 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Dam Projects Still Cause 'Excessive' Damage Worldwide: WWF
Dam projects around the world continue to cause social and environmental damage, campaigners said Monday, despite guidelines for better practice having been in place for five years. "This is not the engineering heyday of the 1950s when dams were seen as the hallmark of development," said Robert Napier, chief executive of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Britain. "We know dams cause damage and we must put this knowledge to work. Governments and the World Bank must insist that the WCD (World Commission on Dams) are applied to all dam projects now," he said. More than 400 large dams are currently being built worldwide with hundreds more planned, the WWF estimated, with China, Iran and Turkey leading the construction field, closely followed by Japan. Presenting a report, "To dam or not to dam? Five years on from the World Commission on Dams", the WWF said dams needed to be economically and environmentally sustainable. Construction plans need to receive public approval while comprehensive assessments of other options should be carried out and any economic benefits should be shared with local communities, the environmental group added. The report's author Ute Collier said: "Bad dams and bad economics are apparently still alive and kicking five years after the WCD. "As the energy and water crisis tightens, we need to ensure that we choose the solutions with the least environmental damage and the greatest social benefits." WWF singles out six dam projects for criticism: the Chalillo Dam in Belize; the Ermenek Dam in Turkey; the Nam Theun 2 project in Laos; Spain's Melonares Dam; Australia's Burnett Dam and the Karahnjukar project in Iceland. All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Related Links TerraDaily Search TerraDaily Subscribe To TerraDaily Express 
Expanding Desert Could Cover China's Breadbasket In Sand
Beijing (AFP) Nov 04, 2005Large parts of Sichuan, a southwest Chinese province known as the country's breadbasket, may be covered in sand in a few years' time because of the rapidly expanding desert, state media said Friday.
|
|
| |||||||||
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service. |
