Corruption

Greed and Resistance in Sarawak’s Rainforest

Will dams flood out Sarawak's indigenous cultures?
A corrupt clique is turning Sarawak's rainforest into a monoculture of oil palms and reservoirs. A new book documents the greed, the corruption and the resistance by indigenous peoples.

Corruption and Infrastructure Megaprojects in the DR Congo

The Inga II Dam
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
The Grand Inga Dam, planned for the Congo River in DR Congo, is being promoted by USAID, the World Bank and other international financiers But Africa's biggest hydropower project is a prime candidate for corruption. The project's US$80 billion price tag, coupled with the country's poor governance record and its unstable political climate, could be a recipe for fueling corruption. Learn more about the corruption in Congo, and its potential to derail the Inga dam scheme.

Indigenous Leaders File Corruption Complaint Against Malaysian Dam Builder

Peter Kallang, Chariman of SAVE Rivers, holding a copy of the report lodged to MACC
SAVE Rivers Network has brought their concerns of corruption in the Sarawak dams directly to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

Brazil’s Dam-Building Industry: Crony Capitalism Goes Global

Friday, December 10, 2010
From December 2010 World Rivers Review "We're going to build all the dams we possibly can in the Amazon, given the current legislation, and then we're going to revisit the other potential sites that involve impacts on indigenous lands and protected areas, and see how we may exploit that hydroelectric potential as well. Brazil's energy future is in the Amazon." This statement by the head of energy planning at the federal Ministry of Mines and Energy makes it clear that the dam-building business in Brazil is booming. Two huge hydroelectric dams on the Madeira River, the largest tributary of t

Dams, Rivers and Stolen Millions in the Congo

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

Ethiopia's Hydro Plans Get Stuck in the Mud

Meles Zenawi and Italy's Foreign Minister inaugurate Gilgel Gibe 2
Meles Zenawi and Italy's Foreign Minister inaugurate Gilgel Gibe 2 On Jan. 13, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi inaugurated the Gilgel Gibe 2 scheme, the country's biggest hydropower project. "It is possible to speed up development without polluting the environment," Zenawi proudly declared as he cut the ceremonial ribbon. Yet this was wishful thinking. Due to shoddy preparation, the project had already been delayed by more than two years. And less than two weeks after the inauguration, the project's core component, a 26 kilometer-long tunnel, collapsed partl

Greenwashing Hydropower: The Problems with Big Dams

World Watch Magazine
Friday, January 15, 2010
From World Watch Magazine, Jan/Feb 2010, Volume 23, No. 1Big dams have a serious record of social and environmental destruction, and there are many alternatives. So why are they still being built? Big dams have frequently imposed high social and environmental costs and long-term economic tradeoffs, such as lost fisheries and tourism potential and flooded agricultural and forest land. According to the independent World Commission on Dams, most projects have failed to compensate affected people for their losses and to adequately mitigate environmental impacts. Local people have rarely had a mea

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