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19.04.08
: Spanish Government approves plan to transfer water from Tarragona
to Barcelona (60 km)
The plan has
been harshly attacked by the regions of Valencia and Murcia which
want their own transfers from the Ebro river.
The cabinet on Friday approved the plans to pipe water from Tarragona
to Barcelona, which the Government continues to insist is not
a ‘trasvase’ or transfer. During the election campaign
the Socialists said they were against such transfers, and now
they describe the construction of a new 60km pipe between Tarragona
and Barcelona, to take drinking water to the latter as ‘a
water conduit’.
The plan has
a budget of 180 million € and is expected to be ready in
the Autumn. The water being moved from Tarragona is being taken
from the mouth of the Ebro river by a system which is already
in place.
Speaking to
the press after the cabinet meeting, Deputy Prime Minister, María
Teresa Fernández de la Vega, said that the new measure
was ‘temporary and sustainable’. She said that it was
the best solution to the problem as ‘it did not involve taking
an extra drop of water from the Ebro river’, and that it
would be used until a new desalination plant for Cataluña
came online. She said it would be ‘unforgivable and irresponsible’
not to ensure water for Barcelona which was in an emergency situation,
which meant that without water taps in the city could run dry
in October.
The new plan
has not been welcomed by either Valencia or Murcia, where the
PP controlled regional governments have joined forces to demand
their own new water transfer pipe be laid from the Ebro river.
Doubts have also been raised by the Socialist region of Aragón,
which considers the measure goes against the Regional Statutes.
source :
http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_16144.shtml
more information on the situation on Spain
18.04.08
: Ebro-Barcelona 60 km Water Transfer: Murcia and Valencia threaten
to challenge the Constitutional Court
Murcia and Valencia have threatened to place an
appeal before the Constitutional Court against the Government’s
plans to run a new 60km long pipeline from Tarragona to Barcelona
to supply the city of Barcelona with drinking water. The planned
pipe will be fed from an existing feed to Tarragona which takes
water from the mouth of the Ebro river.
During the
election campaign the Socialists said that they would not be transferring
water in such a way, and the regional governments of Murcia and
Valencia are now demanding that their dry regions, and that of
Almería, also be served by such pipelines.
source : http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_16117.shtml
more information on the situation on Spain
05.04.08
: EU clashes with the greek ministry over Acheloos diversion
European officials have left open the possibility of taking action
on project
Dam problem.
International practice has moved away from the construction of
large dams because of their serious environmental and social effects,
say the experts. It is no longer considered acceptable to move
mountains in order to get from one place to another.
By Giorgos Lialios - Kathimerini
Source ( mit Photo) http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=94395
The ongoing
conflict over the diversion of the Acheloos River in Aitoloacarnania
in western Greece is now in its final stages, as environmental
groups, local organizations and the residents of Mesohora, Trikala,
have acquired a new ally, in addition to the Council of State,
that could just swing the balance in their favor.
The European
Union has left open the possibility that it could take action.
Its opponent is Greece’s Environment and Public Works Ministry,
along with cotton farmers in Thessaly, who have been promised
that the diversion will turn their dried-up plain into a paradise
on Earth. The ministry has boosted its arsenal with legal and
scientific arguments in a bid to ward off yet another referral,
which would be the seventh on the Acheloos, to the Council of
State, the country’s highest administrative court. In the
national water resources management plan presented last week,
the Acheloos’s diversion is no longer being described as
a necessity, as it has been in the past, but as a given, expected
to begin operating within the next three or four years.
It has been
40 years since the project was first touted. Since then much has
changed – first and foremost, the climatic conditions. The
orientation of the Greek economy has also been altered, the emphasis
shifting away from agriculture. The scale of human intervention
in nature is also different – these days we no longer cut
away mountains to build highways; protecting the environment is
now an important factor in the design of any project. The conservation
and protection of ecosystems is a priority in European and national
policies – not without good reason. These are the arguments
being raised by opponents of the diversion. Experts and politicians
– many of them from the two major political parties –
describe the diversion as being an outdated approach to public
works and dangerous to Aitoloacarnania’s ecosystems and even
pointless, since the cultivation of cotton does not seem to have
any future.
What is illogical
is that these arguments cannot be used to block the project, as
any intervention can only be on the basis of legal irregularities,
and that is what the ministry appears to be depending on.
What could
upset the balance is the involvement of the European Union which,
after a series of allegations, has been quietly investigating
the issue. Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas, in his two
most recent visits to Greece, held discreet meetings with representatives
of environmental organizations and groups opposed to the diversion.
He wanted to find out to what extent the project violated European
environmental legislation in practice (the environmental effects
studies, which in some cases are tailor-made to suit the purposes
of the Environment Ministry, are not sufficient proof).
Environment
and Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias is aware of that fact
and is preparing his defense. The diversion of a river is not
contrary to European legislation, as he correctly pointed out
a few days ago. In response to a question from Eurodeputy Dimitris
Papadimoulis a few months ago, Dimas said that transporting water
from one administrative area to another has to be based on “achieving
efficient use of water, managing demand... retrieving cost, the
principle of ‘the polluter pays’ and a transparent decision-making
framework.” He also criticized current farming practices,
emphasizing that these should be aimed at conserving natural resources,
not exhausting them. What remains to be shown is whether the ministry’s
intentions are sincere or whether all the new arguments (regarding
supplying water to towns in Thessaly, saving the Pineios River,
restoring underground water reserves, and changing farming practices)
are simply excuses. The problem is that if that is so, the effects
will be difficult to reverse, not only in Aitoloacarnania.
02.04.08
: Drought in Espagne, Barcelona to import water from Marseille
in tankers
more information on the situation on Spain
30.03.08
: Windmill With A Twist Can Provide Fresh Water From Seawater
Directly (Sciencedaily)
22.03.08
: World Water Day 2008
14.03.08
:
Yacyreta Dam / Argentina : More respect of social rights and environnement
needed (ERN) f
- please read the ERN France Pressrelease
e:
- more nformations on the Yacyreta dam
f : - plus
d'info au sujet du barrage de Yacyreta
14.03.08
: Joint Call to halt Ilisu Dam Development
on the Occasion of the International Day of Action Against Dams
and for Rivers, Water and Life.
please
read the pdf file (e)
27.02.08
: Argentina /
Yacyreta : TV Team, Yann Arthus Bertrand and Roberto Epple
after 6 days released
and
tranfered to Brezil. One member of the team is still blocked in
Porto Iguazu/ Argentina
f
: Argentine/Yacyreta
: TV Team, Yann Arthus Bertrand et Roberto Epple sont libre après
6 jour de détension. Ils sont déjà en Brasil.
Un membre de l'équipe est toujours bloqué à
Porto Iguazu / Argentine
25.02.08
: e : Yann Arthus Bertrands french TV Crew and the head of
European Rivers Ntwork arrested when filming the Yacyreta
dam in Argentina
f : Equipe de télé de Yann Arthus
Bertrand arrêté pendant tournage du barrage de Yacyreta en Argentine
Communiqué
de presse, 25. 2.08 Iguazu Argentine
de Yann Arthus Bertrand (Vu du Ciel) et Roberto Epple (ERN / Loire
vivante)
Yann
Arthus Bertrand (gauche) et Roberto Epple (droit),
Iguazu Falls Argentin/Brazil, 17.01.08, Copyright Aurelie
Miquel
|
A part o fthe team in the Police station
of Posadas (Argentine) , Copyright Mike Brennan |
Yann Arthus Bertrand tourne depuis le 16 février en Argentine
pour son émission "Vu du ciel" sur le thème
'La mort des grand fleuve" . Il a invité Roberto Epple,
le président de European Rivers Nework - Loire vivante
de l'accompagner pendant les 12 jours en Amérique du sud.
Dernières
nouvelles : L'équipe de 11 personnes de France, Suisse
et -'Australie, dont Yann Arthus - Bertrand et Roberto Epple ont
été arrêté par la police de la région
de Missiones après avoir tourné un sujet sur le
grand barrage de Yacyreta (Parana River) très controversé....
Comment arrêter
un tournage qui dérange...
Nous travaillons
en Argentine sur l'émission "Vue du Ciel" pour
France 2, le sujet "La mort des grands fleuves". Et
comme toujours nous abordons des problématiques mondiales
à travers la beauté d'un pays.
Après
trois jours de tournage à Iguasu. Survol des chutes d'eau
(les plus belles du monde), du parc national et quelques interviews,
tout se passe pour le mieux. Excellentes relations avec l'agence
de tourisme qui s'occupe de nous "Cuenca del Plata"
et qui va nous suivre pendant toute la durée de notre voyage
de 10 jours à Buenos Aires puis dans le sud de l'Argentine.
Nous continuons notre tournage dans la ville de Posadas pour parler
du problème du barrage
de Yacyreta qui est, selon l'ancien président argentin
Menem, "un monument de corruption". L'après-midi,
nous faisons des interviews très violentes des derniers
habitants du village d'El Brete qui ne veulent pas quitter leurs
maisons alors que le niveau de l'eau doit encore monter de 5 mètres.
Depuis 10 ans, ils résistent malgré la pression
et les menaces de la police. Ils nous parlent aussi de la construction
d'un nouveau barrage "Corpus Christi" qui malgré
un vote officiel de 90% contre des habitants de la province va
quand même se faire. Depuis notre arrivée dans le
village, nous sommes suivis et observés par la police.
L'hélicoptère
qui devait filmer le barrage est interdit de vol et cloué
au sol par les autorités.
Le soir même,
en rentrant a l'hôtel notre agence de voyage locale nous
demande de manière péremptoire de payer l'intégralité
du voyage en "liquide" alors que nous en sommes à
trois jours de tournage et qu'elle va recevoir un virement bancaire
important de France. Ce tournage nécessite des sommes importantes.
Il n'est pas question pour nous de transporter une valise remplie
de billets de banque. Le lendemain matin, nous continuons notre
tournage dans le village d'El Brete et nos 3 caméras sont
suivis discrètement par des voitures de police.
Notre tournage
terminé, nous allons à l'aéroport pour poursuivre
notre voyage dans le sud du pays avec toujours la même agence
de voyage qui entre temps a reçu la confirmation du transfert
bancaire. Et là tout bascule, les accompagnateurs très
très nerveux refusent de poursuive le voyage avec nous
et nous donnent le dossier pour continuer sans eux. Dix minutes
après, une quinzaine de policiers envahissent l'aéroport
et nous font comprendre que nous sommes arrêtés.
Un fourgon de transport de prisonniers est avec eux. Nous sommes
transférés à la police de Posadas où
l'on nous notifie qu'une plainte pour escroquerie a été
déposée contre 11 membres de l'équipe par
l'agence de voyage locale. A 23 heures, nous sommes transférés
après 4 heures de route au poste de police d'Iguasu. Et
le lendemain matin, nous sommes entendus par le juge et libérés
sous caution avec interdiction de quitter la ville d'Iguasu sans
même pouvoir rencontrer la personne qui nous accuse et qui
est partie en voyage. Nous apprenons par la suite avec stupeur
que deux nouvelles plaintes sont déposées par des
personnes que nous avions interviewées et avec qui tout
s'était très bien passé.
Nous comprenons
très vite que ce n'est malheureusement pas un simple malentendu
mais une véritable machination qui nous dépasse.
Comment expliquer qu'une équipe entière est arrêtée
pour escroquerie alors que, par exemple, le preneur de son ne
peut pas être tenu pour responsable de l'organisation du
voyage... Si ce n'est que pour être vraiment sûrs
que nous ne puissions plus tourner. Et pour la tentative d'escroquerie,
après des années de tournage dans le monde entier,
serions-nous assez inconscients pour mettre en péril le
déroulement d'un tournage avec des moyens aussi lourds
en ne payant pas l'agence de voyage qui a l'entière responsabilité
de l'organisation ? Pour les O.N.G. locales qui se battent aux
cotés des expulsés du barrage, il n'y a aucun doute,
les autorités veulent faire pression sur nous en stoppant
le tournage et nous interdire de parler de ce scandale du barrage
de Yacyreta.
Et bien c'est raté au contraire....
Pour
l'heure, nous avons toujours l'interdiction de quitter le territoire
argentin.
version
français en pdf français
22.02.08
: Famous french photogropher Yann Arthus Bertrand filming currently
Argentinas Rivers and Nature
Famous french
photogropher Yann Arthus Bertran is currently in Argentina working
on his feature length documentary, during the filming he and his
film crew will be visiting locations such as the Iguazu Falls,
Perito Moreno Glacier, Parana river, Yasireta Dam, Buenos Aires
Estuary, Bariloche site and many other locations,The footage from
these locations will be part of "vUE DU DU CIEL" (France
2 TV Channel) and a Feature Film produced by Yann and tentativily
titled Boomerang.
The films
are shot using state of the art Gyro Stabilized camera equipment
mounted on a helicopter called a Cineflex V14, During the filming
in Iguazu Falls the crew were stopped by the Argintinian Police
and detained for 28 hours for admnistratif reasons, Yann and its
crew have been released to continue filming on february 21.
News from
the project in Argentina : www.pikeo.com/yab
and a Interwiew by Yann Arthus Bertand on the detendtion :
www.dailymotion.com/fr (search for Yann Arthus Bertrand)
10.02.08
: TURKEY - Drain on the Mediterranean: rising water usage
Turkey's breadbasket,
the Konya Basin, was once known for its beautiful lakes, but now
Lake Aksehir - formerly the size of three cities - has turned
to dust and others are threatened, warned geologist Dr. Guler
Gocmez of Selcuk University in Konya. Across the Mediterranean,
groundwater is being pumped at a far greater rate than nature
can replenish it.
more
information …
Source:
SAHRA Water News Watch
30.01.08
: Waste water treatment: Commission gives France final warning
The European Commission is sending France a final
written warning alerting it that it will be taken to the European
Court of Justice (ECJ) for the second time and possibly face fines
unless it quickly brings its waste water treatment up to EU standards.
France is still not complying with the 1991 EU directive on urban
waste water treatment, despite having been condemned by the ECJ
for this.
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: "Untreated urban
waste water is a threat to European citizens and detrimental to
the environmental quality of Europe's rivers, lakes and coastal
waters. I urge France to act swiftly otherwise the Commission
will consider asking the Court to impose fines."
The Urban
Waste Water Treatment Directive
Larger towns
and cities across the European Union are required to collect and
treat their urban waste water under the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment
Directive.[1] Untreated waste water can be contaminated with harmful
bacteria and viruses and thus present a risk to public health.
It also contains nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous which
can damage freshwaters and the marine environment by promoting
excessive growth of algae that chokes off other life, a process
known as eutrophication.
The main type
of waste water treatment envisaged by the directive is biological
or 'secondary' treatment. The deadline for this infrastructure
to be operational was 31 December 2000. If waste water is discharged
into ‘sensitive’ water bodies, the directive requires
stricter 'tertiary' treatment, involving removal of phosphorous
and/or nitrogen. This should have been in place by 31 December
1998.
Final warning
for France
The Commission
is sending France a final warning for failing to comply with a
2004 European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on the treatment of
urban waste water in certain sensitive areas. Under the ruling,
the ECJ condemned France for failing to designate eleven areas
as sensitive and for inadequate treatment facilities in a number
of settlements[2] which discharge their waste waters into these
areas. The ECJ also found that 121 settlements breached the directive
by discharging their waste waters into previously designated sensitive
areas.
In 2006 France
designated the eleven areas as sensitive. However, 140 settlements
– including the city of Paris – continue to discharge
into these sensitive areas. With regard to the 121 settlements
discharging into the previously designated sensitive areas France
proceeded to rearrange them into 164 settlements, resulting in
some settlements no longer meeting the threshold level of 10,000
residents at which the directive applies. The Commission considers
such rearranging of settlements to avoid compliance with the directive
unacceptable and calls on France to implement the directive in
all settlements covered by the ECJ ruling.
In May 2007
France notified the Commission of the settlements' status and
its agenda for complying with the ruling. It appears that some
remaining settlements will not be equipped with waste water treatment
facilities before 2011, some seven years after the ECJ court ruling
and 12 years after the deadline set by the directive. The Commission
finds this delay deplorable and urges France to build waste water
treatment facilities in all concerned settlements as soon as possible.
Should France
not respond satisfactorily to its warning, the Commission may
ask the Court to impose fines on France.
Legal Process
Article 226
of the Treaty gives the Commission powers to take legal action
against a Member State that is not respecting its obligations.
If the Commission
considers that there may be an infringement of EU law that warrants
the opening of an infringement procedure, it addresses a "Letter
of Formal Notice" (first written warning) to the Member State
concerned, requesting it to submit its observations by a specified
date, usually two months.
In the light
of the reply or absence of a reply from the Member State concerned,
the Commission may decide to address a "Reasoned Opinion"
(final written warning) to the Member State. This clearly and
definitively sets out the reasons why it considers there to have
been an infringement of EU law, and calls upon the Member State
to comply within a specified period, usually two months.
If the Member
State fails to comply with the Reasoned Opinion, the Commission
may decide to bring the case before the Court of Justice. Where
the Court of Justice finds that the Treaty has been infringed,
the offending Member State is required to take the measures necessary
to conform.
Article 228
of the Treaty gives the Commission power to act against a Member
State that does not comply with a previous judgement of the European
Court of Justice. The article also allows the Commission to ask
the Court to impose a financial penalty on the Member State concerned.
For current
statistics on infringements in general see:
http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/infringements/infringements_en.htm
[1] Directive
91/271/EEC.
[2] The directive
uses the technical term "agglomeration" which means
an area where the population and/or economic activities are sufficiently
concentrated for urban waste water to be collected and conducted
to an urban waste water treatment plant or to a final discharge
point.
30.01.08
: Traitement des eaux résiduaires: la Commission
européenne adresse un dernier avertissement à la
France
La Commission
européenne a décidé d'envoyer à la
France un dernier avertissement écrit par lequel elle l'invite
à mettre rapidement ses installations de traitement des
eaux résiduaires aux normes européennes pour éviter
d'être poursuivie pour la deuxième fois devant la
Cour de justice des Communautés européennes (CJCE)
et de se voir infliger une amende. La France ne respecte toujours
pas la directive communautaire de 1991 relative au traitement
des eaux urbaines résiduaires, bien qu'elle ait été
condamnée par la CJCE pour ce motif.
plus
d'info (site Union européen)
lire aussi le texte anglais ci dessus !
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