Peter Bosshard

NASAToday, a team of international scientists published the first ever global review of human impacts (such as pollution, dam building and agriculture) on the world’s rivers. Their findings are not pretty: Rivers that serve nearly 80 percent of the world’s population suffer from serious threats to human water security and biodiversity. In spite of billions of dollars in investment, the threats to river ecosystems are particularly high in Europe and the United States. The good news is that smart and cost-effective solutions are available.

As a public service in this age of information overflow, the Policy Police has just published a list of Top 50 Public Policy Bloggers. And right there in the policy stratosphere, among shining lights such as Paul Krugman, the Daily Kos and Politico, ranks my own humble policy blog. “If you are interested in environmental public policy on a global scale, Peter Bosshard’s blog is the way to go,” the Policy Police recommends.

Grace MangIn the past three months, I've set up temporary homes in Beijing, Sydney and San Francisco, all for for my new post with International Rivers: in Beijing to polish my Chinese; to spend some time saying goodbye to family in Sydney, Australia; and finally to settle into the coldest summer in 40 years in San Francisco. I do hope the recent upheaval has prepared me well for my new post here at International Rivers as the China Global Program Coordinator.

John Briscoe, one of the most vocal proponents of aggressive global dam building, argues that the World Bank should take a book from China’s page and step up its support for large hydropower projects. China Dialogue, the Chinese-English internet platform which published John’s commentary, asked me for a response to this opinion piece. In my response, I argue that dams are an outdated technology, and that a smarter approach to energy development is possible – in China and internationally. Here is my commentary for China Dialogue.

Farmers being flooded out by the Merowe DamLOHAPThe Merowe Dam on the Nile in Northern Sudan is one of the largest and most destructive hydropower projects in Africa. Commissioned in 2009, the project affects up to 70,000 people, many of whom were displaced from the fertile Nile Valley to arid desert locations. Thousands of people were flushed out of their houses by raising waters before they were properly resettled. A German NGO and an affected person now filed a criminal complaint over the abuses in the project against the German company that supervised project construction. The complaint breaks new ground in holding transnational corporations accountable for human rights abuses on their projects.

Will Hasankeyf not be flooded by Chinese dam builders?peevishsoulA few years ago, Chinese dam builders and financiers appeared on the global hydropower market with a bang. China Exim Bank and companies such as Sinohydro started to take on large, destructive projects in countries like Burma and Sudan, which had before been shunned by the international community. Their emergence threatened to roll back progress regarding human rights and the environment which civil society had achieved over many years. However, new evidence suggests that Chinese dam builders and financiers are trying to become good corporate citizens rather than rogue players on the global market. Here is a progress report. 

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s bad luck is to be rich in resources. Foreign investors are pouring billions of dollars into large extractive projects such as mines and hydropower dams. In a classic case of the resource curse, these projects are not promoting the country’s long-term development, but attract short-term profiteers, conflict, and corruption. In the latest example for this trend, the World Bank has just reported huge delays and cost overruns for the rehabilitation of the Inga 1 and 2 hydropower dams. Other projects are being swallowed by the morass of Congo’s resource curse at the same time.

Living on PandoraMarch 30, 2164. - I have spent a lot of time on Pandora lately. I have explored its verdant valleys, lush rain forests, and floating mountains. I have tried to stay away from the ferocious aynantang and aypalulukan. And I have fallen in love with the mighty rivers and waterfalls, which cascade down sheer cliffs and which you may have admired in the Avatar movie.

China's Liu Xiang on track to winning Olympic Gold in 2004www.chine-informations.com/images/upload2/Liu_xiang.jpgIn April 2009, President Obama said, "The nation that leads the world in twenty-first-century clean energy will be the nation that leads in the twenty-first-century global economy." Will China or the United States win the race for clean energy technology and future economic predominance? Here is an update with some personal impressions from Beijing.

“I don’t care if a cat is white or black so long as it catches mice,” China’s former leader Deng Xiaoping famously commented on the role of ideology in economic development. In line with this credo, China offers foreign aid with no political strings attached. The only exception is that recipient governments must accept the One-China policy, i.e. may not recognize Taiwan. “Business is business. We try to separate politics from business”, China’s Deputy Foreign Minister confirmed in 2004.   After the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund tied their loans to the privatization of public utilities, the liberalization of foreign trade and other political conditions, China’s pragmatism came as a welcome reprieve for many borrowing governments. Yet a few days ago, Ecuador’s President protested that negotiations with China were “worse than the IMF.” What is happening?

KidsWikimedia Commons  Global society depletes the planet’s resources ever more quickly. According to new data just released by the Global Footprint Network, we consume almost 50 percent more than what the Earth can sustainably provide. Arab Gulf states and the US lead the list of profligate consumers. As a consequence, we are increasingly in debt to future generations. Here are the figures.

Zipingpu DamChengDu Online, www.cdol.net/BBSScientists agree that dams can trigger earthquakes. A new research paper presents fresh evidence that the devastating earthquake which killed more than 80,000 people in China’s Sichuan Province in May 2008 was triggered by the Zipingpu Dam. This would be the world’s deadliest dam-induced earthquake ever.

What could be nobler than being on the side of poor Africa women? Hydropower companies like to justify their dam projects – including the Grand Inga and Inga 3 dams on the Congo River – with the plight of poor women who spend hours collecting firewood every day. In reality, the poor are usually the last to benefit from such projects. Large mining companies and greedy vulture funds are already fighting over the spoils of the Inga dams.

Lucas the Elder CranachWhen there is a chance to push a big loan out the door, some people just can’t say no. Every World Bank President since James Wolfensohn has committed to fight the cancer of corruption. For more than ten years, the Bank has talked the talk, but has not walked the walk. In April, an internal evaluation gave the institution the lowest possible grade for its anti-corruption efforts. As if to prove the point, the World Bank is now considering support for a multi-billion dollar project which squarely violates its procurement guideline and shows all red flags of corruption: the Gibe 3 Dam in Ethiopia.