Press Release

“Cows with Guns” country singer Dana Lyons Urges Atlanta-based Company to Cut Ties with Controversial Chilean Dam Plan.Over 10,000 people are expected at Zoo Atlanta on Saturday, April 19, and that is where country singer and activist Dana Lyons will kick off the Zoo’s “Party for the Planet” by calling on Atlanta’s most famous citizen, Home Depot, to end its relationship with a growing environmental controversy in Chile. Home Depot currently purchases wood products from a company deeply involved in an attempt to dam two rivers in Patagonia—one of the most beautiful natural areas

A bitter debate has broken out in the scientific community over hydropower’s contribution to global warming. A leading Brazil-based climate scientist calculates that startlingly high levels of greenhouse gases are emitted when water is released from the turbines and spillways of tropical dams. But hydro industry-backed researchers have fiercely attacked his work. In an effort to settle the debate, International Rivers is releasing a report, just prior to the UN Climate Change conference in Nairobi (Nov. 6-25), calling on the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to determine hydropo

One year after World Bank approval for the Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project in Laos, delays in implementation are causing concern amongst NGOs monitoring the project.While construction is proceeding rapidly, key elements vital to reducing the project’s negative impacts on people and the environment are behind schedule. International Rivers is concerned about the following aspects of project implementation: Many key documents have not yet been completed, including wildlife management plans for critically endangered species living on the Nakai Plateau, the Project Implementation Plan, and detail

The World Bank announced today that it is beginning appraisal of the proposed US$1.3 billion Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project in Lao PDR. This decision marks an important milestone and indicates that World Bank Management intends to bring the project before the World Bank Board of Directors soon, likely by the end of March. Technical reviews commissioned by International Rivers and Environmental Defense have revealed serious flaws in the project’s environmental impact assessment and social development plan which call into question the project’s viability and scale of impact. "It

A technical review for the Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project in Laos has found that the analysis of hydrologic data for the project is so deficient that it is impossible to predict how much water is available for power generation. The review, conducted by two professional hydrologists, examined the project’s Environmental Assessment and Management Plan and supporting data. The reviewers found that the lack of long–term stream flow and rain flow monitoring, coupled with questionable statistical analysis techniques, makes the project "high risk for meeting its power generation pred

International Rivers Network Response to Theun-Hinboun Power Company DecisionAn unusual cooperation agreement between US-based river protection organization International Rivers Network (IRN) and Lao dam developer Theun-Hinboun Power Company (THPC) was abruptly ended on March 23, 2004 by THPC.IRN and THPC signed an agreement last year to develop a review of the company’s work in mitigating impacts of the Theun-Hinboun Hydropower Project in Laos. THPC notified IRN of its decision to end cooperation three weeks after the month-long review began, based on concerns that the agreement did not fol

Electricité de France, the lead investor in the controversial Nam Theun 2 (NT2) Hydropower Project in Laos, announced on July 17 that it was withdrawing from the US$1.1 billion dam project. EDF's withdrawal from the World Bank-promoted dam comes just a day before the crucial Power Purchase Agreement between the consortium and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand was due to be signed. "The withdrawal of EDF casts serious doubt on the future of the project. Over the past 14 years, tens of millions of dollars have been squandered on planning and promoting this socially, envir

Non-government organizations today called on the World Bank to reconsider its plan to support the Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos.1 Following recent events in Thailand - the proposed export market for the power produced by the dam - and a critical independent economic review of the project, NGOs say it represents an unacceptable risk for Laos, one of the world's poorest countries. The World Bank is due to decide in the next few weeks whether to move forward with preparing loan, equity and risk guarantee backing for the project. The project consortium - led by Australian company Transfield - are not ab

Earthquakes caused by the filling of a huge reservoir in the southern African country of Lesotho have terrified local people for more than a year. Houses in seven villages beside the reservoir of Katse Dam have been damaged by tremors, and in the village of Mapeleng, 11 houses were made uninhabitable by the quakes. In late January 1997, twelve families left Mapeleng, abandoning homes which were damaged more than a year ago by earthquakes. Tremors continue to strike the area, according to the World Bank, a project funder. Reservoir–induced seismicity (RIS) is a widely recognized bu

A report released today by International Rivers documents the Asian Development Bank's dam-building activities in the Mekong watershed. The report, released to coincide with the ADB's 30th anniversary meeting in Fukuoka, Japan, states the ADB has been "seriously deficient" in quantifying and even recognizing the impacts of the dams it has funded in the region. The report calls for the Bank to impose a moratorium on all funding for energy projects in the Mekong region until it has studied renewable energy and energy efficiency options. Bank-financed studies have identified the potential for ove