"newer" news
17.10.02: Ilisu/Türkei:
Deutschland sagt Hermes Kredite ab
Keine Deutsche Beteiligung Am Geplanten Mega Staudammprojekt
Hasankeyf Inder Türkei
Wie die alte und neue Ministerin für Wirtschaftliche
Zusamenarbeit (BMZ)vorzwei Tagen verbindlich erklärte, ist die
neue Bundesregierung der festenAbsicht, sich nicht mit einer Hermes
Bürgschaf am geplanten StaudammprojektHasankeyf zu beteiligen,
durch dessen Vollzug Zehntausende von Menschenvertrieben und unersetzbare
Kulturgüter zerstört worden wären.
Mit heutigem Brief an medico international teilt zudem der Petitionsausschußim
Deutschen Bundestag mit, - dem zuvor einige Tausend Protestaufrufe
inForm einer formellen Petition vorgelegt worden waren, - daß
dasBundesministerium für Wirtschaft zu einer negativen Position
in SachenHasankeyf sich gekommen sei. Ausdrücklich wird darauf
verwiesen, daß diePetition bei der Bundesregierung, den Fraktionsführungen
der Parteien undden zuständigen Ministerien außerordentliche
Beachtung gefunden hätte. DerOriginalext der Mitteilung steht
auf Wunsch per Fax zur Verfügung.
Der Entschluß der Bundesregierung dürfte ein sicheres AUS
für alle weiterenStaudamm-Baupläne in Hasankeyf bedeuten.
Unser Slogan "Save Hasankeyf" hatdamit nach zweijährigem
harten Kampf einen Sieg erbracht.
Dank, großen Dank an alle, die so lange beteiligt waren. Und
unsere bestenGrüße und Wünsche gehen mit dieser Message
an den Bürgermeister und dieEinwohner von Hasankeyf - und nicht
zuletzt an Arif Arslan.
Hans Branscheidt
16.10.02: Dams threaten Cambodia's
"floods of fortune"
CHHNOK TROU, Cambodia - Flashing a broad, toothless
grin, Loeng Yang Boi gazes out from the boat which has been his home
for the last 40 years and indulges in the familiar daydream of the
fisherman.
"It was this big," the 71-year-old said, his dark eyes lighting
up and leathery arms stretching out to indicate the size of the giant
cat-fish he once caught as a young man.
"But that was over 30 years ago, even before the Khmer Rouge
came," he said, recalling the glory days of Cambodia's Tonle
Sap, southeast Asia's biggest lake whose bountiful waters, ebbing
and flowing with the seasons, support some 1.2 million fishermen.
"Now, the fish I catch are getting smaller and
smaller. There are so many fishermen they catch fish faster than they
breed," he said, pointing to the hundreds of little house-boats
that make up this bustling floating village.
For thousands of years, the chocolate brown waters
of the Tonle Sap, rising and falling in a unique annual cycle, have
supported countless generations of fishermen, bringing fame and fortune
to this small southeast Asian nation.
Legend has it the stunning temple complexes of Angkor,
built by the mighty Khmer civilisation which ruled supreme in Indochina
1,000 years ago, were built on wealth netted from the lake.
Today, Cambodia, an impoverished international minnow
of just 13 million people, lands over 400,000 tonnes of fresh-water
fish a year, ranking it only behind China, India and Bangladesh.
Some two-thirds of this comes from the Tonle Sap,
providing vital income and food for a nation slowly emerging from
three decades of war.
DAM IT
For all the familiar doom and gloom of the fishermen,
scientists fear the future of the lake, and in particular the annual
floods so crucial to its fisheries, could be at risk.
Every spring, as glacial melt-waters from China and
Tibet flow down the Mekong, the lake swells to five times its dry
season size, covering some 15,000 sq km (5,800 sq mile) - nearly as
big as Lake Ontario in North America.
Come November's dry season, the level of the mighty
river falls back down and the lake slowly drains away again.
Fish follow these "floods of fortune", as
locals call them, in their billions to feed in the rich waters of
the mangrove swamps and inundated woodlands around the lake's shores.
But experts who have studied old Mekong records from
Laos - Cambodia's data was destroyed by the Khmer Rouge - are worried
the ever-growing number of dams in the river's upper reaches are smoothing
out the annual ebb and flow and reducing the floods.
"Not only are dams decreasing the water flow,
they also cut off access for fish larvae to their spawning areas,"
said Nicolaas van Zalinge, a Mekong River Commission biologist who
says the river level has dropped some 12 percent since the 1960s.
In China, one huge dam, soon to be joined by a second,
already spans the Mekong and some 25,000 other minor irrigation projects,
many of them built with U.S. aid in northeast Thailand during the
Vietnam war, are dotted throught its watershed.
With more massive projects planned for coming years
- including a cross-Mekong dam at Sambo in central Cambodia - van
Zalinge urges politicians to pause for reflection.
"For a long time there has been a push for the
building of dams and irrigation systems driven by the big banks,"
van Zalinge said. "Governments must consider their effects when
investing in irrigation and other schemes."
FISH OR RICE?
Van Zalinge believes the lake's fisheries are sustainable
at current levels of flooding and fishing - but only if the delicate
ecosystem is protected from a host of other threats.
With the increased destruction of ancient rainforest
across the region and the consequent rise in erosion, it is debatable
whether the lake will be there at all in the long term, or whether
it will have completely silted up.
"The level of siltation is very minimal but we
should be concerned about the amount of deforestation upstream and
around the lake," said Nao Thuok, director general of Cambodia's
Department of Fisheries.
"Maybe in 100 years' time there will be one very
shallow or two separate lakes," he said.
Doomsday predictions of the Tonle Sap disappearing
within the next few decades are looking unlikely, but the Cambodian
government and Asian Development Bank are sufficiently concerned to
be investigating projects to reduce the effects of siltation.
Fishermen are also being urged to do their bit, by
using larger mesh nets to allow young fish to escape and go off to
breed, and to stop clearing mangrove swamps around the lake to make
way for new rice fields in the dry season.
"One of my main concerns is the rampant clearing
of the floodwater forests around the lake, which are the vital habitat
of the fish," Nao Thuok said.
But for all the strong words, a lack of environmental
education for fisheries officials combined with Cambodia's notoriously
lax law enforcement does not suggest change will take place overnight.
Meanwhile, far away from the scientists' bar charts
and satellite maps, the fishermen themselves are beginning to contemplate
the beginning of the end of an ancient way of life.
"Nine years ago, all this used to be mangroves,"
said Ngyen Yang Chou, 58, with a broad sweep of his arm across the
waves which have served as home to generations of his forebears.
"But it's all been cleared to make way for rice
fields. I think maybe I will look into farming and send my children
to the village. It is too difficult to make a living on the water."
Story by Ed Cropley
Source: REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
03.10.02 : Farmed salmon
'infect wild fish'
The strongest evidence so far that wild fish are being
infected by farmed salmon is to be presented to a conference in Denmark
on Thursday.
Scottish Executive scientists found large numbers of sea lice near
the mouth of the River Shieldaig in the Western Highlands, where young
trout emerge into the sea.
And their research indicates the devastating
parasites came from nearby salmon cages.
But farmers say the sharp decline in wild salmon and
sea trout along the Scottish coastline began long before they were
there, and they are developing better techniques to control disease.
Conservation groups say wild salmon have declined
by two-thirds in the past 30 years, and are increasingly susceptible
to impacts from industry.
And, they claim, the rapid growth of salmon
farming is one of the main threats to the wild fish.
'Working together'
The research suggested that every second year, when
farms are at an early stage of breeding, numbers of sea lice fell.
Samples taken offshore also showed sea lice
moving from cages to the shore - not the other way around.
But John Russell, whose firm Marine Harvest runs a
fish farm on Lake Torridon, north-west Scotland, told the BBC sea
lice were a problem for everyone.
He said: "What we have to do is look at
how we can achieve the aims of the area management schemes we have
running down this coast of Scotland.
"That is to minimalise the burden of sea
lice on farm salmon and wild fish, and we have to work positively
together to do that. "We are doing that
in this area."
Salmon farmers around the North Atlantic produced
4,783 tonnes in 1980, and 658,735 tonnes in 2000.
Sale ban
The Atlantic Salmon Federation, Greenpeace and the
global environment campaign, WWF, are calling for "fish-farming
free zones" to protect rivers and bays.
They also want commercial wild salmon fisheries
on migratory feeding grounds in the Faroes and West Greenland to close.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Executive has banned
the sale of salmon and sea trout caught by rod and line in an attempt
to conserve wild fish stocks.
Deputy rural development minister Allan Wilson
said the ban had "overwhelming" support from the individuals
and organisations consulted.
"In many of our rivers, anglers are being
encouraged to release salmon and sea trout they have caught.
"And increasing numbers of them are doing
this.
"It is unacceptable that sport fishermen
try to catch as many as possible so they can sell them."
Source: BBC News
04.10.02 Des Marches "al Mediterraneo"
démarrent des bassins de l'Ebre, du Jucar et du Segura en Espagne
et du bassin du Rhône en France, pour converger le 23 novembre
à Valencia lors de la Convention Ramsar. in
english
La "Marcha al Mediterraneo" part le 30 octobre
du bassin de l'Ebre, à Reinosa (source de l'Ebre en Cantabria),
mais 2 autres Marches doivent démarrer, l'une du bassin du
Jucar, l'autre du bassin du Segura.
Toutes convergeront le dimanche 24 novembre à
Valencia pour une grande manifestation (pour mémoire, la dernière
manifestation en date du 10 mars 02, a réuni plus de 400 000
personnes à Barcelone). Le départ de cette manifestation
pour la Nouvelle Culture de l'Eau et contre le PHN aura lieu à
12h00, Plaza de San Agustin.
Du 15 au 26 novembre, se tient en Espagne, à
Valencia, la 8ème convention RAMSAR des Nations Unies pour
la protection des zones humides, qui réunit les représentants
des Ministères de l'Environnement de 130 pays.
Cette rencontre internationale donne l'occasion aux
opposants du PHN de se faire entendre : "Nous devons nous dépêcher,
presse l'un des représentants du mouvement. Le Parti Populaire
(de M. Aznar) veut convaincre tout le monde que le transfert de la
rivière Ebro est quelque chose de déjà établi
et qu'il n'y a plus besoin d'argumenter ni de discuter. Il est clair
que nous ne pouvons pas les laisser gagner ce round... !!!"
"Ce n'est pas une lutte contre les autres communautés
qui attendent de recevoir l'eau de l'Ebre, a expliqué l'un
des porte-paroles, mais une opportunuité de communiquer à
tous nos préoccupations et notre choix en faveur d'une Nouvelle
Culture de l'Eau".
Le Rhône est visé également par
le PHN : son transfert vers Barcelone est utilisé comme alternative
compensatrice au transfert de l'Ebre vers le sud. L'idée est
donc, pour les défenseurs de l'environnement et des rivières
du côté français, de se joindre au mouvement général
espagnol et d'en profiter pour informer sur le PHN, les transferts
de l'Ebre et du Rhône.
E.R.N. organise une caravane d'information, qui débutera
le 11 novembre à Nîmes (siège de la B.R.L. société
d'aménagement mixte promotrice du projet de transfert du Rhône
à Barcelone) et passera par Montpellier le 12 nov, Narbonne
le 13, Perpignan le 14, pour atteindre la frontière espagnole
à la Jonquera le 15 novembre (nuit à Girona). La marche
continue en arrivant le 16 à Barcelone, avec étape le
soir pour dormir à Xerta. Le 17, arrivée dans le Delta
de l'Ebro, à Tortosa. Le 18, arrivée dans le petit port
de pêche de Sant Carles de la Rapita. Pour les autres jours,
la marche française continue de suivre la Marcha al Mediterraneo
de l'Ebre...
E.R.N. compte sur les initiatives locales pour animer
les étapes de cette Marche d'information sur le transfert du
Rhône.
Des Catalans de la P.O.T. Plataforma d'Oposicion als Transvasments
(Girona) seront présents lors de la Marche côté
français. Ils témoigneront que la Catalogne a suffisamment
d'eau à sa disposition, qu'elle a plutôt un problème
de gestion à résoudre qui ne passera pas par une dépendance
accrue.
Pour
plus d'infos (français, english, espagol):
03.10.02 English and Welsh rivers 'improving'
By Alex Kirby BBC News Online environment correspondent
English and Welsh rivers are cleaner than at any time since records
began, the Environment Agency says. It says urban rivers have started
catching up with rural ones. Its annual survey of over 40,000 kilometres
(25,000 miles) of rivers and canals says the substantial improvements
since 1990 have been sustained. River quality is one of the UK Government's
15 headline indicators of sustainable development.
In 2001, 95% of rivers (or 38,567 km) in England and Wales were found
to be of good or fair chemical quality, 1% more than in 2000 and 10%
up on 1990. The number of rivers classed as chemically "bad" dropped
to 0.3%, 133 km (0.4% in 2000 and 2.4% in 1990). Otters return Urban
rivers were historically polluted by industry, sewage overflows, road
run-off, and domestic plumbing misconnections. But the agency says
they are showing "something of a renaissance", although figures still
show that around one in eight is categorised as "poor" or "bad".
The agency says the decline of industry over the last two decades,
and tighter regulations since 1990, have resulted in "vast" improvements
in river quality. In 2001, nearly 87% of urban rivers were found to
have good or fair water quality, compared with 80% in 2000 and 57%
in 1990. The River Tyne in north-east England is now recording the
best salmon catch statistics for England and Wales. Signs of otters
are being found in urban catchments in the English Midlands, as rivers
become clean enough to support sustainable fish populations and thus
top predators. Vulnerable zones Salford Quays in Manchester - once
so polluted that no fish survived - was the venue of the long-distance
swimming leg of the 2002 Commonwealth Games triathlon.
The agency also says phosphate levels in rivers, which help to cause
eutrophication, or unlimited growth of water plants, have fallen since
1990. In 2001, 54% of all surveyed rivers were found to have high
concentrations of phosphates, 10% fewer than in the first survey in
1990. The agency says the reduction is likely to result in part from
more stringent treatment carried out at sewage works by water companies,
as well as changes in the chemical make-up of detergents. Nitrate
levels - which have not declined in the same way as phosphates - have
been found in high concentrations in 30% of all rivers since 1995.
To address this, the government says it will announce new nitrate
vulnerable zones shortly in affected areas to reduce nitrate pollution
from farming land. Farming changes Levels of key nutrients, such as
phosphate and nitrate, are highest in the Midlands, East and South
of the country where population density is highest and farming methods
the most intense. Sir John Harman, chairman of the Environment Agency,
said: "The improvement to urban rivers is good news, but more work
needs to be done. "Clearly all urban rivers are still not as clean
as they could be. We are working hard to persuade planners and developers
to use sustainable urban drainage systems, which collect and treat
urban run-off before it reaches rivers." Researchers addressing the
British Association's science festival in Leicester last month said
a new directive from Brussels could lead to radical changes in the
way agricultural land was managed across Europe, with some types of
farming being scaled back or even abandoned in some of their traditional
areas.
The Water Framework Directive will require all rivers, lakes and canals
to be returned to "good ecological quality" within 15 years - and
the measure of quality will be far tougher than it is now. Scientists
at the festival said that to comply with this new regime, pollution
- such as from the leaching of fertilisers from fields - would have
to be more tightly controlled than it is now.
BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2295481.stm
01.10.02:
Rainfall Research To Aid Flood Control
Researchers at the University of Essex, working with
partners in Italy, Germany, Denmark and other UK organisations, have
discovered a new method of measuring rainfall that could help to improve
flood control. The recent floods that devastated much of Central Europe
have highlighted the need for accurate rainfall forecasting. The new
technique, which uses dual-frequency microwave links, will now be
tested in the Irwell Valley in NW England, in the mountains of Italy,
and in the Ruhr region of Germany as part of the MANTISSA project,
funded under the EU's Fifth Framework Programme. Read more here
source : CORDIS RTD-NEWS, via European
Water Management News
01.10.02 : U.S. wants to flood Canyon to
save native fish
The Arizona Republic October 1, 2002 By Shaun McKinnon
Federal officials want to flood the Grand Canyon and evict thousands
of non-native fish from the Colorado River next year in a repeat of
a controversial 1996 experiment that produced inconclusive results
and temporary benefits. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will present
its proposal at public briefing sessions this week in Phoenix and
Flagstaff, outlining a plan scientists hope will begin to mend an
ecosystem bruised more than 40 years ago by the construction of Glen
Canyon Dam. The two-year experiment calls for artificial floods similar
to one staged in 1996 aimed at rebuilding some of the riverbanks and
beach habitats along the canyon floor. Scientists also would remove
as many as 20,000 non-native rainbow and brown trout from the river
in an effort to improve conditions for endangered native fish such
as the humpback chub, whose numbers have dwindled from 8,000 to about
2,000 since the mid-1990s. The trout are thought to prey on the chub.
The experiments are part of a long-term goal of correcting problems
created by the dam, including the loss of natural sediment, a drop
in water temperature and the introduction of non-native fish. The
floods, for example, attempt to mimic temporarily the natural behavior
of the river, whose flows once fluctuated significantly over a year's
time. A 1996 flood, presided over by former Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt,
then-Interior secretary, appeared to shore up some of the damaged
beaches with few of the side effects predicted by critics. Later studies
suggested the flood's effects were short-lived and did little to help
the endangered fish. Several environmental groups say the latest plan
is too little too late, especially for the chub and other species
struggling to survive in their altered environment.
Owen Lammers, executive director of Living Rivers, called the proposal
"the latest act in a six-year-long charade" by the bureau and water
and power interests whose inattention has threatened the river's ecosystem.
"They just want to tell the public, 'we tried,' and then go back to
operating the dam however they wish once the fish are extinct," Lammers
said. He said the experiments fail to reintroduce any new sediments
and nutrients critical for native fish habitat and don't address the
need to raise water temperatures below the dam. Native fish struggle
to survive in the colder river, while the non-native predators thrive.
Nikolai Ramsey, program officer for Flagstaff-based Grand Canyon Trust,
said the experiments will produce benefits, but delays in their start
have compromised the overall goals. Changes in the river's flow should
have begun in early September to properly prepare the river for a
full-scale artificial flood, Ramsey said. He also worries that the
government has lost sight of the endangered fish, which continue to
die. "We should be putting our efforts more strongly into saving the
chub," Ramsey said. "This is a fish that has lived in the Colorado
River and only the Colorado River for 2 million years and now is close
to extinction because of what we've done to the river." Ramsey predicts
stiff opposition to the government's plan from both environmentalists
and others with a stake in the river, including sport fishery groups.
The timing and scale of the experiments will hinge in part on weather
conditions in the coming months. Drought choked summer runoff from
the Paria River, a tributary of the Colorado that in normal years
would have shifted sand and sediment downstream into position for
the artificial floods. Scientists don't yet know if there's enough
to stage a flood by January.
Randy Peterson, manager of the bureau's upper-Colorado environmental
resources division, said that plans allow scientists to adjust the
schedule for the larger floods, which send water gushing through Glen
Canyon Dam's rarely used bypass tubes. Those floods would take place
as soon as the Paria delivers enough sand and sediment. The fish relocation
could begin as early as January, when above-normal flows from the
dam would be used to disrupt spawning. Later in the year, biologists
would use electrical charges to stun the fish at various spots along
the river. The non-native fish would be removed and relocated, while
native species would be left in the river.
Source: The Arizona Republic October 1, 2002 By Shaun
McKinnon
via LIVING RIVERS
Electronic Information Services PO BOX 466 Moab, UT 84532 Tel: 435.259.1063
Fax: 435.259.7612 PO BOX 1589 Scottsdale, AZ 85252 Tel: 480.990.7839
Fax: 480.990.2662 info@livingrivers.org
www.livingrivers.org
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