South Asia / Reports

The Unresolved Legacy of the World Bank's National Drainage Program in Pakistan - an Eyewitness Account

The World Bank's Inspection Panel (IP) issued its investigation report for the Bank-funded Pakistan National Drainage Program in 2006. The IP report found that Bank management had violated six of the Bank's safeguard policies in the NDP project, contributing to the loss of lives and livelihoods in Pakistan's southern Sindh province. In response to the findings of the IP investigation, Bank management outlined measures they would take to address the policy violations and problems in the NDP.

With this comment, International Rivers wants to draw attention to the extraordinary findings of the Inspection Panel in relation to the National Drainage Program (NDP) Project and the attempts of the World Bank Management to cover up the violation of six of its own binding policies. The World Bank’s lack of environmental and social due diligence has inflicted considerable harm upon thousands of people, their livelihoods and crucial ecosystems in Southern Pakistan.

Narmada River Valley Trip Report

The reservoir of the Sardar Sarovar dam, which is being built on the Narmada River in India, will submerge 245 villages and displace over 43,000 families. Each year, the rains of the monsoon season add more water to the reservoir, permanently submerging villages and towns. This process will continue until the reservoir is full.

Financing Dams in India

In 2003, the Government of India proposed to double the current electricity generation in the country, proposing 162 new Hydroelectric Projects. The government endowed India’s National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) with the largest number of projects. This briefing paper informs about the risks of doing business with NHPC.

A Critique of the World Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy for India
By Ann Kathrin Schneider, International Rivers

 

The World Bank is poised to resume lending for destructive large dams in India. Bank staff are currently scouring India for new dam projects to fund in the coming year. The last time the Bank supported a dam in India – the Sardar Sarovar project in the Narmada Valley – strong opposition and an independent review documenting numerous policy violations led to an embarrassing withdrawal of Bank support and the establishment of the Inspection Panel.

Comments on the ESIA of The Proposed Allain Duhangan HEP in Kulu district in HP

In ancient Greece, a nine-headed snake called Hydra lived in the marshes of Lerna. She was the daughter of a giant and a nymph, and the sister of Sphynx, Cerberos, and Chimaera. Again and again, Hydra ravaged the fields, destroyed the crops and devoured the cattle of the local farmers. At last, King Eurystheus asked the Greek hero Herakles to bring Hydra’s reign of terror to an end. A horrible battle unfolded in the marshes of Lerna. Every time Herakles cut off one of the serpent’s heads, two new ones grew from the ghastly body. In the end, of course, the courage of the hero prevailed over the serpent’s evil blood.

The Urdu translation of Dams, Rivers and Rights, prepared by SUNGI Development Foundation, Pakistan, is the perfect tool for Urdu-speaking people threatened by dam construction. It tells the stories of people affected by dams and the stories of people who fight for their rights and their rivers. The guide shares lessons and ideas from the growing international anti-dam movement and outlines successful struggles against destructive dams. It tells stories of people all over the world who say no to dams and who demand "Don’t DAMage our lives."