"newer
news"
01.08.07 : Drought Hits 1.2 Million in Central China
La sécheresse touche 1.2 million personnes en Chine Centrale
Zentral-China : 1.2 Millionenen Menschen sind von Dürre bedroht
BEIJING
- More than 1.2 million people in the central Chinese province
of Hunan are facing a "water crisis" after four weeks
of drought and high temperatures, which are also straining power
generating capacity, state media said on Tuesday.
Hunan
has received 25 percent less rain than normal and about half of
its 2 million water storage facilities are half-empty, while 859
reservoirs have dried up, the official Xinhua news agency said.
"The provincial capital, Changsha, has suspended power generation
at all local hydropower stations to save water for drought relief,"
it added.
Changsha
and three other cities in the province have started to seed clouds
to try and force artificial rain, the report said.
The
provincial meteorological bureau expects the heat to get worse
before there is any substantial rain, with temperatures of up
to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for most of August,
it added.
Neighbouring
Jiangxi province is also suffering from drought, even as other
parts of China have been deluged with rain and floods that have
killed around 700 people so far this year.
Storms
in northern Shanxi province have killed 20 people and destroyed
more than 4,000 homes, Xinhua added.
In one
county in the south of the province, it rained for 36 hours non-stop
starting from Saturday evening, it said.
The
rain is expected to continue into the weekend, the report said.
Source : Planet
Ark and Reuters
01.08.07 : China Floods Put Three Gorges Dam to the Test
Les crues en Chine mettent le barrage des Trois Gorges à
l'épreuve
Hochwasser in China stellt den 3 Schluchten Staudamm auf Probe
BEIJING
- Flood waters are putting China's massive Three Gorges Dam to
the test and raising water levels on its longest river, the Yangtze,
after weeks of floods nationwide killed about 700 people, state
media said on Tuesday.
Water
is being released from the reservoir behind the world's largest
hydroelectric project through giant sluice gates, raising water
levels downstream.
The central province of Hubei was on alert as the flood crest
was expected to reach or exceed levels that would trigger flood
warnings, Xinhua news agency said.
"The Three Gorges Dam has opened 18 sluices and the water
level in the reservoir will continue to rise," Xinhua quoted
a worker at the dam's operation department as saying. "The
safety of the dam will be tested."
Water is pouring into the Three Gorges reservoir, which stretches
for hundreds of kilometres through narrow gorges, at 51,000 cubic
metres per second, and could rise to 56,700 cubic metres per second
on Tuesday. The sluice gates will release water at 48,000 cubic
metres per second.
High water levels forced the closure of the ship locks at the
dam on Monday.
Hubei was preparing for flood prevention work along the 1,390-km
(860-mile) section of the river that runs from the dam to the
industrial city of Wuhan, Xinhua said.
Heavy flooding along the Yangtze in 1998 left the streets of Wuhan
waist-deep in water while about 3,000 died and 14 million were
made homeless along the river.
About 700 Chinese have died this summer from heavy rains that
triggered landslides, floods and house collapses.
Millions fled the swollen Huai River in the central province of
Henan and the eastern provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu. River levels
there have begun to retreat after a month of high water.
Downpours have killed 16 people and left 14 missing in the northwestern
province of Shaanxi in the past three days, the Ministry of Civil
Affairs said.
More than 35,000 residents were evacuated as 8,536 houses collapsed
and roads and telecommunications were cut off, the ministry said
in a statement on its Web site (www.mca.gov.cn).
"The rain is continuing and the damage is expected to increase,"
the statement said.
In parts of the flood-battered southwestern province of Guizhou,
four people were killed, five seriously injured and three went
missing in landslides and mud and rock flows triggered by rainstorms
since Sunday, Xinhua said.
The casualties were reported in Renhuai city, renowned for its
fiery Moutai drink, China's national liquor, but serious river
and street flooding also hit two dozen counties where many thousands
were stranded, Xinhua said.
Tens of thousands of passengers were stranded at Beijing airport
on Monday when almost all evening flights were cancelled because
of hours of thunderstorms and heavy rain, the Beijing News said
on Tuesday.
Sixty-nine
Chinese miners spent a second day trapped in a flooded coal pit
in the central province of Henan, but they were safe and in contact
with rescuers late on Monday, state media said.
High
temperatures in seven provinces in China's east and south meanwhile
have prolonged a drought that has persisted for nearly a month.
Source : Planet
Ark and Reuters
31.07.07 : Flooded South Sudan Declares Disaster, 12,000 Hit
Le Sud Soudan submergé par les crues est déclaré
zone sinistrée, 12 000 personnes sont touchées
Überfluteter Süd-Sudan ist zum Notstandsgebiet erklärt
worden, 12 000 Menschen sind bedroht
JUBA, Sudan
- More than 12,000 people have been affected by flooding in southern
Sudan, emerging from decades of civil war, and six of the region's
10 states have been declared a disaster zone, officials said on
Monday.
South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar declared the disaster
zone. At least two people have been reported killed by the rains
and flooding, said Lydia Poole, a UN emergency response official.
Poole said the final figure of flood victims would likely be much
higher.
"Responding is going to be extremely challenging logistically
and very expensive," said Poole, adding at least 1,000 people
were stranded in one hard-to-reach area.
In northern Sudan, the central government said 59 people had been
killed and more than 100 injured in flash floods, which have spread
to most parts of the country.
UN stockpiled resources in poorly accessible areas are dwindling
and new appeals for help are being written.
Despite a lack of information from the vast reaches of the swampy
south, dotted with villages, the United Nations and the southern
government are braced for more flooding.
The Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) has allocated US$1 million
to the worst two affected states said James Kueth, relief director
for the GOSS humanitarian wing.
Kueth, who said most of those affected had been displaced, said
the central Khartoum government had contributed blankets and plastic
sheeting to the two worst affected states.
UN analysts say new road construction following the signing of
a north-south peace deal in January 2005 has changed drainage
patterns and is partly responsible for changed water movement.
Story by Skye
Wheeler
Source :
Planet
Ark and Reuters
30.07.07 : Barrage du Gabas: un ouvrage contesté
Gabas Dam : a contested work
Frankreich : Gabas Staudamm ist umstritten
Malgré
tous ses efforts, l’association Gabas nature n’a pu
empêcher la construction d’un barrage qui a été
inauguré le 27 juillet. Une décision de justice
en sa faveur datant du mois de mars lui donne toutefois de l’espoir
si de nouveaux projets de barrage étaient amenés
à se concrétiser.
245
hectares de milieux naturels inondés pour stocker 20 millions
de mètres cubes d’eau. La construction du barrage
du Gabas, situé à cheval sur les départements
des Hautes-Pyrénées et des Pyrénées-Atlantiques,
a été vivement critiquée par des associations
de défense de l’environnement. «Cette retenue
est d’abord faite pour étendre de 3.000 hectares les
surfaces irriguées sur le bassin de l’Adour, déjà
passablement envahi par le maïs. Et ensuite pour remettre
de l’eau dans l’Adour, asséché par ces
mêmes cultures irriguées et le développement
asphyxiant de la monoculture du maïs dans le Sud-Ouest. Le
mono-usage, en l’occurrence l’irrigation, ne doit plus
confisquer les rivières!», a déclaré
Martin Arnould, chargé du programme «Rivières
vivantes» au WWF.
En 1999,
l’association Gabas nature a été créée
pour s’opposer au projet. «Nous avons contesté
trois points: la déclaration d’utilité publique,
le projet au titre de la loi sur l’eau de 1992, et l’attribution
de la maîtrise d’ouvrage qui s’est faite ‘de
gré à gré’», explique Jacques
Mauhourat, membre de l’association. Les deux premiers recours
ont été rejetés par la justice, mais Gabas
nature a obtenu gain de cause pour le troisième au mois
de mars, devant la cour administrative d’appel de Bordeaux.
Elle
reprochait à l’Institution Adour, établissement
public territorial de bassin qui s’occupe entre autres de
la gestion et de l'augmentation de la ressource en eau, d’avoir
approuvé un avenant à la convention de concession
d'aménagement conclue en décembre 1995 avec la Compagnie
d'aménagement des Coteaux de Gascogne (CACG) et la Compagnie
d’aménagement rural d’Aquitaine. En dépit
de la décision de justice favorable à Gabas nature,
Max Roussel, directeur technique de l’Institution Adour indique:
«Le projet date des années 1990, alors que les nouveaux
textes obligeant à un appel d’offre n’existaient
pas. Maintenant, on appliquera forcément la procédure
de mise en concurrence». Jacques Mauhourat estime lui que
«le barrage est illégal», tout en précisant
que la décision de la cour administrative ne pouvait donner
lieu à un arrêt du projet. Pour Gabas nature, le
combat contre ce barrage est certes perdu, mais elle compte utiliser
la décision contre les futurs barrages.
Alors
que l’Institution Adour souligne le fait que le lac artificiel
attire de nombreux oiseaux, Gabas nature dénonce l’impact
environnemental du barrage, en particulier les «vidanges»
qui affectent les écrevisses à pattes blanches.
«Le directeur de l’eau du ministère chargé
de l’environnement, même s'il a été retenu
à Paris, devait venir inaugurer le barrage. On est donc
dans une logique de stockage de l’eau. Mais pourquoi a-t-on
besoin de tant de retenues?», s’interroge Jacques Mauhourat.
«On
construira des barrages tant que les besoins ne seront pas satisfaits»,
affirme quant à lui Max Roussel. «Les agriculteurs
utilisent l’eau dont ils ont besoin, et cela leur coûte
cher. Il y a des quotas d’utilisation et des pénalités
financières très dissuasives (11 centimes par mètre
cube d’eau contre 2,5 centimes habituellement) s’ils
ne sont pas respectés».
Source : Le
Journal de l'Environnement, 30.07.2007
Auteure : Agnès Ginestet
27.07.07 : Bank loan to improve water supplies in Bosnia-Herzegovina
Un prêt bancaire pour améliorer l'alimentation en
eau en Bosnie Herzégovine
Bankdarlehen zur Verbesserung der Wasserversorgung in Bosnia-Herzegovina
A European
development bank is lending millions to a city in Bosnia-Herzegovina
to help it build a new sewerage network and improve water supplies.
The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
has pledged €7 million (£4.7 million) to Bijeljina
in the north eastern Republika Srpska for the project to replace
dilapidated asbestos cement water pipes.
City mayor Mico Micic said: "This capital investment will
solve crucial issues of environmental protection, including protection
of long-term potable water resources.
"We are delighted to work on this project together with a
reputable international financial institution such as the EBRD
and I hope that this would pave the way for further cooperation
in the future."
A further €4.5 million (£3 million) will be provided
by the Bijeljina city authorities.
The
work is aimed at cutting water pollution and health hazards in
the underground water system, which is the only drinking water
source for around 65,000 people.
The
project also aims to create 24-hours supply with coverage up from
70 to 90% coverage in the city.
Other
modernisation work will include replacing rundown water mains
to cut operating costs and boost efficiency while there are also
plans for an upgraded water meter scheme.
Building
the sewerage system is the biggest project in the area and EBRD's
first municipal infrastructure project in the country.
Bank
president Jean Lemierre described it as the fruit of close cooperation
with the Bosnian government.
He said:
"The construction of the new Bijeljina waste water network
has clear implications for health in the region.
"In
the absence of this project the drinking water supply would be
at risk from groundwater pollution and environmental conditions
in the town of Bijeljina could continue to deteriorate."
The
EBRD has so far invested €594 million in 56 projects in the
country, more than two thirds of which are in the public sector.
Story by David
Gibbs
Source : Edie
Newsroom
27.07.07 : Britain Faces More Rain as Floods Death Toll Rises
La Grande Bretagne fait face à davantage de précipitations
alors que le bilan des morts augmente
Grossbrittanien stellt sich auf verstärkte Regenfälle
ein - Anzahl Opfer steigt
LONDON
- Hundreds of thousands of Britons hit by the worst flooding in
60 years faced further misery on Thursday as forecasters predicted
more rain in the areas most badly affected.
Two
people were found dead a cellar in the west of England, raising
to at least eight the number of people to have died as a result
of record rainfall that has washed out many summer holidays.
The pair were believed to have been overcome by fumes from a petrol-powered
pump as they tried to remove water from the basement of a rugby
club, police said.
Up to 350,000 people in central parts of the country remain without
running water after the floods damaged power sub-stations and
knocked out sewage systems.
In the past two months, Britain has experienced the highest rainfall
since records began in 1766, leading rivers to burst their banks
and forcing up to 10,000 people from their homes.
Insurers have said the combined cost of the June and July floods
could top 3 billion pounds ($6 bln). There is also expected to
be a heavy impact on agriculture, with farmers warning that any
more rain could affect harvests.
The army is distributing 3 million bottles of water a day to people
who no longer have access to drinking water.
The deaths follow the disappearance of a teenager from a severely
flooded town last Friday and at least six deaths from widespread
flooding across northern England in mid-June.
While floodwaters may have peaked and were expected to start receding
on Thursday, the Met Office, the country's weather forecasting
agency, issued a warning for severe rainfall in almost exactly
the area already affected.
It said up to 30 mm of rain could fall in some areas of Wales
and western England in the coming hours.
HEALTH FEARS
Health experts warned people, especially children, to avoid flood
water saying it might contain raw sewage hosting dangerous viruses
and bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella.
"The worst time is going to be when the water recedes,"
microbiologist Dr Ken Flint told the Daily Mirror. "People
will need to use the highest hygiene precautions to avoid sickness."
Other scientists played down the fears.
"Despite the dire warnings about outbreaks of disease following
flooding, they rarely happen," said Dr Keith Jones, an environmental
microbiologist from Lancaster University.
The Health Protection Agency said the chances of contracting an
illness were low but said there was a small risk of contracting
a stomach bug from drinking contaminated water.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited some of the worst affected
areas of the country on Wednesday and promised to increase financial
aid to handle the fall out.
Milk shortages hit some areas with flooded roads making collections
from dairy farms impossible. The rain brought harvesting of barley
and rapeseed to a halt in many regions.
One power substation in Oxford was closed as a precaution, after
it was partially flooded at the weekend, but customers have not
been cut off because supplies were re-routed. Sandbags were piled
up to protect other substations in the area.
Economists say the floods will trim back economic growth and are
likely to trigger a short-term spike in food prices, but the overall
economy is likely to weather the storm in the long run.
In a stark reference to how 21st century weather had changed,
Finance Minister Alistair Darling said: "Climate change is
not a passing trend.
"It is a reality we must factor into everything we do. If
we do not, threats to our everyday life -- like the floods this
week -- risk becoming common."
Source :
Planet
Ark and Reuters
Story by Luke Baker
03.07.07 : La Chine renforce ses normes sur l’eau
China strenghtens its standards for water
China stärkt seine Normen für Wasser
Limites de
concentration en microbes, en matière organique ou en désinfectants:
71 nouvelles normes sont en vigueur dans le domaine de l’eau
potable depuis le 1er juillet en Chine. Selon Reuters, lors d’une
conférence de presse le 29 juin, le vice-secrétaire
du département de la réglementation du ministère
chargé de la santé, Zhang Chengyu, a déclaré:
«A partir de cette date, les habitants des zones urbaines
et rurales auront les mêmes normes d’hygiène
sur l’eau». Il a ajouté que la Chine va bientôt
instaurer un réseau national d’inspection de la qualité
de l’eau, sachant qu’un dispositif pilote a déjà
été lancé dans 7 provinces au mois de mai.
Cette décision
intervient après la récente explosion d’algues
toxiques dans le lac Taihu, à l’est du pays, qui a
privé 2,3 millions de personnes d’approvisionnement
en eau potable.
Source :
le
Journal de l'Environnement, 03.07.2007
Auteure : Agnès Ginestet
26.06.07 : Procès Erika : Conclusion des audiences :
« La parole est libre » ( Robin des Bois)
Erika Prozess : Konklusion der Anhörungen : "Worte sind
frei " ( Robin Wood)
Erika's lawsuit : hearings conclusions : "Words are
free" (Robin Wood)
Procès
Erika, 26 juin 2007
L'association Robin des Bois a suivi toutes les audiences du procès
Erika. L'intégralité des comptes-rendus hebdomadaires
est disponible depuis la page internet consacrée au procès
à l'adresse:
<http://www.robindesbois.org/proces_erika.html>http://www.robindesbois.org/proces_erika.html
Le jugement du recours de RINA, société de classification
de l'Erika, est attendu pour le 4 juillet 2007. Ce recours vise
à lui accorder l’immunité judiciaire dont il
pourrait être bénéficiaire par extension de
celle accordée à l’Etat de Malte, dont l’administration
a délégué à RINA la quasi-totalité
de ses pouvoirs de classification et de certification des navires.
Le délibéré du procès Erika est attendu
pour le 16 janvier 2008.
Conclusion
des audiences
« La parole est libre » a régulièrement
rappelé le Président du Tribunal Correctionnel.
Mais peu de paroles étaient au final libérées
dans le long cours du procès. La voix de la Bretagne, des
autres régions sinistrées par l’Erika et des
communes littorales était spécialement muselée
au point de nuire à l’ensemble des revendications
des parties civiles et aux avocats qu’elles ont désignés;
à l'exception de Vigipol qui a "dépassé
ce stade", les plaignantes ont tenté le grand écart
: minimiser l’impact écologique, sanitaire et esthétique
de la marée noire « 2 ans après tout
était réparé » et maximiser les
dommages financiers bien au-delà des déficits touristiques
des années 2000-2001.
Nous retiendrons de quelques plaidoiries que le plus fort prix
à payer relève du dommage moral, de la douleur et
de la perte de confiance le mot angoisse n’a pas été
prononcé suscitées par la dégradation
brutale et surgie de l’extérieur du milieu de vie
et de ses ressources alimentaires. Et encore ce pretium doloris
et les conséquences de ce traumatisme n’ont pas été
méticuleusement explorés et projetés dans
l’avenir. L’un des enseignements de l’EVOS (Exxon
Valdez Oil Spill) en 1989 aux Etats-Unis est que les communautés
littorales consultées plusieurs années après
par des psychologues révèlent que la marée
noire est vécue comme une effraction physique et psychologique
irréversible et obsessionnelle.
L’autre constante du procès a été un
certain acharnement envers Total accusé de tous les maux,
de toutes les ingratitudes et de toutes les turpitudes du monde,
ce qui a permis à Maître Soulez-Larivière
de présenter son client comme victime d’un procès
en sorcellerie et d’un gang de pickpockets. Total a, à
notre sens, commis ses négligences et consolidé
celles des autres dans la gestion de l’Erika mais il nous
est toujours apparu prioritaire depuis 1999 d’exposer et
de rechercher aussi les responsabilités des autres acteurs
et des sociétés de classification qui délivrent
et renouvellent sur l’océan mondial les certificats
de navigation de 100.000 navires marchands. Maître Huglo,
quelques jours après la ruine de l’Erika, l’avait
pressenti : « le procès devra être celui des
sociétés de classification ».
Ce procès a en outre été l’occasion
d’exposer la précarité et l’insuffisance
des moyens de prévention des naufrages ; la présence
en tant que prévenus de quelques préposés
fusibles, torpillés dans leur carrière et sans doute
leur vie personnelle, a dégagé une amertume supplémentaire.
L’absence au procès de quelques hauts responsables
politiques du déploiement, de la mobilisation et de la
disponibilité de moyens de prévention des sinistres
en mer en 1999 n’en a paru que plus gênante.
Robin des Bois s’est constitué partie civile, s’est
défendu par ses propres moyens, sans la représentation
d’avocats. Nous ne croyons pas en l’argument de Total
selon lequel notre constitution de partie civile faite en 2007
est susceptible d’être anéantie par des délais
de prescriptions. Les faits de pollution qui sont reprochés
aux prévenus et pour lesquels certains d’entre eux
seront éventuellement condamnés ne se sont pas arrêtés
en janvier 2000. Ils se sont au contraire poursuivis, propagés,
diffusés dans la chaîne alimentaire marine et c’est
ce qui fonde la demande principale de Robin des Bois, à
savoir que les prévenus soient solidairement condamnés
à financer à hauteur de 50 millions d’euros
des expertises écologiques post Erika en vue de prolonger
des rapports commandés par le Ministère de l’Environnement,
cantonnés à quelques thèmes sectoriels, commencés
en 2001 et finalisés en 2003. Des planctons aux oiseaux,
des sardines aux loutres de mer, de la laisse de mer aux plantes
pionnières, la biodiversité marine et les ressources
halieutiques ont besoin d’être regardées beaucoup
plus longtemps après un épandage de produits toxiques
et il nous semble positif d’impliquer le monde du «
shipping » dans la nécessaire poursuite et pourquoi
pas la conduite de l’élargissement des recherches
scientifiques.
Source :
Robin des Bois
association de protection de l'Homme et de l'environnement
14, rue de l'Atlas 75019 Paris - France
Tel: 01 48 04 09 36 / Fax: 01 48 04 56 41
<http://www.robindesbois.org>
26.06.07 : Une mystérieuse pollution souille le Rhône
(Le Monde)
Misteriöse Verschmutzung der Rhone
A strange pollution affects the Rhône River
Le Rhône
est-il totalement pollué par les polychlorobiphényles
? Les dernières analyses effectuées en Ardèche
et dans la Drôme montrent que la contamination à
ces PCB - souvent connus sous le nom commercial de pyralène
-, interdits en France depuis 1987, car potentiellement cancérigènes,
s'étend bien au-delà de Lyon, où la pollution
avait été découverte en 2005. Les préfectures
de l'Ardèche et de la Drôme, après celles
du Rhône, de l'Isère et de l'Ain, viennent de prendre
un arrêté d'interdiction de consommer du poisson
du fleuve et de ses canaux de dérivation.
Le périmètre
s'étend désormais sur 200 kilomètres et pourrait
encore être élargi : le Vaucluse, le Gard et les
Bouches-du-Rhône attendent les conclusions d'analyses avant
de prendre d'éventuelles mesures de protection similaires.
Dans la Drôme, les résultats des prélèvements
réalisés sur six espèces de poissons ont
montré une contamination allant jusqu'à 59 picogrammes/gramme
(pg/g), alors que l'Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS)
a fixé à 8 pg/g la concentration admissible en dioxine
et PCB dans les poissons destinés à la consommation
humaine. Le poisson le plus contaminé présentait
une dose 40 fois supérieure à la dose acceptable
quotidiennement.
L'origine
de cette pollution n'a pas encore été formellement
éclaircie. Mais, d'après les premiers éléments
d'enquête du Cemagref (Institut de recherche pour l'ingénierie
de l'agriculture et de l'environnement), à qui la préfecture
du Rhône a confié une étude, elle serait ancienne
- antérieure à 1987 - et due à plusieurs
sources. Parmi les sources statiques, le Cemagref a localisé
avec certitude l'usine Tredi, située près de Saint-Vulbas,
dans l'Ain. Spécialisée dans le traitement des déchets
spéciaux, notamment des transformateurs contenant des PCB,
elle rejetait dans les années 1980 une partie des résidus
de son activité dans le Rhône. Mais cette entreprise
fait désormais l'objet d'un suivi régulier et d'autorisation
préfectorale.
"Tredi
rejette désormais des PCB à des niveaux inférieurs
aux seuils tolérés par l'OMS", assure Alain
Espinasse, le directeur adjoint du secrétariat général
aux affaires régionales de la préfecture de Rhône-Alpes.
Les enquêteurs n'ont pas identifié d'autres sources
industrielles, mais évoquent l'existence d'une pollution
plus "sauvage", le fleuve ayant servi de dépotoir,
pendant des années, aux habitants peu soucieux de l'environnement,
qui y jetaient par exemple leurs batteries usagées. Parmi
les autres facteurs de pollution possibles sont mentionnés
les remblais ayant servi de comblement des lônes, les bras
morts du Rhône.
Pour
le Cemagref, la persistance de la pollution s'expliquerait par
le fait que les PCB, très peu solubles, se seraient accumulés
dans les sédiments du fleuve, contaminant durablement les
poissons. Les chercheurs ne parviennent cependant pas à
comprendre le pic actuel de contamination, vingt ans après
l'interdiction des PCB, alors qu'ils avaient enregistré
une stabilisation des niveaux de ces produits chez les poissons
il y a quelques années. "Une des explications pourrait
être la modification des débits du fleuve, qui aurait
fait remonter en surface des couches sédimentaires polluées
aux PCB", explique Alain Espinasse.
Face
à cette pollution majeure du Rhône, la préfecture
de Rhône-Alpes a décidé de lancer à
l'automne une étude approfondie, associant différents
partenaires, les services sanitaires, vétérinaires,
industriels, environnementaux de l'Etat, mais aussi les associations
comme la Frapna (fédération Rhône-Alpes de
protection de la nature) et les collectivités territoriales,
qui dans ce dossier de pollution ont porté plainte contre
X.
La préfecture
de Rhône-Alpes veut se montrer rassurante à l'égard
des populations et précise que les différents arrêtés
pris n'interdisent pas la baignade, le simple contact avec l'eau
polluée par les PCB n'étant pas considéré
comme dangereux pour l'homme.
La contamination
se fait par ingestion d'animaux ou de produits d'origine animale
contaminés. Les autorités préfectorales font
valoir que la "toxicité aiguë des PCB est faible
pour l'homme et qu'une exposition accidentelle de courte durée
n'a pas de conséquence grave". Les mêmes sources
précisent toutefois qu'une exposition aiguë à
forte dose est associée à des irritations de la
peau et plus rarement des infections hépatiques, neurologiques,
des bronchites chroniques, des maux de tête et vertiges
et parfois de l'impuissance. Des troubles qui peuvent être
irréversibles et entraîner des cancers.
Des
analyses devraient être prochainement étendues à
de nouvelles espèces, comme les anguilles, et à
de nouveaux polluants, comme le mercure.
Source :
Le Monde, Article paru dans l'édition du 27.06.07
Reportage : Sophie Landrin Lyon, correspondante régionale
10.06.07
: Croatia : Euronatur critisises ‘Croatian Suez’
Kroatien : Euroatur kritisiert " Kroatischen Suez"
Croatie : Euronature critique le "Suez croate"
Euronatur
last week critisised the Croatian plans to construct a canal between
the Danube and Sava rivers. Plans to construct this connection
originally date back to the 18th century, but were recently revived
by the Croatian government. Euronatur critisised the plans for
not taking into account the many challenges involved: the irrigation
and drainage function, solutions for the excavated earth, etc.
more information...
(in German) <http://www.euronatur.org/>
Source : Euronatur
04.06.07 : Croatia : World Bank supports Croatia inland
water project
Kroatien : Weltbank unterstützt kroatisches Projekt zur Flusskanalisierung
Crotatie : la Banque mondiale soutient le projet croate concernant
les eaux intérieures
On the 30th
of May, the Worldbank decided to support an inland waters project
in Croatia. The objective of the project is to benefit the local
population by providing safe drinking water and collection and
treatment of wastewater. Project activities will also ensure the
safety of the population and property through the implementation
of adequate flood protection measures.
Learn more...
<http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21353040~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html>
Source: Worldbank
04.06.2007 : Union européenne : une majorité
de zones de baignade aux normes
European Union : most of the bathing places fulfil the standards
EU : Badezonen entsprechen mehrheitlich den Normen
Le rapport
annuel de la Commission européenne sur ce thème
l’affirme: en 2006, «le pourcentage des eaux de baignades
présentant des valeurs conformes aux valeurs impératives
est de 96% pour les zones côtières et de 89% pour
les sites aménagés dans les rivières et les
lacs». «Il est encourageant de constater que le taux
d'observation des normes dans les zones de baignade en eaux intérieures
s'est amélioré en 2006, après les résultats
décevants enregistrés en 2005. Je souhaite que cette
tendance à l'amélioration se poursuive et que les
zones de baignade en eaux intérieures atteignent des niveaux
semblables à ceux des zones côtières»,
a déclaré Stavros Dimas, commissaire européen
chargé de l’environnement. «Même si ces
résultats sont encourageants, je reste préoccupé
par le nombre de sites de baignade radiés des listes. Le
retrait des sites pollués des listes officielles ne peut
en aucun cas constituer une solution. Les Etats membres doivent
au contraire mettre sur pied des programmes de dépollution
de ces sites» a-t-il cependant ajouté.
D’après
le communiqué de la Commission daté du 31 mai, après
l’élargissement de l’Union européenne
en 2004, le taux d’observation des valeurs impératives
s’élève à 94,9% pour les eaux côtières
et à 81,2% pour les zones de baignade en eaux intérieures
dans les nouveaux Etats membres, contre 96,2% et 90% dans les
anciens Etats membres de l’Union européenne des 15.
Auteure :
Agnès Ginestet
Source : le Journal
de l'Environnement du 04.06.07 http://www.journaldelenvironnement.net/fr/document/detail.asp?id=3680&idThema=2&idSousThema=11&type=JDE&ctx=259
29.05.07 : Turkey: Protest against Global Dams Conference
Türkei : Protest gegen globale Stadudammkonferenz
Turquie : Manifestation contre la Conférence Mondiale
sur les Barrages
Media Release
- Antalya, Turkey, May 29, 2007
- Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive - Fools of Munzur - Association
for Conservation of Munzur Valley and Natural Life - Yusufeli
Culture Association WEED International Rivers Network
The gap between
what the International Hydropower Association says and what it
does is being highlighted by dam threatened people who are protesting
at the organization’s annual world congress in Antalya, Turkey.
A huge banner declaring “No development, but destruction
by many dams in Turkey” greets IHA members outside the convention
centre.
“Members
of the International Hydropower Association, such as the Austrian
company VA Tech (Andritz), pretend here in Antalya that they care
about people and the environment,” said Diren Özkan,
speaker of the Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive. “But in
reality, they are building dams in Turkey that will destroy our
cultural heritage and displace tens of thousands of people.”
Activists
from the Turkish Yusufeli Culture Association, the Association
for Conservation of Munzur Valley, Fools of Munzur and the Initiative
to Keep Hasankeyf have written to the president of the International
Hydropower Association, Dr. Dogan Altinbilek, a Turkish national,
to demand VA Tech (Andritz), a member of the IHA, to withdraw
from the Ilisu project since it violates the IHA’s very own
sustainability guidelines. If built, the Ilisu Dam project would
destroy Hasankeyf, a 9000-year-old city, and displace some 50,000
people from their homes.
In Antalya,
the International Hydropower Association will deliberate on issues
such as good practice of hydropower development, hydropower and
climate change and the social and environmental performance of
large dams. “The International Hydropower Association jeopardizes
its good name and its credibility by making big public statements
about sustainability while supporting their members in building
large dams that destroy rivers, forests, fields, archaeological
sites and people’s homes,” said Mehmet Bidav from the
Association for Conservation of Munzur Valley.
“It
is not enough just to talk about best practices for the hydropower
industry,” said Ann Kathrin Schneider of International Rivers
Network. “The implementation of standards and the reality
on the ground matters. We need less talk and more action. Affected
people and the environment need to be put centre stage in all
decisions related to the construction of dams. This is the only
way to avoid the dam disasters of the past and the present.”
Contacts at
the International Hydropower Conference in Antalya
* Diren
Özkan, Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive, (mobile) + 0090-5358966777
* Ann-Kathrin Schneider, International Rivers Network, (mobile)
+49 163 475 1284, akschneider@irn.org
29.05.07 Italy : Glaciers in the Aosta Valley disappearing fast
Italien : Gletscher im Val Aosta schmelzen schnell
Italie : les glaciers de la Vallée d'Aoste disparaissent
rapidement
Glaciers in
the Italian Alps of Aosta Province will soon vanish unless the
trend towards rising temperatures is halted, warned Alberto Cerise
of the Valle d'Aosta Regional Council. Permafrost is melting,
baring mountain slopes to wind erosion and causing landslides.
Within the space of a year, the Rutor Glacier at La Thuile lost
14 million cubic meters of water and over a seven-year period,
the thickness of Grand Etret Glacier in Valsavarenche decreased
by 7.9 m, just two examples of a disturbing trend.
Read more...
<http://www.lastampa.it/_web/cmstp/tmplrubriche/ambiente/grubrica.asp?ID_blog=51&ID_articolo=240&ID_sezione=76&sezione=Ambiente>
Source: SAHRA Water News Watch
16.05.07 : Huge Yangtze Dam Destroying Delta (Live Science)
3 Schluchten Damm zerstört Yangze Delta
Le barrage des Trois Gorges détruit le delta du Yangtzé
China's Yangtze
River Delta, home to more than 18 million people and a fertile
farming area, might be disappearing soon as the Three Gorges Dam
siphons off essential sediment upstream, scientists warn.
Running from its source in Tibet eastwards across China and emptying
into the East China Sea through the delta at Shanghai, the Yangtze
River is the longest river in Asia and third longest in the world.
The Three Gorges Dam was completed earlier this decade to provide
flood control and hydroelectric power. At five times the size
of the Hoover Dam, it is the largest hydroelectric dam in the
world.
Since the creation of the dam, sediment that would usually flow
along with the river and be deposited in the delta is being blocked.
A new study, detailed in the May 17 issue of the journal Geophysical
Research Letters, found that the dam had retained 151 million
tons of sediment since it began operation, reducing the amount
of sediment flowing into the delta by about 31 percent.
As a result, erosion has been a major problem downstream, because
there is no incoming sediment to replace what the waters wash
away. The loss of sediment decreases the nutrients needed for
agriculture and animals that thrive in the area, and diminishes
the land on which millions of Chinese people live.
Reference:
Yang, S. L., J. Zhang, and X. J. Xu (2007), Influence of the Three
Gorges Dam on downstream delivery of sediment and its environmental
implications, Yangtze River, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L10401,
doi:10.1029/2007GL029472.
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2007/2007GL029472.shtml
(Abstract)
source : By
Andrea Thompson, LiveScience Staff Writer
http://www.livescience.com/environment/070516_yangtze_sediment.html
12.05.07 :Floods and drought: Lloyd’s assesses climate
change
Hochwasser und Dürre ! Lloyd's Studie zum Klimawechsel
Crues et sécheresses : Lloyd's étudie les changements
climatiques
Lloyd’s
of London, the world’s oldest insurer, offered a gloomy forecast
of floods, droughts and disastrous storms over the next 50 years
in a recently published report on impending climate changes. In
a report on catastrophe trends Lloyd’s is disseminating to
the insurance industry, a bevy of British climate experts, including
Sir David King, chief scientist to the British government, warn
of increased flooding in coastal areas and a rapid rise in sea
level as ice caps melt in Greenland and Antarctica.
Source: Bluegold
Read more... <http://www.questjournalists.com/index.php/site/floods_and_drought_lloyds_assesses_climate_change/>
09.05.07 : Four Percent of Global Warming Due to Dams, Says
New Research (IRN)
Vier prozent der Klimaerwärmung von Grossstaudämme versursacht
( IRN)
4% du réchauffement global serait dû aux barrages,
indique News Research (IRN)
Large dams
may be one of the single most important contributors to global
warming, releasing 104 million metric tonnes of methane each year.
This estimate was recently published in a peer-reviewed journal
by Ivan Lima and colleagues from Brazil's National Institute for
Space Research (INPE).
"There
is now more than enough evidence to show that large dams are a
major source of climate-changing pollution," says Patrick
McCully, Executive Director of International Rivers Network. "Climate
policy makers must address this issue."*
Lima's
calculations imply that the world's 52,000 large dams contribute
more than 4% of the total warming impact of human activities.
They also imply that dam reservoirs are the largest single source
of human-caused methane emissions, contributing around a quarter
of these emissions.
Methane
is a more potent heat-trapping gas than carbon dioxide, although
it does not last as long in the atmosphere. One year's large dam
methane emissions, as estimated by Lima, have a global warming
impact over 20 years equivalent to that of 7.5 billion tonnes
of carbon dioxide higher than annual carbon dioxide emissions
from fossil fuel burning in the US.
Lima
and his co-authors propose capturing methane in reservoirs and
using it to fuel power plants. Lima says, "If we can generate
electricity from the huge amounts of methane produced by existing
tropical dams we can avoid the need to build new dams with their
associated human and environmental costs."
"It
is unfortunate that Lima's study has come too late to be included
in the recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change," says Patrick McCully. "Partly because of the
influence of the hydro industry and its government backers, climate
policy-makers have largely overlooked the importance of dam-generated
methane. The IPCC urgently needs to address this issue."
Methane
is produced by the rotting of organic material in reservoirs.
The massive amounts of methane produced by hydropower reservoirs
in the tropics mean that these dams can have a much higher warming
impact than even the dirtiest fossil fuel plants generating similar
quantities of electricity.
This
is only the second estimate published in the scientific literature
of global greenhouse gas emissions from dams. The previous estimate,
published in 2000, which included only emissions from reservoir
surfaces, estimated global releases at 70 million tonnes of methane
and a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Lima's
calculations take account of emissions from turbines and spillways
and the rivers immediately downstream of dams, in addition to
reservoir surfaces. Lima's paper does not address dam emissions
of carbon dioxide or another greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide.
Lima
has also produced the first published estimates of methane emissions
from dams at the national level in Brazil, China and India. These
estimates show dams in Brazil and India are responsible for a
fifth of these countries' total global warming impact. Dams in
China are estimated to produce 1% of the country's climate pollution,
although for methodological reasons this is likely an underestimate.
Source :
International Rivers
Network, Press Release May 9, 2007
Contacts:
• Patrick McCully, Executive Director, IRN, Berkeley, California:
+1 510 213 1441 (mobile) +1 510 848 1155 (office), patrick@irn.org
• Ivan Lima, National Institute for Space Research, Brazil:
+ 55 67 3233-2430 ext. 241 (office) ivan@dsr.inpe.br
• Tim Kingston, Communications Manager, IRN, Berkeley, California:
+1 510 290 7170 (mobile) +1 510 848 1155 (office), tim@irn.org
More information:
• Ivan B.T. Lima et al. (2007) "Methane Emissions from
Large Dams as Renewable Energy Resources: A Developing Nation
Perspective," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global
Change, published on-line March 2007. http://tinyurl.com/2bzawj
• "FAQ: Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Dams." http://www.irn.org/pdf/greenhouse/GlobalResGHGsFAQ.pdf
• IRN web pages on reservoir emissions. http://www.irn.org/programs/greenhouse/index.php?id=resemissions.html
08.05.07 : China plans to divert Brahmaputra waters (The Daily
Star)
China plant Umleitung des Brahmaputra (The Daily Star)
La Chine prévoit de détourner les eaux du Brahmapoutre
(The Daily Star)
China plans
to construct a dam at Yarlung Tsangpo point on the Brahmaputra
River in Tibet province to divert 200 billion cubic metres of
water annually to the Yellow River threatening a major ecological
disaster in Bangladesh within the next few years.
Experts and environmentalists fear Bangladesh would turn into
a desert in the near future as water flow of Brahmaputra-Jamuna
river, which is about 60 per cent of the total water flow, will
fall drastically if China builds the dam on the Brahmaputra.
According to morphologist Maminul Haque Sarker of Centre for Environmental
and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), one-third water flow
of Brahmaputra-Jamuna would decline if the project is implemented.
"Around 15 to 20 small and medium rivers including Dhaleshwari,
Shitalakkha and Balu will die," he cautioned.
"Salinity normally increases if water flow in the rivers
declines. Less flow of water will result in alarming increase
of salinity in river water, badly affecting the world heritage
site Sundarbans as well as Bhola, Barisal, Khulna and Chandpur,
and even different places of Sylhet and Rajshahi divisions,"
Sarker said adding saline water will also affect the fisheries
and trees of the areas.
Although Chinese government claimed that the project is still
at a conceptual stage, confidential sources confirmed that work
of the project has already begun with the target to finish it
in next five to seven years.
Mohammad Inamul Haque, former director general of Bangladesh Haor
& Wetlands Development Board (BHWDB), said Yarlung-Tsangpo
project is part of China's long-term river interlinking project
to divert water from south to north.
China wants to build the dam as water flow of Yellow River declined
due to huge water demand of the people of both sides of the river,
said renowned engineer Taqsem A Khan.
"Although China denies launching of the project work, we
believe they will go ahead with its plan to divert water from
south to north for irrigation in the vast stretches of land,"
he said.
However, Bangladesh is yet to take any diplomatic initiative regarding
the project. Even water ministry officials have no idea about
the Chinese dam project.
India has already expressed concern, fearing similar effects in
Assam and Arunachal provinces.
Experts suggested that Bangladesh create pressure on China as
per a United Nations convention on Law of Non-Navigation Uses
of International Watercourses, which disallows countries from
barring natural flow of water of any international river.
As Brahmaputra is an international river, China cannot build dams
blocking water flow without prior permissions of Bangladesh and
India, they said.
"We should raise voices against the project at home and abroad
immediately," said the BHWDB director general.
Barrister Raihan Khalid, representative of Bangladesh Environmental
Lawyers Association (Bela), said although Bangladesh is yet to
ratify the UN convention it can exert pressure on China.
A group of retired Chinese officials first wrote about the idea
to divert Brahmaputra water in a book titled 'Tibet's Water will
Save China' last year.
Bangladesh is already facing water crisis in the major rivers
due to India's Farakka barrage on the Padma. Some 17 rivers have
already died and seven more are awaiting the same fate due to
the barrage.
India is also planning to construct Tipaimukh dam on the upstream
of Meghna River and initiate a river interlinking project that
threatens to worsen the water crisis in Bangladesh.
Source : Suranjith
Deabnath The Daily Star, May 8, 2007 <http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/05/08/d7050801128.htm>
via IRN
30.04.07 : Tadjikistan : Hydropower Projekte boomen (AP)
Tajikistan plans dam boom (AP)
Les projets de barrage explosent au Tadjikistan (AP)
DUSHANBE,
Tajikistan: Tajikistan intends to build dozens of hydroelectric
plants and attract up to US$1 billion (¤735 million) in
foreign investment in the next three years to develop the ex-Soviet
republic's huge hydropower potential, President Emomali Rakhmon
said Monday.
Rakhmon said the government would create an international financial
and electric power consortium with money from foreign investors,
the national budget and private individuals to build some 80 power
plants across the mountainous Central Asian nation - the region's
poorest.
The statement comes days after the Tajik government said it would
break a US$1 billion (¤735 million) contract with Russian
aluminum giant OAO Rusal for the country's largest hydropower
project due to continuing disagreements.
International experts estimate the country's fast-flowing mountain
rivers have a potential hydropower capacity of 527 billion kilowatt
hours a year, among the largest in the world.
Energy sales would bring a substantial boon to Tajikistan, whose
economy was ruined by civil war in the mid-1990s.
Source : The
Associated Press
Published : April 30, 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/30/business/AS-FIN-Tajikistan-Hydropower.php
via IRN
25.04.07 : Inondations: un cadre européen pour la gestion
de risques
Floods : an European frame for the risk management
Überschwemmungen : eine europaïsche Richtlinie für
das Risikomanagement
Le Parlement a adopté le 25 avril en deuxième
lecture une proposition de directive visant à garantir
la protection des personnes, des biens et de l’environnement.
Elle s’appliquera aux zones côtières et aux
bords de rivières de l’Union européenne.
Les inondations meurtrières qui se sont produites ces dernières
années ont montré la nécessité de
mettre en place au plus vite un cadre de coordination communautaire
en matière d’évaluation des risques et de prévention.
C’est dans cette optique que le Parlement a adopté
en deuxième lecture la proposition de directive relative
à l'évaluation et à la gestion des risques
d'inondation, qui fait suite à la position commune du Conseil
du 23 novembre 2006. «La nouvelle directive est ainsi quasi
acquise et les Etats membres ont deux ans pour s'y conformer»,
a indiqué le Parlement dans un communiqué.
Ce nouveau
cadre législatif qui s’appliquera à tout le
territoire de l’Union européenne a pour objectifs
de réaliser d’ici fin 2011 une première évaluation
des risques d’inondation pour définir les zones exposées,
d’élaborer des cartes des risques d’inondation
pour la fin 2013, et d’établir des plans de gestion
des risques d’ici fin 2015.
Dans
ses «Recommandation pour la deuxième lecture»,
le député autrichien et rapporteur du texte Richard
Seeber (Parti populaire européen) a souligné la
nécessité d’évaluer et de prendre en
compte les conséquences des changements climatiques dans
le cadre de l’évaluation préliminaire des risques
d’inondation. Les députés ont voté dans
ce sens lors de la deuxième lecture. Ils ont également
renforcé le principe de solidarité entre les Etats
membres, qui devront renoncer «aux mesures et aux activités
qui augmentent sensiblement les risques d'inondation dans les
autres Etats membres, à moins que ces mesures soient coordonnées».
Par
ailleurs, le Parlement a insisté pour que les dégâts
environnementaux soient pris en considération dans la prévention
des risques, au même titre que les personnes et les biens.
Les cartes sur les risques d'inondation devront notamment informer
sur les sources importantes de pollution.
Lors
de la première lecture en juin 2006, le texte avait été
accueilli plutôt «favorablement» par le Parlement.
35 des 76 amendements proposés ont par la suite été
retenus par le Conseil dans le cadre de la position commune. Les
députés ont finalement obtenu que la directive concernant
les inondations liées aux fleuves et rivières couvre
également celles liées à la mer dans les
zones côtières. Autre succès: les évaluations
préliminaires, les cartes et les plans de gestion seront
mis à la disposition du public, qui sera aussi encouragé
à participer à l'élaboration et à
la mise à jour des plans de gestion. Toutefois, le Parlement
a indiqué avoir renoncé à ce que les inondations
dues aux réseaux d'égouts soient couvertes par la
directive dans la négociation en vue d'un compromis.
Auteure :
Agnès Ginestet
Source : le Journal
de l'Environnement du 25.04.2007
25.04.07 : EU : New Floods Directive adopted
EU : Hochwasserrichtlinie verabschiedet
UE : adoption d'une nouvelle Directive sur les crues
Parliament
and Council reached an agreement on the proposal for a directive
on the assessment and management of flood risks, as adaptation
to the consequences of climate change becomes the subject of increased
EU focus.
Commissioner for the Environment Stavros Dimas said: “We
very much welcome the fact that Parliament and Council have agreed
so rapidly on the Floods Directive. This directive makes flood
management a key part of river basin management. It will place
more emphasis on non-structural measures like using natural flood
plains as retention areas for water during floods. Flood risk
and the associated economic damage are likely to increase in Europe
in the coming decades. Even if we are successful in limiting global
warming to 2 degrees Celsius, climate change will have serious
impacts in Europe and elsewhere. The best way to reduce the costs
of adapting to climate change is to take early action. The Flood
Directive will help the European Union to do so”.
Source: European
Commission
Read more...<http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/565&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en>
19.04.07 : Spain: Climate change and AGUA programme (e,f)
L'Espagne: changement climatique, programme AGUA (e,f)
Spanien : Klimawechsel und das Rpgramm Aqua (e,f)
For Spanish
agriculture, water and its good management are crucial. Indeed,
even if the average pluviometry of the country is not negligible,
precipitations are very badly distributed. This bad allocation
of resources generates strong competitions, on all the levels:
local (between the various users), regional (between autonomous
Communities of the same catchment area), and national. Through
the program AGUA, the current Spanish government promotes a water
management based on the one hand, on water saving and the development
of new resources and, on the other hand, on the internalisation
of the external costs dependent for the use of water.
Source : EMWIS
Flash
Read more... <http://www.emwis.net/thematicdirs/news/snews822260>
Version française : http://www.emwis.net/thematicdirs/news/snews822260
13.04.07 : Southern Europe will suffer more from global warming
than North
Südeuropa wird stärker unter der Klimaerwärmung
leiden als der Norden
Le Sud de l'Europe souffrira davantage du réchauffement
global que le Nord
Southern Europe
will suffer more than the north from global warming, with farmers
struggling to keep crops alive because of lack of water, predicted
a report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC). Crop productivity, if climate trends continue at
their present rate, "is likely to increase in Northern Europe
and decrease along the Mediterranean and in Southeastern Europe,"
the document declared.
Source: SAHRA
Water News Watch
Read more... <http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=82290>
04.04.07 : Brazil Federal court gives go-ahead for 11GW Belo Monte
hydro project EIS
Brasilianischer Richter gibt grües Licht für das 11
GW Belo Monte Wasserkraftprojekt
La Cour Fédérale du Brésil donne son accord
au projet hydroélectrique de 11 GW de Belo Monte
A Brazilian
federal judge in the northern state of Pará has cleared
federal power company Eletronorte to carry out environmental impact
studies for the 11,181MW Belo Monte hydroelectric project in the
country's Amazon region, the court said in a statement.
Judge Herculano Nacif also gave the go-ahead for federal
environmental protection agency Ibama to appraise the EIS and
issue
necessary licenses for the project.
The ruling is the latest in a complex legal dispute surrounding
the US $2.5bn-3bn
project considered key to increasing the country's power
supply in the next decade and included in the federal government's
growth acceleration program (PAC). The first 5,681MW stage of
the
project is scheduled to start generating power in 2012.
Nacif threw out a suit filed by federal prosecutors and the
indigenous population authority Funai which aimed to prevent the
EIS
from being carried out.
Prosecutors and Funai argued the EIS could not be conducted without
previously consulting local indigenous populations that might
be
affected by the power plant.
Belo Monte is due to be built on the Xingu river that crosses
several
reservations of Amazonian indigenous populations.
Nacif agreed with Eletronorte and Ibama the EIS could go ahead
based
on a congressional authorization granted in 2005 because the study
process itself would involve consultations with local indigenous
groups.
The judge said in the ruling local populations would be identified
by
the EIS and consulted by Ibama when the former appraises the
feasibility of the project.
"I cannot imagine... concrete or potential damage to indigenous
groups or the environment from the mere realization of a feasibility
study," Nacif wrote in the ruling. "The biggest environmental
damage
I could see from the EIS process would be possible noise pollution
if
protests were to be staged during public hearings or litter resulting
from a group meeting."
The mines and energy ministry expects the EIS to be concluded
this
year, a ministry spokesperson told BNamericas.
Join
IRN and join the international movement to protect rivers and
defend human rights: http://www.irn.org/support.
older
News
