to the "newer news"
01.07.02 : Par communiqué de presse
du 01.07.02, le Maire de Santaliestra annonce que le 18 mai 2002,
le Tribunal Suprême Espagnol a annulé la décision
du 23 octobre 1998 prise par le Conseil des Ministres qui décrêtait
l'urgence de l'expropriation et l'occupation des biens et des terrains
nécessaires à la réalisation et au remplissage
du barrage de Santaliestra. Cette décision avait été
prise à la demande de l'Administration Hydraulique, sous prétexte
d'analyses et de sondages géologiques et géotechniques
sur les terrains affectés par le barrage. Le Tribunal Suprême,
dont l'arrêt ne peut faire l'objet d'aucun appel, a jugé
que l'Administration et le Conseil des Ministres "avaient inversé
les termes", agissant comme si le barrage devait être construit
avant de connaître les résultats des analyses et études
préalables.
21.06.02 : The Greens/EFA call for
a parliamentary delegation being sent to Spain to investigate the
effects of the Spanish National Hydrological Plan on the environment.
At a hearing at the Parliament's Petitions Committee,
Monica Frassoni, Co-President of the Green/EFA group said:
"The Petition's Committee should rapidly organise a fact finding
delegation to visit the areas affected by the water plan. Only by
going there, Parliamentarians will grasp the reality of a project,
which completely disregards environmental sustainability. We cannot
see the necessity to divert huge water masses to enable the construction
of new golf courses in the south of Spain. An approval of this misguided
project would give green light to similar non sustainable projects
in other EU countries such as Italy."
Inger Schörling, Member of the Environment Committee, said:
"The EU must not provide any funds for this project, which violates
numerous EU directives. In February, the Parliament already sent a
strong signal to the Commission asking by an overwhelming majority
not to finance any water transfer projects in the Union. The 8 billion
Euro the Spanish government hopes to get from Brussels for its megalomaniac
project can really be put to better uses."
21.06.02 : Le groupe des Verts appelle à
l'envoi d'une délégation parlementaire en Espagne pour
évaluer les impacts du Plan Hydrologique National Espagnol
sur l'environnement.
A l'audition du Comité des Pétitions
du Parlement, Monica Frassoni, Co-Présidente du groupe Verts/ALE
a déclarés :
"Le Comité de Pétitions devrait organiser rapidement
une délégation pour visiter les zones affectées
par le plan hydrologique. C'est seulement en y allant que les Parlementaires
saisiront la réalité du projet, qui est en complet contresens
avec la "soutenabilité" environnementale. Nous ne
pouvons comprendre la nécessité de détourner
des quantités d'eau énormes pour rendre possible la
construction de nouveaux terrains de golf dans le sud de l'Espagne.
L'approbation d'un projet aussi mal conçu donnerait le feu
vert à des projets non-soutenables similaires dans d'autres
pays européens, comme l'Italie."
Inger Schörling, Membre du Comité Environnement, a également
déclaré :
"L'Union Européenne ne doit pas accorder de subventions
à ce projet, qui viole de nombreuses directives Européennes.
En février, le Parlement a déjà lancé
un signal fort à la Commission en demandant par une écrasante
majorité de ne financer aucun projet de transfert d'eau dans
l'Union. Les 8 milliards d'Euro que le Gouvernement Espagnol espère
obtenir de Bruxelles pour son projet mégalomane peuvent vraiment
être utilisés à de meilleures fins."
19.06.02 : Le Comité des Pétitions
du Parlement Européens discute de 10 pétitions reçues
au sujet du PHN, le jeudi 19 juin à 16h00 à Bruxelles.
The European Parliament's Petitions Committee discuss 10 petitions
on the PHN on Wednesday June 19 at 4 PM.
"Pétitions qu'il est proposé,
sur la base de la réponse écrite reçue de la
Commission européenne, de débattre en commission :
Petitions proposed to be discussed, on the base of the written answer
from the European Comission :
N° 28/2001, présentée par /
presented by M. Manuel Escolá Hernando, au nom de
/ in name of "Iniciativa Aragonesa" PE 311.458
FdR 452352
N° 140/2001, présentée par M. Francisco Zamora Soria
PE 311.528
FdR 452430
N° 296/2001, présentée par M. Luis Laviña
Artigas
N° 589/2001 présentée par M. Jordi Asrrufat Agramunt
PE 317.271
FdR 466521
N° 634/2001, présentée par M. Jaime Rocamora Adam
N° 728/2001, présentée par M. Abel Ferrer
N° 735/2001, présentée par M. Josep Maria Miquel
Rigual
N° 824/2001, présentée par Bizén Fuster Santaliestral,
au nom du parti "Chunta Aragonesista" PE 317.313
FdR 466565
N° 825/2001, présentée par Manel Tomás I
Caubet, au nom de la "Coordinadora Antitransvasaments",
et par Pedro Arrojo Agudo, au nom de la "Coordinadora de Afectados
por Grandes Embalses y Trasvases"
N° 1077/2001, présentée par M. Abel Ferre. "
17.06.02. : Itoiz dam gets the green light
after all
A Spanish court has declared "legally unenforceable"
previous judgements blocking completion of the controversial Itoiz
dam,apparently giving victory to national and regional authorities
in their long legal battle with environmentalist opponents of the
project.Two months ago the supreme court, technically
Spain's highest judicial authority, reaffirmed the dam's illegality.
Now, as predicted by a regional government spokesperson at the time,
a lower court, the Audiencia Nacional, has effectively annulled the
judgement
(ED 23/04/02 http://www.environmentdaily.com/articles/index.cfm?action=article&ref=12025
More specifically, the court invoked the Navarre
regional government's right, endorsed by the constitutional court
in 2000, to amend rectroactively environmental protection legislation
preventing the reservoir's completion
http://www.environmentdaily.com/articles/index.cfm?action=article&ref=7223
Dam opponents in the Itoiz coordination group
promised to appeal against the decision made public yesterday which
they described as "scandalous, arbitrary and unprecedented in
Spanish law". Though the case is under review by the European
court of human rights and question-marks still hang over the dam's
safety, the judgement may prove decisive in Spain's longest-running
environmental dispute.
Follow-up: Government of Navarre http://www.cfnavarra.es/INDEX.HTM
tel: +34 948 427 000;
Itoiz coordination group, tel: +34 948 226128; Audiencia Nacional,
tel: +34 91 397 3399.
Environment Daily 1235, 13/06/02
13.06.02: China floods kill at least 205,
toll set to rise
BEIJING - More than 200 people have died in some of
China's worst flooding in years, which has affected more than 30 million
people and left vast areas under water, officials said yesterday.
Some 210,000 people have been evacuated in one province alone, and
homes and crops have been destroyed across the country after a week
of rains. State media and officials said yesterday 205 people were
known to have died, but scores are missing and officials fear the
toll will rise.
full
version of the Planet ARK News
05.06.02 :
Questions sent by the European Commission to the Spanish Government
about the NHP on the 23rd May 02.
-
English version.
Les questions envoyées par la Commission Européenne
au Gouvernement Espagnol au sujet du PHN, le 23 mai 02
- version
français
(Texto integral de las
cuestiones enviadas por la Comision Europea al Gobierno espanol sobre
el PHN, el 23 mayo 02).
- version espanola
04.06.02 : Syrian dam collapses
Villages have been flooded in northern Syria after
a dam collapsed (Volume of the Reservoir 71 Million m3, built in 1996
on the Oronto River, ). The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (Sana)
reported widespread damage and heavy casualties around the Zeyzoun
Dam, near the town of Hamah, about 350 kilometres (220 miles) north
of Damascus. But government information officials later said they
believed there were few people hurt or killed in the incident. Telephone
lines in the area are down and details of what has happened remain
unclear. BBC Middle East correspondent Paul Wood says Syria has been
criticised in the past for minimising incidents that may reflect badly
on the government. . The dam is in El-Alghab region, home to about
200,000 people, which mostly consisted of marshes until a series of
dams was built.
full
story (BBC)
28.05.02: Spanish National Hydrological Plan
: Informal meeting with Commissioner Barnier
Monica Frassoni, Co-President of the Green/EFA Group
has met today Commissioner Barnier to express him her concern about
the Spanish Hydrological National Plan.
During the informal conversation, Monica asked for careful assessment
of the role of the structural and cohesion funds in financing water
infrastructures. She also mentioned : the expectations arisen for
tourism and intensive agriculture development, along the Mediterranean
coast mainly, due to the announcement of the Ebro transfer (in particular,
plans for new golf courses and fraudes with EU funds used for irrigation
in Murcia); and possible alternatives to the plan. She also mentioned
the simbolic paper of the plan as a test-case for the effective implementation
of EU sustainable development policies.
More information about NHP
27.05.02: EU
delays decision to fund Spanish water plan
Environment Daily 1222, 27/05/02
The European Commission has made no final decision about Spain's request
for EU funding for its euros 18bn national hydrological plan and has
written to the Spanish government requesting more information, environment
commissioner Margot Wallström said on Saturday.
Speaking at the weekend's meeting of EU environment ministers on Mallorca
(see separate article, this issue), Ms Wallström said that after
"studying very carefully all the documents received" the
Commission had requested additional information from the Spanish environment
ministry.
A commission official told Environment Daily that there were particular
concerns about effects on the environmentally-sensitive Ebro delta
of the proposed Ebro-Almería water transfer scheme, the plan's
centrepiece http://www.environmentdaily.com/articles/index.cfm?action=article&ref=10143
26.05.02: Collaboration on
the management of polesie wetlands in Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine.
On 22-24 May 2002, about 140 specialists from Belarus, Ukraine, Poland,
Lithuania and other countries, including representatives of several
international organisations and conservation NGOs, gathered in Minsk,
the capital of the Republic of Belarus, for the second international
conference on the ecology and conservation of floodplains and lowland
mires in the Polesie region, exactly five years after the first conference
on this topic in May 1997. The Polesie region is shared among Belarus,
Poland and Ukraine - the Pripyat river forms its central artery, flowing
eastwards to enter the Dniepr soon after crossing the Ukrainian border
near ill-starred Tchernobyl. Read more on http://www.ramsar.org/mtg_belarus_conference_polesie1.htm
Source: Ramsar, http://www.ramsar.org
(via European Water Management News)
25.05.02: The
Baikal basin is extending
For millions of years Lake Baikal has remained a deep-water
repository of relic fauna and pure fresh water, although its basin
is constantly being filled up with the alluvion brought by violent
landslides, slide-rocks, mudflows and rapid tributaries. Obviously,
to keep the balance the basin should extend at least by the volume
of delivered sedimentary. Doctor Boris Agafonov from the Institute
of the Earth`s Crust has made calculations and proved that the volume
of the incoming alluvion is four times less than that of the increment
of the basin, the latter extending due to the internal earth`s crust
processes.
Lake Baikal is known to be located in a seismically active area, the
geologic age of the area being comparatively young. The elongated
basin of Lake Baikal is actually a rift trough. Similar formations
can be found on the bottom of all the oceans. The scientists believe
that the rift troughs had been expanding for millions of years and
ultimately transformed the earth`s crust break-ups into huge oceans
which cover three quarters of the Earth. From this point of view the
unique lake is a prototype of a prospective ocean. According to the
satellite data, the Baikal basin is extending at a speed of approximately
5 mm per year, this being equal to the 20-million cubic meter increase
of its volume. However, Doctor Agafonov points out that this is not
the only process, which prevents the lake from being filled up by
the alluvion. On top of that, the volume of the lake is increasing
due to the subsidence of the basin original bed. Full press release
on http://www.AlphaGalileo.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=readrelease&ReleaseID=9639
Source: AlphaGalileo (via European Water Management News)
25.05.02 : Photos
de presse et résumé de la Marche Bleue à Majorque
et de la Manifestation de Palma ( 8 à 10 000 personnes)
du 22 au 24 mai 2002, une délégation de la Plateforme
de Défense de l'Ebre,de ERN et de quelques autres associations, a
effectué un tour de l'île de Majorque, à la rencontre de la population
et des élus. La" Marche Bleue" s'est terminée le samedi 25 par une
manifestation de 8 à 10 000 personnes à Palma, en réponse au Sommet
des Ministres Européens de l'Environnement qui se tenait ce jour là
dans la capitale des Baléares
21.05.02: Protests against
Itoiz dam
GRAND HIKE THROUGH THE ITOIZ AREA
28th August- 1st September; The international protest camp will this
year be transformed into a hike in the mountains, valleys and by the
rivers of the Itoiz area, spending the nights in villages, and with
their inhabitants, it will visit the dam site with the combination
of Party and Protest of previous years, but this time on the move.
We will keep you informed in later correspondence with details on
the hike: Itinery, activities, conditions, infrastructure etc. Put
it in your diaries,
Until next time, an embrace of solidarity, SOLIDARI@S CON ITOIZ
INFORMATION ON PROTESTS AGAINST THE RESERVOIR AND DAM OF ITOIZ (Oct
2001-Apr2002)
After the international protest camp organised by our collective,
which constituted a real success in it's participation, these are
the latest reports in relation to this project: -Actions which took
place on Oct 31 and Nov 1 for the release of Iñaki Garcia Koch
and a halt to the dam project.
As you know Iñaki Garcia Koch is one of the 8 members of our
collective who cut concrete supply cables at the dam works, was arrested
in a routine police control in June last year. He is currently serving
a 4 year 10 month sentence in the prison of Iruña/Pamplona.
To demand his release and a halt to the dam project various actions
of protest took place in different parts of the Basque Country and
the Spanish state.
In the 4 provincial capitals of the Basque Country: Iruña (4
arrests) , Bilbo, Gasteiz, and Donostia various people chained themselves
to the interior of different public # In the Spanish state there were
numerous actions of protest in Granada (one protester was detained
and accused of being a terrorist sympathiser) , Castellon (protest
heavily suppressed by police) , Zaragoza, Madrid, Barcelona, Leganes,
and Badalona. In all these actions other hydrological projects and
the entire "Plan Hidrologico Nacional" were also denounced.
On these dates the action of simultaneously sending faxes to the director
of the Itoiz dam project also took place and signatures are still
being collected for a manifesto supporting the release of Iñaki.
If you wish to express your solidarity and support to Iñaki
you can write to him in prison in Iruña at the following address:
Iñaki Garcia Koch, Carcel de Iruña, C/San Roque s/n,
31011 Iruñea Basque Country.
-Action of Solidarios with Itoiz at the stone laying ceremony of the
canal of Navarra.
3 members of our collective disrupted the official stone laying ceremony
to inaugurate the building of the "Canal de Navarra " when
they arrived naked and interrupted the actual stone laying. Despite
the very high security the 3 managed to arrive cross-country to within
meters of the Spanish Environment Minister and the president of Navarra.
They were arrested and later released.
This 177Km canal beginning at Itoiz, with an estimated cost of 625
million Euros is in theory for the irrigation of 53,000 hectares in
lands in the south of Navarra (La Ribera). We say in theory because,
we believe that in practise the canal in it's entirety will never
actually be completed, that the true objective of the construction
of the Itoiz reservoir and other reservoir projects in the Ebro valley
(Cuenca del Ebro) is the immense program of waterways designed in
the "Plan Hidrologico Nacional" to carry huge quantities
of water to Catalonia and the Mediteranian coast. Favouring the interests
of industry, development, tourism and intensive farming.
This canal will be nothing more than another ecological and economical
fiasco within the senselessness of everything relating to the project
of Itoiz. -Demonstration of over 300,000 people in Barcelona to demand
the scrapping of the National hydrological plan (Plan hidrologico
Nacional).
On the day before the summit of European leaders in Barcelona there
was one of the largest demonstrations against this insane project,
which will result in the building of nearly 200 new reservoirs (in
the country with the highest number of reservoirs per square Km per
habitant in the world) with a vast network of waterways. If it goes
ahead it will result in the ecological destruction of unexpected consequences
greatly worsening the environmental unbalances which already exist.
This is a key moment for the execution of the plan, now that the government
of the European union have to decide to economically support (more
than 30%) this barbaric plan or not. -
Delays of 1 year in commencing the filling of the Itoiz reservoir.
Both the environment minister and the Navarran government had announced
the beginning of trial filling of the reservoir for spring last year,
but something in their calculations was wrong. Not only have they
not filled it, but they have announced more delays taking the date
to the end of this present year. The reason for these long delays
is no other than the fear of an incalculable catastrophe resulting
from the filling of the reservoir.
The 2 independent engineers of recognised prestige, Arturo Rebollo
and Antonio Casas, warned more than a year ago of the geological instability
of the area in which the dam has been constructed. Predicting the
possibility of 7 different risks of a disaster if it is filled, resulting
in the death of thousands of people living near the waters not only
below but above the dam. As if this is not enough, there are also
serious doubts to the resistance of the foundations of the Asco Nuclear
plant (situated on the banks of the river Ebro) to flood waters in
the event of the dam overflowing.
Up till now the authorities have ignored the engineers report, even
ridiculed it. The Emergency Program approved by the Spanish government
is based principally on the report. The said program contemplates
the possibility of catastrophes similar to those described by A. Rebollo
and A. Casas, putting in danger the lives of 66,000 people in Navarra
and tens of thousands in Aragon including the residents of Zaragoza,
not counting the millions of people who could be affected by the consequences
of the dams possible overflow on the Asco nuclear plant.
This emergency plan doesn't even include measures for the evacuation
of the people (in many cases impossible) it is limited to warning
the population with the use of sirens! -13th April 2002 Demonstration
in Iruña/Pamplona: "NO TO THE FILLING OF ITOIZ RESERVOIR,
FREE IÑAKI"
Some 3000 people were present on the march from the centre of Pamplona
to the prison where Inaki Garcia Koch has been imprisoned for the
last 9 months. The march was colourful and noisy with sirens which
ridiculed those of the emergency plan which the Spanish Government
plans to install to warn the population in the event of an accident
at the dam. When the march arrived outside the prison(where Inaki
could hear) one of the solidarios who has a warrant out for his arrest,
read an end of demonsration announcement. He then slipped away due
to the large police presence. In the announcement Solidarios con Itoiz
stated the necessity to keep up the fight against the building project
and the filling of the reservoir, which is planned for next winter.
A speech written by Inaki from the prison was also read out
17.05.02: Dry
Rio Grande point of U.S./Mexico friction
SILVER CITY, New Mexico, May 17, 2002 (ENS) - The
Rio Grande, the river dividing the United States from Mexico, no longer
reaches the Gulf of Mexico into which it has emptied for millions
of years. The water has stopped flowing due to a sandbar formed by
several years of low water levels plus high water usage in drought
stricken northern Mexico.
For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-17-05.html
13.05.02 : A
new Blue Marche and a Demonstration against P.H.N., in the Majorca
Island during the European Summit of Environment Ministers, from 24
to 26 May 2002.
The Platform in
Defence of the River Ebro is organising (together with the Platform
for Democracy and a Social Globalisation) a demonstration in Palma
, Mallorca on the 25th at 19.00. This demonstration coincides with
the EU Environmneta Ministers' Summit in Mallorca and is for a new
environmental outlook and will focus on the chief environmental problem
in Spain - the National Hydrological Plan. During all the 25th there
will be different activities and conferences about the NHP problem.
From the 22nd to the 24th there will be a Blue March across the island.
This is a natural follow-on from the Blue March to Brussels, asking
the EU to support a sustainable future and carry out its own policies.
The route: 22nd Palma-Algaida-Vilafranca- Arta
23rd Arta-Alcudia-Pollença-Soller
24th Soller-Banyalbufar-Calvia-Palma
In each town we will be met by local representatives and on the 24th
by the President of the Balearic autonomous government. Most of the
meals, transport on the island, and accommodation will be provided
(you will need a sleeping bag!). The only significant expense will
be the boat to Mallorca. It will leave Barcelona on Tuesday 21st 23.00
arriving 22nd 6.00. The return trip seems to be Sunday 26th 23.00,
arriving 27th 6.00. This costs about 60 euros. Obviously you can go
and return from the island in any other transport or timetable you
prefer, but the main group from the Ebro Delta will take this boat.
For more details, or to register, phone Loli on 0034 607 953 223 (Spanish)
or mail Susanna at miuli@wanadoo.es (any language).
Finally for those of you who have participated in earlier Blue Marches,
you will need no encouragement, but for others we would insist that
this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, lots of work, lots of pleasure,
and, yes, we can change things - a new world is possible!
13.05.02 : Marche Bleue et Manifestation contre
le P.H.N., dans l'île de Majorque à l'occasion du sommet
européen des Ministres de l'Environnement, du 24 au 26 mai
2002.
A l'occasion du
sommet européen des Ministres de l'Environnement à Majorque,
la Plateforme de Défense de l'Ebre organise une manifestation,
conjointement avec la Plateforme pour la Démocratie et la Globalisation
Sociale, prévue pour le samedi 25 mai.
Avant cette manifestation, une Marche Bleue parcourra l'île
de Majorque du 22 au 24 mai.
Parcours :
Mercredi 22 : Palma - Algaida - Vilafranca - Artá
Jeudi 23
: Artá - Alcudia - Pollença - Sóller
Vendredi
24 : Sóller - Banyalbufar - Calviá - Palma
A Palma,
la Marche Bleue sera reçue par le Président du Gouvernement
Baléare et La Conseillère de l'Environnement.
La Marche se fera en minibus et/ou fourgonnettes. Quand cela sera
possible, les étapes se feront à pied ou bicyclette.
La comida
y el alojamiento nos la proporcionaran los ayuntamientos de los diferentes
municipios por donde nos desplazaremos. El coste de la comida y alojamiento
será lo más asequible posible. Les repas et le logement
seront fournis par les mairies des différentes communes où
se rendra la Marche. Le coût des repas et du logement sera le
plus abordable possible
Les participants doivent emmener des sacs de couchage et des isolants,
ainsi que des sacs à dos très faciles à transporter.
Traversée
Barcelone-Majorque avec le bâteau de ligne régulière,
au départ du Port de Barcelone :
Le départ
de la Marche Bleue jusqu'à Majorque aura lieu le mardi soir
22 mai à 23h00 et l'arrivée à Palma à
06h00.
Le retour reste à déterminer, mais se fera durant le
dimanche 26. Les allers et retours de Barcelone depuis les lieux d'origine
restent à déterminer, ainsi que les prix.
Si vous
souhaitez participer à la Marche, il est important de se mettre
en contact le plus rapidement possible par téléphone
: 607 95 32 23 (Loli Garrido) ou par e-mail au : <mailto:miuli@wanadoo.es>
et le confirmer au bureau de Coagret 976392004, ou par e-mail : <mailto:coagret@jet.es>coagret@jet.es
03.05.02: 5th International
Conference On Environmental Future - Environmental Future Of Aquatic
Ecosystems - 23-27 March 2003 Eth Zurich, Switzerland (First Call)
This conference will promote well-informed international
debate about what the next quarter century might hold in store for
all the water-based ecosystems of the earth. Directly following the
World Day for Water in the International Year of Freshwater the 5th
ICEF will assess threats to resilience and likely changes in the 21
major aquatic systems over a time horizon of the next 25 years. For
this purpose, FEC and EAWAG have engaged leading scientists from around
the world to review each of the major marine and freshwater systems.
The 5th ICEF will offer environmental managers and opinion-formers
a unique and objective basis for environmental strategy formulation
at regional and global levels.
More information on http://www.unesco.org/water/water_events/Detailed/264.shtml
03.05.02 Le projet de
canal Rhin-Rhône refait surface
Source : Le Moniteur Date de parution : 3 mai 2002 Thème : Transport
Dans sa rubrique «Confidentiel», Le Moniteur révèle que quinze sénateurs
de tous bords réfléchissent à relancer sur de nouvelles bases le dossier
du canal Rhin-Rhône. Le précédent projet répondait aux exigences de
convois poussés de 190 mètres de long, alors qu’ils ne représentent
que 4% du trafic au nord de Strasbourg. Le nouveau projet permettrait
le passage d’automoteurs de 130 mètres, ce qui réduirait l’impact
de l’infrastructure sur les méandres du Doubs. Le groupe prévoit d’achever
ses auditions en juin pour présenter un rapport à la rentrée.
30.04.02: Parched Uzbekistan
Covets Russian River Waters
By Karina Insarova
NUKUS, Uzbekistan, April 30, 2002 (ENS) - Russia is not expected to
approve an Uzbek plan to divert water from Siberia to the cotton fields
of the Central Asian state, where drought and a population surge threaten
the entire region with catastrophe.
For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-30-03.html
26.04.02: Army Corps Suspends
Delaware River Dredging Project
(ENS) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has suspended
a dredging project on the Delaware River after a Congressional review
raised questions regarding whether the project is financially justified.
Conservation groups, who have opposed the project for almost a decade,
called the decision a "victory for common sense conservation."
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-26-06.html
23.04.02: Spanish
supreme court deals blow to Itoiz dam
Spain's supreme court last week threw out an appeal
by the Navarre regional government against its 1997 order enforcing
protection of three designated nature reserves. The ruling puts another
obstacle in the way of efforts to start filling the controversial
Itoiz reservoir.
Navarre continues to defend the project's legality. Spokesperson Nuria
Iturriagagoitia insisted yesterday that Spain's constitutional court
would have the final word in the complicated 11-year legal battle
over the project. In a ruling issued two years ago, this court backed
the dam's construction (ED
15/03/00 ).
Despite repeated legal setbacks and question marks over safety, work
has continued on both the now-completed dam and accompanying irrigation
canal at an estimated cost to date of euros 200-300m. However, the
reservoir remains empty despite repeated official assurances that
filling will go ahead (ED
27/09/01).
The dam is required in a non-explicit way to make the Ebro transfer
(main bulk of the Spanish National Hydrological Plan) possible. The
"official" objectives of the dam are to supply water to
Pamplona and to establish new irrigation in Navarra. "Unofficially",
it will be used to ensure a sufficient volume of water in the Ebro
so the required water (the infamous 1050 hm3) can be transferred.
Complaints to the European Commmission, both in the past and now,
have not resolved favorably for nature conservation, but last week's
Spanish Supreme Court decision could make the difference.
Follow-up: Spanish supreme court, tel: +34 91 397 1000;
Navarre government
http://www.cfnavarra.es/INDEX.HTM, tel: +34 948 427 000
Source: Environment Daily
More about iberian rivers & projects
16.04.02: African and U.N.
leaders open an international conference on water and sustainable
development
By Kwasi Kpodo, Associated Press
ACCRA, Ghana - African and U.N. leaders opened an international conference
on water and sustainable development on Monday, urging effective management
across borders to solve Africa's poverty-perpetuating water shortages.
Speakers at the conference - including Crown Prince Willem-Alexander
of the Netherlands, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's adviser on
water - linked poverty in most developing countries, especially in
Africa, to the water crisis.
"The 40 worst water-famished countries in the world, in many
of which people live on just two gallons a day for all uses, can never
escape poverty and achieve sustainable development without first addressing
their water scarcity," the prince said in his opening statement.
Pointing to countries where "poverty and lack of water is inextricably
linked," he cited Gambia, Djibouti, Somalia, Mali, Mozambique,
Uganda, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. Among countries beyond Africa, he listed
Cambodia, Bhutan, and Haiti.
Two hundred delegates, including several African cabinet ministers,
are attending the conference - a prelude to the World Summit for Sustainable
Development opening in Johannesburg, South Africa, this August.
The three-day conference in Accra, the capital of Ghana, was organized
by the Dutch government under sponsorship of the African Development
Bank Group. The focus of the conference is proposals by Willem-Alexander
and others in the United Nations on increasing awareness on the gravity
of inadequate supplies of water and on solving the problems.
Willem-Alexander set targets of halving the number of people without
safe drinking water by 2015 and of making more effective use of water
in agriculture without increasing the amount diverted for it.
More than 1 billion people worldwide lack safe drinking water, the
crown prince said, and more than 2 million die each year from water-related
diseases. "The water crisis is especially acute in Africa, where
only about 60 percent of the 680 million people have access to safe
water supplies," he said.
People in the worst-off 50 countries, at least half of them in Africa,
are forced to get by on 30 liters or less per day for farming, cleaning,
and all other needs. That's well under than the 50 liters per day
that the United Nations says constitutes the absolute minimum.
Opening the conference, Ghanaian President John Agyekum Kufuor mourned
the fact that Africans lacked adequate safe water despite the "mighty
rivers" of the Nile, the Congo, the Limpopo, and the Volta as
well as the Great Lakes. Kufuor encouraged partnerships to attract
investment in water to reduce the burden on individual countries'
economies.
Also attending the conference is the former secretary-general of the
Organization of African Unity, Salim Ahmed Salim, named water ambassador
for Africa. Salim is expected to work out guidelines on protection
of Africa's water resources based on suggestions from the conference.
Source: Associated Press
11.04.02: Three Gorges Dam
will raise temperatures in central China, meteorologist predicts
By Martin Fackler, Associated Press
SHANGHAI, China - China's Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric
project, will create a reservoir massive enough to raise temperatures
and force crop changes in nearby areas, a government meteorologist
predicted Wednesday.
Zhu Changhan, a researcher at the China Meteorological Administration,
said temperatures around the reservoir site in central China could
rise by an average of 1 degree after the dam's completion in 2009.
Computer simulations show the 400-mile-long body of water will be
big enough and change the terrain enough to alter wind patterns, increase
humidity, and reflect more sunlight, Zhu said. He said this will produce
hotter weather in areas up to 60 miles from the reservoir, which will
fill part of the Yangtze River valley in the regions of Chongqing
and Hubei.
Though small, the rise in temperatures will be enough to force farmers
to abandon some of the crops currently grown in the mountainous region,
particularly fruit like mandarin oranges, Zhu said.
He said the temperature increase could be even higher in some areas.
"The rise in water levels will certainly bring changes. And those
changes can't be reversed," Zhu said by telephone from his office
in Beijing.
He said the ecosystem in the region's forests and other undeveloped
areas will probably prove more resilient and not be significantly
affected. The higher temperatures may also help local farmers by bringing
increased rainfalls, he said.
The computer estimates are based on detailed wind speed, humidity,
and temperature measurements taken in the Three Gorges area since
1996 by a team of Chinese government meteorologists
The China Meteorological Administration, the national weather bureau,
will make more detailed simulations as measurements continue to be
taken until the 2009 completion date, Zhu said.
Environmental impact is just one of many controversies surrounding
the $25 billion dam project, which the government bills as necessary
for central China's development.
More than 1.13 million people are being relocated, and experts have
raised concerns about pollution and the stability of bedrock below
the dam site.
The reservoir will be filled by stages starting in June of next year.
Associated Press
11.04.02 : Time for Africa to tap its hydroelectric
riches
Business Day (South Africa);
Apr 11, 2002 BY ROBYN CHALMERS
THE concept of constructing sweeping electricity highways
across Africa, lighting up the continent, has long been a cherished
ideal of politicians and engineers. Transporting power between SA
and Spain is not only a fascinating notion, it also holds out real
economic benefits for Africa. And it is possible. Only two proper
regional grids in the north and south of Africa have been established
to date, but there are just a few gaps in the existing continental
electricity grid which would need to be linked up to make the dream
a reality.
Many argue that the growth of Africa's power supply will underpin
the continent's future development.
In addition, Africa is rich in hydroelectricity sites, providing big
opportunities for clean power. The continent possesses 17% of the
world's hydroelectric capacity, of which less than 6% has been developed.
Only in Egypt is hydropower tapped to a significant degree. The Democratic
Republic of Congo, in particular, has great untapped potential. A
site on the Congo River in the Congo, called Grand Inga, has the potential
to generate 39000MW of power - enough for most of Africa - if it is
harnessed.
But do we need this amount of electricity? In the long term - say
20 or 30 years - it is possible there will be enough demand to warrant
the kind of investment required to link up the grid.
At the moment, however, Africa has very low electricity consumption
by world standards. The World Energy Council says Africa currently
has 13% of the world's population, but accounts for only 2% of its
gross domestic product (GDP). In creating this 2% of the world's GDP,
it consumes 3% of its commercial energy, although its share of world
commercial energy production is 7%.
So while the provision of electricity is a proven driver of economic
growth, transporting power thousands of kilometres across Africa and
to Europe is expensive. It can only be economically justified if there
is high demand and cheap sources of power. Most utilities do not have
the funds to build regional networks, which means the private sector
will have to step in. They are unlikely to do so until they see significantly
improved returns, or perhaps until the liberalisation of Africa's
power market begins to show real progress.
A presentation delivered at the recent sub-Saharan Power Conference
by Eskom's Dolly Mokgatle, focusing on the possibilities of taking
the energy grid across Africa, concludes that in the short term, it
may be more practical to build an African grid a piece at a time.
In other words, interconnect each African country with its adjacent
neighbours first, and then consider a grid spanning the continent
"This is what the Southern African Power Pool intends to achieve
within the next decade," says Mokgatle. The pool was created
in 1995 when 12 countries in the southern half of Africa decided to
pool their electricity supply resources. These included SA, Tanzania,
Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Congo. The main goal
of the pool is to co-ordinate electricity activities across these
countries, with benefits including the reduction of fuel costs and
the ability to help countries if they run short of power. The pool
also runs a short-term energy market which allows for exchange of
surplus power at a low price.
Mokgatle says there are a limited number of regional grids - either
up and running or being formed - with only the northern and southern
African regions having significantly integrated their networks. In
southern Africa, nine out of 12 countries in the region are interconnected;
in North Africa, five out of six countries are interconnected; and
seven out of 12 West African countries are linked. Only two in five
countries in Central Africa are connected and two in10 in East Africa.
"In practice, over the next 20 years, only the North African
and southern African regions can ... justify (the construction of)
long inter-regional connections," she says.
Two other issues will influence the building of interregional power
grids, namely Africa's future energy mix, and progress made on the
liberalisation of electricity markets.
Jan Murray, deputy secretary-general of the World Energy Council,
says the outstanding feature of Africa's energy mix is an overwhelming
dependence on the traditional fuels of wood, charcoal, dung and crop
residue. They account for about two-thirds of energy consumption,
with wood by far the dominant source.
Murray says it is critical to provide access to modern energy services.
This means harnessing natural gas, hydro-electricity, coal and to
a lesser extent, nuclear power. Big money is needed to build the plants
and transmission systems to convert these different forms of energy
into power which can be delivered to people.
Given the financial constraints of many regional utilities and governments,
the private sector will have to be persuaded to come to the party.
This will require market reform. World Bank studies show that to date,
Africa has lagged behind other regions in reforming the power sector,
except for concessioning of utility management to private operators
in some Francophone nations. However, the bank also found many African
nations are looking at moves to liberalise their power sectors, to
be backed by plans to form regional power pools. These will help make
up for the small national power markets, says the bank.
While the chances of SA being able to trade electricity with Spain
are unlikely to come to fruition anytime soon, this is an uplifting
vision for the future.
It will have to be underpinned by market reform to facilitate big
investment, which in turn will require peaceful countries with stable
governments. Then the dream can become a reality. Chalmers is
Associate Editor.
10.04.02: Spanish national irrigation
plan approved
The Spanish government on Friday approved a national
irrigation plan, with a euros 5bn budget to 2008, to modernise and
extend agricultural irrigation. Agriculture ministry sources stressed
that the plan promoted water conservation and efficiency, but environmental
group Ecologists in action insisted that it failed to tackle the problem
of "unsustainable farm irrigation on Spain's Mediterranean coast".
The NGO also complained that the government should have made public
its assessment of future irrigation needs before approving controversial
dam-building and water transfer schemes in the national hydrological
plan
http://www.environmentdaily.com/articles/index.cfm?action=article&ref=11744
See press release :
http://www.mapya.es/notas/pag.asp?codi=709_FM050402
Source : Environment Daily
10.04.02 : Colloque - Eau
en Montagne - à Megeve, 5/6 sept 2002
La societé d'economie alpestre de la Haute
Savoie organise un colloque international le 5 et 6 septembre 2002
intitulé l'EAU en Montagne - Gestion intégrée
des Hauts Bassin Versants -
Prix de l'inscription : 250 euros (ou 100 pour les étudiants)
Renseignements sur le site : http://www.echoalp.com/
10.04.02: Young Student Summer
School "Reservoir Water Quality Modelling And Management"
International summer school "Reservoir Water
Quality Modelling and Management" will be held during August
12-22, 2002 in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic. Its programme consists
of the 4th International Conference on Reservoir Limnology and Water
Quality and a one-week course taught by outstanding specialists in
reservoir water quality and mathematical
modelling. It is possible to attend only the course. For more information
visit http://www.hbu.cas.cz/ResLim2002
or contact Josef Hejzlar, Ph.D., Hydrobiological Institute, Academy
of Sciences of the Czech Republic, hejzlar@hbu.cas.cz.
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