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Bui Dam, now being built in Ghana with financial backing from China Exim Bank, is described by the project environmental assessment as having "minor" greenhouse gas impacts. In reality, it could end up becoming a major emitter of greenhouse gases, many times worse than a natural gas plant of a similar size. Comments on Bui Dam EIA, sections on global warming Greenhouse Gas EmissionsAs a tropical dam which floods a very large area relative to its power generation capacity, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Bui are likely to be significant and of a magnitude similar to those of Brazilian

From December 2007 World Rivers ReviewEcuador is a watery wonderland. Although small (it is roughly the size of New Zealand), it is home to more than 2,000 rivers and streams, at least 17 distinct indigenous groups, and the greatest level of biodiversity of any country in the world in relation to its size. Located in the headwaters of the Amazon basin, Ecuador has more available freshwater resources per capita than almost any other country. No wonder it was recently designated the “Water Capital of the World” by the Panamerican Health Organization. Yet despite this apparent abundance of li

From December 2007 World Rivers Review This rainy season, a mushy mess is sliding down the Changuinola River Valley. Huge Volvo machines are tearing up old mountain roads, causing tons of chocolate-brown run-off to flow into nearby streams. The giant machines, operated by Panamanians and other Latinos, are opening new roads for the construction of the first of four large dams planned for this basin. About 100 new houses are being built for the dam's laborers, and a dozen finer homes for the project managers from Vattenfall, a Swedish construction company. The explosion of dam constr

I woke up not knowing what time it was, and not even sure where I was. My watch still gave the time in Europe, and the room was unfamiliar. Finally, it dawned on me: it was five in the morning and I was in a small inn in Washington, DC, walking distance from the World Bank, which would be my target in the next few days. It was Annual Meeting time again. Once I had my bearings, I began worrying whether my colleague from Pakistan had arrived. Three years ago, Mustafa, who lives in Sindh, Pakistan, had filed a request with the World Bank Inspection Panel to investigate a Bank-funded drainage

From December 2007 World Rivers Review Who could be against a project that provides energy to Uganda – a country with one of the lowest rates of electrification in the world and one of the highest poverty rates? A country where blackouts are part of the fabric of life?Quite a few of us, it turns out, and for a variety of reasons. The Bujagali Dam project, now under construction just below Lake Victoria on the Nile, is not such an obviously bad project – no slave labor building the dam or millions of people displaced. In other words, no deal-breaker for the world's reputation-conscious deve

From December 2007 World Rivers ReviewBeneath the booming factories and verdant fields of Northern China, groundwater supplies are rapidly drying up. The water table around Beijing drops five meters each year. Some deep wells around Beijing must be drilled up to half a mile deep before reaching water, according to the World Bank. Chronic water shortages have left cities without adequate drinking water and affected plans for economic development. Scientists now estimate that the aquifers beneath the North China Plain will dry up in 30 years. “There’s no uncertainty,” said hydrologist Rich

This article by Richard Bissell, Shekhar Singh and Herrmann Warth was published in 2001 in the German magazine E&Z. The authors were indepedent monitors, chosen by the German govermnent to assess the social and environmental impacts of the planned Maheshwar dam, for which the German government had given an export credit guarantee in 1997. This article, in German, summarizes the findings of their assessment.

This article by Ann-Kathrin Schneider first appeared in World Rivers Review in 2006. It describes a protest of the Narmada Bachao Andolan against the proposed increase in the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam.

Extreme Vulnerability to Climate Change Increases Pressure on Riversfrom World Rivers Review, Aug. 2006 by Lori Pottinger Africa has yet another huge burden to bear: it has been deemed “the continent most vulnerable to the impacts of projected climate change” by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The problem is complicated by a mix of political, social, environmental and economic realities. But one thing is clear: a concerted international effort is urgently needed to ensure that Africa does not slip into climate-induced chaos because of the rich world's addiction to

This article by Himanshu Thakkar, the Coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, was first published in "Before the Deluge" the 2007 Dams, Rivers and Peoples report by International Rivers. It describes how floods and embankments have worsened floods and even caused floods in India, instead of preventing them. The author also describes a way forward that consists of a comprehensive flood management program, including flood coping mechanisms and flood-preparedness.