Sector - Dams
Section Articles 1-20 of 43
Press Responses: Friday, July 30, 2004
Corruption: Canada backs firm banned by World Bank
World Bank Press Release: Friday, July 23, 2004
World Bank Sanctions Acres International Limited
Press Responses: Saturday, 27 March, 2004
Martin's problem: Corruption at home and abroad (Acres International in Lesotho)
Letter to GE re Three Gorges - November 3, 2003
This joint letter with IRN, written to GE because GE Asia is tendering bids for the next stage of the Three Gorges dam, highlights the human rights, social, technical problems of the Three Gorges dam. It also highlights the obligations of multinationals to human rights, labour and the environment, and encourages GE to abide by these obligations.
Press Responses : Monday, December 1, 2003
Rights award calls attention to the plight of abducted -There are more than 40,000 'disappeared' in more than 50 countries, the UN reports
The Urrà dam – Canada’s complicity in a horror story
This two page brief outlines the story of the Urrà dam in Colombia and the struggle of the Embera Katio people, and their leader Kimy Pernia Domico. The brief was written specifically for the 2003 John Humphrey Freedom Award Tour, granted posthumously to Kimy.
Groups Fear Canadian Funding for Romanian Mine
Ottawa, Canada, Nov 16 (IPS) - The World Bank's refusal to help fund a Canadian company's controversial development of a huge open pit gold mine in Romania has raised concerns the Canadian government will step in with money.
Press Responses : Tuesday, November 11, 2003
The Cobwebs on Credit - Every once in a while, a major construction project gets a headline or two in the international press. We read about how the Three Gorges Dam is radically changing the landscape in southwestern China, or about ecological concerns over oil and gas pipelines being built on Sakhalin Island, in Russia’s Far East. What rarely make headlines are the workings of the export finance institutions that make such projects possible...
"Race to the Bottom, Take II" (September 2003)
This report critiques Revision 6 of the OECD Common Approaches on environment and export credits, and documents nine projects (including the Cernavoda2 nuclear power plant and the Three Gorges dam) which have had devastating environmental, social and human rights impacts, and which have all received (or will soon recieve) funding by Export Credit Agencies, including Canada's EDC. The report argues that the Common Approaches did little to mitigate the devastating social, environmental and human rights impacts of ECA-funded projects.
EDC response re Corruption and Acres - October 31, 2003
This letter responds to a request for EDC to clarify its position on corruption in light of the Acres conviction. While EDC was not involved in Lesotho, the letter states that the crown corp has reviewed past transactions with Acres, and is confident that the measures Acres has put in place since will ensure that future business with Acres is not tainted by corruption. It outlines further what EDC has done to remedy the problem of corruption, but it makes no clear indication that companies that have been criminally charged with corruption will face any further sanctions. This is in direct contrast with the World Bank process and even the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act.
Letter to EDC President re Corruption - August 21, 2003
This letter to EDC President Ian Gillespie asks the Crown Corporation to clarify its position on bribery and convicted companies. Acres International recently lost its appeal against the charges of corruption surrounding the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Acres is a repeat customer at EDC.
Letter to World Bank President re: corruption
August 21, 2003
African Adventure: the Lesotho Water Highlands Project
This article is featured in the Canadian Business Journal.
Acres loses appeal on bribery charge in Lesotho - August 18, 2003
A Canadian company, Acres International, has lost its appeal regarding a bribery conviction on a World Bank project (Globe & Mail).
Backgrounder: edc and dams projects profile
Backgrounder: Profile of Negative Impacts of EDC-Supported Dams
"Damming Evidence - Canada and the World Commission on Dams" (June 2003)
The Report asks why Canada, which has a record of financing large dam projects through EDC and CIDA, chose to give $100,000 to support the World Commission on Dams, but has failed to implement its recommendations. The report gives a brief overview of the WCD recommendations, and compares them with EDC and CIDA's policies with regards to the environment.
Press Responses : Thursday, June 12, 2003
Dam promotion draws fire - Canadian support ignores environment, homelessness concerns, coalition says (Globe and Mail)
Review of "Damming Evidence" (2003)
Read this review in World Rivers Review, the newsletter for International Rivers Network, of "Damming Evidence: Canada and the World Commission on Dams."
EDC response re Three Gorges - July 2, 2003
Response in which EDC says that human rights are currently assessed in terms of political risk, but that it will dialogue with NGOs on any future developments, and in which it admits that it cannot guarantee that it would not support companies winning future Three Gorges bids.
