Archive for the 'species extinction' Category

Battle for the Mekong takes new turn

Published on 01/28/2013 in dams, displacement of people, hydropower, policy, rivers, species extinction and water diversions. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.savethemekong.org

“Laos reached an agreement with downstream countries Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand more than a year ago to suspend construction of the US$3.5-billion (Bt113 billion) dam while independent studies were made on fish migration patterns and the possible threat posed by the dam to food security.

About 60 million people depend on the Mekong River for their livelihoods through a hand-to-mouth existence.

However, Vientiane ignored what amounted to a moratorium, Thai construction companies went to work immediately in November at the site and plans for further dams were released.

At last week’s meeting of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in Luang Prabang, Cambodia demanded that all construction be immediately halted and argued that Laos had misinterpreted previous agreements. Meanwhile, Vietnam insisted that no dams be constructed until an agreed upon independent study is completed.

Thai general contracting and infrastructure development group Ch Karnchang – through its 50 per-cent-owned subsidiary Xayaburi Power Co – has a 29-year concession to operate the dam’s 1,285-megawatt power plant, as well as assurances from Thailand that it will purchase about 95 per cent of the electricity generated.”

Read more: Save the Mekong

 

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Mali’s Lush Wetlands Drained by Foreign Agribusiness

Published on 12/15/2012 in agriculture, aquatic ecosystems, hydrology, policy, rivers, species extinction and water diversions. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.nationalgeographic.com

“Nearly two million Malians live on the delta. “Everything here depends on the water,” said the mayor. “But”—and here he paused gravely, pushed his glasses down an elegant nose, and began waving a long finger—”the government is taking our water. They are giving it to foreign farmers. They don’t even ask us.”

What is happening here in Mali is happening all over the world. People who depend on the natural flow of water, and the burst of nature that comes with it, are losing out as powerful people upstream divert the water.

As the mayor talked in the schoolyard of Akka village, on an island in the heart of the Niger inland delta, women rushed around putting straw mats on the ground, and bringing bowls of food. By torchlight, we savored a supper of smoked fish, millet porridge, and green vegetables, all products of the waters around us.”

Read more: National Geographic

 

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Feds urge extra water to prevent repeat of salmon kill

Published on 07/24/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, dams, management, policy, rivers, species extinction and water diversions. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.farallones.org

“Federal authorities want to send some extra water to the lower Klamath River in Northern California to prevent a repeat of a 2002 fish kill that left tens of thousands of salmon dead before they could spawn.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has proposed releasing additional flows down the Trinity River, the Klamath’s biggest tributary, late this summer in anticipation of record returns of fall chinook.

There is no extra water to be had from the upper reaches of the Klamath River itself, where court battles have long dictated how scarce water is shared between farms and fish.

“We are really glad the bureau is taking this seriously, but we are really concerned that no extra water will be coming out of the Klamath reservoir,” said Regina Chichizola, spokeswoman for the Hoopa Valley Tribe. “It seems that after the fish come past the Trinity River, the ones that come up the Klamath will be in danger of a fish kill.”

The proposal came from a team of scientists from tribes, and state and federal agencies involved in restoring salmon in the Trinity.”

Read more: The Register-Guard

 

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Salmon revival in sight as Elwha River dams fall in U.S. Northwest

Published on 04/29/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, dam removal, dams, displacement of people, hydrology, hydropower, policy, riparian zone, rivers and species extinction. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.reuters.com

“The two dams, about 80 miles northwest of Seattle, blocked migratory routes of salmon and steelhead trout to some 70 miles of tributary habitat, in the process robbing Native Americans of income by halting a treaty-guaranteed reservation fishery.

The river teemed with thrashing pink salmon before the Elwha Dam was built to generate electricity for the nearby mill town of Port Angeles, with a current population of around 19,000, and later, to a naval shipyard in Bremerton, about 80 miles away.

The Elwha Dam’s removal, completed in late March, was hailed by Governor Christine Gregoire as a significant environmental milestone that “shows what happens, when against many odds, a river is restored to its natural beauty.”

Supporters of the dam’s destruction say the benefits to the environment of tearing it down outweigh the loss of its aging power-generating station.

The destruction of the Glines should be finished in about a year to 18 months, ending the biggest dam demolition in U.S. history.

The removal of the two dams – ordered by a 1992 law signed by then-President George H.W. Bush – is aimed at restoring the natural habitat of more than 300,000 salmon. Economic and environmental impact analyses delayed the project’s start.”

Read more: Reuters

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Panama: Village of the damned

Published on 04/13/2012 in dams, greenwashing, hydrology, policy, privatization, rivers, species extinction, water diversions, water rights and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.internationalrivers.org“Panama’s largest indigenous group, the Ngabe, had decided to take a stand against the unlawful encroachment of their homeland. Since the time of the conquistadors, the Ngabe have been pushed to the margins of the country – forced to live on the land that no one else wanted. Twenty years ago the Panamanian government finally ceded what was considered a useless tract of land to them. The Ngabe had in fact lived there for centuries, so by rights it has always been theirs.

But now this land, rich in mineral deposits and rivers, is considered priceless. And Ricardo Martinelli, Panama’s authoritarian president who is a close friend of former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, wants it back.

His plan is to open the Ngabe heartland to foreign mining companies and push hydroelectric power projects onto an unwilling population. The problem is that the Ngabe have nowhere else to go. So the scene was set for a dramatic showdown, which started when the Ngabe closed the Pan-American Highway in Chiriquí province in the west of the country – bringing Panama to a standstill.”

Read more: Aljazeera

 

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Water Pollution Threatens Lake Victoria

Published on 04/08/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, contaminated water, lakes and species extinction. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.african-cichild.com

“A study conducted by the ACCORD Tanzania has revealed that by 2048 there will be much less fish in the Lake Victoria. The study revealed that Nile Perch stocks went down from 750,000 tones during 2005 to 337,000 tones, in 2008. Tilapia also dropped from 27,061 tones to 24,811 tones over the same period.

The study also revealed that while there were over 400 fish species in Lake Victoria during 1920s, the number had dropped to almost zero with a few species available including Nile Perch (sangara), Tilapia (sato) and sardines (dagaa). “This is quite alarming and a joint effort is needed to safeguard the resources. There is over fishing and environmental pollution in Lake Victoria,” explained Mr Kasongi.

Experts say residents in the Lake Victoria Basin are in danger as a result of pollution of Lake Victoria and people are consuming contaminated fish.”

Read more: DailyNews

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China to flood nature reserve with latest Yangtze dam

Published on 03/30/2012 in dams, greenwashing, hydropower, policy, rivers, species extinction and water diversions. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.reuters.com

“China’s Three Gorges Corp. on Thursday marked the beginning of construction for a dam that will flood the last free-flowing portion of the middle reaches of the Yangtze, the country’s longest river.

The 30 billion yuan ($4.75 billion) Xiaonanhai dam is decried by environmentalists because it will flood a nature reserve designed to protect about 40 species of river fish.

Completion of the dam would turn the middle section of the Yangtze into a series of reservoirs, leaving “no space for fish”, said environmentalist Ma Jun, who has been active for over two years in trying to prevent the dam.

“This is the last one, the last section in 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) along the Yangtze that was left for endangered or local fish species. This would be their last habitat,” Ma told Reuters.”

Read more: Reuters

 

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Re-mapping the Amazon

Published on 03/29/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, dams, hydropower, management, policy, privatization, rivers, species extinction and water diversions. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.internationalrivers.org

“Brazil’s River of the Dead is teeming with life, tropical birds, fish and turtles. The river is one of the hundreds of tributaries of the mighty Amazon.

But even this remote region is being developed. Not far from this part of Brazil construction has begun on the huge and hugely controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric dam. When finished, it will generate a vast amount of electricity and flood a vast area of the rainforest. It’s just one of 60 dams planned in the Brazilian Amazon.

Balancing Brazil’s growing need for energy and protecting the rainforest was front and center back in January 2011, when Dilma Rousseff addressed Congress after being sworn as Brazil’s first female president.”

Read more: International Rivers

 

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Scientists Warn of Catastrophe for Food Security in the Mekong

Published on 03/13/2012 in agriculture, aquatic ecosystems, dams, displacement of people, greenwashing, hydropower, policy, privatization, riparian zone, rivers, species extinction and water diversions. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.internationalrivers.org

“So far 51 dams have been built or are being built on tributaries to the Mekong River, mostly in Laos. At least 27 more could begin construction between 2015 and 2030. The PNAS study found that “the completion of 78 dams on tributaries, which have not previously been subject to strategic analysis, would have catastrophic impacts on fish productivity and biodiversity.” Many of these dams are not being discussed or monitored at the regional level.

89 dams appear, 100 fish species disappear

The Mekong River Basin is home to 65 million people. Dr. Guy Ziv, the lead author of the PNAS study and an environmental scientist now at Stanford University, told Nature that “Most of the people are poor and get 81% of their protein from subsistence fisheries.” As a result, the fates of the Mekong’s fish and people are closely intertwined. The study warned that if all of the proposed dams are built, fish productivity would drop by 51% and 100 fish species would become critically endangered.

Ziv and his colleagues highlighted the Lower Sesan 2 Dam in Cambodia, which will soon begin construction. The dam will block fish migrations on two of the major tributaries of the Mekong River, the Sesan and Srepok rivers. The impacts will likely be more serious than some of the dams proposed for the mainstream river. The PNAS study found that the Lower Sesan 2 Dam alone would cause a 9.3% drop in fish biomass for the entire river basin. Projects like this are not just a local concern, but a regional concern.”

Read more: International Rivers

 

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A Damming Assessment Of Mekong Development

Published on 03/08/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, contaminated water, dams, hydropower, peak water, rivers and species extinction. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.nature.com

“With a watershed of 800,000 square kilometres, the Mekong River basin supports the world’s largest inland fishery and is home to 65 million people in six countries: China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. “Most of the people are poor and get 81% of their protein from subsistence fisheries,” says Ziv.

The steep topography of the region makes the Mekong an attractive place for hydropower development. Driven by increasing demand for electricity and a desire for economic development, 11 dams are being planned on the main river, with 41 on the tributaries expected to be completed within the next 4 years. Another 10–37 tributary dams are likely to be built between 2015 and 2030.

Using a fish migration model, Ziv and his colleagues found that if all of the proposed dams were constructed, they would reduce fish productivity by 51% and endanger 100 migratory fish species.

The steep topography of the region makes the Mekong an attractive place for hydropower development. Driven by increasing demand for electricity and a desire for economic development, 11 dams are being planned on the main river, with 41 on the tributaries expected to be completed within the next 4 years. Another 10–37 tributary dams are likely to be built between 2015 and 2030.”

Read more: Nature

 

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