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Nov. 2008 Letter to World Bank Executive Directors on Bujagali

Thursday, December 4, 2008
November 24, 2008 Dear Executive Director: As requesters of the Bujagali Inspection Panel claim, we are very concerned that World Bank Management does not intend to seriously address the problems documented in the Inspection Panel’s recent report. We found the Panel’s report to correspond well with what we know to be key problems with the project on the ground. Yet the recent response by Management makes it clear that they have no intention of addressing the many problems and failures to meet Bank policy as documented by the Panel. We urge you and the other members of the World Ba

Dams in Patagonia - Bad Choice for Italy's Enel

A giant Italian company, Enel, owns a controlling interest in the parent companies of Endesa Chile, the European partner for the Patagonian dam scheme called HidroAysén. The dams would displace families, disrupt livelihoods, thwart local tourism businesses and destroy thousands of acres of rare and endangered Chilean forests. The transmission lines for this hydroelectricity would provide no benefits to local communities, but would require extensive clearcutting of Chilean native forests. It would be one of the world's longest transmission lines to date, clearing a more than 2,450 km

Summary of Inspection Panel Report on Bujagali Dam, 2008

Wednesday, December 3, 2008
A summary of key findings from the Inspection Panel Investigation Report on Bujagali Hydropower Project, Uganda; recommendations from civil society on ways forward, and excerpts from the Inspection Panel's report. Compiled by International Rivers Network, National Association of Professional Environmentalists, and Bank information Center. Download the summary

Uma Oya Multipurpose Project

Puhulpola Oya (right) and Mahtilla Oya (left) joins together to form Uma Oya
By Shradha Upadhayay Puhulpola Oya (right) and Mahtilla Oya (left) joins together to form Uma Oya Sajeewa Chamikara/Sri Lanka Nature Forum On April 2008, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad celebrated the start of construction on the Uma Oya Multipurpose Project in Sri Lanka. The project will involve the construction of two reservoirs on tributaries of the Uma Oya River and one tunnel on the river itself to divert water to a powerhouse further downstream. Once completed, the project will have the capacity to generate 90 MW of electricity and

Climate Change Glossary

Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Adaptation: Adaptation to climate change refers to adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climate change impacts. Responses to a changing climate can also include policies to minimize the predicted impacts of climate change (e.g., building better coastal defenses). Additionality: When a project is additional, it can be built only because it receives money from selling carbon credits. When a dam is "non-additional," it is being funded by sales from carbon credits even though it would have been built without revenues from those credits.

Upper Trishuli 3A and 3B

Two hydropower projects are being built on the upper Trishuli River in Nepal, planned by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and funded entirely by China Exim Bank. Increased industrial activity, runoff, overfishing, and the construction of large hydropower projects has led the IUCN to declare that over 20% of Nepal's freshwater fish species are threatened or endangered. The Upper Trishuli 3A and 3B hydropower projects will block fish migration and further impact these imperiled freshwater fisheries. A powerhouse and access road to the 66 MW Trishuli A is already completed, and a diversion

Neelum-Jhelum Dam

Neelum-Jhelum dam location
The Neelum Valley in Kashmir made history on October 2005 when a deadly 7.6 earthquake hit the highly contested Pakistan-Indian border region. Now both India and Pakistan want to build a dam on the Neelum River, which runs through both countries. Authorities believe the river can provide badly needed energy and irrigation to one side of the border or the other, but not both. Pakistan's proposed project, the 969-MW Neelum-Jhelum Dam, is by far the larger of the two proposed dams and is already underway, with help from Chinese dam builders and financiers. In December 19, 2007, China's Gezhouba G

Nam Tha 1

Nam Tha 1: A Khmu community on the banks of the Nam Tha in Luang Namtha Province
Nam Tha 1: A Khmu community on the banks of the Nam Tha in Luang Namtha Province David J.H. Blake The Nam Tha 1 Hydropower Project is located in the mountainous northwest corner of Laos. Nam Tha 1 would require the resettlement of nearly 8,000 mostly indigenous people. It would also impact downstream communities along the Nam Tha River and the mainstream Mekong. While a contractor for the state-owned Guangxi Electric Power Industry Investigation Design and Research Institute (GXED) conducted an EIA and SIA for the project, according to a new report, the assessments were rushed and underestima

Power Surge Images

The Nam Mouan and Nam Theun-Kading Rivers are used for bathing, washing and drinking water
Click the images to view a larger size, or click "Download" for a high-resolution version. The Nam Mouan and Nam Theun-Kading Rivers are used for bathing, washing and drinking water David J.H. Blake Download View from the Thalang Bridge of the Nam Theun 2 reservoir filling, July 2008 Download Fishing Near Thonglom Village on the Hinboun River David J.H. Blake Download       Wing-trap fishing gear in the Hou Nok Kasoum channel of the Khone

Suthep Kritsanavarin: Photographer

As a photojournalist, Suthep Kritsanavarin has chronicled environmental, social, and humanitarian issues in Southeast Asia for nearly two decades.  His award-winning photo essays have been published in: The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, the Far Eastern Economic Review, Time, Geographical, Aera, Days Japan, and Geo.  He has also exhibited his documentary photography in Germany, France, China, Japan, Thailand, and Cambodia. Suthep’s work is based on his firm belief that a photojournalist must act as a conscientious observer of society and culture, while also

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