Year: <span>2020</span>

“Blue Horse” Project Seeks to Suck Water from Kherlen and Orkhon Rivers

Before 2000 there were no mines in South Gobi apart from the state-run Tavan Tolgoi coal mine. But over the past two decades, foreign investment has flooded in, with companies now operating 12 large mines, including Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world’s biggest copper and gold mines. Driven …

Vietnam Bans Small Hydro

In October several dozen people died in landslides caused by small hydropower construction and this triggered Vietnam authorities to announce long-prepared decision to stop mass-development of small hydro. Similar, albeit less dramatic, decision has been made by China four years ago, where many hydropower plants have been demolished in last …

A year passed without investigation on the suspicious death of Indonesian activist

A year ago, on October 6, 2019, Golfrid Siregar, an Indonesian environmental lawyer died under suspicious circumstances. He was one of the key activists confronting the Batan-Toru Hydropower Dam built by Sinohydro in the only habitat of endemic Tapanuli Orangutan. On October 3, 2019, Golfrid Siregar was found beaten and …

Dam Construction Is Threatening the Landscapes of Dauria World Heritage

Appeal to Director of UNESCO World Heritage Centre Dear Ms. Rossler: Using satellite imagery we established the fact that, in July 2020 Wellmot (Вэлмот) Company started construction of a dam across Ulz River in Dornod Province of Mongolia, the  principle source of water for “Landscapes of Dauria” World Heritage property. …

Freedom to Irina Sukhy – Prominent Environmental Activist Illegally Detained in Belarus!!!

Belarusian security officials detained Irina Sukhi, an environmental activist who campaigned against a nuclear power plant built in Belarus near the border with Lithuania by Rosatom, a Russian state-owned company. The arrest was reported on Sunday by Ms. Sukhi’s daughter, Sophie Sadovskaya. She is a member of the council of …

Next Dam(n) Lesson for the World Bank: People Saved the Bisri Valley in Lebanon

The World Bank said it had canceled $244 million in undisbursed funds for the Bisri Dam project in Lebanon. In a statement, the World Bank said it had notified the Lebanese government about its decision, which takes effect immediately. It said it has also repeatedly underscored the need for “an …