We are getting used to it: “No one was killed, we are happy” –became a standard reaction to “better” incidents at large-scale dams which are on the rise this year. So far in 2018 just on the RwB’s record large dam accidents happened in China, Colombia, Kenya, Laos, Myanmar, Russia. …
Greed, corruption and vanity – are main driving forces not letting large dams to sink despite the obvious fact they no longer make economic sense. New brilliant article in Yale 360 proves that. The rise of wind and solar power, coupled with the increasing social, environmental and financial costs of …
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 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 …
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 …
DR Congo: Inga III hydropower project must be suspended until good governance guarantees. On September 18, 2018 40 Congolese organizations expressed concern over lack of transparency and democratic oversight of the Inga III hydropower project. Negotiations for the Inga III hydro dam project in the Democratic Republic of Congo are …
