In the Media

CAN THO, Vietnam - Nguyen Huu Chiem was born in Can Tho province, the eldest of ten children and the seventh generation of a Mekong Delta farming family. "I have lived here for so long ... that I understand the delta's ecology," he said over a pot of tea near Can Tho City one balmy evening. "I remember there were many fish in the water and many birds in the air. The delta has always had great biodiversity." Chiem, whose father was a rice farmer, decided to devote his life to studying ecology and the environment, because "I see [my father] work very hard at rice far

La société va accroître sa capacité de production... Trêve de spéculations. La compagnie camerounaise d'aluminium (Alucam) pourra bientôt accroître sa capacité de production, pour répondre à la demande sans cesse croissante du marché. Les principaux dirigeants de Alcan primary metal group, société de droit canadien qui a récemment racheté le groupe Pechiney auquel était rattachée Alucam, sont au Cameroun depuis quelques jours. Accompagnés du directeur général d'Alucam, Raphaël Titi Manyaka, ils ont été reçus mardi, 28 septembre dernier, par le Premier mini

Article was reported in TIME Magazine http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1657580,00.html The nets yield almost no fish today, the same as yesterday and the day before that. For generations, Bun Neang's family has depended on the bounty of Cambodia's Tonle Sap, a vast lake fed by one of the world's greatest rivers, the Mekong. Two decades ago, his father could rely on a daily catch totaling about 65 lbs. (30 kg). When the water gods were feeling particularly charitable, he would land a Mekong catfish, a massive bottom-feeder that can weigh as much as a tiger. But today

(Maputo) Mozambican environmentalists opposition to the construction of a new hydroelectric project on the Zambezi River near the giant Cahora Bassa is increasing. The future dam, named Mepanda Nkuwa, would require an investiment of about US$1.2 billion and is considered by the Government to be crucial to supply energy to grand enterprises to be built in Mozambique. After the recent conclusion of a feasibility study, the Government began a search for potential financial partners for construction of the dam. The proponents of the project are convinced that construction of the dam will

Winding its way through Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, the Zambezi River is a prized resource. Its waters provide fisheries, tourism, and increasingly, electricity. But as Frederico Katere reports, Mozambique’s attempt to dam the river is pushing environmentalists into deep end.Despite advice from environmentalists and scientists that the construction of another hydroelectric dam on the Zambezi River will intensify flooding, the Mozambican government has decided to go ahead with the project. The government announced that the Mepanda Nkuwa dam is to be constructed at an estimated cost

WASHINGTON, Dec 5, 2001 (Inter Press Service via COMTEX) –– An expected surge in world demand for energy–intensive aluminum products could fuel construction of environmentally ruinous dams from the Amazon to Mozambique, activists warn. Demand for cans and a host of other aluminum products is being driven by population growth and international trade. "This increased demand will create a need for new smelters, which will continue to place a very heavy burden on the world’s rivers, its atmosphere and on other resources," says Lori Pottinger, Southern Africa campaign director for the U.S.â

Corruption and the World BankMonday, August 23, 1999; Page A16 The following is a letter from Lori Pottinger, International Rivers’s Southern Africa Program director to The Washington Post on August 23, 1999. The article "Big Firms Accused of Bribery in African Dam Project" cites World Bank claims that it had a limited role in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project because it made only a small contribution to the multibillion–dollar financing scheme [Business, Aug. 13]. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only did the World Bank finance the design of the project; it also is respo

BUSINESS Day’s exposure of bribery on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project is a pointer to the degree to which the practice of corruption is increasingly becoming the norm in substantial sectors of big business. It should also serve as a wake–up call to government in its seemingly uncritical faith in the private sector, in particular international corporations, as the vehicle for the development of SA and the region. The initial focus of the Lesotho scandal was on the water project official who took the bribes, but Business Day was quick to point out that it "takes two to tan

It’s a tale involving millions of dollars allegedly funneled into Swiss bank accounts by giant international companies competing to build one of the biggest infrastructure projects under construction in the world. The companies stand accused of paying bribes to win lucrative dam–building and engineering contracts on the Highlands Water Project in the southern African kingdom of Lesotho. While bribery in Third World construction projects hardly rates as stunning news, the allegations involve big–name European multinationals, notably ABB Ltd., a Swiss–Swedish firm with about $31 bi

MAPELENG, LESOTHO –– Small earthquakes have been rumbling in recent months through the Maluti Mountains in the small landlocked nation of Lesotho, which is entirely surrounded by South Africa. Mountain villages now live in fear of the ongoing earth tremors, such as the one that left a crack through the middle of the village of Mapeleng, and damaged many traditional stone–built rondavels (round houses). "For 60 years we lived comfortably here, until October 1995. My family is sitting on a crevice," says a Mapeleng villager. "When I ask, I am told the foundations to