by Anson Mackay 22 April 2019
Mongolia is hoping a massive dam on its largest river could provide much needed power and water for the country’s booming mining industry. However, environmental groups are concerned that the hydroelectric power plant and a related pipeline project will do immeasurable environmental damage to oldest and deepest freshwater body in the world: Lake Baikal.
As Baikal sits just over the border in Russia, Mongolia risks seriously annoying its northern neighbor at a time when the lake is already experiencing problems with invasive algae along its …

The 1st Mesopotamia Water forum took place on 6-8 April 2019 in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
The activists working in Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Iran discussed water crisis in the region and  denounced the grave impacts of dams and other water infrastructures on social structures, river ecosystems, cultural heritage, and local economies. The lack of democratic, decision-making mechanisms was highlighted. Another important aspect that was critiqued is the use of dams as weapons of hegemony by upstream states and powers against downstream communities. Strong alternative approaches were proposed to …

WHY GREEN BRI SURVEY?
The Belt and Road Initiative of China (BRI) is associated with substantial environmental and social risks which are yet to be properly managed. Civil society organizations\activists in many countries monitor China overseas investment and are trying to push it towards greater sustainability and prevent negative impacts on sensitive natural areas and vulnerable populations whose livelihoods depend on ecosystem services. As the most comprehensive of all "sustainability" policies published by China to address its overseas activities, the "Guidance on Promoting Green Belt and Road" can be used …

Large corruption scandal followed the "crowd-funding campaign" for large dams on the Indus River (Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand hydropower stations) launched by former Chief Justice of Pakistan and the new Prime Minister in 2018.

Snapshot: Instead of expediting hearings on stalled cases, the Supreme Court of Pakistan still focuses on "dam jihad". http://www.supremecourt.gov.pk/web/page.asp?id=2757
 
Script for a Tragic Comedy “Dam Jihad”:
·  The ground-breaking ceremony for the giant Diamer-Bhasha Dam has already been carried out five times in the last fifteen years. The project cost is more than USD 14 billion, it has already …

 
Graph:Annual hydropower installation in MW (IRENA 2019)
 
Hydropower increase in 2018 is less than 21 GW or 17% less than in 2017 and signifies steady decline in this sector for the fifth year in a row. We have no data which part of capacity was added through modernization of old facilities, but expect it to be a sizeable share. China leads in hydropower construction both domestically and overseas. And China Hydropower Association  claimed in January that its members participate in 70% of actively developed  projects around the world. However the …

To:  Director, UNESCO World Heritage Center
CC: IUCN World Heritage Department.

RwB presents an NGO address on  dams threatening World Heritage 2018 World Heritage Committee session , Bahrain . See Do Dams Damage World Heritage ?
 
The  Greenpeace Russia and Rivers without Boundaries International Coalition (RwB) have serious concerns about the implementation of the World Heritage Committee decisions by the State Party of Russia for the Lake Baikal World Heritage Site.
Recently L. Baikal has been the arena of many changes in legal regulations and enforcement activities, most of them having …