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Guardian: Kyoto Carbon Trading Strategy Discredited

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Increasing allegations of corruption and profiteering are raising serious questions about the UN-run carbon trading mechanism aimed at cutting pollution and rewarding clean technologies Originally published in the UK Guardian The world's biggest carbon offset market, the Kyoto Protocol's clean development mechanism (CDM), is run by the UN, and is intended to reduce emissions by rewarding developing countries that invest in clean technologies. In fact, evidence is accumulating that it is increasing greenhouse gas emissions behind the guise of promoting sustainable development. The misguided mec

Perspective from the Mekong Region: New Financiers and Familiar Problems

Thursday, May 1, 2008
The Mekong region is enjoying a period of stability and rapid economic growth not experienced for centuries. As a result, the region demands increasing quantities of electricity, and exploiting its hydropower potential is high on the agenda. In contrast to the recent past, it is project developers and financiers from Asia rather than the West that are spearheading this hydropower drive. Yet, in a region where millions of people depend on the natural resources that rivers provide, many proposed dams pose risks for the environment, communities, project developers, and host governments.This chapt

Profiles in Courage: Cambodia's Sesan-Srepok-Sekong Rivers Protection Network

Thursday, May 1, 2008
When the Sesan River started behaving unusually in late 1996, communities in Northeast Cambodia attributed it to the spirits that they believe in. But something more worldly was at work: just upstream and across the border, construction had begun on the Yali Falls Dam, which would decimate the river they had depended on for generations For over a decade now, 55,000 villagers from more than ten ethnic minority groups in Cambodia's Ratanakiri and Stung Treng provinces and many thousands more villagers in Vietnam's central highlands have suffered the loss of rice production and riverbank gardens

Hydropower On the Nu: One River, Many Perspectives

Wednesday, March 19, 2008
A cascade of proposed hydroelectric projects on one of Asia's longest undammed rivers has caused great controversy in southwest China. Kristen McDonald reports from the Upper Nu River. "The Nu River is home to some of China's most isolated and thriving ethnic minority cultures, rich biodiversity, and pristine and scenic wilderness." There are no towns in the valley carved by the Upper Nu River in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). The roads and bridges are poor, and there are only a scattering of monasteries. It is almost possible to imagine that the modernisation sw

Scramble to Dam the Congo Keeps Africans in the Dark

Wednesday, April 23, 2008
A lucrative hydropower scheme proposed for the Congo River has become Africa's next great scramble. Led by the World Energy Council, major industries, banks, and governments met in London this week to seek their piece of the US$80 billion Grand Inga project - the world's largest hydropower installation. The scheme is being promoted as a development venture to electrify the African continent, where two in every three people now lack access to electricity. Nearly a hundred officials and big money interests discussed how to profit from one of Congo's great natural resources, but Congolese officia

India’s Dam Building Abroad: Lessons from the Experience at Home?

By Himanshu Thakkar, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People In sectors such as steel, automobiles, oil and gas, wind and hydro power, Indian companies and state-owned enterprises have rapidly expanded their overseas investments in recent years. Not least motivated by the example of Chinese investors, they are trying to gain access to foreign resources, win international contracts, and strengthen their relations with trading blocks such as the ASEAN countries. They have had a presence in neighboring countries such as Nepal and Bhutan for a long time, and are now also spreading to m

Eskom's role in the social and environmental degradation of the Zambezi

Tuesday, March 1, 2005
South Africa is one of the power houses of Africa with a strong private sector interested in spreading their investments throughout the continent. This could be of great benefit to sustainable development of other African countries were South African companies using the same standards they use at home. South Africa’s dialogued system arising from its new democracy had as one of its core goals the redress of the unbalances caused by apartheid, this contributed to the achievement of high social standards that have influenced positively its development. One such area is the water sector, wher

Notables Inundaciones Inducidas por Represas

Thursday, May 31, 2007
2007 "Represas, Ríos y Gente" Informe (DRP) Italia, octubre del 1963: La represa Vaiont, una de las más altas del mundo, produjo terremotos tan pronto comenzaron a llenar su embalse. Un temblor produjo derrumbes que cayeron al embalse, creando un enorme oleaje que superó a la represa en 110 metros. Unos dos minutos más tarde, se arrasó la población de Longarone, causando la muerte de casi todos sus 2000 habitantes. China, agosto del 1975: Por lo menos unas 230.000 personas murieron en un colapso estilo dominó de represas del río Huai - unas 85.000 en los ole

Datos Rápidos sobre Diques, Represas e Inundaciones

Thursday, May 31, 2007
2007 "Represas, Ríos y Gente" Informe (DRP) Un Diluvio de Daños Número de personas que la ONU estima que vivirán en zonas vulnerables a inundaciones potencialmente destructivas para el año 2050: 2 mil millones Incremento sobre las cifras actuales: 100% Número anual de "grandes inundaciones" en el mundo: años 1950 - años 1970: 7 a 9 años 1980: 20 años 1990: 34 Número de inundaciones destructivas en Europa entre 1998 y 2002: 100 Número aproximado de personas desplazadas: 500.000 Costo de los daños: US$ 30 mil millones Cantida

Represas, Ríos y Gente en 2006: Un Repaso General

Thursday, May 31, 2007
2007 "Represas, Ríos y Gente" Informe (DRP) El Lago Victoria drenado por represas: El segundo lago más grande del mundo estuvo en niveles bajos sin precedentes en 2006, afectando a millones de personas en Kenya, Tanzania y Uganda. El informe de un hidrólogo independiente publicado por la IRN en febrero reveló que la operación de dos represas existentes fue la principal razón de los menguantes niveles del agua. La represa principalmente responsable de la reducción fue construida por el Banco Mundial, que utilizó un estimado altamente optimista y muy cuestionado

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