Year: <span>2018</span>

IFC Neglects its Own Guidelines on Environmental Flows for Hydropower

There is a new evidence the IFC does not apply its own standards properly and this has implications for any hydropower projects they support. In a recent IFC CAO Ombudsman newsletter I have found investigation report on Lengarica Hydro in Albania that raises multiple concerns. A small inherently inefficient 8 …

Dam on Pärnu River Removed to Allow Revival of Migratory Fishes in Estonia

Sindi Dam on Parnu River blocked fish migration Source https://www.ccb.se/documents/2-Estonia.pdf In October long-awaited dam removal  started on Pärnu River in  Estonia. After almost 150 years in existence the Sindi Dam near mouth of the river is being demolished now. This is the largest national project of its kind. After demolition …

Laos’ Dams – Perpetuating Disaster are Encouraged by the World Bank and Funded by Thailand, China and Korea.

  Dam collapse Did NOT stop dams  in Laos The July collapse of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy saddle dam in southern Laos and the widespread disaster that followed made international headlines. Shortly after the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy collapse displaced thousands and claimed at least 40 lives, the Mekong River Commission called the …

Managing Transboundary Rivers for Tigers and Poplars

At the Eighth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention on 12 of October 2018 in Astana, Kazakhstan,  the RwB International Coordinator Eugene Simonov delivered a presentation on freshwater ecosystem preservation in the era of “Belt and Road “.(See presentation  here) Simonov and Mazmanyanz at the …

Dream of Riparian Poplar Forests Along the Silk Routes

A Glimpse of China’s “People to People” cooperation along the Belt and Road Among the five pillars of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), “promoting people to people connection” is probably the least well understood, not just because of the intangible nature of such cooperation in general (compared with huge …

Repeated Mistake: Budhi Gandaki Hydro again awarded to China Gezhouba without free competition

Kathmandu, Sept 23 The government has decided to again award the contract for development of the Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project to China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), which has a dodgy record in Nepal and is blacklisted in other countries, without free competition. The Cabinet meeting Friday has instructed the Energy …