Text :
23.01.02: 2003: International
Year of Freshwater
The United Nations General Assembly in resolution
55/196 proclaimed the year 2003 as the International Year of Freshwater.
The resolution, adopted on 20 December 2000, was initiated by the
Government of Tajikistan and supported by 148 other countries. It
encourages Governments, the United Nations system and all other actors
to take advantage of the Year to increase awareness of the importance
of sustainable freshwater use, management and protection. It also
calls upon governments, national and international organizations,
non-governmental organizations and the private sector to make voluntary
contributions and to lend other forms of support to the Year.
The International Year of Freshwater provides an opportunity to accelerate
the implementation of the principles of integrated water resources
management. The Year will be used as a platform for promoting existing
activities and spearheading new initiatives in water resources at
the international, regional and national levels. The International
Year of Freshwater is expected to follow up on agreements reached
at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, September
2002), and should have an impact far beyond the year 2003.
The publication by the United Nations system of the World Water Development
Report will be a major focus of the Year's public information activities.
Its first edition will be launched at the Third World Water Forum
in Kyoto, Japan in March 2003.
The public information and media strategy will include the elaboration
of information materials, brochures and media kits. Educational material
for schools, videotapes and documentaries, and an official Website
for the Year are also being developed, with assistance from the private
sector, NGOs and bilateral donors.
For further information contact:
Mr Manuel Dengo and Ms Marcia Brewster
Water, Natural Resources, and SIDS Branch
Division for Sustainable Development
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
2 United Nations Plaza, DC2 - 2020
New York, NY 10017, U.S.A
E-mail: dengo@un.org, brewster@un.org
Mr Andras Szöllösi-Nagy, Director
Division of Water Sciences
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
7, place de Fontenoy
75700 Paris, France
E-mail: ihp@unesco.org
22.01.02: Successes and
Failures in Gender Mainstreaming in Integrated Water Resource Management:
an E-conference (January 28 - - May 21)
You are invited to participate in an E-conference
on the successes and failures in mainstreaming gender issues in integrated
water resource management (IRWM). Your contribution will influence
the decisions made by the worlds' leaders at the 3rd World Water Forum,
to be held in Kyoto, in March 2003.
Who can participate?
If you participate in a water development project in which gender
is part of the project or If you know of people working in such a
project, or If you have tried to mainstream gender in your water management
work, then this is an E-conference to participate in! If you have
no experience in gender mainstreaming in integrated water management,
you too are welcome to join the discussion!
Background
The Gender and Water Alliance was formed at the 2nd World Water Forum
in 2000. It is an alliance of 120 organizations working in the area
of water, information and gender. Its aim is to promote effective
policy and practice on mainstreaming gender issues in water management.
The Gender and Water Alliance will contribute to the 3rd World Water
Forum by providing information to governments, water bodies and other
decision-makers in their task of mainstreaming gender issues in integrated
water resource management.
To gather this information, the Gender and Water Alliance will run
an E-conference and approach people involved in gender mainstreaming
inintegrated water resource management to participate. We will ask
them to contribute case studies of their experiences, to share with
us their successes and failures in order to be able to create policies
and practices that work. The Gender and Water Alliance will make recommendations
to the 3rd World Water Forum.
The E-conference will be held in 2002 and is organized in 3 stages.
To ensure regional and global participation, the E-conference will
be held in four languages: English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
At the end of every stage, the results will be translated into each
of the other languages and shared among all subscribers.
Stage 1: January 28 - February 24
Conference 1
State of the Art: the state of gender mainstreaming in IWRM
1. Define the concepts (clarify issues)
2. Look at good practices and failed practices (document)
3. Analyze
Stage 2: April 8 - May 21
Conference 2
Successes and Failures in Gender Mainstreaming in IWRM - case studies
1. Define the concepts (clarify issues)
2. Look at good practices and failed practices (document)
3. Analyze
The case studies will be examples of one or more of the 5 benefits
of gender mainstreaming in IWRM:
* effectiveness
* efficiency
* development
* equity
* sustainable use of eco-systems
Stage 3: September 2 - September 27
Conference 3
Synthesis: Analysis and Recommendations in Gender Mainstreaming in
IWRM
1. Define the concepts (clarify issues)
2. Discuss all summaries of the previous e-conferences in the
various languages 3. Analyze
Finally, the results of the e-conference will feed into the Virtual
Water Forum that is being run by the secretariat of the 3rd World
Water Forum. For details:
http://www.worldwaterforum.org/vwf/
To subscribe to the English-language discussion, write to listserv@s...
In the message area write Subscribe WATER YOURFIRSTNAME YOURLASTNAME.
To subscribe to the French-language discussion, write to: genre-eau@p...
To subscribe to the Spanish-language discussion, write to: genero-agua-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the Portuguese-language discussion, write to: gwa-e-conference-port-subscribe@y...
After you subscribe you will be sent a background document to prepare
you properly for the discussion!
Thank you for considering participating in this E-conference and,
if you do subscribe, thank you for doing so.
On behalf of the Gender and Water Alliance
Maliha Hussein, Chairperson
===============================================
Lin McDevitt-Pugh
Program Manager
International Cooperation Department
IIAV International Information Centre and Archives for the Women's
Movement, biplein 4, 1094 RB Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Tel +31-20-6651318
fax +31-20-6655812, http://www.iiav.nl
(click through to European and North American WomenAction, Gender
and Water, Mapping the World Database and Know How Conference)
22.01.02: Conférence
"Dialogues pour la Terre" 21-23 février.
Le Forum "Dialogues pour la Terre" se tiendra
Parc des Congrès à Lyon les 21,22 et 23 février
2002 à l'initiative, et en la présence, de Mikhaïl
Gorbatchev (Président fondateur de la Green Cross International)
et de Maurice Strong (Président fondateur du Conseil de la
Terre).
Ces 3 journées de débats, ouvertes au public, réuniront
des représentants de la société civile, des autorités
religieuses ainsi que des personnalités des mondes politique,
économique, financier, universitaire et médiatique.
Quelques exemples, parmi la centaine d'intervenants
qui participeront à ce Forum :
José Bové, Gérard Mestrallet (pdg de la Suez-Lyonnaise
des Eaux), Jacques Attali, James Baker (secrétaire d'Etat américain),
Federico Mayor (Directeur général de l'Unesco), Bruno
Rebelle (Greenpeace France), Ricardo Petrella (porte-parole du mouvement
anti-mondialiste), Kristalina Georgieva (directrice Environnement
de la Banque Mondiale), Medha Paktar (Narmada Movement) etc... etc...
Roberto Epple, président de ERN et Pedro Arrojo, président
de Coagret et porte-parole de la Marche Bleue (contre le Plan Hydrologique
National espagnol) seront également de la partie, puisqu'ils
participeront, respectivement, à la table ronde n° 7 (ONG)
et n° 2 (Business).
Le thème de cette conférence est :
"Mondialisation et Développement Durable
:
l'Ethique est-elle le maillon manquant ?"
Comment partager les avantages de la Mondialisation
tout en résolvant les questions liées à la justice,
l'équité, la paix et le devenir de l'humanité
? Face à l'impasse sociale, économique et écologique
dans laquelle est piégée notre planète, il est
urgent de redonner tout son sens et toute sa force à l'éthique
comme moteur des activités humaines, axées sur le développement
durable. Comment y parvenir, quelles nouvelles voies découvrir,
inventer et explorer ?
Chacune des 7 tables-rondes organisées échangera
les points de vue les plus divers et devra répondre à
un questionnaire précis qui lui aura été soumis
au préalable.
Le public, réuni autour des tables-rondes, sera invité
à participer aux débats, au même titre que les
intervenants. Les frais d'inscription sont de 50 Euros par personne
pour les 3 jours de forum (inscription et information : http://www.dialoguespourlaterre.org
ou Green Cross International Lyon : tél : 04.72.41.72.65.)
Une occasion de dialogue à ne pas manquer ! ...
ERN le Réseau Fleuve Europe (European Rivers
Network) est invité. Le fondateur Roberto A. Epple representera
l'association comme Speaker (g+roupe de travail 7)
Site
du Forum
Official
site
22.01.02:
"Dialogues for the Earth" conference, 21-23 February
Mikhail Gorbachev (Green Cross International Chairman)
and Maurice Strong (Earth Council Chairman) have launched, and will
be present at, the Earth Dialogues to provide a forum for constructive
debate on the most pressing issues related to global sustainability.
Representatives of civil society, government, international organisations,
finance, business, religion, media and academia, along with members
of the public, will convene to exchange their views on how to reinvigorate
the ethics debate within the sustainable development and globalisation
agendas and propose concrete actions to address environmental degradation
and poverty.
Each of the roundtables will also include speakers from civil society,
in order to challenge other speakers and to ensure that civil society
has the opportunity to contribute actively to all discussions.
In addition, a special session of the World Council of Former Foreign
Ministers will address the themes of the Earth Dialogues, with a particular
focus on global ecurity issues.
All Earth Dialogue audience members and participants will have the
opportunity to exchange their views and to raise questions with the
speakers. Over 1000 individuals are expected to attend the meetings,
which will also be widely broadcast and available on the Internet.
Some of the about 100 personnalities who will come
to debate :
José Bové, G. Mestrallet (Suez
Water Cie chairman), Ricardo Petrella (anti-globalisation movement),
James Baker ( American State Secretary), Bruno Rebelle (executive
director Greenpeace France), Jacques Attali, Federico Mayor (Unesco
Chairman), etc, etc...
ERN is represented by his founder, Roberto A.
Epple (Speaker workgroup 7)
You can participate, too ! More
info and registration
21.01.02: China/3 Gorges:
Dam blasts spark pollution fear
China yesterday began destroying buildings that will
be submerged by rising waters from the world's largest hydro-electric
power project - the controversial Three Gorges Dam.
Demolition crews began blowing up buildings in Yongan, Fengjie county,
a 2,300-year-old town chosen as the first to be destroyed for the
mammoth project, Xinhua said.
A large blast reduced the 3,000-square-metre office building of the
county's township government to a heap of debris in a few seconds.
Two factory buildings and a 50-metre chimney of the Fengjie County
Power Plant also were demolished as scheduled, Xinhua said.
The buildings were torn down as part of a series of measures aimed
at controlling pollution.
According to plan, the dam will begin to hold water in June next year.
A total of 632 square km of land will be submerged under water when
the project is finished in 2009.
Beijing writer Dai Qing, a prominent critic of the project, yesterday
called for independent environmental experts to evaluate the demolition
work's effect on water quality.
"I suspect that the authorities used the debris of the destroyed
buildings to bury the pollutant beneath the riverbed, and I am afraid
this may not be conducive to improving the water quality," Dai
said.
She said authorities had never explained how the demolition would
help control pollution.
Dai also doubted if the Government would be able to do a thorough
clearing job as there was only 18 months left before the dam was scheduled
to start holding water.
Professor Xue Fengsong, who is in charge of the demolition, was quoted
as saying soldiers would disinfect the areas to ensure chemicals used
in the explosions would not cause pollution.
He also said the debris would be buried in selected disposal sites
and he was confident the blasts would have little impact on the environment.
The US$27 billion (HK$210 billion) dam project has come under strong
criticism, with experts questioning the need for it and warning of
the damaging impact on the environment and archaeological treasures.
Environmentalists are concerned the reservoir created by the dam will
become a giant cesspool of industrial waste-water.
There were many sources of pollutants in the areas to be submerged,
Xinhua said. The region had at least 178 rubbish dumps with 2.87 million
tonnes of rubbish. At least 1,400 tonnes were toxic.
In addition, there were more than 40,000 grave sites and more than
4,000 facilities such as clinics or slaughter houses which might contain
toxic pollutants.
The Government has argued the dam is necessary to generate electricity
as China develops and to prevent flooding.
Hundreds of towns and villages in the upper reaches of the Yangtze
River would be submerged when the project was completed, Xinhua said.
The project has been plagued by massive corruption, with millions
of dollars in resettlement money embezzled. About 1.3 million people
are to be relocated to make way for the Three Gorges Dam.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE and FONG TAK-HO
Published in the South China Morning Post. Copyright © 2002.
All rights reserved.
21.01.02: New "Ecological
Expert Group" Launched For Ramsar Management In The Danube River
Basin
The Danube River Protection Convention DRPC (Sofia,1994)
promotes cooperation for the protection and sustainable use of the
Danube River and its tributaries. The hydrological catchment area
of the Danube River Basin covers an area of 817.000 km2 in 17 European
countries. The Danube is 2857 km long and includes many important
natural and nature-near areas, e.g. the Danube Delta - the second
largest natural wetland in Europe. Thirteen Danubian states, all of
them Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention, as well as the
European Union, are Contracting Parties of the DRPC as well and have
a vote in the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube
River ICPDR (see www.icpdr.com). The Ramsar Convention, WWF International,
REC - the Regional Environment Center for Central and Eastern Europe
serve as observers.
So far, four Expert Groups have been established:
1) AEWPS on accident emergency warning of pollution system
2) EMIS on emission reduction
3) MLIM on monitoring, laboratory and immission control
4) RBM on river basin management.
Upon a resolution made during the 4th Plenary Session of the ICPDR,
held between 29 and 30 November 2001 in Vienna, a fifth expert group,
the so-called "Ecological Expert Group" ECO/EG, was established
after only one year of temporary status. With this decision the ICPDR
responded to the requirements of wetland restoration and management
within the Danube Basin. The main role of the ECO/EG is to deal with
riverine ecosystems with the understanding that the expert group will
receive support from Hungary and from WWF International. The overall
objective of the EG is to support ICPDR-activities related to the
conservation, restoration and sustainable management of the aquatic
ecosystems and those terrestrial ecosystems and wetlands directly
depending on them.
Key elements for the work of the next two years will be 1. to make
an inventory of species and habitats protected areas 2. to enhance
implementation of wetland restoration and management within the framework
of the Joint Action Plan of the ICPDR The Ramsar authorities of the
Danubian States are invited to support the work of this group in order
to achieve the wise use of the Danube river and its wetlands.
Contact addresses: icpdr@unvienna.org,
gerhard.sigmund@bmu.gv.at,
philip.weller@wwf.at.
Source www.ramsar.org,
author Dr Gerhard Sigmund (via European Water Association News)
12.01.02: A new book : "River
Flood Defence".
Among the natural catastrophes, flood events are world-wide
of outstanding importance, representing 32 % of the damaging events,
31 % of the economic damage and 55 % of the casualties (1986-1995).
The origins, effects and control of flood events are described by
130 international authors in the three-part book "River Flood
Defence".
The book includes the sections History of Flood Protection, Hydrologic
Data and Precipitation, Precipitation-Runoff models, Pollutants and
Pathogens in flood, Flood Risks, New Developments in Flood Protection,
INTERREG II C Rhine Maas Activities (IRMA), Worldwide Projects of
the World Exhibition in Hanover (EXPO), and posters and reports on
the conference and field trips.
The book provides a description of the status of the research and
the technology, it gives hints for new developments and research requirements,
and it shows examples of planning and practice. The contributions
and discussion results of the Workshops "Pollutants and Pathogens
in flood" are emphasised, as well as the description and evaluation
of the IRMA and EXPO projects.
River Flood Defence is equally suitable for teaching and research,
as well as for water resources management practice in administrations,
federations and consulting.
Toensmann, Frank and Manfred Koch (Eds.): RIVER
FLOOD DEFENCE September 2000, Herkules Verlag Kassel, ISBN No. 3-930150-20-4,
Size: 15x21cm, 3 pieces, 1418 pages, 178 tables, 631 black-and-white
figures, 15 color figures
Source: Institute For Inland Water Management And Waste Water Treatment(RIZA)
www.riza.nl
11.01.02: Dutch Water Management:
River Waal To Be Widened
The Dutch government recently concluded agreements
with the municipality of Nijmegen concerning the modification of Nijmegen
building plans on the opposite bank of the Waal and the planned widening
of the navigation bottleneck level with the city. The government regards
inland dyke relocation as the best solution: this will permanently
give the river more space while such an intervention would also be
consistent with the policy of sustained protection against high water.
In order to enable the inland dyke relocation to take place as quickly
as possible the required procedures will be instituted in the near
future, including an investigation into the likely environmental impact.
The state government will reimburse the losses arising from the termination
of work on part of the Nijmegen-Waalsprong urban development site
and will be depositing some EUR 90.8 million into a fund for a new
link spanning the river at Nijmegen.
Source: Institute For Inland Water Management And Waste Water Treatment(RIZA)
10.01.02:
Congress Urged To Reverse Missouri River Decline
WASHINGTON, DC, January 10, 2002 (ENS) - Degradation
of the natural Missouri River ecosystem is clear and continuing, says
a new report from the National Research Council of the National Academy
of Sciences. Congress should enact legislation to ensure that federal
officials manage the river in a way that improves ecological conditions,
says the committee that wrote the report, "The Missouri River
Ecosystem: Exploring the Prospects for Recovery."
For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-10-02.html
10.01.02 : " SOS Planète
Eau " : une campagne au fil de l'eau en France
C'est sur la Seine, en janvier 2002, que le nouveau
programme " SOS Planète Eau " sera inauguré.
L'acquisition récente du voilier Fleur de Lampaul par la Fondation
Nicolas Hulot pour la nature et l'homme, vient renforcer un travail
initié depuis plusieurs années, en faveur de la protection
de l'eau. "SOS Planète Eau " poursuit et intensifie
la précédente campagne "SOS MER PROPRE, l'eau de
la source à la mer", menée depuis 5 ans. Grâce
à elle, de très nombreuses actions de terrain et opérations
de sensibilisation sont recensées chaque année, menées
par un réseau d'acteurs-relais présents sur l'ensemble
du territoire.
Classé monument historique depuis 1987, le voilier Fleur de
Lampaul devient l'ambassadeur itinérant de "SOS Planète
Eau" , sur le littoral et en partie sur les fleuves. Lors de
ses escales pédagogiques, des " écoséances
" d'initiation et d'information sur la protection des milieux
aquatiques seront proposées à bord pour les scolaires
et le grand public. Ces "écoséances" se déroulent
sous forme d'ateliers : observation, multimédia, bateau. La
découverte de l'environnement aquatique et l'impact de l'homme
sur le milieu constituent le point de départ des nombreuses
réflexions et activités pédagogiques délivrées
à bord. L'encadrement est assuré par deux animateurs
environnement de la Fondation et l'équipage professionnel du
bateau.
Un concours pour larguer les amarres
Lancé début décembre, le concours " SOS
Planète Eau " s'adresse aux scolaires de 8 à 12
ans. La classe lauréate du concours se verra récompensée
par une semaine de découvertes et d'aventure avec Fleur de
Lampaul autour d'une île au large de la Bretagne.
Une documentation qui coule de source
Les activités issues des trois pôles du programme "SOS
Planète Eau", sont accompagnées de la diffusion
de documents pédagogiques (livrets, posters, vidéo,
etc.) sur la préservation de l'eau. Un site Internet entièrement
dédié au programme sera disponible dès janvier,
également accessible par le site www.fnh.org
09.01.02: Environmentalists
critic Spanish Hydrological Plan and urge Spain to push green issues
MADRID - A European environmental body, which represents more than
100 groups, urged Spain on Tuesday to pay special attention to green
issues during the EU presidency it assumed last week.
Spain has to negotiate expanding the European Union to make way for
central European countries, some of which have a poor record on the
environment, during its six-month presidency of the bloc.
The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) said Spain should take care
to ensure any pre-entry funding for countries joining the EU did not
lead to environmental damage.
It also called on Spain to consider protecting nature when it starts
work to reform the bloc's common agricultural policy, and to step
up waste recycling and improve labelling of green packaging.
"The EEB thinks the Spanish presidency's summit in Barcelona
(in March) will be particularly important to make progress on sustainable
development in Europe," the group said in a statement.
On a domestic level, the EEB said Spain should review its national
hydrological plan - a project that would divert water from the Ebro
river to the parched southeast of the country.
On Monday, Greenpeace criticised Spain's slowness in ratifying the
Kyoto Protocol on cutting emissions of the greenhouse gases blamed
for global warming.
Reuters News Service
09.01.02: Watch the Ilisu
/ Hasankeyf - TV-Film German-French TV Channel ARTE , 11. January
2002, 20:15 German time (GMT+2)
Michael Engers Film on the World biggest Hydroelectric
Complexe
- 75 000 km 2 or 1/3 of Turkey concerned
- 23 dams, 19 Hydro power plants on (Tigris, Euphrat and Tributarys)
Program Announcement
http://www.arte-tv.com/emission/emission.jsp?node=10212
Message transmitted by Hans
Branscheidt
08.01.02: New Partnership
To Ward Off Potential Water Wars
PARIS, France, January 8, 2002 (ENS) - To help to
avert potential conflicts between nations over the world's scarce
freshwater resources, a former Soviet president who is now an environmental
leader has pledged to cooperate with with the United Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-08-02.html
06.01.02: The World Bank Position
on the Report of the World Commission on Dams
Below is "the official World Bank response to
the WCD report as approved by the Board of Directors on a no-objection
basis. The document has been posted on the Water Resource Management
web-site at www.worldbank.org/water."
Dams are important contributors to the development of many countries.
They improve and expand power generation, irrigation, and domestic
and industrial water supplies, and provide security against droughts
and protection from floods. At the same time, they often submerge
substantial areas and change the pattern of river flows downstream,
causing, in some cases, significant adverse impacts on the environment
and local communities. The WCD has produced a carefully prepared and
well-written Report which has stimulated a wide-ranging and productive
discussion of many of the most difficult issues facing developing
countries and agencies who work with these countries. The process
used by the WCD in preparation of the Report facilitated an unprecedented
dialogue between all parties. The Report makes a substantial contribution
to addressing the wide-ranging issues surrounding large dams. It presents
innovative ideas for dams to contribute more dependably to sustainable
development. The World Bank has disseminated the WCD Report widely
among its shareholders, and continues to participate in and benefit
from the ongoing discussion.
Summary
The World Bank considers the WCD Report to be a major contribution
in defining the issues associated with large infrastructure in developing
countries, and in engaging a wide variety of stakeholders in the debate.
The World Bank is committed to continued support for its borrowers
in developing and managing priority hydraulic infrastructure in an
environmentally and socially sustainable manner, and views the WCD
Report as a significant point of reference in this process. The World
Bank intends to continue to work with its borrowers in effective implementation
of current World Bank operational policies, which the WCD describes
as "Sthe most sophisticated set of policies, operational procedures
and guidelines amongst the international donor community."
Full text: http://www.worldbank.org/water.
05.01.02: The
Third Inter-Celtic Colloquium on Hydrology and Management of Water
Resources (July 2002)
To be held at the National University of Ireland, Galway
8th - 10th July 2002
During the past year publication and enactment of the European Union
Water Framework Directive has set challenging targets for Member States
in relation to the long-term management of European water resources.
By the year 2016 water quality of all surface and ground waters in
member states must, through a combination of planning, treatment and
remediation be returned to their original pristine state. Some of
the issues involved in this task will be addressed at this Colloquium.
The main topic of the Colloquium will address water quality in Celtic
Region. For more information see http://www.nuigalway.ie/hydrology/celtic.htm
(a/o call for papers).
04.01.02: Earthquake hits
Three Gorges area
An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.1 shook an area
40 kilometres upstream of the Three Gorges dam last month, the Three
Gorges Project Daily (Sanxia gongcheng bao) reported.
The tremor, which occurred at 1:43 p.m. on Dec. 13, was the biggest
to hit Hubei province in the past 10 years. It was centred on a tributary
of the Yangtze - the Xiangxi - and was felt across 20 square kilometres
of the river valley.
No injuries were reported in the affected counties of Xingshan and
Zigui. However, in one village alone - Jiajiadian village in Zigui
county - the quake caused structural damage to 26 houses. In addition,
a crack in a stone bridge halted traffic on the highway linking Xingshan
and Zigui.
Seismic experts have warned that the quake-prone Xiangxi River basin
is likely to experience stronger and more frequent tremors after the
Three Gorges dam reservoir is filled in 2003.
Experts from China and Taiwan who gathered at a conference in October
2000 at the dam site concluded that the reservoir is likely to cause
quakes of magnitudes ranging from 4 to 5.5, the Guangzhou Daily (Guangzhou
Ribao) reported at the time.
The Xiangxi River is located in one of the two sections of the Yangtze
that are expected to be most affected by these reservoir-induced quakes.
This section, stretching from the dam upstream to Miaohe in Hubei
province, is prone to weak earthquakes, generally with magnitudes
of less than 4, which the experts said would have no significant impact
on the safety of the dam.
They predicted that the next section of the Yangtze, stretching from
Miaohe to Baidicheng in Fengjie county, Chongqing municipality, will
be most at risk of the strongest of the reservoir-induced quakes.
Source: Probe
International
03.01.02: River Basin Initiative
Launches A New E-Mail Discussion Group
Mr Oi May at the Global Environment Centre, the RBI
secretariat based in Selangor, Malaysia, has asked the Ramsar Bureau
to pass on this information about a new e-mail discussion group, or
"list serve", devoted to the River Basin Initiative.
Here is the announcement: "River-Basin-Initiative is set up for
individuals who are interested in the River Basin Initiative (RBI)
- a global initiative on integrating biodiversity, wetland and river
basin management, endorsed by both the Convention on Biological Diversity
and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. This electronic group is an
informal communication means to keep individuals informed. This network
group serves as a virtual office space for general information and
file sharing, message posting and activities outlook in the coming
months relating to the operation of the Initiative.
To join, send a blank message to: River-Basin-Initiative-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
To view River-Basin-Initiative page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/River-Basin-Initiative/."
More background on the RBI is available on the Ramsar site at http://ramsar.org/key_rbi_index.htm
transmitted by European Water Association (EWA)
