Follow the Money / Press Releases

Ilisu Dam Critics Backed by Damning Expert Report

Presentation by Peter Bosshard, Policy Director, International Rivers
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
5:30-6:00pm reception; 6:00pm program

The Commonwealth Club
595 Market Street, 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA

Nichtregierungsorganisationen fordern klare Konsequenzen

Ende letzter Woche hat die Regierung von Singapur ein Einreiseverbot für über 20 Vertreter von Entwicklungs NROs für die Zeit der WB/IWF-Jahrestagung verhängt. Als Grund gaben die Behörden die Bedrohung der nationalen Sicherheit und von Recht und Gesetz an.

On September 6–7, the OECD governments are expected to take a decision on whether to allow special financial terms to take effect for hydropower projects that are financed with official export credits. They are also expected to decide whether the current environmental guidelines of Export Credit Agencies are sufficient to mitigate the negative impacts of large hydro projects.

HSBC, one of the world’s largest banks, announced a new freshwater policy at their Annual General Meeting in London today. The policy prohibits lending for dams that do not comply with the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams.

The World Bank Board of Directors voted today to approve the Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos. Nam Theun 2 is the first major dam to be supported by the World Bank since it announced its intention to ramp up lending for large dams and other "high–risk" big infrastructure projects in 2003.

A report released today by International Rivers documents the Asian Development Bank's dam-building activities in the Mekong watershed. The report, released to coincide with the ADB's 30th anniversary meeting in Fukuoka, Japan, states the ADB has been "seriously deficient" in quantifying and even recognizing the impacts of the dams it has funded in the region.