Thursday, July 28, 2011

Gibe III: Rights Group Criticizes Ethiopia over Farmland Leases

Rights Group Criticizes Ethiopia over Farmland Leases
Voice of America, July 28, 2011
John de Capua
www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/decapua-ethiopia-land-28jul11-126333328.html

A human rights group has accused the Ethiopian government of leasing
some of its most productive farmland to foreign companies. Survival
International said the Omo River region is the traditional homeland of
some 90-thousand indigenous people.

The group said Malaysian, Italian and Korean companies are buying
leases; and that large areas are being cleared for state-run plantations.

"The government announced that it was going ahead with the huge sugar
cane plantation known as the Kuraz Project. We know that there are
leases given out to other foreign companies. For example, an Italian
company, which is leasing 30,000 hectares to grow palm oil," Fiona
Watson, Survival International's field and research director.

Allegations

Survival International said the government has failed to consult the
indigenous people, who would be affected. "Leasing of their land without
their knowing about it," said Watson, "is going to create enormous
problems for them."

The government rejected the group's allegations. Spokesman Simon Bereket
said it was official policy to inform and consult with local
populations. "That is the normal practice in Ethiopia," he said,
"mandated by the constitution to be discussed by all peoples."

Bereket called the group's accusations "baseless."

He added, "As far as I know the indigenous people are very supportive of
the government. These are indigenous people who had been neglected for
centuries, never been considered to be Ethiopians. It's only now or last
20 years that their identity has been recognized and protected."

Watson said the projects threaten to destroy the way of life for the
indigenous people near the Omo River.

"By and large, the tribal peoples of the Omo Valley are self-sufficient
people, who have perfected techniques to live reasonably well in what is
a difficult environment. If the leases go ahead…they're going to lose
all the ability to be self-sufficient."

Many are nomadic cattle herders. Others rely on the seasonal flooding of
the Omo River to deposit silt on the farmland, making it more fertile.

Who owns the land

However, the government said private property is not an issue in the Omo
valley or elsewhere in Ethiopia.

"Technically, land belongs to the government. Land is not private
property in Ethiopia. So, it is basically the government who owns the
land of the country."

Watson said, "It's true that the government says that. That doesn't
necessarily make it right. And under all sorts of international
conventions and laws, it is recognized that indigenous and tribal
peoples should have the right to collectively own their land. In fact
there is a clause in the Ethiopia constitution, which says that nomadic
pastoralist peoples, which includes most of the people in the Omo
Valley, have the right to use land freely to practice their pastoralism."

Survival International said government plans for relocating the people
to villages would create more poverty and hunger. It said a similar
project in the 1980s by a former government, "had an incredibly negative
impact."

Gibe III

Survival International has also been a long time critic of the Gibe III
damn under construction on the Omo River. It said the dam would end the
seasonal floods benefiting farmlands and adversely affect water access
in the region.

"If you look at the land leasing in conjunction with the dam it's like a
double whammy." Watson said.

Bereket disagrees. He said, "There is no way, no way that this
government would trample upon the rights of such indigenous groups."
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

UN calls for suspension of giant Ethiopian hydropower dam

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/UN+calls+for+suspension+of+giant+Ethiopian+hydropower+dam/-/1066/1209288/-/7mmtd6z/-/

UN calls for suspension of giant Ethiopian hydropower dam

By ARGAW ASHINE, NATION Correspondent, Addis Ababa
Posted Thursday, July 28 2011 at 10:18

The United Nations has added its voice to the barrage of criticism on
Ethiopia's massive Gibe III hydropower project, calling for work to be
suspended until the negative impacts of the dam have been determined.
The World Heritage Committee, which establishes sites to be listed as
being of special cultural or physical significance, said the dam's
construction endangered the existence of Lake Turkana.

The lake, the largest desert lake in the world and listed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in 1997, sits astride the Kenya-Ethiopian border.

In a letter to the Ethiopian and Chinese governments after its annual
meeting, the committee underlined the importance of Lake Turkana as an
outstanding research area for animal and plant communities.

"The area's rich fossil finds have allowed reconstructing the history
of animal species and mankind over the past 2 million years," the
committee report copied to the Ethiopian government read in part.

Both Ethiopia and China as members of the World Heritage Committee
were asked to fulfill their obligations for the protection of such a
site.

China is helping fund the building of the dam.

The UN body also asked the governments of Kenya and Ethiopia to invite
a monitoring mission to review the dam's impact on Lake Turkana, while
encouraging the project's lenders "to put on hold their financial
support" until the committee's next annual meeting in June 2012.

The Gibe III dam is being built by an Italian company, Salini
Construction, and a Chinese state-owned bank has approved funding for
the project, while its export credit agency is financing the erection
of transmission lines.

The dam has been the subject of a massive campaign by mainly western
rights groups over what they say are negative environmental and social
impacts against an estimated 500,000 people in Kenya.

International Rivers, a US-based campaign group, said the project may
be one of Africa's worst development disasters" because of the harm it
may cause people in the south of the Horn of Africa country.

But Ethiopia has categorically denied the accusation and further
signed an agreement with Kenya to export electric power. The
transmission line connecting the two countries is nearing completion.

During an international hydropower summit in Addis Ababa recently,
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi defended the decision to expand
dam projects.

The views of western critics are "ironic" as Ethiopian facilities are
"infinitely more environmentally and socially responsible than the
projects in their countries, past and present," he said.

Mr Meles articulated his suspicion that there is a conspiracy against
hydropower projects in Africa and that those who were advocating
against hydropower electricity generation were condemning African and
its people to remain in extreme poverty.

"They are concerned about butterflies' lives but not human diseases,"
he said.

The Ethiopian premier said that most of the activists residing in
Europe and North America were not condemning their countries for
causing global warming by producing carbon emission gases.

Mr Meles is the current African Union spokesperson on climate change.

Ethiopia has a hydropower potential of 45,000 Megawatts (MW), the
second-largest capacity in Africa after the Democratic Republic of
Congo, according to the World Bank.

Under a five-year plan, the country plans to raise its power
generation to as much as 10,000 MW and expand electricity coverage to
75 per cent of the population, from the current 41 per cent.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Government scraps West Seti licence

Govt scraps West Seti licence
HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE
The Himalayan Times, 28 July 2011
http://thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Govt+scraps+West+Seti+licence&NewsID=297228

KATHMANDU: A Cabinet meeting today decided to scrap the licence of West
Seti Hydropower Limited, which was licensed to construct the 750-MW
power project.

For the last 16 years it was unable to rope in investors and the
agreement of the company was amended 10 times. The company had been
seeking grace time since long, saying it wanted to close all its finances.

The Asian Development Bank and China EXIM Bank that had earlier
expressed their interest to invest in the project later said they would
not. The 10th amendment of the agreement had given December 2010
deadline for financial closure but the company had sent a letter to the
government on December 24 seeking another year. In March, the government
had asked the company to clarify why it failed to meet the deadline for
the financial closure. On March 24, the company promoter admitted that
it had failed to convince the investors and requested six more months
before it closed all its finances.

Stating that the reason given by the company for its failure to close
its finances was not convincing, the government today decided to scrap
its licence to pave the way for the construction of the project.

The estimated cost of the project is $1.2 to 1.7 billion and most of the
preliminary works such as Environmental Impact Assessment and Detail
Engineering Report have already been prepared.

The Australian promoter of the project, Snowy Mountain Energy
Corporation, had stopped funding the project's liaison office in
Kathmandu and field offices in Doti and Dadheldhura last year.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: sasia@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

A Stimulus Plan for Seafood: Tear Down Those Dams

http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/07/a-stimulus-plan-for-seafood-tear-down-those-dams/242510/

A Stimulus Plan for Seafood: Tear Down Those Dams
By Paul Greenberg
Jul 25 2011,

The ruins of the Industrial Revolution block rivers and streams
throughout the Northeast�leaving fisheries in ruins, too

As the fight over the debt ceiling rages on and feeble talks of bad
compromises make Americans feel ever more underwater, the Obama policy
that has been cast in a particularly bad light has been the 2009
stimulus package. Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey went so far
as to call the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act a "concept
without substance." The Obama Administration has rebuffed critics by
saying that the package put tens of billions of dollars to use on
"shovel ready" construction projects�new roads, new homes, anything a
person might take a hammer and nails to.

But as we reach the zenith of stimulus funding and I find myself
looking back over what was spent and what was built, I can't help but
disagree with both Republicans and Democrats. True, as an advocate for
the natural world�particularly the underwater part of it�my
perspective is skewed against building up any more of what I perceive
as an already overbuilt America. But I'd like to advocate for one
stimulus project that would unquestionably stimulate things. With the
few dollars of funding that remain, I'd like to put in my two cents
for deconstruction.

Throughout the United States, there are tens of thousands of dams that
today serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever. Most of them were built
on streams and rivers during the Industrial Revolution, providing
mechanical hydropower to textile mills and other private
manufacturers, primarily in the Northeast. But as manufacturing moved
away from New England during the 20th century, many of the companies
that built and maintained these dams went bankrupt. Unfortunately,
when they closed up shop they left their stream barriers in place.

While these dams were once a way of building up the American economy,
today they represent a tremendous force pulling it down. Dams, even
when they no longer serve industry, continue to do one pernicious
thing very effectively: block the passage of fish to and from the sea.

The most famous seagoing river fish affected by dams were salmon, and
once upon a time the major rivers of the Northeast teemed with them.
The Connecticut River alone may have supported an annual run in excess
of 40,000 10- to 30-pound Atlantic salmon every year. Today, all that
is, so to speak, lox no longer under the bridge.

And salmon represent just a tiny percentage of the sea-run, or
"diadromous," fish that could be recovered should non-power-producing
dams be removed. Principal to river ecosystems are shad, eels,
alewives, and other smaller fish that yearly make the run either from
salt to fresh or fresh to salt. These "forage" fish are the short-term
credit of marine ecology. Practically everything eats them, from
delicious white-fleshed striped bass to tasty summer flounder to
thousand-pound bluefin tuna. Remove them from the ecosystem, and you
are depriving the fish we love most of their best source of protein.
Return them, and you have the potential to increase the biotic wealth
of the ocean profoundly. Imagine the value to the American economy of
a fisheries sector producing surpluses rather than running deficits.

The reasons for dam removal go beyond just saving fish. Not only would
it provide much-needed jobs in the construction industry, but
according to Steve Gephard at the Connecticut Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection, the outdated dams of the Industrial
Revolution are "ticking time bombs." After mills went bankrupt in the
last century, the dams they serviced were no longer maintained. Many
are out of compliance with safety standards. In one relatively small
storm in October, 2006, 20 dams failed in Connecticut alone. If a
Katrina-sized hurricane were to hit the Northeast, as many
climatologists believe is increasingly likely, the resulting damage to
property and human life could be extreme.

Finally, the argument for dam removal has a certain poetic justice.
Even if most people agree that the Ur-stimulus package of Roosevelt's
New Deal was beneficial to American people, it was devastating to
American fish. The Roosevelt Administration was marked by one of the
greatest dam-building sprees in American history�a spree that ruined
as much or more fish habitat in a decade as all of the other dam
building did in the previous two centuries. The Bonneville Dam on
Washington and Oregon's Columbia River, built in 1938, represents one
of the greatest tragedies of American fisheries: It reduced a run of
15 million coho and chinook salmon to a mere wisp of what it had been.

True, nobody today could realistically hope to take down the
Bonneville, or any other dam that produces non-petroleum-based energy.
But if the big power-generating dams of the West must stay, it seems
only fair to fish that the useless dams of the East should go.
Deconstruction might sound more befitting of a French intellectual
than an American engineer. But the next time we think about
stimulating the economy, it should be a thinking person's package�one
that leaves room to correct the mistakes of the past.

Image: InAweofGod'sCreation/flickr
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: dams@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Kenya Power rationing blamed on drought and plant breakdowns

Power rationing blamed on breakdown of plants and drought

By ZEDDY SAMBU AND DENNIS KAWUMA (email the author)

Posted Wednesday, July 27 2011 at 00:00

Breakdown of power generating plants and drought have forced Kenya
Power to ration supply. The cuts, which start Wednesday and mainly
affect industries, could dent Kenya Power�s future profitability
through reduced sales after the regulator froze tariff reviews.
Routine or forced maintenance has affected plants managed by KenGen
and private power producers IberAfrica, Tsavo Power, Or Power IV and
Mumias, cutting off 90 megawatts of supply.

The rationing will last two hours during the peak evening consumption
period of between 6 p.m and 9 p.m.

Kenya Power proposed to raise electricity tariffs by about 20 per cent
from July 1, for three years, but withdrew the proposition in view of
the impact it would have had on consumer budgets already stretched by
inflation and the competitiveness of Kenyan products in other markets.

The rationing programme will affect the bulk of industrial and retail
consumers at the main consumption points in Nairobi, Western Kenya,
and Mt Kenya while those in Coast have been spared the interruptions,
helped by normal operations at the Rabai power plant near Mombasa.

�There is a shortage of power of between 70 and 90 megawatts daily,
especially in the evening. It is inevitable, therefore, to supply
power on a rotational basis during the evening peak demand period of
about four hours,� said Kenya Power managing director Joseph Njoroge
at a news conference.

The programme could go on until late in the year depending on whether
the short October to November rains manage to fill the main dams along
River Tana.

The dams are currently below their spilling levels. The interruption
is certain to cost the Kenyan economy dearly as well as businesses,
especially small and medium enterprises that may not afford mitigation
through stand-by generators. [...]

Timing questioned

�There is not enough power generation reserve margin to meet rising
national demand, which is growing at eight per cent each year,� said
Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) director for electricity Joe
Ng�ang�a.

But the regulator questioned timing of the rationing programme and
summoned the power utilities firm Tuesday.

�We have told them that timing of the plants� repairs should be
(harmonised),� said Mr Ng�ang�a.

KenGen is reportedly set to commission two gas turbines in a move that
will replace the costly emergency power supplied by Aggreko.

The fuel cost adjustment, now at Sh8 per unit, is borne fully by
consumers and paid to private power firms. In June, the rising cost of
food, fuel and power compounded inflation pushing it up to 14.49 per
cent. Three independent power producers � Gulf Power, Triumph Energy,
and Malec with a total capacity of 252 megawatts � are expected to
install diesel power generators. Two will be at Athi River and one in
Thika.

The power shortage has also been compounded by the government�s delay
in commissioning diesel power generators.

Experts see the rationing as a stop-gap measure intended to solve the
power supply shortage as the government puts in place measures to
generate green energy in the next years.

[...]

The impact of the 2000 drought required the power provider to seek out
more costly sources, which not only enfeebled the firm financially but
also led to inflated prices, as both high foreign exchange rates and
rising fuel costs were passed on to consumers.

The situation was exacerbated by reduced sales due to a drought-
induced economic recession, high line losses, increased customer
default and theft, and increased fuel prices in the international
market, which could not be fully passed on to consumers due to a
pricing formula which assumes losses of maximum 15 per cent.

The World Bank�s 2000 Emergency Power Supply Project noted that
without the facility, losses to the economy would have amounted to
$400 million or about four per cent of GDP over the period of a nine-
month span, with costs for emergency power facilities estimated at
$110 million.

(email the author) zsambu@ke.nationmedia.com
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

West Seti Hydropower Co poised to lose licence

West Seti Hydropower Co poised to lose licence
eKantipur.com
Mukul Humagain
Kathmandu, Jul 26, 2011
http://bit.ly/o236IB

It's going to be curtains down for the much talked about West Seti
Hydropower Company Limited (WSHPL). Fifteen years after it acquired
survey licence for the 750 MW West Seti Hydropower Project, WSHPL is all
set to lose the licence.

A high-level official at the Energy Ministry said the ministry has
already recommended to the government to scrap WSHPL's licence. "The
ministry has already forwarded the decision to the Cabinet," said the
source. According to the source, the upcoming Cabinet meeting would take
a decision to this effect.

Of late, Energy Ministry officials have been hinting at WSHPL's licence
annulment. The government in June had sought WSHPL's clarification on
why should it not be closed. The government then had said that it would
move ahead with the licence cancellation process if the company failed
to come up with a reasonable answer.

The scrapping of WSHPL would mark the end of the country's one of the
ambitious hydropower projects. The project was originally designed as an
export-oriented with 90 percent of the power to be exported to India.
However, promoter WSHPL failed to move ahead with its construction whose
cost was estimated at Rs 120 billion.

Failing to manage resources, WSHPL had proposed building the project
under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in January, 2011. The
company had filed an application at the Department of Electricity
Development (DoED) seeking extension of the deadline for financial
closure of the project and also sought the government's involvement in
the project.

However, indicating that it would not extend the deadline, the Ministry
of Energy (MoE) had sought the clarification from WSHPL for its failure
to proceed with the construction of the project located in Doti and
Dadeldhura districts.

WSHPL in its clarification to the government had said the government
cannot terminate the agreement it reached with the company without
giving a six-month notice. The company had also stated that it was
trying to manage resources for the project.

WSHPL had signed an agreement with the government 16 years ago to
construct the project under the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model.

Australia's Snowy Mountains Energy Corporation (SMEC) was the major
promoter of the project.

The cash-strapped project got a boost when the China National Machinery
and Equipment Import and Export Corporation (CMEC) decided to invest in
it. CMEC even signed an agreement with WSHPL during the then Prime
Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal's China visit in 2009. CMEC President Jia
Zhiqiang and WSHPL Director Himalaya Pandey had signed a memorandum of
understanding in Beijing. The Chinese firm had decided to invest Rs 15
billion in the project.

However, CMEC later opted to pull out of the project saying that Nepal
lacks an investment-friendly environment. Another important shareholder
of the company, Asian Development Bank, also did not show interest
citing lack of public acceptance of the project and lack of good governance.

The project received yet another jolt when the main promoter of the
company SMEC stopped sending funds for office operations in August 2010.
SMEC's decision to stop funding was linked to the lack of interest shown
by CMEC and ADB to pour in money in the mega project. SMEC, as the major
promoter, has invested over $ 31 million in the project over the last
decade.

Posted on: 2011-07-26 10:28
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: sasia@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

China's Sinohydro plans $2.7b Shanghai IPO

China's Sinohydro plans $2.7b Shanghai IPO
(Agencies)
2011-07-26 10:02
www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/greenchina/2011-07/26/content_12985342.htm

Chinese dam builder Sinohydro Group Ltd plans to raise more than $2.5
billion in what could be Chinese mainland's biggest initial public
offering this year.

The Chinese equity market has been dominated by smaller issues so far in
2011, following a hectic 2010 that saw a slew of mega IPOs by companies
like Agricultural Bank of China and China Everbright Bank .

A sluggish stock market has curbed investor appetite for primary
offerings, which analysts said would tame interest in upcoming bigger
IPOs by bigger companies.

"Investors are relatively cool-headed under current circumstances, so
that the IPO market should be less frothy," said Wu Binhua, an analyst
at Hwabao Securities.

"When the market was hot, many IPOs were over-priced and clearly there
was a bubble. I don't expect to see lofty valuations on major IPOs these
days," Wu said.

Founder Securities, the Chinese partner of Credit Suisse, has set a
suggested price target to raise up to 6.42 billion yuan ($996 million)
from its planned Shanghai IPO, IFR reported on Tuesday.

Reflecting sluggish investor demand and highlighting the growing risks
faced by bookrunners, Haitong Securities ended up holding 58 percent of
a public placement by Jiangsu Zhongtian Technology last week, after
rival Orient Securities was also stuck with shares on a separate deal.

Sinohydro plans

Sinohydro plans to issue up to 3.5 billion new shares to fund projects
totaling 17.3 billion yuan, it said in a draft IPO prospectus on
Tuesday. It will not be clear how much Sinohydro will raise until it
sets its IPO price.

"China regularly suffers from droughts and floods, so there's a genuine
need to invest further in hydro projects, making Sinohydro's IPO
attractive to some investors," Wu said.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said it would review
the company's IPO application on Friday.

The new issue would represent close to 35 percent of its expanded share
capital, with the funds being used for equipment purchases and
investments in clean energy projects, it said.

Sinohydro is a leading dam builder in China, having built 65 percent of
the medium and large-sized dams in the country, including the Three
Gorges dam on the Yangtze river and the Xiaolangdi dam on the Yellow River.

As part of an overseas expansion drive, the firm has taken on projects
in Malaysia, Sudan, Laos and Ghana, according to the company's website.

It is also involved in other infrastructure projects, including the
recently launched Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail link, it said on its
website.

Sinohydro Corp posted operating revenue of 101 billion yuan and net
profit of 2.91 billion yuan in 2010.

China Securities Co and Bank of China International are the lead
underwriters for the listing.
________________________________________________

This is International Rivers' mailing list on China's global footprint, and particularly Chinese investment in
international dam projects.

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: chinaglobal@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Friday, July 22, 2011

Zambia: Abide by the law, envoy asks Chinese companies

www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=22169

Abide by the law, envoy asks Chinese companies
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
The Post Online (Zambia), Fri 22 July 2011

President Rupiah Banda and Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Zhou Yuxiao
during the ground-breaking ceremony at Kafue Gorge Lower Hydropower
project yesterday - Picture by Thomas Nsama
CHINESE companies have been asked to improve their relationship with the
Zambian government and local people to boost their grip on huge
infrastructural projects currently being enjoyed.

And China's Sinohydro has started building the Us $2 billion 750
megawatts Kafue Gorge Lower Hydropower station which is expected to
boost power security in Zambia and the region once completed in 2017.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony for Kafue Gorge Lower on
Wednesday, Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Zhou Yu Xiao said there was need
for Chinese companies to fully exploit opportunities in Zambia that
arise from the enactment of the Public Private Partnership Act.

Ambassador Zhou said Sinohydro is currently building 360 megawatts
Kariba North Bank Extension project,

Kafue Gorge Power Station rehabilitation project, 120 megawatts
Itezhi-Tezhi and Kafue Gorge Lower, just about all key projects aimed to
boosting Zambia's power output.

Sinohydro, which controls about 50 per cent of the global hydropower
construction projects, has combined power works of about US $3 billion
in the country.

Kafue Gorge Lower is a joint venture between Sinohydro, Zesco and China
Africa Development Fund being the shareholders and the consortium led by
China Development bank providing financing support.

"While having full confidence in Sinohydro, I still wish to take this
opportunity to call upon the contractor to implement the project with
good quality, high speed, abide by relevant laws and regulation of the
land and employing as many workers as possible and paying them fairly as
well as protecting the local environment," said Ambassador Zhou."

And I am also confident the host government and local community will
continue to give the contractor and financiers the necessary support and
cooperation to facilitate their smooth operations."

And President Rupiah Banda said the successful implementation and
completion of the project would add 750 megawatts of power to the
national grid.

"This makes Kafue Gorge Lower one of the most important components of my
government's strategy to meet growing energy demand in the country and
the region as whole," said President Banda during the ground breaking
ceremony for the construction.

According to the scope and cost of the project, the recommended
configuration involved construction of Concrete Faced Rockfill Dam and a
five unit surface powerhouse with an installed capacity of 750 megawatts.

The estimated cost for the project is US $1.46 billion while the
financing costs brought the total project cost to US $1.94 billion.

The project is being financed 70 per cent by a loan from China Africa
Development Fund and China Development Bank.

The 30 per cent would be equity contribution shared by Sinohydro, China
Africa Development Fund and Zesco.

The plant would be operated for 30 years by a special purpose vehicle
called SINOZAM Power Corporation, after which it would be handed back to
Zesco.
________________________________________________

This is International Rivers' mailing list on China's global footprint, and particularly Chinese investment in
international dam projects.

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: chinaglobal@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

UN body calls on Chinese banks to suspend funding Gibe III Dam

UN Body Calls for Suspension of Gibe III Dam to Protect World Heritage
By Peter Bosshard
July 22, 2011

[The full text of the following blog post, with images and links to all
background documents, is available at
www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/6772.]

Places like the Grand Canyon, Taj Mahal and Great Wall of China are of
such outstanding cultural or natural value that the world's governments
have committed to protect and preserve them for future generations. The
UN's World Heritage Committee recently called on the Ethiopian
government and Chinese financiers to suspend the Gibe III hydropower
project to fulfill their obligation for the protection of such a site.

Lake Turkana in Northern Kenya is the world's largest desert lake.
According to the World Heritage Committee, its unique ecosystem has made
it "an outstanding laboratory for the study of plant and animal
communities." The area's rich fossil finds have allowed reconstructing
the history of animal species and mankind over the past 2 million years.
Thanks to these unique properties, Lake Turkana was recognized and
protected as a World Heritage Site in 1997.

Lake Turkana's umbilical cord is the Omo River, on which it depends for
close to 90 percent of its water inflow. The Gibe III Dam, which is
currently under construction in Ethiopia, would disrupt this water
supply. It would store almost a full year's worth of the river's flow,
divert more water for the irrigation of sugar cane plantations, and
completely alter the river's natural cycle, on which the fragile
ecosystems of the Lower Omo Valley and Lake Turkana have come to depend
over thousands of years. A study commissioned by the African Development
Bank found that the dam would likely cause a significant drop in the
lake's water level, increase its salinity, and threaten the unique
ecosystem for which the lake was recognized as a World Heritage Site in
the first place.

The Gibe III Dam is being built by an Italian company. ICBC, a Chinese
state-owned bank, has approved funding for the project, and China's
export credit agency is financing the transmission lines. The dam would
not only have devastating impacts on the Omo River and Lake Turkana, but
also on the 500,000 indigenous people who depend on the river and lake
for their livelihoods.

The threats posed to Lake Turkana spurred the World Heritage Centre,
which coordinates international efforts regarding World Heritage Sites
on a daily basis, into action. In March 2011, the Centre expressed
concern about the construction of the Gibe III Dam in a letter to the
Ethiopian government and requested additional information, including the
project's environmental impact assessment. The government claimed that
it had taken precautionary measures to protect Lake Turkana, but did not
provide any relevant documents to the Centre.

In June 2011 the World Heritage Committee, which oversees the protection
of World Heritage Sites around the globe, convened for its annual
meeting. The Committee took note of the threats and decided to take
action for the protection of Lake Turkana and a host of other sites. It
expressed "utmost concern" about the proposed construction of the Gibe
III Dam and urged the Ethiopian government to "immediately halt all
construction" on the project. It asked the governments of Kenya and
Ethiopia to invite a monitoring mission to review the dam's impacts on
Lake Turkana, and encouraged financial institutions "to put on hold
their financial support" until the Committee's next annual meeting in
June 2012. Interestingly, both China and Ethiopia are currently among
the 21 members of the World Heritage Committee.

Lake Turkana is not the only World Heritage Site which is threatened by
dam construction. In a report to the Committee, the World Heritage
Centre and the World Conservation Union IUCN proposed that "all major
dams affecting World Heritage properties (…) should undergo thorough
environmental and social impact assessments in line with the
international best practice principles, comply with the World Commission
on Dams (WCD) guidelines regarding options assessment, public
participation, environmental flows, compliance, and benefit sharing, and
be submitted to the World Heritage Committee for review and
consideration prior to granting of approval."

China and Ethiopia both have important World Heritage Sites, including
the Summer Palace, the Great Panda sanctuaries of Sichuan, and the Lower
Awash Valley where the remains of the famous Lucy were found within
their borders. When they signed the World Heritage Convention, the two
countries accepted an international legal responsibility to protect such
sites around the world. With the decision of the World Heritage
Committee, the Gibe III Dam is no longer a matter of debate between dam
builders, affected communities and environmental organizations. The
governments of Ethiopia and China now have a duty to act.

Peter Bosshard is the policy director of International Rivers. He blogs
at www.internationalrivers.org/en/blog/peter-bosshard and tweets
@PeterBosshard.
________________________________________________

This is International Rivers' mailing list on China's global footprint, and particularly Chinese investment in
international dam projects.

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: chinaglobal@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

UN Body Calls for Suspension of Gibe III Dam

UN Body Calls for Suspension of Gibe III Dam to Protect World Heritage
By Peter Bosshard
July 22, 2011

[The full text of the following blog post, with images and links to all
background documents, is available at
www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/6772.]

Places like the Grand Canyon, Taj Mahal and Great Wall of China are of
such outstanding cultural or natural value that the world's governments
have committed to protect and preserve them for future generations. The
UN's World Heritage Committee recently called on the Ethiopian
government and Chinese financiers to suspend the Gibe III hydropower
project to fulfill their obligation for the protection of such a site.

Lake Turkana in Northern Kenya is the world's largest desert lake.
According to the World Heritage Committee, its unique ecosystem has made
it "an outstanding laboratory for the study of plant and animal
communities." The area's rich fossil finds have allowed reconstructing
the history of animal species and mankind over the past 2 million years.
Thanks to these unique properties, Lake Turkana was recognized and
protected as a World Heritage Site in 1997.

Lake Turkana's umbilical cord is the Omo River, on which it depends for
close to 90 percent of its water inflow. The Gibe III Dam, which is
currently under construction in Ethiopia, would disrupt this water
supply. It would store almost a full year's worth of the river's flow,
divert more water for the irrigation of sugar cane plantations, and
completely alter the river's natural cycle, on which the fragile
ecosystems of the Lower Omo Valley and Lake Turkana have come to depend
over thousands of years. A study commissioned by the African Development
Bank found that the dam would likely cause a significant drop in the
lake's water level, increase its salinity, and threaten the unique
ecosystem for which the lake was recognized as a World Heritage Site in
the first place.

The Gibe III Dam is being built by an Italian company. ICBC, a Chinese
state-owned bank, has approved funding for the project, and China's
export credit agency is financing the transmission lines. The dam would
not only have devastating impacts on the Omo River and Lake Turkana, but
also on the 500,000 indigenous people who depend on the river and lake
for their livelihoods.

The threats posed to Lake Turkana spurred the World Heritage Centre,
which coordinates international efforts regarding World Heritage Sites
on a daily basis, into action. In March 2011, the Centre expressed
concern about the construction of the Gibe III Dam in a letter to the
Ethiopian government and requested additional information, including the
project's environmental impact assessment. The government claimed that
it had taken precautionary measures to protect Lake Turkana, but did not
provide any relevant documents to the Centre.

In June 2011 the World Heritage Committee, which oversees the protection
of World Heritage Sites around the globe, convened for its annual
meeting. The Committee took note of the threats and decided to take
action for the protection of Lake Turkana and a host of other sites. It
expressed "utmost concern" about the proposed construction of the Gibe
III Dam and urged the Ethiopian government to "immediately halt all
construction" on the project. It asked the governments of Kenya and
Ethiopia to invite a monitoring mission to review the dam's impacts on
Lake Turkana, and encouraged financial institutions "to put on hold
their financial support" until the Committee's next annual meeting in
June 2012. Interestingly, both China and Ethiopia are currently among
the 21 members of the World Heritage Committee.

Lake Turkana is not the only World Heritage Site which is threatened by
dam construction. In a report to the Committee, the World Heritage
Centre and the World Conservation Union IUCN proposed that "all major
dams affecting World Heritage properties (…) should undergo thorough
environmental and social impact assessments in line with the
international best practice principles, comply with the World Commission
on Dams (WCD) guidelines regarding options assessment, public
participation, environmental flows, compliance, and benefit sharing, and
be submitted to the World Heritage Committee for review and
consideration prior to granting of approval."

China and Ethiopia both have important World Heritage Sites, including
the Summer Palace, the Great Panda sanctuaries of Sichuan, and the Lower
Awash Valley where the remains of the famous Lucy were found within
their borders. When they signed the World Heritage Convention, the two
countries accepted an international legal responsibility to protect such
sites around the world. With the decision of the World Heritage
Committee, the Gibe III Dam is no longer a matter of debate between dam
builders, affected communities and environmental organizations. The
governments of Ethiopia and China now have a duty to act.

Peter Bosshard is the policy director of International Rivers. He blogs
at www.internationalrivers.org/en/blog/peter-bosshard and tweets
@PeterBosshard.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Can Ethiopia Afford the Grand Renaissance Dam?

A new blog here:
http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/6749
and link to the report (3 pages) here: http://www.internationalrivers.org/files/Ethiopiadamefficiency.pdf


Can Ethiopia Afford the Grand Renaissance Dam?
Tue, 07/19/2011 - 5:01pm
By Lori Pottinger

A new report by an Ethiopian with experience in energy planning
reveals that the new Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (also known as
the Grand Millennium Dam), now planned for the Nile, could be an
overpriced, underperforming boondoggle (if it ever gets built). The
report notes that the US$4.7 billion dam will be very inefficient in
terms of producing electricity, and therefore a poor investment for a
country with high poverty, low access to electricity and recurring
hydropower-killing droughts.

The dam�s �efficiency� (technically called its �plant load factor�)
will be just 33%. That�s low compared to the global output for
hydropower dams (which average around 50%). The author of the report,
Mehari Beyene, notes, �A much lower height and lower capacity dam
would be more efficient, more cost-effective, and would come with
fewer social and environmental impacts.�

Because international donors have shied away from supporting this
project, which is already worsening tensions with Egypt, the
government is exhorting Ethiopian citizens to donate a month�s salary
to pay for this dam, which would be one of Africa�s costliest. Beyene
states, �Ethiopians are being pushed and politicized to buy dam bonds
that are supposed to cover the project's construction costs � As an
Ethiopian, I say the least the government can do is provide us with
the required information and answer all open questions before asking
us to shoulder such a massive investment.�

And massive it is: the dam's cost is almost as high as Ethiopia�s
entire national budget. As The Economist writes:

How will Ethiopia pay? � Some engineers think the cost will exceed
$4.8 billion. Ethiopians are being urged to subscribe to a bond issue
on patriotic grounds. But it is unlikely to generate more than a
fraction of the required amount. Neither the World Bank nor private
investors are willing to put up the cash, since Ethiopia has failed to
create partnerships with power companies in neighbouring countries to
which it could sell electricity. The Nile�s geology may be favourable
for dam building, but the flow of money is not.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia is in the midst of a difficult and prolonged
drought. The Ethiopian government continues to build dam after dam,
with little thought as to how climate change (and recurring drought)
will affect these projects' bottom lines. With each new large dam, the
government promises an end to the ongoing national electricity crisis.
It's not proving to be a very effective strategy.

Like other mega-dams the world over, evidence is beginning to mount
that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will be more trouble than
it's worth.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Making rivers run north

Making rivers run north
June 28th, 2011 | Global Times
By Xuyang Jingjing

http://china-wire.org/?p=14298

Recent reports indicating renewed interest in starting construction on
the controversial western leg of China�s mega water diversion project,
have raised deep concerns from environmentalists, engineers and local
residents.

Wang Guangqian, a hydrologist at Tsinghua University, said he and other
experts were asked to report on various proposals for the western route.
�[We] thought this wouldn�t happen for 50 years but it�s necessary now,�
Wang told a roundtable discussion hosted by the China Science Media Center.

The South-North Water Diversion Project is a controversial and mammoth
undertaking that will bring water from the south to help meet the needs
of the more arid north. It was first proposed after China�s liberation
in 1949 as a solution to southern floods and northern droughts.

The eastern and central legs of the project got the go-ahead last decade
and are expected to bring water to Beijing and Tianjin before the middle
of this decade.

The western route, however, is still on the drawing board because it is
far more technically challenging and poses far greater environmental
risks, say experts in the field.

�They can�t provide sufficient scientific proof of its feasibility,�
said Yang Yong, an independent geologist who has spent 20 years
researching every major river in China. �Their grand plans would greatly
alter the ecological system and the distribution of water resources in
China, and there are major technical and engineering difficulties,� said
Yang.

Wang stands by his pet proposal for a western route. His plan would
divert water from the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet by constructing
thousands of kilometers of canals and pipelines along the Qinghai-Tibet
railway to reach the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the northwest.
�This is feasible,� Wang told the First Financial Daily.

Wang is not the only engineer to propose diverting water from Tibet. Guo
Kai, a self-educated hydrologist, wants to divert water from a river
that runs into northern India. �So much of the water in the Yarlung
Tsangpo runs out of China, it�s a huge waste,� said Guo, who has been
pushing his plan since the 1980s.

His proposal would divert more than 2 trillion cubic meters of water
every year and stream it through mountain tunnels and pipelines that
would finally feed into the Yellow River more than 3,000 kilometers away.
Outdated ideas push megaprojects

Ambitious plans such as Wang and Guo�s have attracted a lot of
detractors. Many think their plans are actually dangerous.

�The idea that people can change nature any way they want is
ridiculous,� said Fan Xiao, an engineer at the Sichuan Bureau of
Geological Exploration of Mineral Resources. �This way of thinking comes
from the old belief that humans can conquer nature,� said Fan.

Many experts agree that is precisely the philosophy behind the entire
South-North Water Diversion Project, which has been studied for decades
and won government approval in 2002.

According to the approved plan, the eastern route will divert water from
the lower Yangtze to Beijing along the ancient Grand Canal. The central
route will take water from the Hanjiang River, a tributary of the
Yangtze, and bring it 1,400 kilometers to Beijing and Tianjin.

The non-yet-underway western route was originally expected to divert 17
billion cubic meters of water each year from the upper reaches of the
Yangtze in Sichuan Province to nourish the country�s parched provinces
and regions in the northwest.

Trillions of yuan

The project�s website says the construcion of the three routes will cost
5 trillion yuan and ultimately bring 44.8 billion cubic meters of water
from the south to north every year. The project is not expected to be
fully completed until the middle of the century but water should begin
to flow north to Beijing in the next two or three years, notes the website.

The State Council appears to have recently given the project a higher
priority. It announced at the beginning of the year that construction of
the eastern and central routes will be accelerated and pre-construction
studies on the western route would begin �when appropriate.�

The Yellow River Conservancy Commission, which oversees projects along
the much-diminished river, has been working for decades on the
feasibility of diverting water from southern rivers along the western
route. Every plan has met with controversy.

�It�s irrational to push through such large hydro projects,� said Wang
Yongchen, a water conservation advocate who has investigated the water
resources along the upper reaches of the Yangtze. �We should have
stopped the water diversion project a long time ago,� she said.

The two routes currently under construction have also been plagued with
controversies.

There are fears that water flowing along the eastern route will be so
polluted after passing through industrial areas that by the time it
reaches Beijing it will be very costly to treat.

Along the central route tens of thousands of people have been forced to
move to make way for huge reservoirs that are needed to allow water to
flow north. There are also worries the Hanjiang River�s water resources
are not nearly plentiful enough to meet projected needs.

The most favored western route is supposed to draw water from the
Tongtian, Yalong and Dadu rivers, which run through Sichuan and Qinghai
provinces. If successful that water would open huge new tracts of land
to cultivation in the dry northwest in Gansu Province and the Ningxia
Hui Autonomous Region.

Competing megaprojects

Another serious, unresolved issue is the competing plans for the water
resources of the Yangtze. The southern provinces want to build more than
a dozen hydropower dams along the upper reaches of the Yangtze that
would provide electricity for the region�s burgeoning industrial and
urban growth. The local dams would stem the flow of water and make water
diversion impossible.

Critics say both the damming and diversion projects have failed to
consider a key factor.

�The Yangtze River is also drying up and yet people are still fighting
over water resources,� said Yang, the independent geologist who has led
teams of researchers to areas that would be affected by the western
route in 2006, 2007 and 2009.

He said his research shows the western route would damage the fragile
ecosystem in the upper Yangtze region which is susceptible to
earthquakes and mudslides. Winter freeze-over also reduces the flow of
the rivers and would prevent the diversion project from ever meeting its
target, said Yang.

Engineering obstacles

Yang�s views and research have a lot of support, especially from experts
from areas where the water is sourced. �The construction and
maintenance costs would be too great and there�s no guarantee that the
project would operate smoothly,� said Fan the government engineer from
Sichuan.

�There are also many engineering obstacles and they will need to raise
water levels by building reservoirs, dams and tunnels,� said Fan.

There�s also a huge social cost to consider, warned Fan, as a number of
the required dams and reservoirs would need to be built in areas
populated by Tibetans.

�Major grazing areas would by submerged, and that will affect the
livelihood of herders. The natural environment is also regarded as holy
by local Tibetans,� said Fan.

Continuing to search for a way around the complicated technical,
environmental and social issues is not what environmentalists want to
see. They say these efforts only cloud the real causes of water shortages.

Instead of building ever larger megaprojects, many experts say the focus
should be on water conservation.

�We need to ask why is there a water shortage?� said Fan. �Inefficient
water use is still a major issue.�

Yang believes that adjusting human behavior rather than attempting to
change the flow of rivers, is likely to produce more environmentally
sound results. �We can try to fix things from this perspective, instead
of resorting to huge projects every time we have a drought or some other
disasters.�

Clear signal needed

Environmentalists are also frustrated because the government hasn�t yet
provided a clear signal on the larger issues.

�In China, decisions on major projects are usually political and so the
feasibility studies don�t matter much,� said Fan. �It�s hard to tell
whether the western route will eventually go through,� he said.

�Right now the whole situation is a mess,� concludes Yang, adding that
the central government should look at the big picture when making
decisions. �The development of hydroelectricity, hydro engineering and
resource-driven industries should be taken as a whole,� he said.

�The special interests and power struggles between departments or local
governments make the situation very complicated,� said Yang. �The
decision makers are not giving a clear signal to show where we should go
from here.�
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: china@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

'Countries are building dams at an amazing pace right now'

'Countries are building dams at an amazing pace right now'
By Angela Yeager OSU News & Communications
July 20, 2011

http://www.kval.com/news/tech/125824458.html

CORVALLIS, Ore. � A new tool to help policy makers better assess the
costs and benefits of building dams � the first tool of its kind � could
change the way nations decide to develop hydro-electric power.

The Integrative Dam Assessment Modeling tool, or IDAM, uses an
interdisciplinary approach to simultaneously evaluate the distribution
of biophysical, socio-economic and geopolitical impacts of dams,
according to one of the model�s creators, Bryan Tilt, an associate
professor of anthropology at Oregon State University.

The model was designed as a decision-support tool that policy makers can
use to understand holistically the impacts, costs and benefits of
building a dam in any area.

On July 27, researchers at Oregon State University who developed the
model will present the tool in Washington, D.C., to a group of
policy-makers, government agencies and environmental organizations from
the United States, China and Southeast Asia.

The dam assessment tool measures the costs associated with a proposed
dam development project and also measures the possible benefits. Each of
the diagrams in the tool consists of 27 individual indicators of the
effects of dam construction, divided into socioeconomic, geopolitical
and biophysical themes.

For instance, factors such as habitat restoration costs can be weighed,
along with loss of income to local people and access to clean drinking
water.

�When you put up a dam, it affects whole ecosystems and whole
communities,� Tilt said. �No other measurement tool can allow for so
many variables, and allow the user to weigh what factors they view as
most important.�

Tilt said the impetus for this dam modeling project happened in 2000,
when the World Commission on Dams called for more equitable and
sustainable decision-making with respect to large dams.

In 2007, the National Science Foundation funded the research by OSU and
its collaborators to develop and test this dam assessment tool.

Numerous studies modeling real dams in China helped the researchers
refine and perfect the tool, which they believe will help policy-makers
make more informed decisions about building dams.

�The fact is that China and African, Southeast Asian and Latin American
countries are building dams at an amazing pace right now,� Tilt said.
�There is no denying that they are going to continue to build them for
the near future. So how can we help them to do it better, more
sustainably, and mitigate any damage as much as possible?�

Desiree Tullos, an associate professor in the Department of Biological &
Ecological Engineering at OSU and the project�s lead researcher, along
with Aaron Wolf, professor of geosciences at OSU, will be at the meeting
in Washington, D.C., along with Tilt.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: china@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

New tool to assess dams

Two articles. (Straight to the source--PDF on the project: http://tinyurl.com/4y2dv6w)

http://www.kval.com/news/tech/125824458.html

Countries are building dams at an amazing pace right now'
By Angela Yeager OSU News & Communications Published: Jul 20, 2011 at
5:00 AM PDT
CORVALLIS, Ore. � A new tool to help policy makers better assess the
costs and benefits of building dams � the first tool of its kind �
could change the way nations decide to develop hydro-electric power.

The Integrative Dam Assessment Modeling tool, or IDAM, uses an
interdisciplinary approach to simultaneously evaluate the distribution
of biophysical, socio-economic and geopolitical impacts of dams,
according to one of the model�s creators, Bryan Tilt, an associate
professor of anthropology at Oregon State University.

The model was designed as a decision-support tool that policy makers
can use to understand holistically the impacts, costs and benefits of
building a dam in any area.

On July 27, researchers at Oregon State University who developed the
model will present the tool in Washington, D.C., to a group of policy-
makers, government agencies and environmental organizations from the
United States, China and Southeast Asia.

The dam assessment tool measures the costs associated with a proposed
dam development project and also measures the possible benefits. Each
of the diagrams in the tool consists of 27 individual indicators of
the effects of dam construction, divided into socioeconomic,
geopolitical and biophysical themes.

For instance, factors such as habitat restoration costs can be
weighed, along with loss of income to local people and access to clean
drinking water.

�When you put up a dam, it affects whole ecosystems and whole
communities,� Tilt said. �No other measurement tool can allow for so
many variables, and allow the user to weigh what factors they view as
most important.�

Tilt said the impetus for this dam modeling project happened in 2000,
when the World Commission on Dams called for more equitable and
sustainable decision-making with respect to large dams.

In 2007, the National Science Foundation funded the research by OSU
and its collaborators to develop and test this dam assessment tool.

Numerous studies modeling real dams in China helped the researchers
refine and perfect the tool, which they believe will help policy-
makers make more informed decisions about building dams.

�The fact is that China and African, Southeast Asian and Latin
American countries are building dams at an amazing pace right now,�
Tilt said. �There is no denying that they are going to continue to
build them for the near future. So how can we help them to do it
better, more sustainably, and mitigate any damage as much as possible?�

Desiree Tullos, an associate professor in the Department of Biological
& Ecological Engineering at OSU and the project�s lead researcher,
along with Aaron Wolf, professor of geosciences at OSU, will be at the
meeting in Washington, D.C., along with Tilt.

----

http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2009/jun/scientists-develop-groundbreaking-new-model-impacts-dams

Scientists develop groundbreaking new model for impacts of dams

6-24-09

CORVALLIS, Ore. � Scientists have developed a new system to help
policy makers better assess the costs and benefits of building dams �
the first system of its kind to use an interdisciplinary approach to
simultaneously evaluate the distribution of biophysical, socio-
economic and geopolitical impacts of dams, according to one of the
study�s co-authors.

�We as scientists tend to look at things through our own tiny little
drinking straw, studying our one narrow field,� said Bryan Tilt, an
assistant professor of anthropology at Oregon State University and one
of the study�s authors. �When it comes to dams, we felt a broader
perspective was needed. Because when you put up a dam, it affects
whole ecosystems and whole communities.�

The study, which was funded by the National Science Foundation, is
part of a special issue on dams featured in the summer edition of the
Journal of Environmental Management. The entire special issue was
edited by Tilt and Desiree Tullos, an assistant professor in the
Department of Biological & Ecological Engineering at OSU. Tullos is
another co-author on the study and the principal investigator on the
National Science Foundation grant.

Each scientist was brought in for their piece of the dam puzzle. Lead
author Philip H. Brown of Colby College is an economist who studies
microeconomic issues in economic development. Tullos is an
environmental engineer with expertise in ecohydraulics and hydraulic
modeling. Tilt is an environmental anthropologist who studies the
social and environmental impacts of rural development, with a special
focus on China, where dam construction far outpaces any other nation.
Darrin Magee of Hobart and William Smith Colleges is a geographer
specializing in energy and water issues in China. And OSU�s Aaron Wolf
studies water resources policy and conflict resolution.

The scientists have developed what they call an Integrative Dam
Assessment Modeling tool, or IDAM. The model was designed as a
decision-support tool that policy makers can use to understand
holistically the impacts, costs and benefits of building a dam in any
area.

�It can be used anywhere, with some modifications,� Tilt said, adding
that the researchers have used the tool to study the impact of dams in
China and are continuing that research through a new National Science
Foundation grant this summer.

The dam assessment tool measures the costs associated with a proposed
dam development project and also measures the possible benefits. Each
of the diagrams in the tool consists of 27 individual indicators of
the effects of dam construction, divided into socio-economic,
geopolitical and biophysical themes.

In the published study, the authors illustrated the use of the IDAM
tool by testing it on two hypothetical dams with different design
characteristics.

This summer the research team travels to China again where it will put
the IDAM tool into practice on real dams. Tilt said they will collect
data on two rivers: one that has several dams on it already (the Upper
Mekong River) and one that is slated for dam development in the near
future (the Nu River, also called the Salween).


About Oregon State University: OSU is one of only two U.S.
universities designated a land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant
institution. OSU is also Oregon�s only university designated in the
Carnegie Foundation�s top tier for research institutions, garnering
more than 60 percent of the total federal and private research funding
in the Oregon University System. Its more than 20,300 students come
from all 50 states and more than 80 countries. OSU programs touch
every county within Oregon, and its faculty teach and conduct research
on issues of national and global importance.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: dams@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

India's Dam Boom: Small Not Always Beautiful

India's Dam Boom: Small Not Always Beautiful
By Samir Menta
July 18, 2011

[This is part of a two-part trip report to the Satluj and Ravi river
basins of Himachal Pradesh by Samir Mehta. For the full report with
images and links, see www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/6731 and
www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/6734. Feel free to disseminate.]

India's rivers and streams are threatened by a massive hydropower
rollout. Large projects in the northern, mountainous states will have
the biggest impacts, but the smaller ones, which are cropping up all
over the country, are having serious impacts on local people's lives.
Indeed, the High Court of the state of Karnataka has halted the
implementation of a number of mini- and micro-hydel projects in the
Western Ghats region of the state pending a cumulative impact
assessment. During my recent visit to the north Indian state of Himachal
Pradesh I also surveyed many mini- and micro-hydel projects.

The Gujjar and Gaddi tribes in the state of Himachal Pradesh are fully
prepared for a long battle to stop a 4.5 MW hydropower plant from
diverting the entire flow of the Hul stream, on which their lives
depend. For the past three months the tribe members take turns to sit by
the road at Jadera village and stop all vehicles associated with the
project from travelling to the site. This happens under the nose of the
state police hired by the project proponent to ensure protection of
their project. The police have registered cases against more than 50 of
them for blocking the road. The tension is palpable.

The Gujjar tribe keep buffaloes. They supply roughly half the dairy
products used by nearby Chamba town. The Gaddi tribe rear goats and
sheep. They have evolved their own system on who would sit by the road
and when so that there's no adverse impact on their earnings. Food is
provided to the squatters by the families in turns. Their pride will not
let them accept financial support from others. They politely refused my
offer.

These communities have for more than a decade protected and preserved
the forests from which the Hul stream originates. Traditional watermills
line its banks, extensive irrigation channels feed terraced vegetable
farms, children bathe in silver pools, and lush oak forests run parallel
along steep slopes. The stream meets Saal River which joins the might
Ravi River. Mr. Ratan Chand from nearby Chamba town was instrumental in
raising awareness of the need to protect and preserve the oak forests.
The project's pipeline will destroy about 2,000 of the slow-growing oak
trees. Oak trees, a tribesman said, retain and release four times the
amount of water than most other trees do. That is why, he adds, the
stream is perennial.

"Government should protect forests. We are doing the Government's job,"
said a Gujjar leader. "The right to the river is ours. Why should anyone
take away our water through pipes," said a Gaddi leader. "We will go to
jail and others will take our place" in the campaign to protect the
stream, said a woman at the roadside checkpoint, adding, "We have faced
bullets, going to jail is nothing in comparison."

While the police harass the protestors, thugs allegedly hired by the
project proponent who have attacked the villagers with guns roam scot-free.

Livelihood and social impacts of poorly planned run-of-the-river mini
hydel projects can be devastating, as exemplified in this case. The
project, named HUL-1, will generate a mere 4.5 MW by diverting the
entire flow of Hul stream to the power house through pipes. These tribes
will be left high and dry. The 65 traditional watermills will grind to a
halt as will fishing in the waters.

Time and again the villages passed resolutions not to permit the
hydropower plant. But the High Court of the state of Himachal Pradesh
has permitted the developer to continue with the project under state
police protection while also permitting the people to protest
peacefully. The people are adamant that they will not allow the project.
One who holds out the longest will win. Only time will tell who that is.

Samir Mehta is the South Asia program director of International Rivers.
He would like to thank Rahul Saxena of the Palampur based Lok Vigyan
Kendra for his insights and support.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: sasia@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Monday, July 18, 2011

East African drought: two articles

Two good articles on the changing envirionment (and changing climate)
as it relates to the drought.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/decapua-drought-unep-11jul11-125358208.html

July 11, 2011
Drought Just One Example of Africa�s Changing Environment
Joe DeCapua


A woman holds her malnourished child on arrival at Banadir hospital in
Mogadishu, Somalia, July 7, 2011
As a prolonged, severe drought puts 10 million people at risk in East
Africa, humanitarian agencies are hard-pressed to supply enough food
and water. Crops have been destroyed, farmland damaged, seeds consumed
as food and livestock sold so families can survive. Thousands of
people have migrated to neighboring countries hoping to find relief.
They often just find more of the same.

The U.N. Environment Program (UNEP) has issued warnings for years on
the affects of potential climate change, deforestation and the loss of
grasslands and wetlands.

�This is not a new phenomenon. I mean we seem to be seeing the
increasing frequency over recent years these kinds of events,� said
Nick Nuttall, chief spokesman for UNEP, which is based Nairobi.

While droughts are not definitive proof of climate change, Nuttall
said, �It certainly is part of environmental change, which is
happening in the Horn of Africa, but also happening across Africa in
terms of land quality�availability of fresh water, in terms of more
frequent drought and floods.�
The term �climate change� is often used to refer to the effects of
human activity, whereas �environmental change� is used to indicate
natural ecological processes.

As emergency relief operations continue to feed the hungry and
malnourished, scientists are trying to determine what�s causing the
problems.

�The best scientists in the world have analyzed what has been going on
in recent decades and they�re using the best available scientific
models to try and work out what might happen in the future,� he said.

Going to extremes

�Africa is already a climate-extreme continent. You already have
extremes of rainfall and of drought naturally. The fact we�re actually
seeing changes in that pattern�more frequency in terms of droughts and
floods �begs the question, is it climate change?�

Temperatures have risen on the continent. Nuttall said, �Africa has
warmed by about 0.7 degrees centigrade during the 20th Century. And
some of the highest temperatures were certainly recorded during the
end of the 1990s. And you are seeing changes in rainfall. There�s been
a 25 percent decrease in rainfall over the Sahel region, for example,
during the past 30 years. In some of the tropical rainforest regions
of Africa, since about the mid-1970s you�ve seen rainfall falling by
something like 2.4 percent per decade,� he said.

While East Africa has been plagued by drought, other parts of the
continent are actually getting more rain. �If you�ve got more heat in
the atmosphere, you get more evaporation of water from the sea,� he
said.

However, he added, �If you look at the situation in terms of the
devastation of croplands and pasturelands, about 65 percent of
Africa�s croplands are now degraded. About 30 percent of the
pasturelands are in the same condition, which is also adding to
problems with crop yields, problems with food security.�

He said it�s important to look at all the environmental changes now
occurring and consider what might happen if they continue for another
decade, �unless we can actually start delivering some kind of
sustainable development in this part of the world.�

Lessons from the past

In Africa�s past, the Sahara was green. Historians have said an early
Egyptian culture apparently collapsed as a result of drastic changes
in the environment and weather. But is it climate change or a natural
progression of environmental changes?

�Whether we�re seeing a natural progression or not, these were events
that happened in the past due to natural cycles. The difference in the
period of time we�re seeing right now is that the greenhouse gas
emissions that are being pumped out mainly by the industrial world,
but increasingly by the rapidly developing world, are actually forcing
natural trends into a different trajectory,� said the UNEP spokesman.

While it may be different from the past, Nuttall said, �The past gives
us clues as to how this thing might evolve.�

Forests

For many years, the UNEP has spoken out against deforestation and its
effects on the environment.

�One of the critical, critical issues in terms of actually adapting to
climate change and also indeed in terms of reducing emissions will be
how the world manages its forests,� he said.

Kenya, for example, is working to restore the Mau Complex, which
Nuttall calls the �largest closed canopy forest in Africa.�

�In the last couple of years, the government of Kenya, with support
from other governments, has now started reinvesting in the
rehabilitation of this forest system. And the question you have to ask
is why? This one forest is actually worth several billions of dollars
every year in terms of the services it provides,� he said.

That includes the water flow affecting more than a dozen major river
systems needed for drinking water, hydroelectric power, tourism and
the tea industry.

�So suddenly you�re seeing a whole dynamic in terms of a relationship
with the forest,� he said.


http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=93204

EASTERN AFRICA: Too soon to blame climate change for drought

Ali Abdi, 60, a pastoralist in Bisle, Shinile zone of Ethiopia's
Somali region, says it is the worst drought he has seen in his lifetime
ADDIS ABABA, 12 July 2011 (IRIN) - As parts of the Horn of Africa
experience their driest periods in 60 years, pushing the numbers
needing aid to beyond 10 million, some have been quick to blame
climate change.

But no single event can be attributed to climate change, which
involves long-term (decades or longer) trends in climate variability.
There is, however, consensus in attributing the drought to the
particularly strong La Ni�a event. The impact of climate change on the
intensity and frequency of La Ni�a and El Ni�o in future is a big
unknown.

IRIN spoke to two experts, an environmentalist and a scientist, who
have worked extensively in the region:

Philip Thornton, a senior scientist who works part-time with the
Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and
the University of Edinburgh-based Institute of Atmospheric and
Environmental Sciences, has done some pioneering work on projections
of climate-change impact in eastern and southern Africa.

He told IRIN via email that projections of the climate-change impact
in East Africa were �a problem� as the authoritative Inter-
governmental Panel on Climate Change�s Fourth Assessment Report
�indicated that there was good consensus among the climate models that
rainfall was likely to increase during the current century.

"But work by other climate scientists since then suggests that ...
certain Indian Ocean effects in East Africa may not actually occur.

"Some people think that East Africa is drying, and has dried over
recent years; currently there is no hard, general evidence of this,
and it is very difficult as yet to see where the statistical trends of
rainfall in the region are heading, but these will of course become
apparent in time.� [see Unpacking La Ni�a]

The IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report will be released in 2014.


Photo: ILRI
Rainfall in East Africa related to El Ni�o Southern Oscillation points
to severe La Ni�a phase
Jan de Leeuw is the operating project leader in the vulnerability and
sustainability in pastoral and agro-pastoral systems within ILRI�s
People, Livestock and Environment theme. He points out that this La
Ni�a event is one of the strongest since the 1970s. But he says La
Ni�a, along with El Ni�o, appear in cycles that �we don�t understand�.

What we do know is that La Ni�a started to develop in August 2010. It
cools surface waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, while
allowing warmer water to build in the eastern Pacific. �The pool of
warm water in the east intensifies rains in Australia, the
Philippines, and Indonesia. Domino-style, this pattern also increases
the intensity of westerly winds over the Indian Ocean, pulling
moisture away from East Africa toward Indonesia and Australia. The
result? Drought over most of East Africa and floods and lush
vegetation in Australia and other parts of Southeast Asia,� according
to the US government�s National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

De Leeuw writes: �La Ni�a events were common from 1950 till 1976.
Since then we had two decades [until about 1996] with fewer events of
lesser depth. This has changed since then and over the last 15 years
or so we have had more frequent La Ni�a events.�

Events as deep as the current La Ni�a occur once in 20 or 30 years,
writes De Leeuw. �We are in a period now of more frequent La Ni�a
events, but such a situation was there from 1950 till 1976 also.�

Thornton has the last word when he says research attention must focus
on developing effective early warning systems and ways to help people
affected by these events, who have no use for �academic� consideration
of the linkages with climate change to cope better with the current
levels of weather variability, �whatever happens in the future�.

jk/mw
Theme (s): Early Warning, Environment, Natural Disasters,

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations]
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp

Friday, July 15, 2011

Producing electricity where it’s needed the way to go

A good article on decentralizing our energy supply. (includes this bit on hydro: "Many African countries rely largely on hydropower, which is not good news. Why not? Well, for starters, they have to put the power station where the power is – at the river or dam. Mostly, that turns out to not be the place where they actually need the power, so they have to start constructing a power transmission grid. Some of these African countries are very big, and even the smaller ones are still big by European standards. This tends to immediately imply that there is major cost and complexity that naturally go with the development of a significant transmission grid. This is expensive, takes time and demands constant complex maintenance.")

-----------------


 Producing electricity where it's needed the way to go
  
 
15th July 2011
 We have now passed midwinter, the longest night of the year, and we are heading towards summer.

Geographically speaking, this is true, but the nights will still be rather cold for about a month, before we start to really feel the returning warmth of summer. This time of the year puts real pressure on the country's electricity supply system – many thousands of people dive into hot baths and turn on their household heaters, all at about the same time, each evening. Cooking starts in the homes of the nation and electrical switches are flicked on stoves and other electrical gear in kitchens. Even opening the fridge door tends to cause the fridge motor to switch on to remove the bit of heat that would have migrated into the fridge while the door was open.

So the large electrical power lines that crisscross the country hum as they transmit power across vast distances, and we South Africans do this electrical transmission in a rather spectacular fashion.

South Africa is blessed with abundant coal, so we burn coal to produce most of our electricity. One snag is that the coal is essentially all clustered in the north-eastern part of the country. The result is that we have to move the electricity over great distances. Building all those major power lines, which are actually world-leading technology, was expensive but such long-distance transmission also results in a significant loss of power.

As electricity is transported over long distances, some of it is lost into the atmosphere in accordance with the laws of physics.

The South African distribution grid works rather well but it is a major piece of complex tech- nology. Now let us turn some attention to other African countries, of which there are more than 50, covering a major surface area. Africa is larger in area than China, the US and Europe put together – that is a lot of ground to cover.

Most African countries are not blessed with huge deposits of coal – some have some oil, but it is not a great idea to burn this oil to make electricity. It is much better to turn the oil into fuel for cars, trains and aircraft.

Many African countries rely largely on hydropower, which is not good news. Why not? Well, for starters, they have to put the power station where the power is – at the river or dam. Mostly, that turns out to not be the place where they actually need the power, so they have to start constructing a power transmission grid. Some of these African countries are very big, and even the smaller ones are still big by European standards. This tends to immediately imply that there is major cost and complexity that naturally go with the development of a significant transmission grid. This is expensive, takes time and demands constant complex maintenance.

In South Africa, we carry out live-line maintenance. We drop technicians onto live power lines from a helicopter. There, they sit on a live line at about 700 000 V and repair the line. They tell me that their hair stands on end from the huge electric field. As long as they make no earth contact, like coming close to a pylon, then the technician will not explode in a ball of flame.

Although the major South African grid is a huge technological achievement that South Africa should be proud of, is this the way to go for other African countries? In fact, is it the way to go for any country in the society of the future?

The answer is clear and definite – maybe. If any country has a major source of fuel, such as South Africa's coal reserves, then, perhaps, it is profitable to move the power over long distances. If, on the other hand, a country does not have a major fuel source, then why build a huge grid?

For most of Africa, and, for that matter, the rest of the world, the answer seems to be producing the electricity where you want it in order to minimise the need for long power lines. Rather have multiple sets of smaller distribution grids than one large national one.

Okay, great philosophy, but how do we do it? The answer lies in producing small power plants that can be placed where you want them. Take the point of production to where you need the power. In other words, build small nuclear power plants in Richards Bay, Port Elizabeth, Carltonville . . . In other African countries, do the same. It is easy to take nuclear fuel to the power station because so little nuclear fuel is used.

Building large-scale nuclear power plants of 2 000 MW on the Cape coast is fine – we need that to power the Cape, but we also need independent nuclear plants to power the inland goldfields, iron-ore mines and copper mines.

Great strides have been made in producing smaller power plants that are cost effective, easy to operate and inherently safe. This is the way of the future and we are going to see a number of such designs emerge.

There is much more technological innovation about to unleash itself in the world of nuclear power than there is in the fields of solar and wind power. A range of nuclear power plant types and sizes is the future.

This philosophy is spreading across Africa. Distributed small power plants, placed strategically – near points of consumption – will be the way to rapidly advance our vast continent. Further, such a strategy lends itself to the private ownership of the production of electricity, leading to healthy market competition.

Edited by: Martin Zhuwakinyu

Germany considers hydropower-for-oil deal with Angola

Germany seeks raw materials partnership with Angola
REUTERS | LUANDA
NewsDay - Jul 14 2011 18:00
www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-07-14-germany-seeks-raw-materials-partnership-with-angola

Germany wants a closer relationship with resource-rich Angola,
Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday on a visit to the south-west
African country which she offered coastguard ships and industrial
cooperation.

"Germany is ready for an energy and raw materials partnership," Merkel
said after meeting Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos in the
capital Luanda.

In exchange, Germany could help with infrastructure projects, education
and agriculture, as well as the sale of six to eight patrol boats built
by Bremen-based Luerssen shipyards.

Dos Santos underlined his will to undertake political reforms in a
country which emerged from almost three decades of civil war in 2002.

Oil and gas-producing Angola expects economic growth of 8% this year, a
figure Dos Santos said could reach double-digits next year.

Trade with Germany dried up during the economic crisis, but jumped early
this year.

Merkel said earlier at a bilateral business conference that German
companies had concrete projects, including liquid natural gas operations
from 2012 and cooperation in renewable energy.

Dos Santos invited German companies to take part in the construction of
three hydroelectric power plants worth $1 billion, and companies also
have their eyes on the development of fibre-optic networks, universities
and schools.

Turning to political reforms, Merkel said Angola had made great progress
since its civil war but, could do more to boost transparency, fight
corruption and ensure freedom of expression. —Reuters
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp