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The newly completed levee near Sangju Dam, part of the Four Rivers project, collapsed on June 25, 2011. Water flows throughout the river have changed due to flaws in dam design. Environmental experts expect problems like these to continue. © Kim/GR From September, 2011 World Rivers ReviewAlthough South Korea adopted “Green Growth” as a national slogan in 2008, battles between environmental activists and the government have, ironically, become fiercer than ever. While the government rushes forward with its highly publicized “Green New Deal,” environmental groups say that nominally �

From September, 2011 World Rivers Review Every river has its people, and a river’s people all have stories to tell. World Rivers Review has collected 25 years worth of such stories. As the new Executive Director of International Rivers, I’m catching up on the distinguished history of our movement as told in the back-issues of this publication. I’m also keenly interested in where the broader movement for economic justice, human rights and living rivers is headed and how to best leverage the unique and effective niche in which International Rivers continues to flourish. International Rive

From September, 2011 World Rivers Review For as long as the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has been funneling money to projects that supposedly cut carbon emissions, civil society groups have been monitoring the worst projects in the pipeline. While investors, experts, and governments have started to take note both of the environmental and social problems of specific projects and of the intrinsic flaws within the system, the UN’s CDM Executive Board continues to lag behind. The latest affront has been the approval of two projects linked to human rights abuses. In Janua

From September, 2011 World Rivers ReviewAmerica's biggest dam in half a century has been proposed for the wild Susitna River, which drains the Mt. McKinley-topped Alaska Range. If built to its full 800 feet amidst currently roadless lands, the dam would be the eighth tallest on earth. The state-sponsored dam would produce just 280-300 megawatts of electricity, and cost at least $5-8 billion dollars. The proposed dam will flood pristine wildlands in the Susitna River watershed. The enormity of the expense is equaled only by the dam's risks. The river now supports Alaska's fourth densest king

Originally published in The Saigon Times CAN THO - Local experts yesterday raised their concerns about the construction of 12 hydropower dams along the Mekong River's lower mainstream, saying that the projects would hurt ecosystems and affect food security of millions of people in the Mekong Delta region, especially Vietnamese. Speaking at a seminar in Can Tho yesterday, Duong Van Ni, director of Hoa An Biodiversity Research and Experimental Center under Can Tho City, said that cultivation and aquaculture in the delta relied on the river while Vietnam provided the world market with seven

China Power Investment Corporation is forging ahead with its controversial Myitsone dam in northern Burma despite its own assessment calling for the project to be cancelled. The 945-page "environmental impact assessment," fully funded by China's CPI Corporation and conducted by a team of Burmese and Chinese scientists, recommends that the Irrawaddy Myitsone Dam not proceed. "There is no need for such a big dam to be constructed at the confluence of the Irrawaddy River" says the assessment. CPI is planning to build and operate seven mega dams on the Irrawaddy and its tr

Originally Published in the Phnom Penh Post China counts half of all the world's large dams within its borders. During the last 10 years, Chinese companies have also successfully conquered the global market for hydropower projects. With the Kamchay Dam and five other projects under construction, Chinese companies are also the dominant player in Cambodia's hydropower sector. Many Chinese dam builders acquired their technology in the giant Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River. Companies like the Kamchay Dam's Sinohydro frequently refer to the Yangtze dam as proof of their techni

Unofficial translation of an opinion piece from a senior China EXIM bank official. Originally published at http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2011-01/1415487.html Abstract: Most Chinese companies are not good at dealing with communities, non-governmental organizations, and local and foreign media, with the exception of local governments and business partners. Last year, I visited Cambodia and Laos with a delegation on a field trip to explore the social and environmental impacts of Chinese investments in Southeast Asia countries, especially in the Mekong River Basin. During the trip, I not only

Policy Tools to Protect Free-Flowing RiversPatagonia’s free-flowing Baker River is under threat by dams. © Jorge Uzon ree-flowing rivers have become so rare that they would be classified as an endangered species if they were considered living things rather than merely support systems for all living things. In the past half-century or more, the world has seen the number of undammed rivers shrink dramatically. In ecological and cultural terms, the value of these free-flowing rivers is immense and growing, as more and more rivers are being dammed the world over. What have we lost in the rush

Calfornia’s dammed Trinity River is flowing more naturally this year, thanks to an agreement to restore environmental flows. © Conservation Lands Foundation river's flow is its heartbeat. Few human influences are more deadly to freshwater ecosystems than alteration of natural hydrological rhythms. Poorly planned dams and unbalanced and unsustainable water use have brought too many of our river systems to a tipping point. Because we have interfered with the heartbeat of so many rivers and lakes, our freshwater ecosystems are losing species and habitats faster than any other type of ec