
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2013 02:25:01 -0800 (PST)
From: Chikkwawa Ministry <mchikkwawa@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: Chikkwawa Ministry <mchikkwawa@yahoo.com>
To: chinadams@internationalrivers.org <chinadams@internationalrivers.org>
PLEASE HELP US TO RAISE ABOUT US$2000 FOR 2013 DAY FOR ACTION OF RIVERS
FOR OUR EVENT IN MALAWI THAT COST US ABOUT THAT AMOUNT
APOSTLE FRANCIS ANANDA CHIPUKUNMYA
PROJECT LEADER
SUPPORT FOR CHANGE INITIATIVE
P.O BOX 113 CHIKHWAW.MALAWI
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* China Dams List <internationalrivers@mail.democracyinaction.org>
*To:* china@lists.democracyinaction.org
*Sent:* Tuesday, February 5, 2013 7:22 PM
*Subject:* China gives green-light to new era of mega-dams
China gives green-light to new era of mega-dams
By Beth Walker
February 1, 2013
chinadialogue
http://www.chinadialogue.net/blog/5678-China-gives-green-light-to-new-era-of-mega-dams/en
China has confirmed it will resurrect a series of controversial
hydropower dams in south-west China on rivers originating on the Tibetan
Plateau, causing ripples of consternation from India and other
downstream neighbours.
The 2011-15 energy sector blueprint, released by China's State Council
last week, confirmed plans to "actively push forward with hydropower
development" in the Nu (Salween), Lancang (Mekong) and Yarlung Zangbo
(Brahmaputra) river basins - all in ecologically sensitive and
seismically active regions of Yunnan province and Tibet; and all along
internationally shared rivers.
These plans mark a much anticipated step change in government policy,
away from the more cautious approach to dam building in ecologically and
seismically sensitive regions of the past decade.
Wen Jiabao's tenure as Chinese premier saw a number of projects shelved.
Only a third of schemes identified as a priority actually went ahead
between 2006 and 2010. But the combination of China's energy needs,
intensive lobbying by major dam builders and electricity companies and
ambitious plans to meet low-carbon intensity goals in the 12th Five-Year
Plan have opened the way for a fresh round of dam building. Some 120
gigawatts of new hydropower will begin construction by 2015 nationwide,
according to the plan.
Approval of three dam projects on the middle reaches of the Yarlung
Zangbo River (known as the Brahmaputra once it reaches India), has
triggered concerns in Indian media about possible impact on downstream
flows. Construction of the 510-megawatt Zangmu dam, the river's first
large-scale hydropower station, is already under way.
Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei, quickly moved to clarify China's
stance on exploiting the Yarlung Zangbo at a press briefing on
Wednesday: "The Chinese side always takes a responsible attitude towards
the exploitation of cross-border rivers and every new project will be
planned and reasoned in a scientific way (before being started)," he
said, according to Xinhua.
Indian officials have also urged calm. But within government, there are
advocates of urgent damming of the waters of the Brahmaputra in Assam
and Arunachal Pradesh (where 168 mega-dams are slated), which in turn
makes Bangladesh uneasy.
Notable is the lack of mention of the more contentious dam slated for
the "great bend" in China, before the Yarlung Zangbo swings round into
India and through the world's deepest canyon. Here, a massive
48,000-megawatt dam (over twice the size of the Three Gorges dam) is
under active consideration but is likely to be built only after related
infrastructure and ultra-high voltage power transmission lines are complete.
The energy blueprint also mentions nine hydro projects on the Lancang
(upper Mekong), which will have knock on effects for water flow,
fisheries and agriculture for the 60 million people living in south-east
Asia.
Within China, attention has focused on the revival of controversial
plans to dam the Nu River in Yunnan province, eight years after these
were suspended due to environmental concerns in one of the biggest
triumphs to date of China's green activists.
"This is really shocking," said Li Bo, a director at Friends of Nature,
a leading environmental group quoted in South China Morning Post. "There
were signs during the past year that mega dams were staging a comeback
after being put on hold for years, but I'm still shocked by the lack of
transparency in the decision-making process behind this.
The State Council's hydro plans should not come as a surprise (none of
the project are new) - but the announcement will hasten a broader
hydro-fuelled industrial development boom in southwest China and Tibet
as local government uses new power sources to exploit the area's rich
mineral resources.
Dams on China's fragile southeast region now seem a foregone conclusion,
but thorny problems of ecology, geology and politics will not go away.
Within China, rows over the safety of large dam cascades in
earthquake-prone south-west China have heated up in recent months
following revelations that 48% lie in zones of high seismic hazard.
And news of these plans will do little for China's diplomatic relations
with downstream Asian countries. China has no formal agreements with its
neighbours on the use of trans-boundary rivers and has shown little
enthusiasm for engaging in the complex process of drawing these up, or
offering up any good-will data.
________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
china@list.internationalrivers.org
<mailto:china@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
Subject: Re: China gives green-light to new era of mega-dams
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2013 02:25:01 -0800 (PST)
From: Chikkwawa Ministry <mchikkwawa@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: Chikkwawa Ministry <mchikkwawa@yahoo.com>
To: chinadams@internationalrivers.org <chinadams@internationalrivers.org>
PLEASE HELP US TO RAISE ABOUT US$2000 FOR 2013 DAY FOR ACTION OF RIVERS
FOR OUR EVENT IN MALAWI THAT COST US ABOUT THAT AMOUNT
APOSTLE FRANCIS ANANDA CHIPUKUNMYA
PROJECT LEADER
SUPPORT FOR CHANGE INITIATIVE
P.O BOX 113 CHIKHWAW.MALAWI
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* China Dams List <internationalrivers@mail.democracyinaction.org>
*To:* china@lists.democracyinaction.org
*Sent:* Tuesday, February 5, 2013 7:22 PM
*Subject:* China gives green-light to new era of mega-dams
China gives green-light to new era of mega-dams
By Beth Walker
February 1, 2013
chinadialogue
http://www.chinadialogue.net/blog/5678-China-gives-green-light-to-new-era-of-mega-dams/en
China has confirmed it will resurrect a series of controversial
hydropower dams in south-west China on rivers originating on the Tibetan
Plateau, causing ripples of consternation from India and other
downstream neighbours.
The 2011-15 energy sector blueprint, released by China's State Council
last week, confirmed plans to "actively push forward with hydropower
development" in the Nu (Salween), Lancang (Mekong) and Yarlung Zangbo
(Brahmaputra) river basins - all in ecologically sensitive and
seismically active regions of Yunnan province and Tibet; and all along
internationally shared rivers.
These plans mark a much anticipated step change in government policy,
away from the more cautious approach to dam building in ecologically and
seismically sensitive regions of the past decade.
Wen Jiabao's tenure as Chinese premier saw a number of projects shelved.
Only a third of schemes identified as a priority actually went ahead
between 2006 and 2010. But the combination of China's energy needs,
intensive lobbying by major dam builders and electricity companies and
ambitious plans to meet low-carbon intensity goals in the 12th Five-Year
Plan have opened the way for a fresh round of dam building. Some 120
gigawatts of new hydropower will begin construction by 2015 nationwide,
according to the plan.
Approval of three dam projects on the middle reaches of the Yarlung
Zangbo River (known as the Brahmaputra once it reaches India), has
triggered concerns in Indian media about possible impact on downstream
flows. Construction of the 510-megawatt Zangmu dam, the river's first
large-scale hydropower station, is already under way.
Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei, quickly moved to clarify China's
stance on exploiting the Yarlung Zangbo at a press briefing on
Wednesday: "The Chinese side always takes a responsible attitude towards
the exploitation of cross-border rivers and every new project will be
planned and reasoned in a scientific way (before being started)," he
said, according to Xinhua.
Indian officials have also urged calm. But within government, there are
advocates of urgent damming of the waters of the Brahmaputra in Assam
and Arunachal Pradesh (where 168 mega-dams are slated), which in turn
makes Bangladesh uneasy.
Notable is the lack of mention of the more contentious dam slated for
the "great bend" in China, before the Yarlung Zangbo swings round into
India and through the world's deepest canyon. Here, a massive
48,000-megawatt dam (over twice the size of the Three Gorges dam) is
under active consideration but is likely to be built only after related
infrastructure and ultra-high voltage power transmission lines are complete.
The energy blueprint also mentions nine hydro projects on the Lancang
(upper Mekong), which will have knock on effects for water flow,
fisheries and agriculture for the 60 million people living in south-east
Asia.
Within China, attention has focused on the revival of controversial
plans to dam the Nu River in Yunnan province, eight years after these
were suspended due to environmental concerns in one of the biggest
triumphs to date of China's green activists.
"This is really shocking," said Li Bo, a director at Friends of Nature,
a leading environmental group quoted in South China Morning Post. "There
were signs during the past year that mega dams were staging a comeback
after being put on hold for years, but I'm still shocked by the lack of
transparency in the decision-making process behind this.
The State Council's hydro plans should not come as a surprise (none of
the project are new) - but the announcement will hasten a broader
hydro-fuelled industrial development boom in southwest China and Tibet
as local government uses new power sources to exploit the area's rich
mineral resources.
Dams on China's fragile southeast region now seem a foregone conclusion,
but thorny problems of ecology, geology and politics will not go away.
Within China, rows over the safety of large dam cascades in
earthquake-prone south-west China have heated up in recent months
following revelations that 48% lie in zones of high seismic hazard.
And news of these plans will do little for China's diplomatic relations
with downstream Asian countries. China has no formal agreements with its
neighbours on the use of trans-boundary rivers and has shown little
enthusiasm for engaging in the complex process of drawing these up, or
offering up any good-will data.
________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
china@list.internationalrivers.org
<mailto:china@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
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
China gives green-light to new era of mega-dams
China gives green-light to new era of mega-dams
By Beth Walker
February 1, 2013
chinadialogue
http://www.chinadialogue.net/blog/5678-China-gives-green-light-to-new-era-of-mega-dams/en
China has confirmed it will resurrect a series of controversial
hydropower dams in south-west China on rivers originating on the Tibetan
Plateau, causing ripples of consternation from India and other
downstream neighbours.
The 2011-15 energy sector blueprint, released by China's State Council
last week, confirmed plans to "actively push forward with hydropower
development" in the Nu (Salween), Lancang (Mekong) and Yarlung Zangbo
(Brahmaputra) river basins - all in ecologically sensitive and
seismically active regions of Yunnan province and Tibet; and all along
internationally shared rivers.
These plans mark a much anticipated step change in government policy,
away from the more cautious approach to dam building in ecologically and
seismically sensitive regions of the past decade.
Wen Jiabao's tenure as Chinese premier saw a number of projects shelved.
Only a third of schemes identified as a priority actually went ahead
between 2006 and 2010. But the combination of China's energy needs,
intensive lobbying by major dam builders and electricity companies and
ambitious plans to meet low-carbon intensity goals in the 12th Five-Year
Plan have opened the way for a fresh round of dam building. Some 120
gigawatts of new hydropower will begin construction by 2015 nationwide,
according to the plan.
Approval of three dam projects on the middle reaches of the Yarlung
Zangbo River (known as the Brahmaputra once it reaches India), has
triggered concerns in Indian media about possible impact on downstream
flows. Construction of the 510-megawatt Zangmu dam, the river's first
large-scale hydropower station, is already under way.
Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei, quickly moved to clarify China's
stance on exploiting the Yarlung Zangbo at a press briefing on
Wednesday: "The Chinese side always takes a responsible attitude towards
the exploitation of cross-border rivers and every new project will be
planned and reasoned in a scientific way (before being started)," he
said, according to Xinhua.
Indian officials have also urged calm. But within government, there are
advocates of urgent damming of the waters of the Brahmaputra in Assam
and Arunachal Pradesh (where 168 mega-dams are slated), which in turn
makes Bangladesh uneasy.
Notable is the lack of mention of the more contentious dam slated for
the "great bend" in China, before the Yarlung Zangbo swings round into
India and through the world's deepest canyon. Here, a massive
48,000-megawatt dam (over twice the size of the Three Gorges dam) is
under active consideration but is likely to be built only after related
infrastructure and ultra-high voltage power transmission lines are complete.
The energy blueprint also mentions nine hydro projects on the Lancang
(upper Mekong), which will have knock on effects for water flow,
fisheries and agriculture for the 60 million people living in south-east
Asia.
Within China, attention has focused on the revival of controversial
plans to dam the Nu River in Yunnan province, eight years after these
were suspended due to environmental concerns in one of the biggest
triumphs to date of China's green activists.
"This is really shocking," said Li Bo, a director at Friends of Nature,
a leading environmental group quoted in South China Morning Post. "There
were signs during the past year that mega dams were staging a comeback
after being put on hold for years, but I'm still shocked by the lack of
transparency in the decision-making process behind this.
The State Council's hydro plans should not come as a surprise (none of
the project are new) - but the announcement will hasten a broader
hydro-fuelled industrial development boom in southwest China and Tibet
as local government uses new power sources to exploit the area's rich
mineral resources.
Dams on China's fragile southeast region now seem a foregone conclusion,
but thorny problems of ecology, geology and politics will not go away.
Within China, rows over the safety of large dam cascades in
earthquake-prone south-west China have heated up in recent months
following revelations that 48% lie in zones of high seismic hazard.
And news of these plans will do little for China's diplomatic relations
with downstream Asian countries. China has no formal agreements with its
neighbours on the use of trans-boundary rivers and has shown little
enthusiasm for engaging in the complex process of drawing these up, or
offering up any good-will data.
________________________________________________
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
By Beth Walker
February 1, 2013
chinadialogue
http://www.chinadialogue.net/blog/5678-China-gives-green-light-to-new-era-of-mega-dams/en
China has confirmed it will resurrect a series of controversial
hydropower dams in south-west China on rivers originating on the Tibetan
Plateau, causing ripples of consternation from India and other
downstream neighbours.
The 2011-15 energy sector blueprint, released by China's State Council
last week, confirmed plans to "actively push forward with hydropower
development" in the Nu (Salween), Lancang (Mekong) and Yarlung Zangbo
(Brahmaputra) river basins - all in ecologically sensitive and
seismically active regions of Yunnan province and Tibet; and all along
internationally shared rivers.
These plans mark a much anticipated step change in government policy,
away from the more cautious approach to dam building in ecologically and
seismically sensitive regions of the past decade.
Wen Jiabao's tenure as Chinese premier saw a number of projects shelved.
Only a third of schemes identified as a priority actually went ahead
between 2006 and 2010. But the combination of China's energy needs,
intensive lobbying by major dam builders and electricity companies and
ambitious plans to meet low-carbon intensity goals in the 12th Five-Year
Plan have opened the way for a fresh round of dam building. Some 120
gigawatts of new hydropower will begin construction by 2015 nationwide,
according to the plan.
Approval of three dam projects on the middle reaches of the Yarlung
Zangbo River (known as the Brahmaputra once it reaches India), has
triggered concerns in Indian media about possible impact on downstream
flows. Construction of the 510-megawatt Zangmu dam, the river's first
large-scale hydropower station, is already under way.
Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei, quickly moved to clarify China's
stance on exploiting the Yarlung Zangbo at a press briefing on
Wednesday: "The Chinese side always takes a responsible attitude towards
the exploitation of cross-border rivers and every new project will be
planned and reasoned in a scientific way (before being started)," he
said, according to Xinhua.
Indian officials have also urged calm. But within government, there are
advocates of urgent damming of the waters of the Brahmaputra in Assam
and Arunachal Pradesh (where 168 mega-dams are slated), which in turn
makes Bangladesh uneasy.
Notable is the lack of mention of the more contentious dam slated for
the "great bend" in China, before the Yarlung Zangbo swings round into
India and through the world's deepest canyon. Here, a massive
48,000-megawatt dam (over twice the size of the Three Gorges dam) is
under active consideration but is likely to be built only after related
infrastructure and ultra-high voltage power transmission lines are complete.
The energy blueprint also mentions nine hydro projects on the Lancang
(upper Mekong), which will have knock on effects for water flow,
fisheries and agriculture for the 60 million people living in south-east
Asia.
Within China, attention has focused on the revival of controversial
plans to dam the Nu River in Yunnan province, eight years after these
were suspended due to environmental concerns in one of the biggest
triumphs to date of China's green activists.
"This is really shocking," said Li Bo, a director at Friends of Nature,
a leading environmental group quoted in South China Morning Post. "There
were signs during the past year that mega dams were staging a comeback
after being put on hold for years, but I'm still shocked by the lack of
transparency in the decision-making process behind this.
The State Council's hydro plans should not come as a surprise (none of
the project are new) - but the announcement will hasten a broader
hydro-fuelled industrial development boom in southwest China and Tibet
as local government uses new power sources to exploit the area's rich
mineral resources.
Dams on China's fragile southeast region now seem a foregone conclusion,
but thorny problems of ecology, geology and politics will not go away.
Within China, rows over the safety of large dam cascades in
earthquake-prone south-west China have heated up in recent months
following revelations that 48% lie in zones of high seismic hazard.
And news of these plans will do little for China's diplomatic relations
with downstream Asian countries. China has no formal agreements with its
neighbours on the use of trans-boundary rivers and has shown little
enthusiasm for engaging in the complex process of drawing these up, or
offering up any good-will data.
________________________________________________
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
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