18.02.05 : Dams in Iran:
reprieve for some, no time left for others
Archaeologists in the Bulaghi valley have been
given more time to survey the
site before it is submerged. Their colleagues elsewhere are not
so lucky
By Lucian Harris
The contrasting progress of two major archaeological
salvage operations in
Iran, where an ambitious programme of dam building has created
a continuing
threat to heritage sites, has highlighted the problems faced as
this country
attempts to reconcile necessary development and modernisation
with the
conservation and research of the rich remains of its historical
past.
Last month, international archaeologists began
to arrive in the Bulaghi
valley in Fars Province, which is set to be flooded when a reservoir
is
created behind the newly constructed Sivand dam. The valley, which
is rich
in archaeological remains, is located close to the ancient city
of
Pasargadae, capital of King Cyrus II, founder of the Achaemenid
dynasty, and
a Unesco World Heritage Site since 2004.
Over the next year, seven or eight small teams
from France, Italy, Poland,
Australia, Germany, and Japan, will assist Iranian archaeologists
in
excavating the most important of 130 sites identified in an initial
survey
of the valley, ranging from the prehistoric
to the Achaemenid, and Sassanian periods.
Dr Mohammad Talebian, director of the Parse-Pasargardae
Project which is
co-ordinating the salvage operation, told The Art Newspaper that
the
Ministry of Energy had agreed to postpone the flooding of the
valley for a
year while excavations continued, but that funding, which had
also been
promised had yet to appear. The salvage operation, he hoped, would
provide a
model for the future, as Iran continues its programme to harnass
the power
of its rivers.
Dr Massood Azarnoush, director of the Archaeological
Research Centre in
Tehran, part of the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organisation (ICHO),
told The
Art Newspaper that it was an important matter for Iran to be able
to control
its water resources, particularly in light of the eight year drought
in the
south-east. He said that in a country where it is almost impossible
to break
the surface of the ground anywhere without finding some archaeological
remains, the challenge was to raise public and governmental awareness
of the
need for proper archaeological research and conservation.
Dr Azarnoush said that the government had recently
issued a declaration that
all development projects should take archaeology into consideration,
and
that he had asked local authorities in all Iran's provinces to
give warning
before any such projects are commenced.
If the Bulaghi valley operation does, as hoped,
become a model for the
handling of similar situations in the future, the converse is
true of the
archaeological salvage currently underway at the ancient site
of Izeh in the
Karun River valley in Khuzestan, where archaeologists have had
neither
sufficient time nor funding. With only one month to go before
the reservoir
behind the Karun-III dam is fully filled, the director of excavations
Dr
Jafar Mehrkian told The Art Newspaper that his small team was
working on the
last of 21 important sites they had excavated. He said little
warning had
been given over the reactivation of the long dormant dam project,
and that
his repeated appeals for international asssistance during the
five month
salvage operation had been to no avail. Expertise was still greatly
needed,
he said, particularly in metallurgy and physical anthropology.
Dr Mehrkian said that important archaeological
sites were also threatened by
the Karun-II and Karun-IV dams, the latter already under construction
and
expected to be operational in 2008. With plans to build more dams
on the
Karun and its tributaries, a comprehensive plan for the rescue
and
conservation of the rich archaeological and cultural heritage
of the area is
extremely important.
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=11719
19.02.05 : Water Wars:
Pakistani Provinces Clash Over Mega Dam (OneWorld South Asia)
LAHORE, Feb 19 (OneWorld) - Pakistan's southern province of Sindh
has become a rallying point for protests and hunger strikes against
two huge water projects, which activists claim will benefit only
the eastern province of Punjab and deny other states their share.
Last week, 11 members of the Jiye Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) began
a fast till death in Karachi, the capital of the province, demanding
that the government abandon the Kalabagh dam and the Greater Thal
Canal projects. JSQM chairman Bashir Qureshi claims his movement
has the backing of the 40 million people of Sindh. "The Sindh
assembly, all political, religious and nationalist parties --
irrespective of ideology -- have given the thumbs-down to the
controversial water projects," says Qureshi. Says Qadir Magsi,
chief of the Sindh Taraqi Passand Party, "World powers exaggerate
the issue of weapons of mass destruction. But the Kalabagh dam
will kill 40 million people of Sindh, 30 million of the NWFP and
15 million of Balochistan." Calling Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf an enemy of Pakistan, the provincial president of Benazir
Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, Nisar Khuhro, says his party
will not sit idle when the interests of Pakistan are threatened.
At the center of the controversy is the Kalabagh dam, to be located
on the Indus river, 100 miles southwest of Islamabad. It was conceived
by the government in 1953 and a project report in 1984 tried to
establish the technical and economic feasibility of the project.
The Water and Power Development Authority's latest brief on the
project says, "It is expected to be a 260-foot high structure
that will create a 6.1 million acre feet (MAF) reservoir of usable
storage." The project will also generate 2,400 MW of power and
this may later be increased to 3,600 MW, making Kalabagh one of
the largest hydroelectric dams in Asia. The total cost of the
civil and power facilities is estimated at US $5 billion. The
second project is the Greater Thal Canal, which, along with its
branches, will be 1,221 miles long. The project is estimated to
cost US $610 million and will be completed in seven years, providing
irrigation facilities to 1.9 million acres in Punjab province.
Opposition from Sindh and the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP)
to both projects is strong because people cutting across the political
spectrum believe that Punjab wants to hog the lion's share of
Pakistan's river water. Last month, at a meeting of the political
committee, which has to make recommendations on new dams by June
2004, differences among the four provinces spilled into the open.
While Sindh, NWFP and the western province of Balochistan called
for removing mistrust, Punjab wanted everyone to get cracking.
Sindh representative Syed Qamaruzzaman Shah rejects the construction
of the Kalabagh dam, saying that Sindhis could not trust anybody
because of past experiences. "The Water Accord 1991 is not being
implemented and Sindh has not yet been provided money announced
for the rehabilitation of its irrigation system," he says. Shah
also questions why the authorities won't make public the design
of the Kalabagh dam, if it is really a storage reservoir as claimed.
Sharreff Nisar Leghari, a member of the Sindh provincial assembly,
also says no to the dam. "Sindhis are not ready to allow new dams
because of the climate of mistrust, and they demand new storage
sites in Sindh province instead of in Punjab," he says. Sardar
Muhammad Khan, a member of the Balochistan assembly, issues a
darker threat. "The federating units cannot co-exist till equality
prevails," he says. But Sindh Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination,
Nadir Akmal Khan Leghari, says that rumors regarding the starting
of construction work of the Kalabagh dam are part of the opposition's
disinformation drive. He explains that before initiating the construction
of the dam, the consensus of all the four provinces, especially
Sindh, will be sought and their apprehensions removed. Leghari
denies that Punjab is involved in siphoning water. According to
him, the construction of new reservoirs is necessary to overcome
the water shortage. He says his ministry has focused on solving
the problems faced by Sindh and in this regard, the paper work
has been completed, while talks are under way with Punjab and
Balochistan. But water expert Amjad Hussain asserts that the human
and material costs of the Kalabagh dam far outweigh its benefits
and will only ensure the penury of future generations. "For a
fraction of the money earmarked for Kalabagh, 105,000 water courses
in Pakistan could be lined and farmers trained to level farms
and manage water," Hussain maintains. He says this will reclaim
at least 10-12 MAF of water, almost double the storage capacity
of Kalabagh, and significantly reduce waterlogging and soil degradation.
Environmentalist Muhmmad Tanveer says that large dams have already
played havoc with marine life and depleted wetlands in the Indus
delta, spread over 300 square kilometers. Because of impediments
upstream, the area covered by mangrove forests has reduced from
3 million hectares to 100,000 hectares. Riverine forests on the
banks of the Indus also face extinction, warns Tanveer. Another
ecological nightmare is the gradual ingress of the sea. Some 1.2
million acres of agricultural land have so far been devoured by
the sea, threatening the livelihood of 400,000 fishermen and their
dependents residing along the 100-km Sindh coastline. Irrigation
expert and political leader Mubashir Hasan fears a political disaster
if Pakistan presses ahead with the Kalabagh dam and Greater Thal
Canal. "The project should not be launched, no matter how useful
or beneficial it is for the proponents, as other provinces don't
like it at all," he argues. In his opinion, the technical case
for building a dam is not weak. "But it would be virtual suicide
if it is not backed by political consensus. Let the provinces
have political and administrative autonomy and they will approve
not one but many dams," he says. Hasan believes there should be
more openness to remove all misgivings. He says Pakistan should
make public the design of the dam, along with the cost estimates.
But then, transparency has never been this government's strong
point.
14.02.05 : EDF en examen
pour violation des Principes directeurs de l’OCDE
dans un barrage au Laos
Le gouvernement français a accepté
la plainte contre Electricité de France
pour violation potentielle des Principes directeurs de l’OCDE
à l’intention
des entreprises multinationales, dans le barrage hydroélectrique
de Nam
Theun 2 (Laos). L’entreprise refuse en effet de prendre ses
responsabilités
sociales et environnementales au sérieux. Avant toute avancée
du projet,
les Amis de la Terre demandent que la plainte soit examinée,
et les
éventuelles recommandations intégralement suivies.
EDF est leader du consortium créé
pour ce méga-projet d’un coût total de
1,3 milliards de dollars. Le barrage noierait presque 500 km2,
déplacerait
6200 personnes et bouleverserait le mode de vie de plus de 100
000 autres,
dépendant très largement de la rivière.
« L’acceptation de cette plainte est
très importante pour les ONG mais
également pour les populations locales laotiennes, qui
ne disposent pas
dans leur pays de mécanismes pour tenir EDF responsable
des impacts du
projet et obtenir des compensations » explique Sébastien
Godinot des Amis
de la Terre. « Nous avons des preuves claires qu’EDF
est malhonnête avec
les Laotiens sur les réels impacts du projet sur le mode
de vie local et
l’environnement ».
La plainte, déposée par plusieurs
associations dont les Amis de la Terre,
met en évidence qu’EDF a :
- exagéré les impacts positifs du projet tout en
minimisant les
risques réels
- échoué à analyser et rendre publics les
impacts et coûts réels
du projet
- échoué à répondre correctement aux
inquiétudes des populations
locales.
La France a ratifié les Principes directeurs
de l’OCDE à l’intention des
entreprises multinationales, s’engageant formellement à
les faire respecter
par ses entreprises. Elle dispose d’un Point de Contact National
qui statue
sur la recevabilité des plaintes et les examine sur le
fond, avant de faire
des recommandations. Il associe plusieurs Ministères et
syndicats.
Ce n’est pas la première fois qu’EDF
fait face à des critiques sur ses
activités internationales. En 2003, l’entreprise avait
déjà été forcée de
sortir temporairement du projet de Nam Theun 2 suite aux critiques
virulentes du Parlement français sur ses investissements
désastreux à
l’étranger.
EDF a jusqu’au mois de mai 2005 pour clore
le plan de financement du
projet. Le sort du barrage dépendra ensuite de la Banque
mondiale, dont le
soutien est une condition pour que s’engagent également
la Coface, l’agence
française de crédits aux exportations, l’AFD,
et la Banque Asiatique de
Développement.
« La Banque mondiale considère ce
projet comme un nouveau modèle de
développement. On voit mal comment elle accepterait de
le financer si
l’entreprise leader du projet viole les principes de l’OCDE
sur la
responsabilité des entreprises », estime Jan Cappelle
de Proyecto Gato
(Belgique).
Pour en savoir plus
:
http://www.amisdelaterre.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=152>http://www.amisdelaterre.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=152
Contact presse Sebastien Godinot, Les Amis de
la
Terre(France) 01 48 51 18 92 / 06 68 98 83 41
11.02.05 : Spain (Ecotaxe
on water), Government backs down (Edie News)
An eco-tax on water consumption has been postponed by the Spanish
government for around four years, according to the Department
for Agriculture. Now put off until 2009, the water eco-tax was
to implement the EU water framework directive's requirements to
pass infrastructure cost on to users. The directive states that
national pricing policies must provide an "adequate incentive"
to use water efficiently. Spain's previous government played a
large part in defeating attempts to impose a stronger requirement
for full-cost water pricing. The previously proposed charge was
to be levied on a sliding scale from €0.1 per cubic meter for
some farmland areas, and €1.5 per cubic metre for new tourist
developments. Farmers responsible for over three-quarters of Spain's
water consumption joined together and fiercely opposed the plan.
Following the latest government announcement, environmental campaign
group Ecologists in Action has now accused the Spanish government
of caving in to the horticulture lobby. However, current Minister
for Agriculture, Fernando Moraleda, stated that future proposals
would minimise any impacts on farm exports and employment. "The
government has taken into account the social, environmental and
economic repercussions that any changes will have, as well as
the geographic and climatic conditions of the regions that would
be affected," the Department for Agriculture said in a statement.
"We are in firm agreement that any changes to legislation will
depend upon socio-economic implications, as well as on the agricultural
sector." By Jane Kettle
Source: edie newsroom http://www.edie.net
03.02.05 : DENMARK - STREAMS
MEANDER INTO THE FUTURE
he Copenhagen Post : The kinks are being put back
into Danish streams
Denmark's most voluminous stream, Sjkern Å, is a meanderer
again. After
being straightened and losing most of its wildlife, the stream
has been
allowed to follow a natural course - to the benefit of both wildlife
and
people.
In the 1960's, meandering streams were considered
a hindrance to
development, and the Danish state used a lot of time and effort
to turn
winding streams into straight arrow property lines.
Streams were straightened out and their
banks incorporated into the
surrounding agricultural landscape. Biologists reasoned that if
the natural
residents of the streams - fish, birds, plants - didn't like their
new
accommodations, they would find a new habitat.
The problem was that they didn't move. They
died.
‘Our streams became impoverished. The
connection between waterways and the
surrounding areas disappeared,’ said biologist Peter Bundgaard,
from
Ringkøbing County in western Denmark.
‘Animal life can't survive in water
that flows unimpeded. It wasn't that
the water in Skjern Å was polluted,’ said Bundgaard,
explaining the
disappearance of wildlife from the stream.
Starting in the 1990's, with pressure from
environmental groups, Denmark's
streams were allowed to flow along their natural courses. Farmers
protested, but politicians had been convinced. They also had money
to
compensate them.
In 2003, and a cost of almost DKK 300 million,
Skjern Å once again flowed
naturally.
Now, the area around the river has become
a 22 sq. km natural park complete
with walking and biking paths and two small ferries.
Wildlife is also on the rebound. Rare birds
have begun nesting in area's
meadows, lakes, and brooks, according to Jens Møller Andersen,
project
leader at Denmark's Environmental Research Institute (DMU). ‘That's
pretty
impressive,’ he said.
Møller expects that other forms of
wildlife will also make their way back
to the area over time.
All rights reserved CPHPOST.DK ApS
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited
by law.
Source: The Copenhagen Post via EWMN News
27.01.05 : Italy Sounds
Alarm Over Shrinking Beaches (Reuter)
ROME - Italy said on Wednesday it faced a "national
emergency" as over-development
was causing its beaches to shrink at an alarming rate, posing
a threat both to
nature and to the country's huge holiday trade.
"There is no doubt that there is a real national emergency,
a serious problem for
Italy where 60 percent of tourism is on the coast," Environment
Minister Altero
Matteoli told a conference on coastal erosion.
With an annual tourism income of more than 150 billion euros ($195
billion), or more
than 10 percent of GDP, Italy has an interest in protecting its
natural assets. But
the very attraction of the seaside may be leading to its downfall.
Construction, often of holiday homes which have
sprung up in huge numbers in recent
decades, meant a 26 percent increase in built-up coast between
1975 and 1990,
according to European Union data, and that has had a knock-on
effect on beaches.
Seawalls and harbours, land reclamation and dredging
can all have a long-term impact
on the flow of sediments which make and maintain beeches. Such
man-made impacts
cause more problems than natural erosion, according to the EU's
Eurosion report.
Europe loses 15 square km of beach a year due to erosion, the
report said.
Italy, with 7,600 km (4,700 miles) of coastline,
is one of the hardest-hit countries
and an Italian group told Wednesday's conference that 4 square
km of local beaches
had vanished "in recent years".
But while the causes of beach erosion are well known, possible
solutions are hotly
disputed. For the hosts of the Rome conference, a company called
Eurobuilding, the
answer lies in "beach nourishment", taking sand from
the seabed and dumping it onto
depleted beaches. A major project of that type converted Miami
beach in the 1970s
from a mere strip of sand to a broad sandy playground and world
famous tourist
attraction, speakers at the conference said, adding similar schemes
could boost
Italian tourism.
But Italian ecologists say such activities usually
do more harm than good and they
have protested against recent efforts to use the method to beef
up the seaside near
Rome.
"Beach nourishment is a catastrophe for the seabed,"
said Paolo Guglielmi, of the
conservation group WWF (formerly the World Wildlife Fund). Sea
life is damaged and
the newly created beach is often washed away in a few years, he
said. Instead of
such industrial-scale intervention, developers should ensure they
do not destroy
silt flows that create beaches, Guglielmi said.
"To make tourism more sustainable is more important than
beach nourishment. It means
trying to find a natural balance."
Story by Robin Pomeroy
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
26.01.05 : Brazilian Dam-Affected
families blockade roads to protest against
multinational corporations
COMMUNIQUE FROM MAB (Brazil),
Around 1500 small farmers affected by the construction of dams
started this
morning (26 of January) various blockades in different roads in
four
different points of the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande
do Sul
(whose capital is Porto Alegre, site of the World Social Forum).
The main
goal of the protest is to press for the end of dam construction
in Brazil
and to denounce at the WSF multinational corporations who own
these dams,
such as ALCOA, ALCAN, Tractebel and AES.
In the district of Goio-Em, on a state road (between
the cities
of Chapecó and Erval Grande), 600 peasants started a blockade
at 11 am. In a
federal highway, near the city of Vacaria there are 300 families
blockading
the road.
Small farmers are also blockading the entrance
of the
construction site of São Bernardo dam, which is being built
on the São
Bernardo river, a tributary of the Uruguay River. In the state
of Santa
Catarina, around 250 families are continuing their blockade of
a federal
highway at the entrance of the construction site of Campos Novos
dam (which
is being financed by the Inter-American Development Bank).
Blockades are bringing together families affected by several
dams (Itá, Machadinho, Barra Grande, Foz do Chapecó,
Pai Querê, Monjolinho,
Campos Novos, São Bernardo, Quebra-Queixo), all of them
in the Uruguay River
Basin. According to Luis Dalla Costa, coordinator of the Movement
of People
Affected by Dams (MAB), the protests will remain indefinitely
and the
farmers have already started to prepare camps at the site of the
blockades.
“Multinational corporations are turning our region into an
enormous
reservoir, expelling thousands of farmers and destroying the environment”,
he said.
To MAB, most of the energy generated by those
dams will be
destined for aluminum, cement, iron processing, and cellulose
industries
that are owned by the same national and international companies
that are
building the dams. “These electro-intensive industries use
a huge amount of
energy, create little employment and cause great damage to the
environment,
and because of this they are considered to be undesirable in various
countries of the first world”, affirms Dalla Costa.
Maximino Deparis, small farmer affected by Itá
dam, denounces
that these corporations are stealing Brazilian energy and water
resources.
“While in our houses we pay the fifth highest rate for energy
worldwide, the
electro-intensive industries receive cheap energy, subsidized
by the
government”. For the farmer, Brazil is exporting “damaged
human lives and
destroyed forests in the shape of aluminum bars”.
The protest counts also with the support of Via
Campesina
International. Via Campesina is organizing and participating in
its 3rd
International Camp at the WSF. Besides the demand for an end to
dam
construction, the peasants also claim fair compensation for all
families
affected by already constructed dams, the reduction of energy
rates paid by
residential consumers and real investments in a plan for regional
development and in energy alternatives, such as solar, wind and
biomass
energy.
source : COMMUNIQUE FROM MAB (Brazil) via International
Rivers Network
(IRN) irn-dams@lists.irn.org
21.01.05 : French draft
water law heads for parliament
The French environment ministry has asked the state council to
advise on reworked proposals for a major overhaul of national
water law before they are sent to parliament. The new water legislation
is necessary because the situation in France "is not entirely
satisfactory", as the government puts it carefully in the
introduction to the bill. The legislation has been in gestation
since the centre-right government took power in June 2002 and
quashed previous proposals that had included a controversial nitrate
tax on farmers. In a critical report published in 2003 the parliamentary
office identified nitrates and phosphates from agriculture as
one of the main sources of water pollution in France. In large
areas France doesn't meet EU water quality standards. Many lakes
and rivers show high concentrations of pesticides, phosphates
and nitrates and France has been condemned five times by the European
court of justice for not implementing EU directives on nitrates,
dangerous substances and urban wastewater treatment. Other problems
are diffuse pollution due to inadequate treatment of wastewater
from isolated dwellings, and a backlog in equipping the whole
country with approved drinking water pipes and sewage systems.
Under the government's proposals municipalities and water agencies
will get more funds and instruments to deal with these problems.
source: Environment Daily
21.01.05 : Russian Rivers
Prove Man-Made Climate Change - Report
LONDON (Reuter) - Increased flows of Russian rivers
into the Arctic Ocean
are due to man-made greenhouse gases and might indicate changing
global
rainfall patterns, according to a report by leading British climate
scientists.
The team at the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research
-- part
of the British Meteorological Office -- said computer models showed
that
the cause was human activity and predicted that things would get
worse.
"By analysing river-monitoring data from the six largest
Eurasian rivers
flowing into the Arctic Ocean, scientists have found a trend of
increased
river output during the 20th century," the report said.
"A similar trend is found in the climate simulation for the
same period by
the Hadley Centre's coupled climate model, but only when the effects
of
man-made greenhouse gases are included," it added.
Lead scientist Peili Wu said the findings were in line with predictions
that global warming would lead to changes in the water cycle.
"Our model predicts that these changes will intensify in
the coming
decades, with implications for water supply and risks of flooding,"
he added.
The report said increased flows had been observed from the Yenisey,
Lena,
Ob, Pechora, Kolyma and Severnaya Dvina rivers.
The report said the changes in the world's water cycle could also
have
implications for the circulation of the Atlantic Ocean and the
key Atlantic
Conveyor current which has been predicted to show signs of weakening.
It comes just four weeks before the Kyoto climate change treaty
enters into
force, aimed at curbing the emissions of the main greenhouse gas
carbon
dioxide.
Critics say the treaty is too late and inadequate to tackle the
looming
global climate crisis.
They note the world's worst polluter, the United States, has refused
to
sign up arguing human activities do not contribute to climate
change which
is a natural phenomenon.
Environmentalists also note the treaty is not binding on developing
nations, but they say it is the only show in town and must be
made to work.
Environmentalists say a two-degree centigrade rise in warming
is in the
pipeline -- melting icecaps and boosting sea levels -- and action
is needed
now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Story by Jeremy Lovell
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
19.01.05 : preparations
made should drought continue (if
the lack of rain
continues)
Spain's environment minister, Cristina Narbona, has announced
several
measures which will be put in place if the lack of rain continues
across
the country. Although she said the current situation was not yet
worrying,
she said she had instructed the regional water boards to make
preparations
should the drought continue. Locally the Southern Water Board
has already
announced that it is making some preparations. Local reservoirs
in Málaga
are an average 48% full, some 9 points down on last year at the
same time.
The regional government is saying there is water for a year's
supply but if
the drought continues greater use will be made of the desalination
plant in
Marbella and wells last used in 1995 would be opened up again.
Source: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/archive/n1516.html
via European
Water Management News
13.01.05 : Angler's paradise threatened
by plans to dam Norway's Vefsna river
Norway's largest electricity company, Statkraft, is set to destroy
the country's last, great, unprotected river if plans to dam the
Vefsna River are approved. The Vefsna is a paradise for anglers
with its large populations of sea trout and inland trout, and
has the second largest spawning area in Norway for the threatened
wild Atlantic salmon. Statkraft's proposed hydropower plant may
also affect local populations of the endangered Arctic fox.
http://news.panda.org/cgi-bin1/flo/y/hd4c0EObQa0E8z0CVKG0Am
Read more
http://news.panda.org/cgi-bin1/flo/y/hd4c0EObQa0E8z0CVKI0Ao
Urge Statkraft's CEO to drop the hydropower plans!
http://news.panda.org/cgi-bin1/flo/y/hd4c0EObQa0E8z0CVKI0Ao
(WWF Passport)
source and more information and photos : http://www.passport.panda.org/campaigns/campaign.cfm?uNC=36064267&uCampaignId=781WWF
international
12.01.05 : Russia to Invest
up to $500M in Hydropower Station in Tajikistan
MosNews
On Wednesday, Jan. 12, representatives of the Russian power grid
monopoly
[]Unified Energy System signed an agreement with Tajik and Iranian
officials for the construction of two stages of the Sangtudin
hydropower
stations, located in Tajikistan.
"This is a single technical project. The construction of
Sangtudin-1
hydropower station will be carried out by the UES of Russia, and
the
Sangtudin-2 hydropower station by Iran," the Tajik Energy
Minister
Nurmakhmadov reported after the three-way negotiations.
Also speaking to reporters was the chairman of the Russian power
grid
monopoly Anatoly Chubais, who said: "We are facing a task
of building
these hydropower stations over the course of four years. The scale
of this
technological complex is unique and our task is to start the preliminary
works as soon as possible. The work at Sangtudin-1 will start
right away,
tomorrow."
Speaking of the project's cost Chubais said that the final evaluation
has
not been made yet, but that the approximate cost "amounts
to $400-500
>million". The UES chairman also said that "a considerable
volume of work
has already been done [at the site] but there is need to renew
[what has
been done]".
Touching upon the project's financing, Anatoly Chubais, quoted
by RIA
Novosti, said: "Everything that has been done so far and
is present at the
construction site will be Tajikistan's contribution to the new
legal
entity. The second part is Russia's financial contribution of
$200
million, and the third part is the conversion of Tajikistan's
debt to
Russia ($50 million)."
"This is the first such project for Russia's power engineers
in the CIS
countries. No other CIS country can boast such volumes of Russian
investments," said the UES chairman, adding that Tajikistan
"pursued a
purposeful strategic line to achieve this result".
Commenting on Kazakhstan's earlier-declared intention to invest
$30
million in the construction of this hydropower station, Anatoly
Chubais
said: "We are ready to consider Kazakhstan's position if
they speak more
concretely."
The output capacity of the Sangtudin-1 hydropower station, which
is
located 120 kilometers south of the Tajik capital will amount
to
approximately 670 megawatts. The construction of this power station
was
begun in 1989 but the break-up of the Soviet Union and the civil
war which
ravaged Tajikistan afterwards put a halt to all construction work.
source : IRN International Rivers Network (irn-dams@lists.irn.org)
03.01.05 : New report
on Public Participation in Water Management in the Eastern Baltic
Sea Region
GWP CEE REPORT ON PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
A new report on Public Participation in Water Management in the
Eastern
Baltic Sea Region was prepared as part of GWP CEE Public Participation
Task
Force activities. Recent years have seen a rapid growth of interest
in
public participation in a wide range of sectors and contexts,
including
environmental management, agriculture, conservation etc. Public
participation has gained wide recognition on different levels
of governance
as a key principle for water management.
<http://www.riverdialogue.org/participation/>Read
more...
Source: River Dialogue
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