Report

Communities protect rivers and strengthen climate resilience in Bangladesh

Friday, May 18, 2012
Bangladesh is one of the countries most seriously threatened by the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise and increasing flood risks. Community-based river basin management and climate change adaptation are inseparably linked inthis poor country. This report by Uttaran, a civil society group, describes the history and effectiveness of a unique traditional community practice of managing sediment that can adapt the southwest coastal region of Bangladesh to sea level rise.

Infrastructure for Whom?

Tuesday, May 15, 2012
This report by International Rivers challenges the top-down approach to infrastructure projects promoted by the World Bank and the powerful Group of 20, and presents a better way. Access to clean water and electricity is essential for a healthy, productive life. Yet the top-down infrastructure projects of the past have left more than one billion poor people in the dark. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, donors have spent billions of dollars on dams and transmission lines at the Inga site. The projects serve energy-hungry mining companies, while 94% of the population has no access to elec

La gran estafa de las compensaciones de carbono

Monday, December 31, 2007
Con la excusa de promover el desarrollo sostenible, el Mecanismo de Desarrollo Limpio, el sistema más importante de compensación de carbono, se ha convertido en un juego sucio que aumenta las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero. Se entregan miles de millones de dólares a las empresas químicas y a los promotores de represas destructivas y proyectos de combustibles fósiles. El rápido desarollo de la industria de los corredores y asesores de carbono presiona para que el MDL crezca y para que sus normas se debiliten aún más. Si nuestro deseo es mantener el apoyo público para consegui

Advancements in the Field of Reservoir Emissons

Dead trees in the Petit Saut reservoir, French Guiana
Friday, December 2, 2011
Dead trees in the Petit Saut reservoir, French Guiana A Briefing on Recent Research and GuidelinesA large and growing number of scientific studies indicate that reservoirs, especially in the tropics, are a significant source of global greenhouse gas pollution. Major institutions such as the International Hydropower Association and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have developed specific guidelines and methodologies for measuring reservoir emissions in the field, though these are not required for countries developing national greenhouse gas inventories. W

Review of the Pöyry Report on the Xayaburi Dam

In May 2011, the Lao PDR government hired Swiss engineering company Pöyry Energy AG to review the proposed Xayaburi Dam's compliance with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) requirements for Mainstream Dams. In August 2011, Pöyry submitted its final report to the Lao government, finding the project to be "principally in compliance" with the MRC's requirements. The Lao government has since sent this report to neighboring countries as false justification that it has responded to their concerns about the project. International Rivers reviewed the Pöyry report and found numerous

Technical Review of the Xayaburi Environmental Impact Assessment

The site of the proposed Xayaburi Dam In April 2011, five international Mekong specialists carried out a critical analysis of the Xayaburi Dam Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The experts described the EIA as flawed and substandard. The five specialists in the fields of fisheries, livelihood restoration, consultation and water quality expressed surprise that an EIA of such poor quality was being submitted for a project with such far-reaching impacts as the first dam on the lower Mekong Mainstream. The reviews were submitted to the Mekong River Commission as part of the regional consult

The Myitsone Dam on the Irrawaddy River: A Briefing

Wednesday, September 28, 2011
1. BackgroundProject Overview The Myitsone Hydroelectric Project is located at the confluence of the Mali and N'Mai rivers and is the largest of seven dams (total capacity 13,360 MW) planned along the Irrawaddy, Mali Hka, and N'Mai Hka rivers in Burma. Scheduled for completion in 2019, Myitsone will become the 15th largest hydropower station in the world, with installed capacity at 6,000 MW. The dam project is expected to costs USD $3.6 billion dollars and is being developed by Myanmar Ministry of Electric Power-1, China Power Investment Corporation, and Asia World Company of Burma. Region

Manual del Mecanismo de Desarrollo Limpio

Friday, October 1, 2010
Esta segunda edición del manual sobre el Mecanismo de Desarrollo Limpio (MDL o CDM por sus siglas en inglés Clean Development Mechanism) fue diseñado para ONGs, activistas y ciudadanos que tienen poca o ninguna experiencia con el MDL. Al igual que el primer manual del MDL, que fue publicado por CDM Watch en el año 2003, esta es una guía que proporciona información sobre el funcionamiento del MDL y sus herramientas para la participación del público. Preparado por CDM Watch. Bajar documento

Proteccion de Rios y Derechos: Recomendaciones de la Comision Mundia de Represas - Diez Anhos Despues

Sunday, August 1, 2010
Diez anhos despues de la publicacion del Informe de la Comision Mundial de Represas. Esta guía informativa se centra en las principales categorías de recomendaciones de la CMR: (1) demostración de aceptación pública y requerimiento de consentimiento libre, previo e informado de los pueblos indígenas; (2) evaluación de todas las opcio- nes disponibles para satisfacer las necesidades de agua y energía; (3) reparaciones y abordaje de represas existentes; (4) gestión de los impactos aguas abajo y los caudales ambientales; (5) partici- pación en los beneficios; y (6) garantía

Thailand’s Commercial Banks’ Role in Financing Dams in Laos and the Case for Sustainable Banking

Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Thailand’s commercial banks are increasingly lending to neighboring Mekong countries, including to hydropower projects in Laos. The dams that they have financed to date, namely Nam Theun 2, Nam Ngum 2, and the Theun-Hinboun Expansion Project, have all inadequately addressed social costs and environmental impacts. This paper finds that: All major Thai commercial banks have some form of Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment on paper. Despite some commendable commitments, however, fundamental changes to the bank’s core business practices have not occurred a

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