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Grameen Shakti: A Vanguard Model for Rural Clean Energy

Mr. Majid's solar system has made his food cart more lucrative.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
In one of the poorest countries on the planet a renewable energy service company is installing one thousand solar home systems a day. Not in its capital or busy urban centers, but where 80 percent of the population lives - in rural Bangladesh. The name of the company, Grameen Shakti, literally translates as rural energy.

Fish Passages A Poor Match for Mekong Dams’ Impacts

Tuesday, March 19, 2013
The start of construction of the Xayaburi Dam on the Mekong River in Laos sets off a dangerous game of Russian roulette with the world’s largest inland fishery.

Talking to the Experts: Can We Improve the ESIA Process?

Tuesday, March 19, 2013
There is broad consensus that the process for analyzing and addressing the environmental and social impacts of big dams is failing to protect ecosystems and communities from the most destructive impacts of large-scale development projects. World Rivers Review asked the following experts three key questions about how to improve this process

Why Environmental Impact Assessments Fail to Protect Rivers

Tuesday, March 19, 2013
At a time when potentially harmful infrastructure projects such as large dams are experiencing an unprecedented boom worldwide, Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) – the only system in place to analyze and reduce their impacts – too often fail to protect ecosystems and communities.

Fighting a Faulty ESIA: A Tool in the Campaign to Protect Patagonia

Protests against Patagonia dams have rocked Chile
Monday, March 18, 2013
The campaign to protect Chile’s mountainous Patagonia region from a series of large dams has resulted in a protracted fight – now entering its sixth year – over the project’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), and has become the biggest environmental controversy in the country’s history.

China’s Domestic Dam Plans Draw Ire At Home and Abroad

Aerial view of the Nu River
Monday, March 18, 2013
China’s State Council – the country’s ultimate decision-making body – announced its new Energy Development Plan in January, which includes several controversial dams that had previously been suspended as a result of environmental concerns and public opposition.

WRR Commentary: From the Technical to the Fundamental

Monday, March 18, 2013
On February 17 I joined some 40,000 others in Washington, DC for the “Forward on Climate” rally – the largest mobilization on US climate change policy in history. International Rivers joined more than 130 groups that came together to call upon President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that would allow TransCanada to expand its exploitation of dirty Alberta tar sands oil.

Power-Hungry Brazil Builds Dams, and More Dams, Across the Amazon

Construction activities are damming the Xingu river in the heart of the Amazon.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
When it is completed in 2015, the Jirau hydroelectric dam will span five miles across the Madeira River, feature more giant turbines than any other dam in the world and hold as much concrete as 47 towers the size of the Empire State Building.

International Hydropower Association Urged to Cancel Sarawak Conference Over Greenwashing Concerns

Dale Torstein Sjotveit is the CEO of Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB), which is hosting 2013's IHA conference.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Concern over corruption surrounding Malaysia's hydropower scheme and its lack of sustainability has prompted a warning to the dam industry lobby group about risks to its reputation.

As Brazil Builds Massive Dam, Life on the River Runs Dry

Construction chokes off the Xingu river near Altamira.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
The wind blows in from the river, mingling with the scent of the day's last meal in the kitchen. The smells of work and home for Valcione da Silva. He sits on a worn bench and watches children play on the floor, laughing. Somewhere outside, a siren begins, long and loud.

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