World Water Forum: Turkey deports International Rivers' staff after peaceful protest

Two International Rivers' staff members were arrested and detained yesterday for unfurling a banner at the opening ceremony of the World Water Forum (WWF) in Istanbul. They will be deported this morning or face a year in Turkish prison. As the opening ceremony of the WWF began, International Rivers' South Asia Director Ann-Kathrin Schneider and Climate Campaigner Payal Parekh unfurled a banner reading "No Risky Dams" in protest at the World Water Forum's promotion of destructive dams (see photo). They shouted slogans as the chair of the World Water Forum and government dignitaries were about to take the stage.

While many WWF participants applauded the protest, the police detained the two protestors. Meanwhile, outside the conference center riot police used water cannons and tear gas against 150 peaceful protestors who shouted "water for life, not for profit" in opposition to the WWF's agenda of water privatization and river destruction. Seventeen protestors were arrested.

As she was being detained, Payal Parekh said: "Large dams have left a legacy of lies and loss. Continuing to build destructive dams will bring unacceptable risks to people and the planet." Ann-Kathrin Schneider said as she unfurled the banner: "The Ilisu Dam in Southeast Turkey is a symbol of outmoded water and energy policies which destroy communities and the environment. We call on the participants of the World Water Forum to embrace smarter and cleaner solutions which are readily available." Peter Bosshard, International Rivers Policy Director, said "The response by the Turkish authorities highlights the undemocratic nature of the World Water Forum. Two protestors being deported for unfurling a banner is unacceptable. We call on the World Water Council to respect and support the rights of all people to speak freely and protest peacefully."

The World Water Forum takes place every three years. It is organized by the World Water Council, a private organization whose most influential members are private water companies and some of the world's biggest dam construction companies, funders and government agencies.

New guide on China's overseas dam industry

International Rivers has just published a new guide for concerned groups and dam-affected communities: The New Great Walls: A Guide to China’s Overseas Dam Industry. Chinese companies and financiers are key to hundreds of new dams around the world, particularly in Southeast Asia and Africa, but also in countries like Pakistan and Albania. With Chinese dam companies and financial institutions now outpacing their competitors overseas, this guide provides helpful tools for engaging with the Chinese dam industry on issues of social and environmental responsibility. The guide addresses the question: what can communities impacted by these projects do to protect their rights, and advocate for rivers targeted for dams built by China?

The guide includes a “who’s who” among Chinese companies and financiers; information about policies and commitments Chinese companies and financiers should follow; a map of China’s major overseas dam projects; analysis of the reasons behind the global expansion of China’s dam industry; an action guide for how to address problematic dams built by Chinese companies and financiers, and who to contact for help. Please find the as PDF file >>> here. Hard copies may be ordered free of charge by e-mail >>> nicole@internationalrivers.org.

Protest Rallies Against Turkish Dam All Over Europe

Critics of the ill-conceived Ilisu Dam in Turkey today held protests and rallies all over Europe in front of government buildings, banks and companies involved in the dam project. Actions were planned for Paris, Milan, Rome, Perugia, Berlin, Stuttgart and other German cities today, March 14, to mark the International Day of Action for Rivers, Water and Life. At least 77 organisations from 20 countries, including France, Germany and Italy, are all urging the governmental and financial institutions to withdraw from the project.

The protesters' case against the dam was bolstered by revelations in a new report that environmental and social conditions are not being followed. Indeed, the report – written by a committee of experts hired by European governments – shows that the social and environmental risks of the project are as great as anticipated by NGO critics. The experts found that Turkish officials in charge of the project were completely unfamiliar with the additional social and environmental requirements, which were conditions of loans to the project from European financial institutions. Among their findings were that 200 additional experts would have to be hired for the resettlement plan alone, that plans to create an archaeological park with monuments from the flooded area are unlikely to attract tourists, and that those monuments cannot be transported without risk of destruction and damage. The experts also revealed that key environmental studies are missing.

The planned Ilisu Dam is extremely controversial because of its massive negative environmental, social and cultural impacts. At least 55,000 people would have to be displaced for the project and a 10,000-year-old town would be flooded. Last year governments of Germany, Austria and Switzerland granted export credit guarantees for the project. They justified this support by attaching environmental and social conditions to the contracts, claiming that the project would then adhere to international standards. But Heike Drillisch from the German organisation World Economy, Ecology & Development (WEED) asserts, “The European governments try to continue with business as usual and negotiate new deadlines with the Turkish officials. In reality, the report reveals the fiasco the European governments entered into by approving the export credit guarantees for Ilisu.”

UN expert urges German company Lahmeyer and others to halt work on dam project in Sudan

On 27 August 2007, the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, Miloon Kothari, issued the following statement:

"I am deeply concerned by the situation of the communities affected by the hydro-electric projects in the Merowe and Kajbar areas in the northern Nile valley in Sudan which has continued to worsen during the past two years.

I continue to receive disturbing reports that large-scale forced evictions may be imminent in the Merowe area. The reports indicate that rising water levels of the Merowe reservoir have destroyed dozens of houses in the past weeks and may destroy many more, forcing residents out of their homes. The affected people have claimed that they received no warning that water levels would be raised and that no assistance from Government authorities has been forthcoming since their houses were destroyed. Last year, thousands of people in the Merowe area were relocated in similar circumstances which temporarily left them without food or shelter, and some remain homeless.

While I am still in the process of assessing the development motives behind the projects, these cannot, according to international human rights instruments, under any circumstances, be planned and implemented without effective involvement of the affected populations and at the expense of the human rights of more than 60.000 people, including women, children and the elderly. In the present circumstances, moving forward with the projects given the opposition by the communities would lead to large-scale forced evictions and further violence. As recognized by the international community, forced evictions violate a wide range of human rights and large-scale evictions can only be carried out under exceptional circumstances and in full accordance with international human rights standards.

Moreover, as opposition by the communities to the dams has grown, I have received numerous reports of violations of civil and political rights due to the government's response to community protests. These have included the shooting of unarmed demonstrators, arbitrary arrests of activists, and repressive measures against the press when journalists have attempted to cover the events.

As previously communicated to the Government of Sudan (1), I strongly urge the authorities to fully comply with international human rights standards, and to consider the use of instruments and guidelines that have been developed to minimize the impact of these kinds of projects on the human rights of the populations, such as the "Basic principles and guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement"

(2). I call upon all States that have invested in the Merowe and Kajbar dams, in particular China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, the Sultanate of Oman and the League of Arab States (through the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development), to ensure that the implementation of the projects does not lead to violations of human rights including the right to adequate housing of the affected communities.

I urge the companies involved in the projects, such as Harbin (China), Lahmeyer International (Germany), and Alstom (France) to put a halt to their activities until a full and impartial assessment of the impact on the human rights of the population is made. In this regard, I also strongly encourage that States, in particular China, Germany and France, ensure that the work of their national companies does not -directly or indirectly - negatively impact the human rights of the affected people.

As an immediate step, in view of the reported rise in the water level and the possible flooding in the Merowe area, I urge the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and adequate housing of persons living in the area. I also urge the Government of Sudan to facilitate swift access for UN human rights monitors to conduct an independent eviction-impact assessment mission. Until the results of such impact assessment are made available, I call upon the Government to suspend the hydro-electric dam projects in Merowe and Kajbar."

Notes

(1) See Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Summary of communications sent and replies received from Governments and other actors, A/HRC/4/18/Add.1

(2) The "Basic principles and guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement" are included as Annex I to the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, A/HRC/4/18