Peter Bosshard

Jim Yong Kim rapping at Dartmough CollegeYoutubeJim Yong Kim – a public health expert, president of Dartmouth College and astute rapper – is the US government’s candidate for the presidency of the World Bank. As Dani Rodrik, a development expert at Harvard University, summed it up this morning, “it’s nice to see that Obama can still surprise us.” Will the new candidate, who was not on anybody’s shortlist for the position, be able to reinvent the World Bank?

Tree of LifeWikimedia CommonsAll life on Earth began in the sea some 3.5 billion years ago. Yet there is a twist to this story. New research shows that almost all fish species that inhabit the oceans today moved there from rivers and lakes. This sheds new light on the importance of freshwater ecosystems for life on Earth. And it suggests that by damming and polluting rivers, we may destroy the seed banks of future generations.

Villagers affected by the Inga DamMost 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.

Exclusive club: the G20 heads of stateDemocracy is a messy affair. It forces government officials and politicians to face parliamentary scrutiny, pesky journalists and grassroots pressure. While they uphold democracy and good governance in their rhetoric, governments and the World Bank have begun to shift important decisions about global development to the Group of 20, a body that is largely shielded from public debate and democratic control. It’s time to shed some light on an institution that has become a key power broker for the interests of the global 1%, including through the promotion of large dams.

Displaced by a landgrab in Western EthiopiaOakland InstituteAs food prices rise, the lands of rural communities are being snatched up for plantations at an alarming rate around the world. According to the World Bank, large agricultural land deals made up an area the size of Sweden in 2009 alone. A new report documents how the controversial Gibe III Dam is fueling landgrabs in Southwestern Ethiopia right now. These grabs will compound the dam’s impacts on poor communities and their unique ecosystems.

Police intimidation in EthiopiaBBCAt the end of June, Reeyot Alemu, an Ethiopian journalist, was thrown into jail after she dared to raise questions about the proposed Grand Millennium Dam. This is only the latest example of the severe repression that the Ethiopian government metes out against anybody who takes a critical position on its massive hydropower projects. In spite of such repression, the International Hydropower Association recently recognized Ethiopia’s power utility as a “Sustainability Partner.” This is a telling example of the dam industry’s current propaganda effort – an effort that is at best naive and at worst cynical.

The Marmorera DamMargherita SpiluttiniWhen I was in fifth grade, we spent a week at the Marmorera Dam in the Swiss Alps, where we learned about the wonders of hydropower, the “white gold” of Switzerland. I loved the cute village which had been rebuilt on the reservoir, and admired how the 91 meter high earthen dam had been planted with grass and pine trees. Years later I learned how the affected families had been cheated when they were resettled, and how their community has remained scarred ever since. When I see the dam’s green cover now, it reminds me of how dam builders often try to brush over the problems of their projects.Today, the International Hydropower Association (IHA) has launched a new global effort to greenwash hydropower.

Lightning StormWikimedia CommonsOnly 140 kilometers from our Berkeley office, the Folsom Dam towers 100 meter high over the American River. When it was built in the 1950s, the project was supposed to withstand the most severe flood in 250 years. Yet after it was completed, strong floods suddenly became more frequent and overtopped the dam at several instances. Until a safety upgrade goes forward, 440,000 people in the downstream area are exposed to the highest level of flood risk in the US. Scientists have now found evidence that the project’s problem may be partly of its own making, and that dams can in fact kick up a storm.

Activists return turbines for Lower Subansiri Dam to senderWith more than 150 dams proposed for construction and 11 projects in operation, Northeast India is one of the hotspots of global dam building. The biggest project under construction is the Lower Subansiri Dam on the border between the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Social movements have organized massive protests against the mega-project in the Himalayan foothills over several years. In a huge success, they have just managed to send the turbines for the project back to the sender.

Dead trees in Balbina ReservoirPedro Ivo SimoesClimate funds such as the Prototype Carbon Fund and the European carbon market prioritize support for renewable energy technologies, and exclude large hydropower from this definition. There are good reasons for this: Big dams irreversibly damage freshwater ecosystems, which are already reeling under the impacts of climate change. Slow, lumpy investments in large dams are not well suited for the uncertainties of climate change, which call for nimble, decentralized and flexible energy strategies. Finally, the purpose of carbon credits is to facilitate emission reductions that would not happen without them. Yet developers of big hydropower projects will not make billion dollar investments based on the uncertain prospects of receiving carbon finance. Carbon credits for big dams are the icing on the cake of projects that are already going forward, and will not bring about reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Affected people protest against the Gibe III DamFriends of Lake Turkana On a day when people took to the streets in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain, dam-affected people organized protests against destructive dams at the Chinese embassies in Kenya and Sudan. Among them was our friend Ikal Angelei. Her efforts illustrate the changing face of international grassroots struggles.

Protest against the Kajbar Dam in SudanDams have impoverished tens of thousands of people and triggered serious human rights violations in Sudan. Now Chinese companies have won contracts to build three more hydropower projects in the country. Of particular concerns are plans to dam the Nile near Kajbar, on the lands of ancient Nubia. This project has already caused massive human rights abuses. Affected people are strongly opposed to it, and have raised the specter of a second Darfur conflict.

Need not apply: legs visibleUBS, one of the world’s biggest banks, has been accused of dirty business for years. The Swiss bank helped the Marcos and Mobutu clans stash away their ill-gotten wealth, and allegedly funneled more than $1 billion into Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. It was a key financier of South Africa’s apartheid regime, and funds destructive coal mines around the world.A leaked document shows that the bank is now making an effort to clean up its act. “We will strengthen the image of UBS as a company that has integrity and a sense of responsibility if we behave beyond reproach in our daily interactions with all interest groups,” the internal document says. Yet it does not advise you on how best to avoid tainted assets. The manual will tell you what you may expect from your UBS banker in terms of proper attire and hygiene. Here are some examples from the bank’s new dress code:

Ngoh Seh Suan/Wikimedia Commons Ten years ago on this day, Nelson Mandela launched the report of the independent World Commission on Dams (WCD) at a glitzy ceremony in London. The Commission – composed of prominent members of governments, the dam industry, civil society and academia – had carried out the first in-depth assessment of the development impacts of dams. It found that while “dams have made an important and significant contribution to human development,” in “too many cases an unacceptable and often unnecessary price has been paid to secure those benefits”. For example, dams have displaced 40 to 80 million people worldwide, and most of these people have been impoverished in the process.