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After successfully leading an aggressive campaign in the the US against Chilean forestry companies, in 2003 the lawyer-environmentalist Aaron Sanger achieved an unprecedented agreement for protection of native forests with CMPC and Arauco.  Four years later and in honor of this agreement - that moreover is valid and thanks to which more than 500,000 hectares of native forest have been protected in the country - Sanger wrote a letter to the president of CMPC, Eliodoro Matte, in which Sanger expressed his concern over the development of HidroAysen [project to dam Chile's Baker and Pascu

Afectados por presas exigen a Fox parar planes Al concluir un recorrido por los proyectos de construcción de presas en Nayarit, Jalisco, Guerrero y Chiapas, integrantes del Movimiento Mexicano de Afectados por las Presas y en Defensa de los Ríos (Mapder), pidieron al gobierno del presidente Vicente Fox dejar de actuar irresponsablemente y generar desplazados internos por dichas obras. Los afectados – la mayoría ejidatarios y comuneros – presentarán sus casos a organismos internacionales y sus testimonios a diversas organizaciones sociales de México porque "el gobierno no pued

By Riam Firouz On June 11, 2007, the government of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh closed the gates of the Omkareshwar Dam in the Narmada Valley, flooding dozens of villages, agricultural land, and homes. To protest the loss of their homes and livelihoods, the women of one affected village, Gunjari, refused to move from the rising water flooding their village for nine days until a proposal to compensate them was put forth by the state government. The women of Gunjari are not alone in their struggle. Hundreds of thousands of people will be displaced by a series of 30 large dams being

The following is from the just-published book about the Three Gorges Dam, The River Dragon Has Come , edited by Dai Qing. The book's dozen essays describe the many awesome social and economic problems arising from the world's most grandiose dam project. This excerpt describes the political and historical context behind China's dam-building frenzy. The book will be available from International Rivers shortly.  There were virtually no large-scale water projects in China before 1949. But in the ensuing years, and especially in the years during and since the Great Leap Forward (19

Five years ago, on November 16, 2000, Nelson Mandela, the Prince of Orange, the President of the World Bank and other luminaries launched the report of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) at a glitzy ceremony in London. Initiated by the World Bank and the World Conservation Union, the report was the first independent evaluation of the performance of the world’s large dams. The WCD found that large dams provide important water and power supply services, but that their social, environmental and economic costs are often unacceptable. The Commission estimated that large dams have displaced 4

From September 2007 World Rivers Review China’s Charm Offensive in Southeast Asia Bodes Ill for Mekong Basin RiversKampot province in Southern Cambodia is a sleepy coastal region most renowned for its fresh pepper, salt production, and durian fruit. The Kamchay River weaves its way across the land, from the highlands of Bokor National Park southward through a fertile valley of durian orchards and rice fields before arriving in the provincial capital, Kampot Town, where the steep-sided plateau of the national park dominates the skyline. Rich in natural wealth, the national park is also a

From September 2007 World Rivers Review China is home to thousands of dams, including what is probably the world’s most notorious, the Three Gorges Dam. This project’s gigantism is the root of some of its worst problems. The massive project set records for number of people displaced (at least one million), number of cities and towns drowned (13 cities, 140 towns, 1,350 villages), and length of reservoir (more than 400 miles). Now, its record-breaking environmental impacts are beginning to fester. The Wall Street Journal reports, “a year after completion, the project has new problems

 Communities who would be impacted by the proposed La Parota Dam on the Papagayo River in the State of Guerrero, Mexico have met political persecution of their leaders, threats, and police violence because of their opposition to the construction of the dam. Two community leaders have been murdered - Tomas Cruz Zamora was killed last September as he returned from an organizing meeting, and Eduardo Maya Manrique was stoned to death this January. In recent months, police have attacked peaceful community demonstrators, wounding hundreds of farmers. One reason for these serious human rights vi

World Rivers Review, Aug. 2006 Midway between Kinshasa and the Atlantic coast lies what energy developers see as a panacea for Africa. With an estimated hydropower potential of 40,000 MW, the Inga rapids on the Congo River have engineers and dam builders salivating. Two dams, Inga 1 and Inga 2 (built in 1972 and 1982, respectively) are preparing for an overdue facelift and a new dam, Inga 3 is the next anticipated step. The final stage could be a river diversion scheme called Grand Inga, a dam builder’s mighty jewel, dwarfing every hydro site worldwide. But the lack of benefits from

World Rivers Review, August 2006 It is cooking time in Bansoa, and rush-hour for Mrs. Tagme at her corn mill and cassava grater. She offers her services to other women in the small village situated in the hilly West Province of Cameroon. Her corn mill and cassava grater are the only ones within a 5-kilometer radius. A small Pelton turbine connected with pipes to the creek behind her house turns her mill. In the evening she connects it to a generator for electricity. Her children use the light for additional learning hours; she listens to the radio and can even offer TV evenings to friends. T