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Will a Large Dam Increase Access to Electricity in Pakistan?  This article by Ann-Kathrin Schneider has first appeared on the website of the Heinrich Boell Foundation in September 2008 Men of all ages, most of them wearing dashing black moustaches and white cotton caps that contrast with their pitch dark eyes and brown skin, pass each other on the narrow lanes of this market, just north of the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Some appear to have no reason to be here, leaning leisurely against graffiti-soaked house walls, waiting for something to catch their interest. Others are hard at work,

Photo: Alex Zahnd "Corruption in the water sector puts the lives and livelihoods of billions of people at risk." So begins the Global Corruption Report 2008 by Transparency International, the first report to document the extent of corruption in the water sector worldwide. With climate change making water scarcity a growing concern in many poor parts of the world, and the cost of corruption in the water industry raising the price for water services 10-30 percent worldwide each year, the need for reform is clear. "Without increased advocacy to stop corruption in water, there wi

An excerpt from the Global Corruption Report 2008, published by Transparency International In nature, water always flows downstream. In the geography of power relations, clean water tends to flow to the rich and powerful, while waste water tends to flow to the poor. An important reason for this anomaly is corruption, which has contributed to a political economy that favors large, capital-intensive projects over small-scale approaches. In recent years, institutions such as the UNDP and the UN Millennium Project have advocated for a reassessment of large-scale infrastructure in the wate

The Kafue Flats in Zambia is an amazing wetland landscape of grasslands, lagoons and reed beds, covering about 6500 km2 of the Kafue River Basin, a tributary of the Zambezi. They are home to more than 470 species of birds and a wide variety of mammals, including the endemic Kafue lechwe, a rare species of antelope. There are two national parks which together have been designated as a Ramsar site – a wetland of international importance. Apart from being a haven for wildlife, the Flats are also important for people’s livelihoods. It is estimated that about 700,000 people live in, or in the

 April 1997 World Rivers Review Special Focus: People Affected by Dams Delegates at the first International Meeting of People Affected by Dams have demanded an immediate international moratorium on the building of large dams. Attendees of the meeting, held March 11-14 in Curitiba, Brazil, said the moratorium should last until a number of demands are met, including the provision of reparations to the millions of people whose livelihoods have suffered because of dams. "We have stopped dams in the past, and we will stop more in the future," states the declaration. "Over th

 April 1997 World Rivers Review Special Focus: People Affected by Dams "The river runs through me like blood in my veins. If you dam the river, it is like stopping the blood that gives me life."  Raul Rocco, Argentinian fisherman Raul Rocco lives with a river. Not beside it or near it, but with it. He is a fisherman, and the river he lives with -  the Paraná in northeastern Argentina - provides him and his family with food, a livelihood, water for drinking and washing, inspiration for their songs, their poetry, their lives. The river in fact defines their lives. Rocco

Durante cinco días este mayo, cientos de grupos tribales de los sitios más remotos de la cuenca amazónica se reunieron a protestar contra el plan de construir grandes presas en el río Xingu, tributario más grande del Amazonas. Era como estar en las Naciones Unidas de los pueblos indígenas. Representantes de Kayapó, Parakanã, Assurini y otros grupos indígenas llegaron luciendo la pintura ceremonial de genipapo (negro) y urucum (rojo) con adornos de plumas. Algunos viajaron distancias de hasta mil millas para asistir a la reunión. Los pueblos indígenas de la región vieron en esta reu

For five days in May, hundreds of tribal people from the far reaches of the Amazon Basin came together to protest plans for huge dams on the Xingu River, the largest tributary of the Amazon. It was like being at a United Nations of indigenous peoples. Representatives from the Kayapó, Parakanã, Assurini and other indigenous groups arrived ceremonially adorned with genipapo (black) and urucum (red) bodypaint and feather adornments. Some traveled as far as 1,000 miles to attend the meeting. The indigenous peoples of the region viewed the meeting with officials in Altamira as a critical moment t

June 2008 World Rivers Review: Legacy Issue In Nigeria, floodplains and wetlands are rich sources of livelihood for millions of people. These wetlands communities have been losing ground for many years, however. Nigeria's most important wetlands, the Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands, have shrunk by as much as two-thirds in the past 30-40 years because of diversions from dams, irrigation developments and drought. Fisheries, farming and wildlife are all impacted by these hydrological changes. The Hadejia-Jama'are-Komadugu-Yobe basin - home to an estimated 25 million people - is a semi-arid to arid sub-cat

June 2008 World Rivers Review: Legacy Issue  An interview with Elizabeth Bevington, a member of a team of 20 pro-bono lawyers with Holland & Knight, LLP (H&K), which advises COCAHICH on the Chixoy negotiations. Involvement of a well-respected neutral facilitator is key. We began the process with a government agency in charge of human rights as the organizer and moderator of the meetings. That process did not work well, and we recommended involving a neutral party. After some due diligence, Roberto Menendez of the Organization of American States (OAS) was identified as a pot