Non-Profit Org. US POSTAGE PAID Berkeley, CA 94703 1847 Berkeley Way Permit No. 126 Berkeley, CA 94703, U.S.A. Change Service Requested

IN THIS ISSUE India: The government wants to Spain: Interview with Pedro redraw the map of India’s rivers, Arrojo-Agudo, an economist and in a gargantuan engineering activist in the fight to stop the scheme to link all major rivers Spanish government’s plans to in the country. Page 1 build 120 dams on the Ebro Commentary: Playing God River. Page 8 with rivers brings out the devil Portugal: A dam on the Sabor in many governments. Page 2 River would drown rare animal US: A new court ruling on fed- habitat and ancient cultures. eral recovery plans for endan- Page 10 gered salmon could open the News Briefs: Updates on cam- gates to dam removal on the paigns, alternatives and more. Snake River. Page 3 Page 12 Brazil: How many people were Uganda: Geothermal energy left out in the compensation could be a viable alternative process for Cana Brava Dam? to dams for this energy-poor Page 4 country. Page 14 China: Interview with Beijing India: A seventh dam is journalist Ma Jun, author of proposed for the Kali River. China’s Water Crisis. Page 6 Page 15

SPECIAL FOCUS: ENGINEERING RIVERS

said the decision spelled “disaster, destruction “disaster, spelled decision the said

tlement of displaced people affected at affected people displaced of tlement garded when the NCA met on May 14. 14. May on met NCA the when garded

Medha Patkar, leading activist for the NBA, the for activist leading Patkar, Medha May 14 that it has not completed the reset- the completed not has it that 14 May according to the law. This promise was disre- was promise This law. the to according

100 meters. 100 the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) on (NCA) Authority Control Narmada the when all families to be affected were resettled were affected be to families all when

at risk of submergence once the dam reaches dam the once submergence of risk at be-submerged live, Maharashtra, admitted to admitted Maharashtra, live, be-submerged NCA to give permission to raise the dam the raise to permission give to NCA

the Narmada Movement), 12,000 people are people 12,000 Movement), Narmada the Another state where many of the soon-to- the of many where state Another May 8 that the state would only allow the allow only would state the that 8 May

the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA - Save - (NBA Andolan Bachao Narmada the new land to which they are legally entitled. legally are they which to land new Maharashtra, told the NBA in a meeting on meeting a in NBA the told Maharashtra,

flooded during the monsoon. According to According monsoon. the during flooded to accept cash compensation in place of the of place in compensation cash accept to Sushilkumar Shinde, Chief Minister of Minister Chief Shinde, Sushilkumar

the area of crops lost and number of homes of number and lost crops of area the Pradesh is now trying to force affected families affected force to trying now is Pradesh had been developed. been had

Every meter added to the dam increases dam the to added meter Every resettled in the state for the dam. Madhya dam. the for state the in resettled resettlement and that no resettlement plan resettlement no that and resettlement

the dam – also by five meters – in May 2002. May in – meters five by also – dam the for the 33,000 families that will need to be to need will that families 33,000 the for there was insufficient land available for available land insufficient was there

government, last gave permission to raise to permission gave last government, admitted that it does not have enough land enough have not does it that admitted and rehabilitated. The report concluded that concluded report The rehabilitated. and

involved in the project as well as the central the as well as project the in involved The Madhya Pradesh government has government Pradesh Madhya The flooding at 90m had still not been resettled been not still had 90m at flooding

includes representatives from the four states four the from representatives includes submerge their homes. their submerge showed that hundreds of families at risk of risk at families of hundreds that showed

The Narmada Control Authority, which Authority, Control Narmada The dam is raised to a height that threatens to threatens that height a to raised is dam The task force’s report, issued in 2002, in issued report, force’s task The

be 139 meters. 139 be replacement land six months before the before months six land replacement assess the status of resettlement in the state. the in resettlement of status the assess

Narmada River since 1987, is planned to to planned is 1987, since River Narmada that families must be resettled and given and resettled be must families that pation of the Narmada Bachao Andolan to Andolan Bachao Narmada the of pation

the dam, under construction across the the across construction under dam, the work for building the dam both require both dam the building for work appointed a joint task force with the partici- the with force task joint a appointed

monsoon in late June. The final height of height final The June. late in monsoon Sardar Sarovar and the 1979 legal frame- legal 1979 the and Sarovar Sardar The previous government in Maharashtra in government previous The

from 95 to 100 meters before the start of the of start the before meters 100 to 95 from The Supreme Court’s 2001 ruling on on ruling 2001 Court’s Supreme The ward” incident during the flood season. flood the during incident ward”

est part of the dam wall is likely to be raised be to likely is wall dam the of part est I now stopped caring for people.” for caring stopped now project-affected families against any “unto- any against families project-affected

Sarovar Dam by five meters. The low- The meters. five by Dam Sarovar Tribunal Award. It seems governments have governments seems It Award. Tribunal tingency arrangements to “safeguard” the “safeguard” to arrangements tingency

to increase the height of the Sardar the of height the increase to Court order and the Narmada Water Disputes Water Narmada the and order Court directed the state governments to make con- make to governments state the directed

mission for the Gujarat government government Gujarat the for mission decision is “a clear violation of the Supreme the of violation clear “a is decision that it would do so before the monsoon, and monsoon, the before so do would it that

ndian authorities on May 14 gave per- gave 14 May on authorities ndian and human tragedy.” Patkar also said that the that said also Patkar tragedy.” human and 100m. The NCA accepted the state’s promise state’s the accepted NCA The 100m.

by Patrick McCully Patrick by

12,000 People at Risk in 2003 Monsoon 2003 in Risk at People 12,000

Sardar Sarovar to be Raised Raised be to Sarovar Sardar Stop Press Stop World Rivers Review Volume 18, Number 3 / June 2003

Published by International Rivers Network Huge Water Transfer Scheme Would be Death Warrant for India’s Rivers by Himanshu Thakkar

he Indian Government, led by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpay- ee, has out of the blue declared it wants to proceed with an engineer- ingT scheme to link all of India’s major rivers by 2016. Next year is an election year and Vajpayee’s Bharatiya Janata party seems to be using the proposal to win votes, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the massive scheme will be a death warrant for India’s rivers. Many of India’s rivers are already in grave condition after an onslaught of over 4,000 large dams and diversions completed in the India in the last 55 years and over 400 under construction. Moreover, as early as 1980 the Central Pollution Control Board declared that water from all of the rivers in nation’s plains is too contaminated to drink. The Proposed Interbasin quality since that time would have only Transfer Links gone down. The Indian government proposes linking The Proposal all of India’s major rivers. Numbers 1-14 on this map are part of the Himalayan The project would link 37 rivers, transferring component. Numbers 15-30 are in the water from so-called “surplus” to “deficit” Peninsular component. basins. The two main components are the Map: National Water Development Himalayan section, with 14 links, and the Agency, Govt. of India, 2002 Peninsular section, with 16 links. The claimed benefits include irrigation for an additional 35 million hectares, new power As former secretary to India’s Ministry of completed feasibility studies of only eight generation capacity of 34,000 MW, flood Water Resources said at a meeting in New of the 30 river links proposed under the protection, navigation and so on. The gov- Delhi on May 17, the river linking proposals scheme. Detailed project reports, including ernment has given little in the way of did not figure in India’s Five Year Plans for environmental and social impact assess- details, including which areas will get irriga- 1997-2002 or 2002-07. There was no men- ments, are not available for any of the tion, or how there can be a net increase in tion of them when the Prime Minister schemes. None of the reports completed so power generation when pumping water released the new National Water Policy in far are available in public domain, and across mountains and over great distances April 2002. The sudden appearance of this numerous NGO letters to the various gov- will require a large amount of power. There huge scheme – the costliest project ever ernment agencies working on plans for the are also international dimensions, as two of undertaken in India, at an estimated US$124 scheme remain unanswered. In fact, none of the main basins in billion – raises questions about why such a the studies under the Himalayan component question are shared massive scheme is needed at this time. were made available even to a National with a number of Much of the proposal is speculative at Commission on Integrated Water Resources countries. best. The government admits that it has continued on page 7

SPECIAL FOCUS: ENGINEERING RIVERS World Rivers Review

Volume 18, Number 3 Playing God ISSN Number 0890 6211 Editor: Lori Pottinger Pork Barrel: A government appropriation designed Design/Production: to ingratiate legislators with their constituents. Jeanette Madden Printing: othing says power quite like a massive engineering project. Gargantuan river-diversion West Coast Print Center schemes such as those proposed by governments in Spain, India and China (all described N in this issue) are surely as much about exhibiting political control as they are about water IRN resources management. In fact, they are often more successful at the former than the latter. The projects described herein are truly mind-boggling in their scale, cost and political hubris. Executive Director: India’s government would link 37 of the nation’s major rivers, at an estimated cost of US$124 bil- Juliette Majot lion. China plans to move the waters of the Yangtze River more than 770 miles. And Spain plans to Staff: use 120 dams and hundreds of miles of channels to divert the Ebro River to urban areas and Monti Aguirre, Paul Allison, agribusiness. These projects will result in large-scale forcible resettlement and the loss of livelihoods Peter Bosshard, Elizabeth Brink, for people, and diminished health for the engineered rivers. Anne Carey, Inanna Hazel, The purpose of these projects is ostensibly to correct a mistake that nature or God imposed the Ryan Hoover, Mary Houghteling, world over: some watersheds have “too much” water, while others have “too little.” Not only is the Aviva Imhof, Patrick McCully, assumption questionable, but these hugely expensive schemes rarely solve the problems they set Lori Pottinger, Elizabeth Sabel, out to fix. In fact, they create new problems, for the rivers that lose water, the rivers that receive it, Doris Shen, Jonathan Stein, and the people and animals they support. Glenn Switkes, Susanne Wong Research into the impacts of interbasin transfer schemes is rather scarce, but the basics are Interns & Volunteers: known. By reducing the flow in some rivers, these engineering schemes can dry up wetlands, dam- Wil Dvorak, Belle Kevin, age estuaries, impact fisheries and harm water quality. In the receiving rivers they can create biolog- Betty Ann Webster ical chaos, as the creatures, chemicals and different-temperature waters are piped from one river sys- tem to another. And unseen things are lost as well. As Bryan Davies, a South African expert on river Board of Directors: transfer schemes, has written, “It has frequently been pointed out by river biologists that there is no Paul Strasburg (Chair), Martha such thing as surplus water for inland aquatic ecosystems. All of the water occurring naturally in a Belcher,Angana Chatterji, Gigi wetland, or running wild in a river, is useful to the system – sometimes in subtle ways.”* Coe,Anne Fitzgerald, Bob Hass, Lauren Klein, Joshua Mailman, Playing God with rivers can also bring out the devil in elected officials. As our cover story notes, Leonard Sklar, Brian Smith, the Indian river-linking scheme is being hurriedly put forth in time to influence an election. It is Lara Truppelli hardly the first time that the highly visible concrete walls and channels of a river engineering scheme have been used to direct the flow of votes toward a ruling party. “Pork barrel,” as such proj- Advisory Board ects are known in the United States, are popular with politicians the world over. Not only are they Dan Beard, Patricia Chang, Peter often unnecessary, but the scale of these massive engineering works practically guarantees that cor- Coyote, Chris Desser, Huey D. ruption will take place, thus undermining poverty reduction efforts, democratic institutions and Johnson, Sylvia McLaughlin, public trust in the political system. Mutombo Mpanya, Mayumi Oda, It’s not as if there are no alternatives. As the two interviews in this issue reveal, Spain and China Drummond Pike, Gary Snyder are highly wasteful in their water use, yet are not taking sufficient steps to reduce this waste before Contact Information: proposing new supply-side projects. Politicians do not see great benefit from pushing widely diffuse IRN solutions to problems, and demand-side management unfortunately falls into that category. 1847 Berkeley Way At issue is how to approach the kinds of problems these projects purport to fix. On thing is cer- Berkeley, CA 94703 USA tain: in the end, no matter how you pipe it, the world continues to have a finite amount of water. Tel:(510) 848-1155 And no matter how much we engineer it, we still seem unable, in water as well as wealth, to reduce Fax: (510) 848-1008 the differences between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” E-mail: [email protected] Lori Pottinger

* (Vanishing Waters, UCT Press, 1998.)

Visit IRN’s Website: http://www.irn.org SPECIAL FOCUS: ENGINEERING RIVERS

Page 2 World Rivers Review June 2003 Judgment Day for Snake River Salmon by Elizabeth Brink

almon have been a cornerstone of tribes, which include the Nez Perce, Umatil- Pacific Northwest culture for cen- “We are not so rich that we la, Warm Springs and Yakama, have been turies, and time is running out to reluctant to use litigation in the past, but save them from extinction. But a can afford to lose our wild time is running out for the salmon. Srecent court ruling may breathe new life into salmon or so poor that we efforts to keep them from disappearing for- Backup Plan ever from at least part of the huge Columbia must keep the Snake River On March 5, US representatives Jim McDer- River Basin. dams that are killing them.” mott (D-Wa) and Tom Petri (R-Wi) reintro- A federal judge has ruled that current duced the Salmon Planning Act in Congress government efforts to preserve runs of Carl Pope, Executive Director as a backup plan for northwest wild salmon endangered salmon on the Snake River are of the Sierra Club and steelhead. The bill would authorize sev- insufficient. The ruling throws open the pos- eral studies to examine transportation and sibility of dramatic changes in government energy alternatives, and community transi- intervention to meet the requirements of the tion plans in the event that dam removal is federal Endangered Species Act – including such as hauling fish around the dams in required to recover the Snake River’s wild re-operation or breaching of four dams on trucks and barges. These methods have cost salmon and steelhead. It would also provide the lower Snake River. billions of dollars, but salmon populations the federal agencies provisional authority to The ruling is a setback for the Bush continue to diminish. remove the four Snake River dams if needed administration, which pressed for mitiga- The May 7 ruling is the second time in 10 to restore salmon. “The Salmon Planning Act tion measures to save the salmon rather years that the courts have rejected expensive prepares for this decision, and would lay the than breach the dams. On the presidential federal plans to restore salmon populations groundwork for rapid action to remove campaign trail, Bush pounded the podium without breaching the dams. The Army dams, restore salmon, and protect communi- and said that the four lower Snake River Corps of Engineers had acknowledged in its ties,” the bill’s authors write. dams would not be removed while he now-rejected plan that dam breaching might Scientists estimate that dam breaching was is office. The National Wildlife still be required to restore salmon, but the could lead to 80-90% species recovery within Federation (the lead plaintiff), along agency had postponed more fully evaluating 20 years. Likewise, if nothing changes, all with 15 others, hope the courts will help that option until 2005. Now they have one species of Snake River salmon could be change his mind. year to change hydroelectric dam operations extinct within those same 20 years. Twelve populations of salmon and steel- to better protect wild salmon. “This must become a national issue,” head in the Columbia Basin are protected “They have a legal duty to protect the argues David Liberty of the Umatilla tribe. under the Endangered Species Act, and sev- fish. We expect them to take steps now,” said “The administration will only respond to a eral others have already gone extinct. Dams Todd True, a lawyer with EarthJustice Legal groundswell of public demand that some- have been identified as the major culprit in Defense Fund. Local tribes could demand thing be done.” their precipitous decline. For decades, the US tens of billions of dollars based largely on Army Corps of Engineers has tried a number the Treaty of 1855, which guarantees them of techno-tricks to halt the species decline, the right to take salmon in perpetuity. The What You Can Do Save Our Wild Salmon (SOS), a coali- tion of over 50 organizations, is work- ing with diverse partners including Fast Facts labor and taxpayer groups and local Targeted Dams: Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose & Lower Granite tribes to build public understanding dams, all in Washington state. and support for salmon recovery.To learn how you can get involved, visit River system: The Snake is a main tributary in the Columbia River Basin (North www.wildsalmon.org. America’s fourth largest, this basin drains about 250,000 square miles). Some 250 dams block the system. About 140 miles of river would be restored if these four You can also urge your Congress- dams were breached. person to support The Salmon Plan- ning Act (HR 1097), a bill providing Dam Purpose: Averages 850 MW of hydropower production (less than 5% of ener- the necessary studies, funding and gy in the region), enables barge transport of grain. authorization to provide salmon the safety net they need.Visit Dam Removal Purpose: Scientists estimate this option could lead to 80-90% www.wildsalmon.org or contact species recovery within 20 years. SOS Outreach Associate Peter Built: 1961-1975 Ovington at [email protected], 1.800.SOS.SALMON, for more Cost of mitigation: Over $4 billion in the past 20 years information.

World Rivers Review June 2003 Page 3 Missing in Action Bank Acknowledges Possibility that Hundreds of Affected Families Were Overlooked on Brazil’s Cana Brava Dam by Glenn Switkes

n a potentially precedent-setting important. Some 100,000 people face forced served to further muddy the waters, howev- action, the Inter-American Develop- resettlement from the 50 dams now being er, as Tractebel initially agreed to set up a ment Bank (IDB) has contracted a team planned for the Araguaia-Tocantins basin. fund to assist families affected by Cana of independent specialists to interview Brava, but later announced it had no further Imore than 800 heads of families who say Keeping up the Pressure responsibility. Manoel Zaroni Torres, compa- they lost their land or livelihood as a result The low estimates of dam-affected people on ny president, said, “Tractebel has already of construction of Cana Brava Dam on the the Cana Brava project led to an escalating paid all it needed to pay. We can’t let our- Tocantins River. The project’s impact studies conflict between the company, the bank, selves be held hostage by opportunists.” had listed only 258 families as affected by and Brazil’s Movement of Dam-Affected Peo- The IDB has received steady pressure from the project, which activists say leaves out ple (MAB). The activist organization has MAB and from non-governmental organiza- hundreds of families whose livelihoods twice occupied the dam site. Last May, MAB tions from various countries since it began depended on the area that was submerged. attempted to march to the dam site on the considering a loan to Tractebel in 1999. This “The IDB is conducting this audit to occasion of the project’s inauguration, where culminated in June 2002, with a complaint cover up their failure to adequately supervise the activists were confronted by 800 military being filed by MAB with the IDB’s Indepen- the project. We don’t know whether or not sharpshooters. A March 14 mobilization, dent Inspection Mechanism. The IDB has this will bring any practical result, because which was part of nationwide activities on been broadly criticized for dragging its feet in the company has denied its responsibility to the International Day of Action Against the processing of this complaint, a fact follow acceptable norms in dealing with the Dams, resulted in MAB ordering dam work- which René Rios, head of the Inspection affected population,” says Sidnei Andrioli, ers to shut down the plant’s turbines, and in Mechanism office, attributes to budget limi- an organizer for the Brazilian Movement of the company’s subsequent agreement to tations and internal pressures at the bank. In Dam-Affected People in the area. meet with MAB representatives at Tractebel’s April, more than nine months after the com- The 450 MW hydroelectric project began Brazil headquarters. That meeting only plaint was filed, the Inspection Mechanism generating electricity in May 2002. The proj- ect is owned by Tractebel, the Belgian sub- sidiary of the French water services conglom- Aluminum Dams Planned for Amazon Put on Hold erate, Suez SA. The IDB loaned more than Brazil’s new government is approaching the licensing of new hydroelectric projects US$160 million for the project, whose total with caution, recently taking actions that have put some large dams on hold. Some 84 cost is estimated at $550 million. An addi- hydroelectric projects are in the environmental licensing stage, and some, including tional $320 million in loans and guarantees Santa Isabel and Estreito dams in the Amazon, are facing serious challenges.The 1,080 was provided by Brazil’s National Economic megawatt Santa Isabel on the Araguaia River reportedly faces rejection by the Brazil- and Social Development Bank (BNDES). ian Environment and Renewable Natural Resources Institute (IBAMA), which evaluates Although BNDES has loaned more money applications for environmental licenses.The dam is a project of a consortium that for the project, it has no environmental or includes the Brazilian aluminum company CVRD, the US aluminum giant Alcoa, and the resettlement policies for projects it supports, multinational mining firm BHP Billiton – all huge energy users.Another “aluminum other than that projects its finances have to dam,” the 1,200 MW Estreito Dam, is also snarled in litigation, and IBAMA has follow national and local laws. This gives requested additional information regarding the project’s impacts. Concession holders for the Estreito Dam include the Belgian energy company Tractebel, CVRD,Alcoa, BHP activists little leverage to protest individual Billiton, and the Brazilian construction giant Camargo Correa. projects, though increasingly they are begin- Aluminum production accounts for about 8% of Brazil’s total electrical energy use. ning to scrutinize the government bank’s Many “aluminum dams” have already been built, displacing thousands and flooding rich overall lending, which has leaned heavily ecosystems. Now,Alcoa, BHP Billiton and CVRD have planned a string of new dams in toward hydro projects. The IDB, on the the Amazon region to offset the loss of subsidized electricity they have received for other hand, has distinct environmental and their smelters in the region when 20-year contracts expire next year.The government resettlement policies, which were likely vio- has also announced that, beginning next year, concessions for new dams will be lated in the Cana Brava case. offered to private investors only after environmental studies are completed, public The outcome of the IDB’s social audit is hearings held, and environmental licenses have been issued. Currently, concessions are uncertain. The consultants said they will sub- offered before these steps have been taken, and the licensing process is compromised mit their results within the next three by political and economic pressures from the companies who win the concessions. months to an independent mediator, who Environmentalists feel these changes will permit more unwise dam projects to be fil- will examine the results and present the find- tered out early in the process. ings to Tractebel, which is responsible for Glenn Switkes compensating the families. The fact that both IDB and Tractebel have expressed an For more information on Brazil’s aluminum industry and dams, see the October 2001 issue interest in buildlng more dams on the Tocan- of WRR, available at www.irn.org/pubs/wrr/. tins river makes the results of this case quite

Page 4 World Rivers Review June 2003 “There, on the river, which today is covered with water, we struggled, panned gold, planted and harvested.We had a good life there, and a thriving community. Today, we have no work.” Xica the Gold Miner

office finally acknowledged the eligibility of the complaint, and submitted it to IDB man- agement for its rebuttal. The investigation would then have to be formally approved by the bank’s Board of Directors. Reportedly, the

IDB’s weak response to this and other cases Photo: Glenn Switkes recently filed with the Inspection Mechanism The uncounted of Cana Brava listen to IDB consultants explain the “social audit.” office has triggered a review of the inspection process within the bank. sharecroppers. IDB consultants told the Minaçu or from the now-submerged ranches MAB’s level of organization at Cana Brava assembly that each of the candidates for which provided employment, and have has risen steadily since 2000, when the head compensation will be interviewed by the become virtual ghost towns. of Tractebel charged in a letter to IDB Presi- consulting team, and will be required to Tractebel has already announced it is dent Enrique Iglesias that “MAB’s local repre- show some proof that they lived or worked postponing $600 million in new investments sentation is composed of big landowners in the area affected by the dam, such as in hydroelectric dams in Brazil until 2004 who neither represent low-income families employment contracts, letters from employ- due to “environmental uncertainties and nor are concerned with same. Its main goal ers, photos and other evidence. financing difficulties,” and parent company is, while using the poor on its own behalf Interviews by IRN and MAB at Tractebel’s Suez is prioritizing investments in European and of big landowners, to establish distur- resettlement projects indicate that there is utilities, including the potentially lucrative bance, aggressiveness and threats, thus try- nearly unanimous disapproval of the compa- Spanish electricity market. ing to intimidate the company so as to ny’s failure to provide good quality land and receive more for their land.” adequate support to displaced families, many of whom are close to giving up on What Was Lost their dream of being beneficiaries of the On Another Front MAB’s pressure on dam builders to At a rally on May 9 near the shores of the project. At the Filó resettlement, where 26 re-evaluate claims for compensation Cana Brava reservoir, more than 700 people families are settled, Leónides Batista de to dam-affected populations has had a at a MAB assembly heard consultants for the Souza said, “They didn’t tell us anything positive impact at another problemat- IDB who will determine whether families about the resettlements. They promised us ic Brazilian dam. More than three who say they were affected by the dam qual- irrigation, and said we wouldn’t have to pay years after the floodgates closed at ify under the bank’s resettlement policy. for water, but the system provided by the Manso Dam in Mato Grosso state, “This will include all families who earned company doesn’t wet the soil enough.” officials of the state electric company, their livelihood in the area now submerged,” Mario do Carmo da Silva said, “On the Furnas, had at press time reportedly said consultant Lincoln Barros. Many of the banks of the river, we had lots of sugar cane, agreed to relocate 480 families who additional families now seeking compensa- rice, manioc. We had all we needed. But now had been resettled on poor, sandy tion were garimpeiros, or artisanal gold min- we have to pay for water and energy, with- soils.Another 1,062 families who ers, who made most of their income pan- out any money coming in, and it’s very diffi- claim to have been negatively impact- ning for gold on the Tocantins River during cult.” The company provided fertilizers for ed by Manso will be interviewed by low-water periods. Francisca Barroso, a force- one hectare of land for the first year, but the the company. Many of these families ful woman known as “Xica the Gold Miner,” farmers say they have no way to maintain have maintained a vigil at a camp two said, “There, on the river, which today is the fertility of the rocky soils. Other kilometers from the dam site. Manso covered with water, we struggled, panned landowners complain of gross inconsisten- and Cana Brava were the top two gold during part of the year, and planted cies in Tractebel’s compensation offers. “emergency” situations presented by and harvested during other periods. We had According to Sérgio Grusca, “My neighbors, MAB in a January meeting with new a good life there, and a thriving community. who had poorer quality land and no legal Eletrobrás president Luis Pinguelli Today, we have no work.” land title, were offered far more per hectare Rosa, and Furnas’ change of heart regarding the affected families is prob- Others whose eligibility was denied by than I was.” A number of communities have ably a direct result of that meeting. Tractebel were day laborers on ranches or been cut off from their access to the city of

World Rivers Review June 2003 Page 5 SPECIAL FOCUS: ENGINEERING RIVERS

China’s Water Crisis by Doris Shen Ma Jun is a former reporter for the South China Morning Post and the author of increasing the newly translated book China’s Water Crisis. Originally published in Chinese demand and dwindling in 1999, this book is the most up-to-date and comprehensive source of information resources reaches on the many-pronged crisis confronting water resources in the People’s Republic of a certain level, China. Of greatest concern to Ma Jun is the condition of China’s three major there will be a rivers: the Yellow, the Yangtze, and the Pearl. Massive reductions in flow stemming water crisis. So these plans to Ma Jun from a variety of largely man-made problems threaten the very existence of these drill deeper and rivers (the Yellow has already become seasonal). Smaller but no less vital rivers are extract water that is thousands of miles away experiencing similar problems, Ma says. He talked to us from Beijing about the are actually a ticking time bomb. water crisis, and what can be done to minimize it. WRR: What is driving the South-North water transfer project? Who stands to WRR: What inspired you to write on cials and engineers] were trying to seize gain? Who might bear the risk? the topic of China’s water crisis? every drop of water to serve human use and MJ: The South-North water transfer project MJ: As a journalist I have had many opportu- development. Over time, many people came was put forward as early as 1952. The project nities to get a firsthand look at China’s water to regard the floods, dry spells, and sand- includes three routes that will move water problems. In the past decade, I witnessed the storms as some sort of evil force that could from the Yangtze River to the rivers of Hai, drying up of the Yellow River, devastating be solved with even larger engineering proj- Huai and the Yellow, over 770 miles. floods on the Yangtze, hundreds of dry ects. But I saw a clear link between engineer- Although the enormous cost delayed its riverbeds in the North China Plain and the ing projects and these disasters. I began to implementation by five decades, the project serious water pollution problems in southern view the disasters as nature’s way of retaliat- has always been in the minds of those who China. ing for man’s reckless attempt to “conquer plan the water supply for northern China. These rivers and the watersheds they and harness” nature. Local people in these areas overdrew water drained were once much healthier and more Close to 80,000 dams and reservoirs have from rivers and aquifers because they were beautiful, as described in the ancient poems been built over the past 50 years in China, reassured that extra water would one day and books I have read and the documen- leaving our rivers blocked and obstructed by flow in from the south. Now we’re finding taries I have watched since childhood. These enough concrete and dirt to make many that some cities will run out of water in 10 rivers, large and small, nurtured a splendid Great Walls. Yet this mammoth engineering years. They’re arguing that it is high time to civilization and supported the livelihood of effort has been unable to halt the increasingly kick-start the project. millions of people. It was devastating to see harmful alternating cycle of floods and river Cities like Beijing and Tianjin along with them dwindling and drying up, and I dry-up. Severe deforestation has magnified a few provinces at the North China Plain thought we needed to have a better under- the flooding and drought cycles by denuding have applied tremendous pressure on the standing of how they had degenerated to our mountains and hillsides of vegetation and central government to build the project. such a state. dramatically increasing the silt-flow into our Water officials, hydrologists and construc- network of rivers. However, vast sums of tion firms are also in favor of the project. WRR: What were the most startling money are still being invested on huge water People from the source area will bear findings to you in researching your book? control and diversion projects – even on most of the risks. Primary concerns on the MJ: The fact that a water crisis looms large dying rivers – while reforestation and other eastern route, which will transfer water in so many parts of the country, and that protective programs go wanting. mostly through the ancient Grand Canal state officials are proposing projects that For the short term, by robbing the natural [an 1,800-kilometer-long manmade water- seem to only make this situation worse. I environment of the resources it needs to sus- way], include how to prevent further believe if we don’t change our way of man- tain itself, we have managed to support the increases in salinity at the estuary during aging rivers, the water crisis will pose a world’s largest population and sustain a rapid the dry period. The middle route arouses major threat to our social and economic economic expansion. And as machines got more concerns. The biggest challenge there development in the 21st century. better and money more plentiful, humans is to resettle around 300,000 people in could drill deeper and build larger dams or Hubei and Henan provinces. In addition, WRR: What have been the social and even be audacious enough to propose divert- the middle route’s source river, the Han, is economic impacts of engineering the ing water from thousands of miles away. But not as plentiful as the Yangtze, so transfer- rivers in China? we seem to be reaching a limit. ring a major proportion of its water to the MJ: Like so many Chinese, I once believed Supporting both this large population north will affect water quality downstream. that the water problems should and could be and the country’s rapid economic growth Water quality in the lower Han River has left to the care of officials and engineers. meant expending a lot of effort to increase already deteriorated in recent years because However, after I had the chance to study the water supplies. That unfortunately upset the of lower flows and more industrial and agri- problem more closely and interview people, ecological balance and caused resources to cultural discharges. Local researchers say I came to the conclusion that they [the offi- dwindle. When that conflict between the river suffers from a build-up of exces-

Page 6 World Rivers Review June 2003 Interview sive nutrients, which kills fish and most other aquatic life. A higher incidence of algae in recent years has forced major municipal water suppliers in Wuhan to close down several times. The South-North diversion will reduce the annual flow of the Han River by one-third and leave less water to dilute pollutants. This could affect the drinking water quality of three million resi- dents in Wuhan City.

WRR: What other options are there to meet the nation’s water needs without further engineering China’s rivers? MJ: To save rivers in China, the focus of water management needs to shift from sup- ply expansion to demand control. Water conservation is the most effective approach in demand side management. The efficiency of Chinese irrigation is barely half that of most developed countries. Chinese factories use 10 times more water than most devel- The South-North Water Transfer Project oped countries to produce the same prod- ucts. Public water supply facilities in cities factories, farms and cities to cut their water tralized planning, the drought-stricken have high rates of pipe leakage, and China’s use. Experience in China and abroad has northern regions of China, which have more old-fashioned toilets use as much as nine proved that these kinds of projects are easi- land, energy and mining resources, saw rapid liters of water per flush, compared to the 1.6 er and cheaper than building big infrastruc- growth in farming and water-thirsty indus- liter water-conserving toilets now common ture projects. Compared to large dam proj- tries. Future economic planning should be around the world. The poor efficiency is a ects, there is still far less prestige with more resource-conserving and be based on result of low water prices, lack of regulations, demand-side management. This mentality regional water constraints. backward technologies and most of all, lack must be changed. of understanding of the scarcity of China’s Better socio-economic planning could also China’s Water Crisis is available in Chinese; water resources. ease the water crisis. China’s water resources contact IRN. English copies will soon be avail- China’s extremely inefficient use of do not match its other resources in terms of able through East Gate Publishers (New York). water means that there is big potential for geographical distribution. As a result of cen-

India continued from page 1 Development Plan set up by the government The only river basin where the claim of terms of transfer and what the donor basin in 1996. A 1999 report of this commission surplus water stands some scrutiny is state would get in the bargain. expressed skepticism about the need for the Brahmaputra, but that basin, besides its There is a real danger that multinational project, indicating that it is unnecessary international dimensions, has excess water companies, hankering for private water con- even for the projected demands in 2021. only during the monsoon when water can tracts, may here see an opportunity to in Further fueling doubts about the quality be transferred to the adjoining basin of the effect buy India’s rivers to sell their water. of studies done so far is the dispute over how Ganges for onward transfer to other basins. That fear is reinforced by the World Bank’s much water various river basins have to share. However, in the monsoon, the Ganges is renewed love for big water projects, and a The National Water Development Agency also in flood most of the time and it is diffi- continued worldwide push of privatization (NWDA) has declared that a number of river cult to envisage that a flood-ravaged basin schemes in the water and energy sectors. basins have surplus water, but its assumptions will accept a huge quantity of additional India has already seen a precedent of sorts have been contested by some states. For exam- water. But such questions have not been when a 21-km stretch of the Sheonath River ple, NWDA plans to transfer “surplus” water addressed by the proponents of the project. in Chhattisgarht state was sold to a private from Pampa and Achankovil rivers of Kerala to party to sell water to industries. When the Vaippar basin in Tamil Nadu, but the Kerala Constitutional Questions viewed in the perspective of India’s ill treat- government strongly opposes the move and This conflict over “surplus waters” raises ment of some 35 million people displaced questions the studies. In the case of the Ganga, crucial questions about water being a state by big dams in the past 55 years, the danger the treaty with Bangladesh committed mini- subject in India. According to a basic tenet grows by magnitudes. There are as yet no mum flows to Bangladesh. West Bengal and enshrined in the constitution, no water can estimates for how many people would be Bihar governments have declared that they be transferred from any basin until the displaced or otherwise harmed by this huge have no water to spare from the Ganga basin. donor-basin state agrees to the proposal. scheme, but India’s past record on resettle- Similarly, the NWDA’s assumptions about “sur- And water being such a volatile public ment is not comforting. plus water” in Godavari and Mahanadi basins issue, it is doubtful that any state would have brought rebuttals from governments in agree to transfer water to a non-riparian The author is with the Delhi-based South Asian Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, respectively. state. Questions would also arise on the Network on Dams, Rivers and People.

World Rivers Review June 2003 Page 7 SPECIAL FOCUS: ENGINEERING RIVERS Defending Spain’s Ebro River It Takes More than a Village to Stop 120 Dams by Monti Aguirre

Pedro Arrojo-Agudo is a Spanish economist who has used his expertise to debunk the overstated benefits and understated costs of a $25 billion river- engineering scheme planned for Spain’s second longest river. In addition to teaching at a university, he is also the founder of the Iberian Congress on Water Planning and Management, and President of the Foundation for a New Water Culture. This year, Pedro was one of six recipients of the Gold- man Environmental Prize. He was chosen for his activism against the Span- ish Government’s National Hydrological Plan, which would build 120 dams on the Ebro River, and for his work promoting sustainable water proj- ects based on conservation, recycling and intelligent agricultural choices. We spoke with him just after he was presented with his Goldman award.

A recent poster for a march organized by the Spanish group Coagret translates,“With greater strength than ever: For the dignity of the mountains, STOP DAMS, it’s a matter of justice.”

WRR: We have followed with great build a gigantic system which would ulti- WRR: Who would be interest the massive mobilizations – mately just profit financial speculators, luxu- affected by this plan? 300,000 people marching in the streets ry tourist installations, and industrial agri- PA: The directly affected people are the soul of Barcelona recently, for example – culture which is unsustainable in the dry cli- and strength of the movement. They live in that have taken place in several mate of the south. small communities and villages in isolated Spanish cities to protest the National areas of the Pyrenees mountains in the inte- Hydrological Plan. What are the main WRR: What do you see as the rior of Spain; and also communities at the problems with this plan? alternative to the plan? delta of the Ebro River whose lands and fish PA: We call the plan “a drawer of disasters.” PA: In Spain, we waste 50% of our water due catches will be harmed by the damming and There are good and bad things, but the main to the inefficiency in irrigation; we waste river diversions. The mountain communities harm from the plan would come from the 30% of our water through leaky urban water are very small ranching communities with- construction of 120 dams in the mountains systems. Therefore the priority is to modern- out much experience in community organiz- and the channelizing of 1,000 kilometers of ize those systems. Also, we should address ing. The coastal communities, such as those the Ebro River along the Mediterranean contamination because if we pollute we are in the delta of the Ebro River, are bigger and coast. In the north the water would be not going to have usable water. We are deal- more involved in social movements. diverted to Barcelona, and in the south, to ing not only with a problem of quantity, but Almería. This project would destroy the wet- also quality. So we need to conserve the WRR: It is unusual to have so many lands at the delta of the Ebro River, and a health of the ecosystems. And last, some- people come together to fight something bio-reserve protected by the Ramsar Treaty – thing we state prudently, is that there is a as complex as a national water plan. one of the most important reserves in the place for the use of new technologies but we Talk about how this movement came EU. More than 200,000 migratory birds are must use them intelligently and within the together. protected by this reserve. Thousands of peo- context of sustainable development. We PA: The plan was first presented to the pub- ple would be displaced as great areas of pop- could talk of desalinization of water as some- lic in 1994, but it was never developed. The ulated valleys in the Pyrenees would be thing useful, but within the context of sus- present government approved a new plan in flooded in order to regulate the flow of the tainability. We are dealing with water, ener- 2000, getting full support from parliament. river. The plan is aimed at getting European gy and territory concerns. This is when the mass mobilizations began. Union funds and using public money to

Page 8 World Rivers Review June 2003 We’ve involved trade unions, the eco- logical movement, people affected by the project, people in cities, a huge coalition of people from the left and right wings. We’ve never seen this kind of movement in Europe. When we marched to Brussels through France, we had 15,000 people arriving in Brussels by foot, bike, bus, and train. It was raining that day, absolutely flooding, and I have never been so wet. It was incredible. The “New Water Culture” had really arrived. It is interesting that this has become a broad movement of citizens – not just those directly affected like the farmers, ranchers and fishing communities, but the larger pop- ulation coming out in defense of their terri- tory, their landscapes. The people who are not directly affected feel that the river is not just a source of water, but also an important part of their territorial identity; it is health, it is life. The movement involves citizens who cannot conceive of their land without the river, or with a contaminated, depleted

river. The right of a healthy river becomes a Photo: Robert Roll basic right of larger communities. Pedro Arrojo and the Ebro River. I think what this movement is saying is, we have to recover a way of thinking about we’re asking for both a change in policy and and under the request of the affected peo- water as an ecosystem of life. We began this a change in culture. ple’s group Coagret (the Coordination of campaign by asking for respect for the People Affected by Large Dams and Diver- human rights of minorities threatened with WRR: How did you become involved sions), we held a meeting of academics in flooding. Then our arguments became wider, in this movement? 1998, which became the first Iberian water for the right of the citizens in general to ask PA: The collective of affected peoples congress. It was a great success. We enlisted for respect for rivers, for our history and requested the technical expertise of universi- the participation of 400 professors from all landscapes. There is a poet in Spain who says ty professors to help review the studies. We disciplines and we received the support of 50 the river is the soul of the landscape. So brought together a large group of professors Spanish and Portuguese universities. From then on we agreed to celebrate this congress every two years. We also created the Founda- New Study:Water Transfers Worsen Water Crises tion for a New Water Culture, which is an Large-volume water transfers worsen social, economic and environmental problems instead of academic entity with a special connection solving them, a new report concludes.The study, by WWF, the European Environmental with the affected communities. Bureau (EEB) and the Spanish NGO Ecologistas in Accion, examines the Tagus-Segura Transfer (TST) in Spain, which began operations in 1979. WRR: What is it like to win the The study documents the TST’s impacts, including: Goldman Environmental Prize? • Increased water deficit due to an increase in irrigation and tourism demands; PA: I feel overwhelmed by the weight of a • Habitat destruction and promotion of unsustainable agriculture; tremendous responsibility that I am still to • Water overexploitation, chemical contamination and the deterioration of the river resolve. I feel this prize is a prize for a lot of ecosystem, and people. I want to offer the prize to those peo- • Increased social inequity, as the benefits of the transfer are mainly directed toward big agro- business and construction companies, marginalizing traditional farmers. ple town by town, village by village. I would like to use it to build bridges between people “The Tagus-Segura water transfer has increased the thirst for more and more water, while who have been divided by the government, water resources are limited and continue to decrease. Instead, the EU water policy requires that water demands be managed and water transfers like the Tagus-Segura not be repeated,” and between the Spanish government and said Stefan Scheuer from EEB. the European Commission. There is an The results come as the European Commission is deciding on funding for the Spanish expression in Spanish, Hablando sentiendo la National Hydrological Plan, which is based on the same flawed water transfer model. gente: By talking, you understand the people. “The fiasco of the Tagus-Segura water transfer will be repeated on an ever-increasing scale There are a lot of new technologies and pos- if the Spanish Ebro water transfer is pushed forward by the Spanish government,” says Guido sibilities for good management, and dialogue Schmidt of WWF-Spain.“The Ebro water transfer goes against sustainable development, mod- is the key to a more positive future. ern water and river basin management, and environmental protection, all concepts dear to the European Union.” For more information on the struggle against the “Tagus Segura – Lessons from the Past” is available from [email protected] National Hydrological Plan, contact COAGRET: or [email protected] e-mail [email protected], web: www.coagret.com

World Rivers Review June 2003 Page 9 Proposed Portugal Dam Would Flood Culturally Rich, Biologically Diverse Area by Helena Freitas and Korinna Horta

n recent decades Portugal has pursued a A dam on the Sabor River would destroy traditions. But it is hard to make a living, dam-construction strategy which was one of Europe’s few remaining regions of and many young people have emigrated first formulated roughly 50 years ago extraordinary biodiversity, and one that is from the region in search of work in urban during the time of the country’s dicta- home to unique cultural traditions. Much of centers and abroad. A lot can be done to Itorship. Since then successive Portuguese the Sabor valley in northeastern Portugal is assist the remaining population with better governments have built dams on nearly all part of the Natura 2000 network, and several access to health care, education and other the country’s major rivers. These projects habitats along the river are classified as pri- social infrastructure. Yet, as the track record have flooded rich troves of irreplaceable ority conservation areas. The region contains of Portuguese dams shows, current promises ancient rock art, productive farmland, some of the few remnants of ancient that construction of a hydroelectric dam will wildlife habitat and river canyons. The most Mediterranean native forest ecosystems, bring development to local communities are recent example, Alqueva Dam – Europe’s interspersed with low intensity agriculture of highly questionable. largest reservoir to date, which is now flood- olive and almond trees. The Sabor valley is Two years ago, 200 leading Portuguese ing valuable forests and farmlands – is setting rich in endemic plant species and a critical scientists signed a petition to the govern- in motion long-term ecological and social habitat for endangered bird species such as ment stating that in view of the unique costs, while its economic benefits have been the Bonelli’s eagle, the golden eagle and the value of the Sabor valley, the river should be vastly overstated. The dam received substan- black stork, which nest on the steep cliff for- protected from the construction of dams. tial financial support from the European mations alongside the valley. The valley However, plans to go ahead with con- Union (EU), which dismissed environmental- itself is a migratory corridor for wolves and struction of the dam gained new impetus in ists’ concerns with promises to take “preven- other wildlife and the Sabor is the spawning the fall of 2002. In a twist of irony, a senior tative measures to save the environment.” ground for fish species, such as the barbel, environmental official of the Portuguese Now the government plans to build which annually swim up-river to reproduce. government declared upon his return from another controversial dam, this time on the In addition to its unique ecosystems, the the World Summit on Sustainable Develop- Sabor River, one of Europe’s last wild-flowing Sabor region is also home to an ancient cul- ment in Johannesburg that Portugal could rivers. The Sabor Dam would be located in a ture. Notwithstanding the recognized need only meet the European Union target of gen- biologically diverse region protected under to improve the quality of life for the region’s erating 39% of electricity from renewable national and European environmental agree- sparse agrarian population, there is also sources by the year 2010 by building more ments. There are better methods to provide recognition of the importance of preserving large-scale hydroelectric dams. He cited a the services the dam would supply. It is likely the region’s links to the historic past. A tra- dam on the Sabor River as a first priority that the EU will be asked to support the proj- ditional agriculture which is more reminis- and, unhappily, presented the dam in terms ect. In the case of the Alqueva dam, the EU’s cent of Europe’s Middle Ages than modern of an ecological benefit in the fight against decision to provide funding was based largely agribusiness is still practiced in the Sabor climate change. on rhetoric about regional development and valley. Local cultural groups keep alive What is missing from current plans for not on careful consideration of the economic ancient customs, annual festivals and other the project is a serious analysis about alter- viability and the full range of ecological impacts of the dam. The experience of the Alqueva dam holds critical lessons for the future and must be fully assessed before embarking on yet another scheme whose benefits are questionable indeed. What is at stake is the credibility of the EU’s commit- ment to protecting natural habitats in the territory of EU member states. The Mediterranean Basin is considered one of the Earth’s hotspots for biodiversity, and it includes Europe’s richest ecosystems. Yet Mediterranean ecosystems are ranked among the world’s most endangered biomes. In response to the threats to these and other ecosystems, the European Council in 1992 established a European ecological network known as “Natura 2000” whose goal is to protect biodiversity within EU territory. This network comprises “special areas of conser-

vation” and lists priority habitats or species Photo:Teixeira José Alves in need of particularly strict protection. A kingfisher surveys the Sabor River.

Page 10 World Rivers Review June 2003 in Portugal and politicians favor the construc- tion of large infrastructure projects as a highly visible means of creating jobs. The local authorities are selling the idea of the dam to the affected population as a stepping stone to progress and development. However, other large dams in northern Portugal have broken this same promise. Despite the region’s numerous dams, there has been little benefit to local communities who continue to be among the poorest in the country. “What this region needs is investment over the long term in infrastructure for eco-tourism and in an agriculture which promotes high quality regional products, such as the exceptional olive oil produced here,” says Santos. Scientist José Teixeira, who has for years researched the Sabor valley’s biology and ethnography and documented the beauty of this unique region in a photographic collec- tion, could not agree more. “We have to get rid of the simplistic idea that dams mean Photo:Teixeira José Alves progress and that the Natura 2000 network The old ways are still alive in the Sabor valley. represents a constraint to local development. What we really need are development natives to the dam. Portugal has not adopted tists who have studied the Sabor valley for schemes which are compatible with protect- the guidelines of the World Commission on many years. According to Barbara Fráguas, ing the environment. Indeed, the Sabor val- Dams, and it seems unlikely the government who has spent the past 8 years studying the ley should become a model of implementa- will follow its recommendation to first fully valley’s endangered eagles, the 50-km-long tion of sustainable development practices.” assess the nation’s energy needs and the reservoir will flood not only the vital hunt- There is hope that this vision will ulti- range of options for meeting those needs ing ground of the eagles and other birds of mately prevail. Allegations of corruption led before settling on a dam project such as the prey but also scarps where the rare birds recently to the resignation of the Portuguese Sabor. But it is well known that Portugal’s build their nests. “Combine all this with the minister for the environment and little is electricity sector is very inefficient, and that inevitable increase in human disturbance publicly known about the current status of much could be done in the areas of energy that construction of the dam would entail, project preparations for the dam. The Euro- efficiency and conservation which could and these rare and endangered birds will pean Commission has not taken a position help Portugal meet the European targets in face an uncertain future indeed,” she says. on the dam yet and as of now it is unclear renewable energy and postpone building the One of the Sabor valley’s most distinctive which institutions will be asked to finance dam. Portugal has one of the worst energy characteristics is its wealth in plant species, the project. There is still time to abandon the efficiency rates as related to GDP in Europe, many of which are endemic to the region. outdated idea of large-scale dams as being yet measures for energy efficiency and con- Botanist Carlos Aguiar who is known to be synonymous with economic progress and to servation have not been given the attention Portugal’s leading authority on the flora of replace it with a new approach in which full they deserve. The dam on the Sabor River the Sabor valley, has joined hands with the knowledge and understanding of the impacts would only contribute about 0.6% to annual opponents of the dam. “A dam on the Sabor of large dams and alternative options are energy production while the annual growth would destroy the river’s floodplains and the available to all concerned parties. rate of energy consumption is about 5%. unique plant communities which have Demand-side management measures would developed there,” Aguiar says. “An ecological Helena Freitas is a professor at the University ensure a more affordable and ecologically loss of this kind cannot be mitigated.” of Coimbra and Korinna Horta is with Environ- sustainable energy supply. Professor Paulo Santos from the Universi- mental Defense. Pedro Ferraz de Abreu, who heads an ty of Oporto, who studies the fish diversity of independent research organization based in the Sabor, warns of the impact of the dam on Lisbon, said the recommendations of the fisheries. The use of fish passes to mitigate For more information, see World Commission of Dams provide a valu- the blockage of migratory fish has not been www.saborlivre.org and able tool to move forward: “We are encour- successful on Portuguese dams, he states, and www.citidep.pt/act/sabor.html. aging all major stakeholders to take into the large numbers of fish which swim consideration the rich experience of the upstream in the late spring to reproduce will Sabor Transmontano, José Alves Teix- WCD and adopt a more transparent and drastically decrease if the dam goes forward. eira’s book of photography document- comprehensive procedure.” In view of the magnitude of the damage ing the environment and ethnography Portuguese environmental organizations which a dam on the Sabor would inevitably of the Sabor Valley, is available from have now formed a coalition opposing the cause, why is the Portuguese government the author ([email protected]) building of the dam. Their work is support- pressing ahead with it? According to Santos, or from IRN ([email protected]). ed by some of the country’s leading scien- the dam-building industry has a strong lobby

World Rivers Review June 2003 Page 11 design or build the dam, but now the Chinese company contracted to build the dam states that it negotiated its contract as a subcontrac- NEWS BRIEFS tor of AMEC. Fortis’s latest push to start building fol- lowed a Belizean appeals court’s refusal to overturn government approval of the dam. much as 1,000 gallons. Some of the dams in But Belizean environmentalists are appealing the watershed require as much as 200,000 the decision further, arguing that AMEC’s UPDATES gallons of oil to function. Most were built assessment was flawed and downplayed CHINA: Dam safety monitoring in China is without modern pollution controls. warnings by its own consultants about the hampered by a severe shortage of funds and The dam operators, the US Army Corps of dam’s impacts. NGOs working on the cam- personnel, reports the China Economic Times, Engineers, has been uncooperative with the paign are now upping the pressure on Fortis, a daily newspaper overseen by China’s State states affected by the spills, telling state offi- readying another legal challenge, and press- Council. The newspaper warned in mid-April cials they have no authority over what goes ing AMEC to end its involvement in the that the system is “in chaos.” on inside federal dams and refusing to release project. With the rainy season fast approach- With a meager annual budget of less than information about the dams’ inner workings ing, delays by AMEC or the contractor or US$100,000, the Beijing-based Dam Safety in the name of national security. State officials imposed by the court would forestall con- Monitoring Center can barely manage its tracking compliance with the Clean Water Act struction for months. day-to-day operations and pay its 37 staff and fish habitat quality have been forced to The dam would flood the upper Macal members, let alone function as an effective file Freedom of Information Act requests to River Valley, devastating 22 miles of the last inspector of China’s dams. The financial sit- learn more about the spills, according to The intact rainforest in northern Central Ameri- uation has deteriorated with the dismantling Portland Oregonian. ca. It would destroy a habitat for rare of the State Power Corporation. The affected rivers are home to numerous jaguars, tapirs, crocodiles and a subspecies Most of China’s 84,000 dams were built species of endangered fish, many of which of the scarlet macaw – of which only 1,000 hastily in the 1950s and ‘60s, and many are are close to extinction (see page 3). As a fed- remain in the wild, 200 of them in Belize. considered at risk of collapse. Over 3,000 eral agency, the Corps is exempt from fines To take action on the Chalillo Dam visit dams, most of them small-scale, have that could have amounted to thousands of www.savebiogems.org already collapsed in the past 50 years. Dam dollars. But it must comply with federal failures have brought about “unforgettable Endangered Species Act protections for nightmares,” said the paper, involving “huge migrating salmon. DAM BAD DEALS loss of life and tremendous devastation to Some of the oil leaks have been potential- areas below the dams, where nothing can be ly very harmful to fish. For example, 750 gal- GHANA: In attempting to negotiate with grown for many years afterward.” lons of oil spilled from the Corps’ Lower Kaiser Aluminum to get a fair-market price “It has been said that of all manmade dis- Monumental Dam on the Snake River in for power from the Akosombo Dam, the gov- asters, the degree of destruction associated Washington, where it flowed into fish ladders ernment has raised hackles in corporate- with dam collapses is second only to that of during last summer’s salmon migration, friendly Washington, DC. nuclear bombs,” the newspaper said. It cited according to a Corps report filed with the The disagreement, involving Houston- the 1975 disaster, when 230,000 people are state of Washington. Workers had pumped based Kaiser Aluminum and its Ghanaian thought to have died after two large dams in what they thought was water from a full col- subsidiary, Valco, has led to a suspension of Henan province broke during a typhoon; lection pit into the river for two days because all lending to Ghana by the Overseas Private and the 1993 Gouhou dam failure in Qing- they lacked procedures to identify it as oil. Investment Corporation (OPIC), a US gov- hai province, which claimed about 300 lives “There’s no question, had this been a pri- ernment agency that provides political risk and caused economic losses of $18.5 million, vate industry, there would have been signifi- insurance and loans to American businesses a huge sum in a poor area. cant financial penalties issued for these investing abroad. Dam safety inspections, which are sup- spills, and the penalties would be continu- “Ghana is being seen as not acting in a posed to take place every five years, are “not ing,” said Ron Holcomb of the Washington commercially reasonable manner that would going very well. Critics contend that the Department of Ecology. ensure investor confidence,” OPIC President inspection is usually organized by the opera- Peter Watson stated in a letter to Ghana’s tor of the dam rather than by a more inde- BELIZE: A little over a year after environmen- ambassador early this year. As a result of pendent organization such as the Dam Safe- talists in Belize temporarily blocked construc- Ghana’s actions, he said, “All applications ty Monitoring Center.” tion of the proposed Chalillo Dam in the for investment support in Ghana will remain The Beijing monitoring center is drafting Macal River valley, Fortis Inc., the Canadian under review.” a series of laws aimed at bolstering dam safe- corporation behind the dam, has contracted The Ghanaian government has asked ty, but without more funding, it is unlikely with a Chinese construction company and is Valco to pay an electricity rate more reflective the situation will improve dramatically. preparing to begin construction. According to of power production costs. It currently pays the US group NRDC, the company brokering 1.1 US cents/kWh, just one-sixth of the elec- US: Adding insult to injury, federal dams on the deal between Fortis and the Chinese tricity’s generating cost. The government has the Columbia and Snake rivers in the North- builder is AMEC, the engineering company proposed a rate of 3 cents/kWh, a price that west have been spilling oil directly into the that conducted the so-called independent would still effectively require Ghanaian tax- rivers they block. The dozens of documented environmental assessment of the dam. AMEC payers to subsidize the smelter. Kaiser claims spills have been as little as a trickle to as had claimed it would not seek contracts to the price hike would push the cost of produc-

Page 12 World Rivers Review June 2003 ing aluminum above the world market price. million a year in lost output. The country- expected to fall even more when the solar The company is unhappy because of wide move, which follows months of daily energy panels begin generating electricity reduced power allocations to its aluminum rationing, is blamed on serious water short- full-time. smelter due to a drought that has drastically ages in Ethiopia’s hydroelectric dams cut energy output from Akosombo. The because of a severe drought. The Ethiopian smelter currently operates at only 25% Economic Association (EEA) warned that the TAKING STOCK capacity and some 1,250 of the plant’s work- blackouts would have a catastrophic effect ers have been laid off. The company claims on the economy, estimating it would shave US: This spring’s crop of shareholder meet- that Ghana’s insistence on receiving a fair 3.4% off the GDP. The capital city is also ings revealed the growing clout of share- price for electricity produced at Akosombo facing a serious shortage of water. The econ- holder activists, as resolutions filed by reli- amounts to expropriation, a charge that has omy was already expected to shrink this gious orders, environmental groups and oth- angered the government. year by more than 3% due to a massive ers made waves at some of the world’s “Valco cannot continue to be insulated slump in agriculture. biggest producers and users of fossil fuels. from the true costs of producing power in According to the Ethiopian Electric Power This year, shareholders filed 31 global-warm- Ghana. Ghana can no longer subsidize Corporation (EEPCO), four dams across the ing and renewable energy resolutions with Valco’s power consumption at the expense country have been hit by serious water short- 23 companies in the US and five in Canada. of its citizenry when such funds are critically ages. The Koka, Melka, Wakena and Tis Perhaps the most jolting to the corporate needed for our national development,” said Abbay power generation dams have seen world was at ChevronTexaco, where a third a recent government statement. water levels slump by more than six meters of shareholders voted for a resolution that The World Bank-funded Akosombo Dam compared to previous years. The government would force the oil giant to adopt a plan to was constructed almost 40 years ago with decision comes after experts from EEPCO, the invest in renewable energy. Doug Cogan of the primary objective of supplying power to Meteorological Services Agency and the Min- the Investor Responsibility Research Center the Kaiser smelter. It displaced an estimated istry of Water Resources said current volumes said, “This is the highest vote ever for a 84,000 people. of water could not meet demand. Power cuts renewable energy or climate change-related were expected take place on different days in proposal. No company the size of Chevron- US: Private companies operating hydropower separate parts of the capital and country. Texaco has ever had that many votes cast projects on federal land have been paying against management on an energy proposal. less than 2% of fair market value for using History was made today.” the land, a new congressional study says. A BETTER WAY Around the same time, almost a quarter The GAO reported that the fair market of the shareholders of Southern Co., one of value for using all the land in the 24 projects US: Habitat for Humanity, the national volun- the largest utilities in the US, voted to it studied nationwide is at least $157 million teer organization that builds and finances require the company to analyze and report annually (and millions more under some homes for lower-income families, has built a on the financial risks of global warming. market conditions), but in 2002, the Federal highly energy-efficient home in Tennesee. And shareholders of Exxon Mobil Corp., the Energy Regulatory Commission collected The 1,057-square-foot house, designed by the world’s biggest oil company, gave a similar only $2.7 million from those projects for the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Nation- level of support to resolutions on renewable land’s use. al Laboratory, has 48 solar panels on the roof energy and the risks of global warming. The agency recommended that FERC and a high-tech water heater in the closet. “It is a trend that I don’t think is going to develop a new way of assessing annual A Tennessee chapter of Habitat for disappear,” said Sister Barbara Aires, coordi- charges that is more in line with the benefits Humanity partnered with the energy lab nator of corporate responsibility for the Sis- going to companies that operate hydropower with the aim of helping Habitat homeown- ters of Charity of St. Elizabeth in New Jersey, projects. It also said FERC needs to improve ers save money on power bills. Poor families who introduced the resolution at Southern. its system for accounting for the use of the spend as much as 14% of their income on “I think more institutional investors are federal lands, noting that the agency, in heat and air conditioning, so it’s a natural looking for assessments of the triple bottom some cases, didn’t know for sure how much fit, said David Garman of the Department of line – social, environmental and financial – land is being used. Energy’s energy efficiency unit. not simply financial.” The report was issued as the Senate con- The walls, floor, and roof of the home Last year, global-warming resolutions siders action on the Energy Policy Act, were constructed from prefabricated insulat- won about 18% of shareholders’ support at a which would strip federal agencies of their ed panels, making the house up to eight dozen or so companies, according to the US ability to protect the environment at utility- times more airtight than conventional con- Public Interest Research Group, which has owned hydropower dam sites. struction. Energy-efficient appliances, win- helped organize efforts for the resolutions. The 24 projects that were sampled by the dows, and doors were used. Air ducts were This year, they have averaged more than GAO for its study were drawn from a list of built into living spaces to reduce loss of 25% at more than twice the number of com- 56 projects that account for roughly 90% of heated or cooled air. And the heat-pump panies, the group said. the private hydropower produced on federal water heater does double-duty, dehumidify- The United Nations Environment Pro- lands. All but two of those projects were in ing the crawl space and venting cool air gramme projects that rising sea levels, the American West. behind the kitchen refrigerator. increased incidence of tropical storms, and Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch The electric bill over a colder-than-nor- loss of water and agricultural resources will mal winter was less than half as much as a result in annual worldwide costs to exceed ETHIOPIA: The government imposed two- comparable house across the street, said Jeff $300 billion annually by 2050. day-a-week power cuts in late May, which Christian, director of the Oak Ridge lab’s For more information about shareholder experts say could cost the economy US$200 building technologies center. Those bills are actions, visit http://shareholderaction.org/

World Rivers Review June 2003 Page 13 Geothermal Energy: A Hot Option for Uganda by Frank Muramuzi & Geoffrey Kamese

ganda has one of the lowest per- that results of geophysical surveys in the two conference underlined the importance of capita uses of electricity in the geothermal prospect areas will soon be avail- geothermal energy as a complement to world. Most Ugandans do not able. More detailed investigations are hydropower in Uganda to ensure energy have access to electricity, but required before the private sector will be diversification, energy security and minimize Uinstead burn wood as their primary source of interested in developing projects. environmental impacts.” energy. In recent years, the government has Another energy expert in the Ministry of The Ugandan NGO workshop followed proposed a number of large dams to increase Energy, John Tumuhimbise, said that on the heels of a regional geothermal work- the nation’s access to electricity, but critics although Uganda is richly endowed with shop in Kenya the previous week. That have resisted these projects because they renewables, apart from biomass (whose con- workshop, organized by UNEP and the Busi- would be too costly, environmentally harm- tribution is already enormous, at more than ness Council for Sustainable Energy, led to a ful, and socially disruptive. 91% of the total energy consumption), pledge to boost geothermal power genera- A recent workshop organized by NGOs in renewables currently play an insignificant tion in 10 African countries to reach a com- Uganda revealed that geothermal energy role in the country’s energy balance. bined 1,000 megawatts by the year 2020. could help Uganda meet its energy needs. The Tumuhimbise is heading up a team that Geothermal power in these African coun- April workshop, organized by the National is studying renewable energy alternatives in tries has remained underdeveloped despite Association of Professional Environmentalists Uganda. The study, funded by the African continued on page 15 (NAPE), Joint Energy and Environment Proj- Development Bank, is meant to formulate an ects (JEEP) and Uganda Wildlife Society, drew Alternative Energy Resource Development participants from civil society organizations, Programme for rural electrification in Ugan- government, and geothermal energy experts da. The study will be finalized later this year. from Uganda and other parts of the world. Speaker Steve Hirsch said he believes the Fernando Echavarria of the US State East African Rift Valley countries should Department told the workshop that the ben- expedite the development of their abundant efits of geothermal are many. “It is clean, geothermal energy resources. “The NAPE renewable, uses little land, decreases defor- estation, increases energy diversity, and pro- vides local jobs for construction, operation Geothermal Basics and maintenance.” It is also modular, he Photo: Geothermal Education Office What is geothermal energy? Geothermal power in the raw. noted, meaning it can be brought on-line Geothermal heat originates at the earth’s incrementally. This would be an advantage core, where temperatures may reach over 9,000 degrees F.Melted rock or magma for Uganda, which does not yet have enough from the core moves continuously up toward the crust, where it heats nearby rock energy demand to justify large new addi- and rainwater that has seeped into the earth. Some of this hot geothermal water trav- tions to the grid all at once. Geothermal can els back up through cracks and reaches the earth’s surface as hot springs or geysers, also provide power in rural areas where it’s but most of it stays trapped underground. too costly to extend the national grid, as is How is geothermal energy tapped? the case in Uganda. Wells are drilled into geothermal reservoirs to bring the hot water to the surface. The geothermal potential in the Rift Val- Geologists, geochemists and engineers test to locate underground areas that contain ley is tremendous. Neighboring Kenya has geothermal water, to learn where to drill wells.The wells bring the hot water and/or developed 67 MW, according to one of the steam to the surface, where it is used to spin turbines and produces electricity.The speakers, and has plans for an additional 576 used geothermal water is then returned down an injection well into the reservoir to MW by 2019. Uganda’s geothermal potential be reheated, to maintain pressure, and to sustain the reservoir. has been estimated at 450 MW. Geothermal is an established energy What are some of the advantages of geothermal-generated electricity? source. Some 8,300 MW of geothermal elec- Clean: Geothermal power plants do not burn fuels, or result in dams, mines, open tricity has been developed in 21 countries pits, waste heaps or oil spills. Because they are so clean, they can be built in the mid- dle of agricultural land. supplying 60 million people – mostly in the Conserves land: Geothermal requires less land per megawatt than almost any other developing world, according to Steve Hirsch, type of power plant. one of the workshop’s speakers and a geot- Reliable: Since they are built atop their fuel source, geothermal plants are resistant to hermal consultant working with the United interruptions of power generation due to weather, natural disasters or political rifts. Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Flexible: Geothermal power plants can have modular designs, with additional units Godfrey Bahati, a geothermal expert from installed in increments as needed to fit growing demand for electricity. the Ugandan Ministry of Energy, revealed Economically stable: Geothermal “fuel’” – like the sun and the wind – is always that Uganda currently consumes 20 million where the power plant is, so the economic benefits remain in the region.There are no tons of wood and 430,000 tons of oil prod- fuel price shocks or export of money to import fuel. ucts per year. Electricity is almost 100% Geothermal Education Office hydropower (Uganda’s dams currently pro- duce about 317 MW). He said that renewable For more information, see: http://geothermal.marin.org energy is a priority for the government, and

Page 14 World Rivers Review June 2003 Kali River Beseiged A Seventh Dam Proposed for India’s shortest river by Dr Sudhirendar Sharma

t is perhaps our last chance to save the completed, the joint venture between the Many farmlands irrigated with Kali waters “Iriver Kali,’’ says local environmentalist KPC and the Murdeshwar Power Corpora- near Dandeli are left littered with layers of Pandurang Hegde. Hegde shot into fame for tion (a private player) will produce power at paper pulp upon drying. Farmers have not launching the Appiko Movement (or “hug the incredibly high cost of Rs 110 million been able to get an audience with local the tree” movement) in Western Ghats in per MW compared to Rs 7 million per MW authorities to discuss this problem. So agitat- the ‘70s. Announcing the launch of a peo- currently charged by the KPC. ed are the farmers and people living around ples’ campaign to save the severely stressed Activists have questioned the wisdom of the paper mill that they have threatened to and widely manipulated river in Bangalore building a project whose power will cost 15 block all the pipes that discharge untreated recently, the seasoned campaigner pointed times the prevailing rate. “Who do they effluents into the river. out the need to stop the building a seventh think can afford such power? And for what Kali is lesser-known than some of India’s dam on the Kali and the disposal of untreat- reasons is it so costly?” asks Hegde. He more famous rivers, but it is no less signifi- ed effluents from a paper mill into the river. thinks that the government will agree to a cant in terms of the contribution it makes to With alleged abduction of the two local power purchase agreement in advance to local people’s livelihoods and the ecosystems activists by the henchmen of the mill owner help the investor – one that will come at it sustains in the Western Ghats. and the local politician, the battle lines for high cost to the taxpayers. Researchers have confirmed that this the peoples’ campaign against further Some suspect a hidden plan to siphon off short west-flowing river, whose farthest manipulation of the Kali have gotten sharp- profits from the Rs 2 billion dam project. point as the crow flies is no more than 32 er. Though the activists were later released, it However, nearby villages such as Barade will kilometres from the sea, cannot withstand became apparent that vested interests are no doubt continue to grope in darkness. Says any more external pressures, both to fulfill hand-in-glove with the powers that be. Since one local resident, “If six projects could not its ecological functions and also to ensure then, people have demonstrated against the get us electricity, we doubt if the seventh livelihood security to people who depend paper mill and are demanding a complete will!” Ironically, the total electricity require- upon it. However, current developments halt to the discharge of untreated effluents ment in the district through which the river along the river may eventually choke off the into the river. flows is a meager 17 MW. annual flow of 9,000 million cubic metres in “No other river in the country has been Originating at Kushavali, on the border of the Kali. “Only through such misadventures under as much ecological stress as Kali,” Karnataka and Goa, the Kali derives its name can the megaproject of river interlinking be contends Hegde. The river is already bur- from the dark color of its managese-rich justified,’’ argues Hegde. dened with six hydro projects, whose pro- waters. The river meanders through the duction capacities range from 100 to 855 unique biodiversity of the Western Ghats The author is a water expert and a development megawatts. Because of these obstructions, along its course before joining the Arabian analyst with the Delhi-based Ecological Founda- the Kali flows uninterrupted for just about Sea at the port-town of Karawar. tion. Contact: [email protected] 18 kilometres of its 184 Km course in the The river is the lifeline to some 40 mil- Western Ghats. Also on its banks is the noto- lion people in the district and supports the rious Kaiga Nuclear Power Project and a livelihoods of tens of thousands of people, Geothermal continued from page 14 paper factory, both of which discharge pol- including fishermen on the coast of Karwar. its untapped potential of 7,000 MW, mainly luted water into the river. Among other fauna, the Kali offers an because of the high initial costs required to If the proposed seventh dam is built at important natural corridor for wild ele- assess the commercial viability of a geother- Mavalangi, downstream of the first reservoir phants and black panthers. The proposed mal resource, UNEP says. “Part of the plan is at Supa, the river will virtually cease to flow. dam will not only submerge this corridor to get additional funding from many organi- Already, the existing reservoirs have had a but also 210 hectares of lush forest habitat. zations and to do exploration and initial dramatic affect on the river’s flow. Erratic The authorities contend that no forest drilling,” said Peter Omenda, a senior geolo- rainfall patterns in the past few years have areas will be submerged. Rafting along the gist with KenGen, Kenya’s state-owned elec- worsened the problem. Power generation at course of the river to the proposed site, how- tricity producer. all the hydropower dams on the Kali has ever, reveals that rich forest and its unique The Uganda workshop was officiated by been severely affected, draining the state biodiversity will disappear in the process. Daudi Migereko, State Minister for Energy, economy in the process. Already, the six projects on the river have who submitted that geothermal energy An official of the Karnataka Power Corpo- submerged over 32,000 acres of forests in the could increase access to modern affordable ration (KPC) who asked to remain anony- region. and reliable energy as a contribution to mous said some in the KPC question the In addition to the proposed dam, the poverty eradication.He called upon develop- plans to build yet another hydro project, river is threatened by the continued dis- ment partners and civil society organizations especially at such high cost. charge of untreated effluents from the West to work with government to solve Uganda’s But the government seems bent upon Coast Paper Mill at Dandeli. The reduction energy crisis. impounding the waters of Kali yet again in the river’s flow by dams and diversions (this time with a 38-meter-high dam) to has allowed pollutants from this factory to The authors are with the National Association enhance the installed capacity of 1700 MW accumulate, harming nearby farming and of Professional Environmentalists in Uganda. – this time by just another 18 MW. Once the fishing communities. They can be reached at [email protected].

World Rivers Review June 2003 Page 15