A Guide on China’s Overseas Dam Industry

China is building hydropower projects around the world. We are currently aware of at least 140 large dams with Chinese involvement in 40 countries, and counting. Many of these projects pose serious social and environmental risks. NGOs need to learn how to deal with the new actors in the dam building world. A guide by International Rivers shows how to do this.

Our program on China’s role as a global dam builder started two years ago. During this period, we have tried to cross the river by stepping from stone to stone, as the Chinese saying goes. The recently published guide, The New Great Walls, summarizes the lessons we have learned in the process. It includes useful information on the following topics:

. What is China’s role in global dam building, and what are the driving factors behind this new role?
. Where are dams with Chinese involvement currently being built?
. Who is who in the Chinese dam industry and among the relevant government institutions?
. What are the laws and policies which guide Chinese dam building at home and overseas?
. How have NGOs tried to address the impacts of Chinese overseas investments in the recent past?
. What can NGOs do to raise their concerns with Chinese dam builders, government agencies and financiers?

A useful annex lists contact information for the Chinese institutions involved in building overseas dams, excerpts from relevant Chinese laws and regulations, and relevant international agreements to which China is a party.

My colleague Nicole Brewer, the author of the new guide, concludes that “in some ways, dealing with Chinese companies, financiers and government bureaus presents particular challenges. But in other ways, China is no different than other donor countries.” Public participation in dam projects is a new concept in China, and the government is resistant to imposing strict standards on the host countries of Chinese investment. At the same time, the Chinese government does not want overseas investors to tarnish its reputation, and Chinese investors are learning that in their own long-term interest, they need to respect the interests of their host communities.

The new guide was published in August, and is already being used by NGOs and communities around the world. As I reported here the other day, the Pacific Centre for Public Integrity just used the guide to raise questions about Sinohydro’s track record in Fiji, where the company signed a deal for a major hydropower project. And Sai Sai, an activist with the Burma Rivers Network, reports: “Right now in Burma, companies from China are involved in building more than a dozen large dams on major rivers. This guide contains important information for us and has already been helpful for educating new activists about how we can stop these dams.”

Translations into several languages are being planned. Check out our website for further updates.

Peter Bosshard is the policy director of International Rivers. His blog, Wet, Wild and Wonky, appears at www.internationalrivers.org/en/blog/peter-bosshard