Press Release

NGOs Brand EIB the Weakest Link in EU Development Aid Efforts

Wednesday, November 7, 2007
BothEnds * Bretton Woods Project * Campagna per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale * CEE Bankwatch Network * International Rivers * Les Amis de la Terre * urgewald * World Economy, Ecology and DevelopmentLisbon, Portugal - At the European Development Days in Lisbon, NGO campaigners concerned about the expanding financing role of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in developing countries have called for the EIB to urgently strengthen its lending standards and procedures.Magda Stoczkiewicz, Policy coordinator for CEE Bankwatch Network, said: "Its recent big funding increase will make the EIB the la

4% of Global Warming Due to Dams, Says New Research

Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Large dams may be one of the single most important contributors to global warming, releasing 104 million metric tonnes of methane each year. This estimate was recently published in a peer-reviewed journal by Ivan Lima and colleagues from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). "There is now more than enough evidence to show that large dams are a major source of climate-changing pollution," says Patrick McCully, Executive Director of International Rivers. "Climate policy makers must address this issue." Lima’s calculations imply that the world’s 52,000 large dams contribute m

Protest Opens Global Dams Conference

Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive – Fools of Munzur – Association for Conservation of Munzur Valley and Natural Life – Yusufeli Culture Association – WEED – International Rivers Antalya, Turkey -- Dam-threatened people today demonstrated at a major dam-building conference in Turkey to call attention to major problems with Turkish dam development. Attendees at the organization’s annual world congress in Antalya, Turkey were met with a huge banner declaring "No development, but destruction by many dams in Turkey." "Members of the International Hydropower Associ

World Bank’s New President Should Address its Dam Past, Change its Future Path

Wednesday, October 17, 2007
As World Bank President Robert Zoellick prepares for his first meeting with the Bank’s shareholders this weekend, an International Rivers' report reveals that the Bank approved more than US$ 800 million for nine hydropower projects in fiscal year 2007. This is more than it provided for renewable energy and efficiency projects combined. As the Bank jumps back into the big dam business and neglects better energy and water solutions, the legacy of its past dam projects tragically lives on.This Bank-funded dam legacy includes the displacement of at least 10 million people, lost livelihoods, dama

19% of India's Global Warming Emissions From Large Dams

Press Release, May 18, 2007 by South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, www.sandrp.in Latest scientific estimates show that large dams in India are responsible for about a fifth of the countries' total global warming impact. The estimates also reveal that Indian dams are the largest global warming contributors compared to all other nations. This estimate by Ivan Lima and colleagues from Brazil's National Insitute for Space Research was recently published in a peer-reviewed journal. "It is unfortunate that Lima's study has come too late to be included in the recen

NGOs to China: Don't Repeat the West's Mistakes in Africa

Monday, May 14, 2007
As the African Development Bank convenes in Shanghai for its annual meeting, African and international civil society groups call for greater public accountability in China’s relations with Africa China’s expanding role in Africa may represent a great opportunity for development, but only if China is careful not to repeat the errors that Western powers made in the past. A delegation of African and international non-governmental organizations are currently visiting Shanghai and Beijing for a dialogue with Chinese government officials, academics, and civil society groups. They presented

NGOs Denounce Funding for Turkey's Controversial Ilisu Dam

Monday, March 26, 2007
German Government Export Credit Guarantee Condemned The German government’s March 26 decision to grant an export credit guarantee for the Ilisu dam in southeast Turkey has prompted widespread criticism and condemnation from a number of human rights and environmental groups. "The German Government has sacrificed people, culture and the environment in order to enable companies to make a profit," argued Heike Drillisch of WEED, a German environmental and development organization. "The pro-Ilisu decision is a disgrace for Germany." Some 80 percent of the affected pop

Villagers Voice Outrage Over Plans to Build Sesan 3

Wednesday, July 10, 2002
Over 80 Cambodian villagers expressed outrage last Friday when it was revealed that yet another dam was being planned for construction on the Sesan River in Viet Nam. The villagers had been attending a workshop held in Stung Treng Province on June 13-14 on the way the Yali Falls Dam, located on the Sesan River in Viet Nam, had impacted on Stung Treng Province. The dam is located approximately 70 km upstream from the Cambodia/Viet Nam border. The 80 villagers represented 30 village communities in Stung Treng. The workshop was organized by the Culture for Environment and Preservation As

Despite Protests, Burma's Junta and China Pushing Ahead with First Dam on the Irrawaddy

Monday, October 22, 2007
Media Contacts Below Chinese companies have begun a project to build a giant 152-meter-high dam on the Irrawaddy River, the first to block one of Asias great river systems. Damming the Irrawaddy, a new report launched today by the Kachin Development Networking Group, exposes the social and environmental impacts of the dam, including the displacement of an estimated 10,000 people in northern Burmas Kachin State. The military junta ruling Burma is allowing Chinese partners to manage the project that would transmit electricity to China and potentially generate over US$500 million in revenues pe

Millions More to be Moved for Three Gorges Dam

Saturday, October 13, 2007
Chinese authorities have announced that as many as four million more people may need to be forcibly resettled to address the ever-increasing environmental impacts of the Three Gorges Dam Project. The people would be moved to curb pollution and prevent further erosion of the reservoir banks, which already threatens an environmental catastrophe and the project’s viability. International Rivers Network is extremely concerned about the dam’s human cost, which is spiraling out of control. More than one million people have already been forcibly displaced by the project, which is the biggest

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