In the Media

Originally published in the South China Morning Post A new dam on the Lancang River in southern Yunnan province startedpower production amid environmental concerns and scepticism fromcountries on the lower reaches of the waterway, also known as theMekong.The announcement by China Huaneng Group, the investor in the 12.3billion yuan (HK$13.95 billion) hydroelectric project, coincided withan appeal by dozens of mainland scientists and environmentalists forthe government to suspend the approval of big dams in the quake-pronesouthwest, especially in the wake of the Sichuan disaster.A major earthqu

Originally published in Forbes magazine  Chilean Patagonia is renowned for its rugged beauty: windswept Andean peaks, roaring rivers, pristine coastal rainforests. Years ago, those natural wonders inspired architect Peter Hartmann to abandon his native Santiago for Coyhaique, a small regional capital tucked away in a picturesque mountain valley. "My family used to live near the biggest underground copper mine in the world, on the outskirts of Santiago, so I knew about environmental destruction firsthand," he says. "I came here for the forests, the lakes and the rivers--a

Originally published in The Guardian The ancient Naso kings knew what they were doing when they settled by the banks of the river Bonyic. This fast-flowing water, deep in Panama's rainforest sustained the tribe for millennia, irrigating crops, transporting canoes, yielding fish and offering creeks in which to bathe and play. Centuries passed and the mighty Aztec and Mayan empires rose and fell, and the European invaders brought havoc, but somehow the tiny Naso realm survived in its jungle pocket. Today, it is one of the few tribal kingdoms in the Americas with a royal inheritance

Article from The Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: The Cambodian Cabinet has approved plans for Chinese companies to build two hydroelectric plants beginning the end of this year, a government official said Saturday.Environmental groups say the dams threaten the country's ecosystem and the livelihoods of thousands.Both dams will be located in Koh Kong province in southwestern Cambodia, said Seng Savorn, a spokesman of the Council of Ministers.China National Heavy Machinery Corp. will take until at least 2014 to complete a US$540 million dam, which should be able to generate up to 246 mega

PHNOM PENH (XFN-ASIA) - The Cambodian government today approved two large hydropower dams to be built with more than 1 bln usd dollars in funding from Chinese companies. The new projects, Stung Tatay dam and Stung Russey Chrum Krom dam in the southwestern province of Koh Kong, were approved during a cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen, according to a government statement. The statement said the dams will ensure Cambodia's energy supply at reasonable prices, which is 'a necessary key to push for economic growth and other development.' China National Heavy Machinery Corporati

Article from The Phnom Penh Post Mekong watchers warn of dam burdens without benefitsPlanned hydroelectric projects in southern Laos could wreak long-termhavoc downstream in Cambodia if proper steps are not taken toalleviate environmental effects, warn local advocacy groups who arecalling on the government to engage Laos in a discussion of thepossible cross-border impacts of its dam-building programs.A number of projects in the Sekong River basin, a key Mekongtributary, have been planned as part of a long-term Lao governmentstrategy to raise revenues by exporting electricity to power-starvedTh

PHNOM PENH, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The NGO Forum in Cambodia has asked the developers of a series of large dams planned for the Sekong River Basin in southern Laos to pay close attention to their potential environmental impact as fears grow for the tens of thousands of Cambodians living alongside the river's lower stretches, local media reported Wednesday."We are really concerned about the potential negative effects on Cambodian people living downstream of the proposed dams," NGO Forum deputy executive director Ngy San was quoted as saying in the Mekong Times newspaper.The dams could help power th

Article from The Nation, Bangkok's Independent Newspaper The prime minister's idea to push ahead with the Mekong River water-diversion project and to build three hydro-electric dams in the Northeast region has caused concern among social science academics who yesterday came up with a statement opposing the plan. In an open letter to the prime minister, 18 academics together with 95 environmental and community organisations demanded the government suspend any agreement related to the issue it has signed with the Laos government unless information about the projects is disclosed and public opin

Sonia Legg of Reuters reports on the angry reaction from environmentalists and tribal Indians to Brazilian plans to build a hydroelectric complex on the Xingu River.

The Real News interviews Glenn Switkes and Amazon Indigenous Indian protesters who say the social and environmental costs of the Belo Monte Dam, the world's third largest proposed dam, will destroy their way of life and wreck the Xingu River's ecosystem.