Media Mentions

Study of energy potential of Xingu River is being evaluated by ANEEL

Thursday, November 1, 2007
Brasília - A study on the possibilities of building hydroelectric dams on the Xingu River, which flows through Mato Grosso and Pará states, has been delivered to the National Electrical Energy Agency (ANEEL). Studies for the document, which the Federal Attorney´s office (MPF) and indigenous leaders who live along the river have been expecting, was carried out by Eletrobrás and by the companies Odebrecht, Camargo Corrêa, and Andrade Gutierrez, and the document was delivered yesterday (Oct. 31). In an event last week, Glenn Switkes, the Latin America Director of the non-governmental

China's Economic Empire

Chinese workers at the Merowe Dam site in Sudan
Saturday, June 1, 2013
The combination of a strong, rising China and economic stagnation in Europe and America is making the West increasingly uncomfortable. While China is not taking over the world militarily, it seems to be steadily taking it over commercially. In just the past week, Chinese companies and investors have sought to buy two iconic Western companies, Smithfield Foods, the American pork producer, and Club Med, the French resort company.

E&E: Big Dams are Booming Business, but Politics Remain Difficult

Friday, May 31, 2013
In the United States, big hydropower projects like the Hoover Dam are things of the past. But big dams are a booming business in Asia, Africa and Latin America, where countries are eagerly looking for ways to meet their growing energy needs. Stakeholders met at the International Hydropower Association's (IHA) biennial world congress last week in Kuching, Malaysia, with the goal of advancing hydropower more sustainably.

DR Congo Waits on Funding for World's Largest Hydropower Project

Tuesday, May 21, 2013
The dream of harnessing the mighty Congo with the world's largest set of dams has moved closer, with the World Bank and other financial institutions expected to offer finance and South Africa agreeing to buy half of the power generated. In the past 60 years French, Belgian, Chinese, Brazilian and African engineers have all hoped to dam the river. But decades of civil war, corruption, and the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) reputation as a failed state have limited the hydropower developments at the country's Inga Falls to two relatively small dams, built in 1972 and 1982. These, known as

2,000 Karens Gather on the Salween to Call for a Halt to Dam Plans

Ei Htu Hta Internally Displaced Persons camp on the Salween in Burma
Friday, March 15, 2013
About 2,000 internally displaced people and villagers from the Wei Gyi area gathered yesterday at Ei Htu Hta Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp on the Salween riverbank to mark the International Day of Action for Rivers and Against Dams in an event organized by Karen Rivers Watch (KRW) and its local member Salween Eyes (SEE).

Dams of destruction threaten Mekong

Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Originally published in The Bangkok Post This week a decision will be made in Siem Reap, Cambodia, that could shape the future of the mighty Mekong River and fundamentally alter the lives of 60 million people. The Mekong River at the site of the planned Xayaburi hydropower project in Laos. Experts say the dam will wreak havoc on the ecology of the entire Lower Mekong region. The governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam will meet tomorrow and Thursday near the ancient temple of Angkor Wat, to discuss the controversial Xayaburi Dam in Laos, which threatens to become the first dam on

Success Stopping CDM Registration of Harmful Large Hydro Projects

Day of Action, 2007, India, Koraput assembly
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Originally published in the CDM Watch Newsletter Many large hydro projects in the CDM are contentious because most are non-additional and cause environmental and social harm. International Rivers supports grassroots efforts to stop harmful hydro projects. Over the past few years collaboration between NGOs and active stakeholder engagement has increased dramatically. Encouragingly, almost a third of the most contentious CDM hydro projects have had their validations terminated. Currently 477 large hydro projects have been registered in the CDM and another 371 are seeking registration. This proje

Protests After Chile Backs Giant Dams in Patagonia's Valleys

Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Activists fear ecological haven will be destroyed but government says project is vital for economic growth Chilean authorities have approved a £1.8bn plan to dam two rivers in Patagonia for hydroelectricity, triggering angry protests and claims that swathes of pristine wilderness will be destroyed. The HidroAysén project envisages five dams to tap the Baker and Pascua rivers, an isolated area of fjords and valleys, and generate 2.75 gigawatts of power for Chile's booming economy. The government has championed the dams as vital to poverty alleviation and economic growth, but public opi

Vietnam Says Laos Suspends Mekong Dam Project

Monday, May 9, 2011
HANOI — Laos has told Vietnam it will suspend work on a controversial dam planned for the Mekong River, official media reported, after Hanoi sought a 10-year deferment of the scheme. Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong informed his counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung "of Laos' decision to temporarily suspend the Xayaburi hydropower project," Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported at the weekend from Jakarta. It said the two communist leaders met in the Indonesian capital on the sidelines of the ASEAN regional summit. "PM Dung thanked the Lao Party and government for this imp

Pressure Mounts to Delay "Dangerous" $3.5 Bln Mekong River Dam

Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Originally published in Reuters Experts warn of irreversible damage if dam goes aheadLaos prepares for construction, defies regional pressureFood security, agriculture, fisheries threatenedMekong countries to push for delay, detailed study BANGKOK - Plans for the first dam across the lower Mekong River are putting Laos on a collision course with its neighbours and environmentalists who fear livelihoods, fish species and farmland could be destroyed, potentially sparking a food crisis. The impoverished, Communist nation seems determined to defy international pressure and forge ahead with constr

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