Urgent help needed for those affected by the dam tragedy in Colombia
The Hidroituango, hydroelectric project in the department of Antioquia is the largest infrastructure currently running in the country. Since April 28, technical failures have occurred for the plugging of the Cauca river tunnel, which has generated an emergency due to the overflowing of the river, putting at risk the lives, houses, livelihoods and work of thousands of families.
On May 16, the powerhouse dam, in trying to evacuate the accumulated water, collapsed, causing a catastrophe that could become the …

Graph: Hydropower capacity increase in MW. Data from IHA reports
The 2018 Hydropower Status Report offers insights and trends on the hydropower sector from members of International Hydropower Association..
Key findings:
A record 4,185 terawatt hours (TWh) in electricity was generated from hydropower in 2017.
Worldwide hydropower installed capacity rose to 1,267 gigawatts (GW) in 2017, including 153 GW of pumped storage. During the year, 21.9 GW of capacity was added including 3.2 GW of pumped storage.(In the last year report  the IHA divided figures for conventional  hydropower and pumped storage, but given …

Besides Shuren and Orkhon dam sub-projects, the World Bank MINIS Project oversees formation and development of three groundwater basin administrations in the vast Gobi regions of Mongolia. As everywhere else in Mongolia  Gobi water basin councils are established to provide guidance and control basin administrations. Naturally the RwB Coalition and its member OT Watch NGO applied for participation in such councils and Ms.D.Sukhgerel became a member of the Galba-Uush Doloodyn Gobi underground water basin Council.
But that lasted only till the 3rd RBA Council meeting attendance in which was to …

Hydropower boom in Latin America fueled by corrupt practices of the Odebrecht and other major construction corporations and supported by loans from China, Germany and multilateral banks continues to displace and threaten local populations.
Hidroituango, Colombia’s largest hydroelectric dam project, which promises to produce 13% of country’s electricity by 2019, has been on the verge of collapse for at least a week.
On  Saturday, May 12,  the company building the dam, Empresa Publica de Medellín (EPM), wasn’t so quick to warn the residents to evacuate. One of previously blocked tunnels swept …

In Gornozavodsk (Japanese: 内幌町, Naihoro) town on Sakhalin Island, on May 14, 2018 a long anticipated coal-mud flood consumed several buildings  and farms and now creeps towards  the highway and nearby rivers. Coal  miners are routinely allowed to store waste in dangerous locations, displace local residents,  pollute salmon-spawning rivers and pay only minimal fines for all violations.
On Monday morning, the mass of waste earth and rock, that came from the storage of «Gornyak-1» Mining Company, destroyed the house and outbuildings of local retired couple. Family members  have not been …