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World

revieWrivers

Kt D R Tks St Frrdby Craig Tucker

NSIDEpecial Focusiver Restoration

xpert Adviceps rom the pros on

am decommissioning

ctivism. Page 4

rofles in Couragespiring stories rom

e ront lines o dam-

moval campaigns.

age 8

Wetlandsojects to restore

vers and wetlands are

nderway in Iraq and

urope. Page 10

Today, there is light at

the end o the tunnel

in the long and conten-

tious battle over the manage-

ment o the Klamath River

near the Caliornia-Oregon

border, where dams anddiversions have decimated

once-healthy sheries, let

behind poisonous waters

contaminated with algae, and

angered tribes, armers and

shing communities.

In mid-November, a diverse

group o stakeholders in the

region agreed to a plan that

advocates or removal o our

dams on the Klamath River,

opening up a path to the big-

gest dam removal in the US,

and possibly the world.Although the non-binding

agreement is only a prelimi-

nary step to a binding long-

term agreement with more

than two dozen stakeholder

groups including Federal,

state, local and tribal govern-

ments, and arm, ranching,

conservation and shing

groups most parties to the

agreement saw the announce-

ment as a bold step orward in

the struggle to restore one oAmericas greatest rivers.

According to Karuk tribal

leader Lea Hillman, The

salmon arent in the smoke-

house yet, but Im more op-

timistic than ever that these

dams days are numbered.

Whats more, the dam

removal plan would provide

the missing element o the

more comprehensive Klamath

Basin Restoration Agreement

which provides a means to

balance irrigation needs withthe needs o sh, a plan or

reintroducing salmon to the

upper Klamath basin, and a

host o other benets or the

basins struggling rural econo-

mies. This plan was released

by a coalition o stakehold-

ers that included the Karuk,

Yurok and Klamath tribes, two

irrigation groups, and a host

o shing and conservation

organizations.

Signicant hurdles remainto dam removal. The Agree-

ment in Principle to remove

the dams must be nalized,

ederal legislation must be

passed, the current view that

dam removal is in the public

interest must be conrmed by

a scientic analysis, and the

US Secretary o the Interior

must approve the deal.

Removing the dams would

open up some 300 miles o

river that has been inacces-

sible to salmon or nearly acentury. Klamath salmon are

now at less than 10% o their

historic populations, accord-

ing to shery experts. The

Klamath deal came a ew days

beore the release o a report

showing almost two-thirds

o native reshwater sh in

Caliornia are on the brink o

extinction.

The Bush Administra-

tion was jolted into action by

back-to-back disasters in 2001

and 2002. These were droughtyears in the region. In 2001,

armers were denied irriga-

tion water in order to protect

endangered sh. Farmers

and ranchers staged dramatic

demonstrations culminating

in the militant seizure o the

irrigation head gates.

In 2002, irrigation fows

were restored but resulted in

a massive sh kill that all on

Pbihd by Intrntin Rivr V. 23 / N. 4 Dc. 2

internationalrivers.org

Tribes have been pressing or the removal o the sh-killing Klamathdams or years. The our dams are now owned by billionaire WarrenBuett. Photo: Klamath Justice Coalition Continued on page


2/16 WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2008

CommentaryWorld RiversReviewVolume 23, Number 4

ISSN Number 0890 6211

EditorLori Pottinger

Assistant EditorSusanne Wong

Design& ProductionJeanette Madden

PrintingInkworks

International Rivers

Executive DirectorPatrick McCully

StaMonti Aguirre, Karolo Apari-cio, Peter Bosshard, NicoleBrewer, Elizabeth Brink,Colin Carpenter, JamieGreenblatt, Terri Hathaway,Inanna Hazel, Aviva Imho,Shannon Lawrence, AaronLevy, Berklee Lowrey-Evans,Lia Metz, Carl Middleton,Payal Parekh, Lori Pottinger,Elizabeth Sabel, AaronSanger, Ann-Kathrin

Schneider, Glenn Switkes,Katy Yan

Interns& VolunteersSelma Barros de Oliveira,Wil Dvorak, Romo Jounda,Stacy Lee, ShradhaUpadhayay, Feng Yun

Board o DirectorsMartha Belcher (Chair), AndrCarothers, Bob Hass, MarciaMcNally, Carlos Meija, MilanMomirov, Deborah Moore,

Cymie Payne, David Pellow,Lori Udall, Meeta Vyas

Contact Us1847 Berkeley WayBerkeley, CA 94703 USATel: (510) 848-1155Fax: (510) 848-1008

AN AgENDA FoR ChANgE

T

he nancial crisis is sending shock waves throughout the global economy. Stock markets are

plunging around the world. Governments are bailing out banks and other companies at a stag-

gering pace. Many people are losing their jobs, houses, and retirement accounts. The ree enter

prise system has lost its luster. Global power is shiting to China and other cash-rich countries which

are now expected to bail out Western banks and companies.

Even while the nancial crisis has absorbed our attention, the worlds ecosystems have moved

closer to collapse. According to a new WWF report, climate change is happening aster, stronger,

sooner than predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as late as 2007. Climate

change, water stress and growing demand are contributing to the global ood crisis. And almost hal o

the 45,000 species on IUCNs latest Red List are extinct, threatened or near-threatened.

In normal times, such bad news might be a cause or despair. But we dont live in normal times. Th

recent election in the US has created enthusiasm or social and political change, and mobilized a new

generation o activists. Barack Obama has made the promotion o clean energy one o his top priori-

ties. Parliaments in several countries have approved huge bailout packages or their banks, and the

conditions under which these unds are invested can still be dened.

The economic meltdown and impending political change are a huge opportunity to redene globa

economic policies in ways that address rather than deepen the environmental crisis. The time is ripe

or a Green New Deal. Here is an agenda or change:

A program to promote renewable energy and to increase energy eciency in housing, transport an

industry could create millions o jobs and de-carbonize the economy. Barack Obama promised to

create ve million jobs by investing $150 billion in clean energy and energy eciency.

Banks need to be re-regulated so they can become the servants rather than the masters o the glob

economy. Speculative practices that create excessive risks should be outlawed. Strict environment

standards should be incorporated into the regulation o the banking sector.

Taxing carbon emissions and cutting existing subsidies or oil, coal and nuclear energy can provide

the resources needed to invest in a green economy. Carbon taxes can also create a saety net to

cushion the social impacts o the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Groups like the New Economic Foundation, BankTrack and Friends o the Earth have prepared

detailed proposals on how a Green New Deal might work. Even the UN Environmental Programme ha

launched a Green Economy Initiative to create green jobs and combat climate change. Now that the

once-dominant orces o market undamentalism have been discredited, a new, equitable and sus-tainable uture can be built on the rubble o past excesses, the BankTrack network comments in its

Bank to the Future statement.

The global nancial crisis is also aecting our own work. Banks are tightening their lending or

risky projects such as large dams. The Xalala Dam, a controversial hydropower project in Guatemala

ailed to attract oreign investors at an auction in November. And in December, the World Banks

private sector arm, the IFC, announced a delay in the Kaue Gorge Dam in Zambia due to the global

nancial crisis. The IFC says it believes some potential investors will pull out o the project entirely.

Yet the meltdown on Wall Street also threatens to dry up credit or large solar power projects now in

the pipeline. Internationally, new nanciers rom China, India, Thailand and Latin America are oerin

to ll the gap. They have deep pockets, but oten no social and environmental guidelines.

While we at International Rivers are tightening our budgets and reezing our salaries, we are also

investing in programs that address the current environmental challenges and opportunities. We are

strengthening our climate and communications departments. We are expanding our work on new

dam builders and nanciers. The nancial crisis has demonstrated that sel-regulation is not workingand so we are pushing or stricter standards or the global dam industry. Finally, we will move into

Berkeleys Brower Center in a ew months, a model green building that exemplies the new economy

we are working toward.

As Barack Obamas new chie o sta said, a crisis should never be allowed to go to waste. Now is

the time to push or the breakthrough o a green economy. At International Rivers, we intend to be

part o the global agenda or change.

Peter Bosshard

Printed on 100%

post-consumer recycled

waste paper with

vegetable-based inks


3/16WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2008

ewS aND NoTeS oN The woRlDwiDe movemeNT To pRoTecT RiveRS

MAKINGWAVES

T lubr lnk

Customers are leav-ing The Home Depot

because o its support orplans to dam rivers in Chilean

Patagonia. More than 4,000

consumers have pledged to notshop Home Depot because its

suppliers include two Chileancompanies invested in the dam-

ming o the Baker and Pascua

rivers. Transmission lines and

reservoirs or these dams woulddestroy unique Patagonianorests Home Depot promised to

protect. To meet uture demandor electricity, Chile could use

eciency measures, solar and

wind energy, rather than largedams that would displace ami-

lies, disrupt livelihoods and spoillocal tourism income. Join the

wave to save Patagonias rivers,

communities and orests:internationalrivers.org/patagonia

Another historic voteTo deend the wild Pacuare, one o the most beautiul rivers in the world, communities living alongthe river held a vote in 2005 to weigh in on the issue o proposed dams. The tally: 97% opposeddamming the Pacuare. In February 2008, the government renewed plans to build dams on the riverand said it would reject the local vote. But in November, the nations Electoral Tribunal ruled that thecommunities vote must be respected and that a new reerendum could take place two years ater therst one. This action has created a great precedent or validating communities decisions regardingresource development projects in their areas.

Too hot to handleShortly ater Indian authorities issued an environmentalclearance letter or the 1,500 MW Tipaimukh Dam in October,hundreds o water rights activists in ve cities across Bangladeshtorched dummy copies o the letter to show their displeasurewith the Indian governments approval o the controversialdam on the shared Barak River. They ear that people who livedownstream o the planned dam will be at the mercy o Indianauthorities who will be able to control the river fow and willignore the agricultural water needs o millions o Bangladeshisliving downstream o the project. Concerns about the dam arealso shared by Indian activists, including the Action CommitteeAgainst Tipaimukh Project in Manipur.

In the NewsTime and again, Aricas large hydro development

schemes alsely promised public benefts, but instead

resulted in a slowed expansion o energy access or

citizens, and the privatization o the benefts provided

by rivers while also reducing the many ree ecosystem

services they bring. Building the worlds largest dam in

a nearly ailed state as part o a grand scheme to light

up Arica is not only unlikely to avoid such pitalls, it is

rapidly becoming a cause celebrethat threatens to divert

attention rom the kinds o incremental projects that

might actually bring light to Aricans.

From a chapter on the privatization o Aricas

rivers and the Grand Inga Dam,

by Terri Hathaway and Lori Pottinger,

in the new book Electric Capitalism:

Recolonising Africa on the PowerGrid

(Earthscan 2009, ed. David McDonald)



1When approaching a dam removal project, what isthe rst thing you have to know, the rst thing youwould tackle?Helen Sarakinos, whose group the River Alliance o Wisconsin has

helped remove many obsolete dams in that heavily dammed state,

put it most succinctly: Is there a local voice willing to speak or

the river? I you dont have a local champion, you dont have a

prayer. No one wants to hear city olks tell them what to do with

their dam, she says.

Craig Tuckers work on behal o the Karuk Tribe in the very

heated eort to remove our dams on the Klamath River has

taught him that the more political the battle is, the more diverse

and broad a coalition you need to win. We have tribal leaders,

scientists, armers, and commercial shermen working to orward

our message, he notes. The Klamath coalition has had a clear plan

o action or inormation gathering as well: First, clearly dene

the ecological impacts o the project. Although to most o us it s

obvious that sh need water and spawning habitat, dam removal

advocates typically have to prove these points in court. Make sure

your science is extensive and legally deensible. Compare the costs

o dam operations to dam removal.

A number o our respondents said that the rst step is nd out i

the dam owner will be a willing partner in a dam removal or de-

commissioning eort. Brian Graber, who has worked on at least 20

successul and 45 in-progress dam removal campaigns or American

Rivers, said, You cant just pick a dam and remove it. You have to hav

the dam owner on board. Usually it doesnt take expensive easibility

studies to assess whether a dam owner will be amenable to removal.

I they need to see an expensive easibility study, they usually arent

going to consent. Presenting a well-thought-out set o conceptual

reasons, including both economic and ecological benets to removal

is usually enough to determine i a dam owner is truly interested.

Sara Strassman, also o American Rivers, says its not enough

just to know who owns the dam: Go see the dam, understand wh

it was used or and how it impacts the river dynamics and ecosys-

tem, and to know what steps must be taken to remove the dam an

who your partners might be.

2What makes the strongest argument or dam remova

Nearly all our respondents said that economics is the key argu-

ment. Says Brian Graber: Dam ownership requires costly mainte

nance and repairs and carries liability. Dam removal is a one-time

expense. In addition, there are many unding sources available

or river restoration, while there are ew to none available or dam

repair. Considering long-term costs, dam removal will almost al-

ways be cheaper than keeping a dam. Adds American Rivers Sar

Strassman, Why maintain something that provides no services?

Helen Sarakinos agrees that it almost always comes down to mon

ey. But Ive also come to realize that it also comes down to someone

believing in the river that could be. Its a huge leap o aith to imagine

a river where a lake used to be. I someone can imagine that, and its

more aordable solution, then dam removal can happen.

Adds Sara Strassman, Most people will want to do somethingbenecial or river health i they can understand the process and

it doesnt cost them money. Dam removal, like any other social de

cision-making, has tensions around economics and the distributio

o real and perceived gains and losses, and these tensions manies

themselves dierently in every case. It is important not to argue

over emotional attachments to a dam.

Dam saety is another top actor listed by many. Saety and

structural obsolescence are the two most important criteria, as-

serts Ercan Ayboga. For example, Krebsbach Dam in Germany

had to meet new food saety criteria, which required a compre-

hensive expensive rehabilitation, so the owner a regional public

water supply agency decided to remove it.

In the case o the Klamath, its not just the projects poor

economics, but the added liability o a toxic reservoir. Says CraigTucker, On the Klamath, the reservoirs erupt each summer with

massive blooms o toxic blue-green algae. In addition, the Klamat

dams generate little power, while bringing the acilities into comp

ance with modern environmental laws by building sh ladders and

other modications would cost ratepayers nearly $500 million.

3In your campaigns, how important was it to havealternatives or replacements or what was lost indecommissioning?Many campaigners said the dams they have worked to remove

no longer provide the services they once did. Generally, we are

removing dams that have not served their original purpose or

D R: lrnng r t prsby Elizabeth Brink

We talked with some o the worlds best experts and advocates or dam removal to fnd out what lessons they have learnedon this complex topic, and what hopes they have or reviving the worlds dammed rivers. Below are their answers to a ewquestions about what it takes to create a successul dam decommissioning campaign.

The Sandy River in Oregon is undergoing a restoration transormationsince the Marmot Dam was removed.



50-100 years, says Sara Strassman. Yet even obsolete dams are

not always a slam dunk or removal. Notes Helen Sarakinos: In

our part o the country, dams oten dont provide many benets to

the communities around them. Theyre remnant dams, and oten

expensive to maintain. And yet, people keep pouring money into

them. In this work, you have to understand that ear o change is

a powerul motivator. People will choose the devil they know over

the devil they dont.

Brian Graber told us that even when the removed dam no longer

provided reliable services, in some cases we have replaced a dams

uses during removal anyway. For example, at one site, we replacedan impoundment water supply with nearby underground tanks,

which are ultimately proving to be a more reliable source o water.

Pedro Bruao o Spains Rios Con Vida states, Alternatives are

always basic to our campaigns. Demand-side management is the

best tool. Water and energy needs can be met using less electricity

and water. The use o economic arguments is also a constant.

4What are some o the most important lessons youvelearned in this work?I learn something new on every single project, says Brian Graber.

Perhaps the best lesson is to expect that every project is going to

have some unique challenge that you havent aced beore, rom

engineering constraints, to nding creative ways to replace dam

uses, to regulatory challenges, to working on social issues. But aconstant is that almost every single project is going to have some

vocal opposition. You should not expect that you will be able to

sway opinions despite your best public-participation eorts. It

seems 10% percent o the people will always disagree with you,

even on projects you would initially expect to be non-contentious.

I recommend anyone in this work get training in mediation, con-

fict resolution and acilitation.

Laura Wildman o American Rivers says that public participa-

tion can make or break a campaign. Dont underestimate the

power o public opinion and perception. Be prepared to deal with

an oten-slow public education process on dam removals that

catch the public eye. Oten the numbers and acts alone will not

convince anyone. She adds a bit o perspective to keep in mind:

the history o the river extends ar beyond mans perception ohistory.

Pedro Bruao has learned that overcoming preconceived no-

tions is harder than it looks. For most o the public, there are

many myths surrounding dams: dams are orever, dams are good,

dams are monuments o our civilization, every dam is necessary,

engineers never ail, dams cause no harm, rivers have surpluses

o water, polluted rivers clean themselves, sh are less important

than humans, levees provide saety rom fooding. We have to

reject those myths by using rational arguments such as economics

and alternatives. We need a lot o patience to change minds.

Some resources, like unding, can be modied based on the

objectives and the scale o the project. According to Sara Strass-

man, the most important resource is time, and it is nite. Putting

together a timeline or the project and its various components is a

worthwhile investment because it creates the best opportunity or

eective time management.Brian Graber agrees: Have a reasonable expectation or proj-

ect timing. Dam removal projects can take a long time we start

o with the expectation that it is at least a three-year process,

even or a small dam.

Laura Wildman has learned that complex technical xes on

engineered rivers arent always the best approach. We need to

back o and give the river more room. Rivers need to move and

oten with river restoration less is more. We oten do more bad

than good when we constantly tinker with rivers.

5Can you anticipate any repercussions or riverrestoration eorts rom the US and global nancial crisis?Here, some see opportunities while many others see constraints in

the crisis. In the glass is hal empty camp, Craig Tucker notes thatit certainly will be more dicult to und our campaigns and on-the-

ground restoration eorts. I hope that the corollary to that is that it

will be more dicult to und new dams and diversions as well!

Helen Sarakinos believes it could cut either way. Cost may

become an even stronger bottom line in repair-versus-removal

decisions.

Sara Strassman agrees; On one hand, unding opportunities

through the traditional restoration unds may decrease as ederal

and state budgets and philanthropic giving retract. On the other

hand, economically ecient solutions to inrastructure problems

may become more attractive in an era o restricted resources.

Free services provided by unctioning natural environments are

cheaper, and more attractive, than engineered solutions.

Pedro Bruao says he is not going to take this lying down:Environment and human rights related to water are always put

aside when crisis shows up. Weve got to let the public know that

river restoration is cheaper, healthier and much more protable

than the alternative o doing nothing or going orward with our

mad fuvicide. l

Kt D R continued

the Yurok reservation where as many as 68,000 adult salmon died

beore spawning. We all have those images o what happened in

the Klamath, Secretary o the Interior Dirk Kempthorne told the

San Francisco Chronicle. Nobody wants to see those images

again, so we were motivated to nd a solution.

According the Agreement in Principle, PaciCorp will contrib-ute $150-$200 million to dam removal, and Caliornia will chip as

much as $250 million. The larger Basin Restoration Plan calls or

nearly $1 billion in spending over the next 12 years, although only

hal o this gure requires new unding.

By two separate estimates, dam removal would be cheaper

than modiying them with sh ladders.

The dams owner, PaciCorp (owned by billionaire Warren Bu-

ett), says it is committed to seeing the deal through to dam re-

moval, and argues that its customers will pay less under the terms

o the agreement than they would i the dams are relicensed.

Federal agencies have mandated the construction o $300-$400

million worth o sh ladders i the dams remain.

A number o groups have not signed on to the deal, including

the Hupa Indian tribe and a group o armers. Some environmental

groups not directly involved in the process condemned the deal as

taking too long to save the sheries, leaving too many loopholes

or the dams owners, and other problems.

But Steve Rothert o American Rivers said, This agreementreally is a big step orward. Two years ago PaciCorp said they

would only consider removing the dams i somebody gave them a

billion dollars. Today, they have agreed to pay $200 million to get

rid o these old dinosaurs and all the problems they cause. A re-

stored Klamath River will pay o that investment many times over

as healthy salmon runs return each year, in perpetuity.

The next step is or the parties to sign a binding agreement by

June 30, 2009. Then the ederal government will study the easi-

bility o dam removal and make a ruling by March 2012, when the

Secretary o the Interior would make a nal decision. The target

date or removal is 2020. l



When the nearly 50-oot-high Marmot Dam was removed

rom the Sandy River in Oregon last year, some estimated

it could take two to ve years or the river to process

the rocks, gravel and sand that had collected in the reservoir or

decades. Instead, the river cleaned itsel out in months.

In act, the day ater the dam was removed, ederally protectedCoho salmon were migrating past the ormer dam site.

This summer, the Little Sandy Dam was also taken out, ullling

a cooperative agreement between the Bureau o Land Management

(BLM) and dam owner Portland General Electric (PGE) to remove

the Bull Run Hydroelectric Project (which includes both dams) and

restore the ree-fowing character o the Sandy River.

The project was built in 1913 to power a trolley that carried city

dwellers out to the countryside, but PGE decided in 1999 that the

costs o modiying the dams to help declining sh runs were higher

than their energy value.

The big question on Marmot Dam quickly became, should they

attempt to remove the sediment behind the dam or simply blow it

up and let it go.

They blew it up.Beore they did, the Fish and Wildlie Department converted its

Sandy sh hatchery to raising only sh stocks native to the Sandy,

rather than the more generic hatchery sh.

While Marmot Dam had a sh ladder, and thereore did not

completely block migration o anadromous species, its removal

does allow aster, easier sh access to 100 miles o river above the

dam. The Little Sandy was only 16 eet high, but that was enough

to completely block six miles o salmon stream.

Bill Bakke, executive director o the Native Fish Society, said

one o the most important values o this project is that it lays

more groundwork or a lot more dam removals, which have valueor our rivers.

Gordon Grant, a research hydrologist with the US Forest

Services Pacic Northwest Research Station, has documented

the results o the Sandy River decommissioning project. Due to

a strong global interest in dam removal, Grant recently returned

rom giving his Sandy River restoration talk at the newly ormed

Chinese Center or River Restoration, a presentation he has taken

on the road across the US and to Europe.

Internationally, Grant has ound that interested audiences are

oten surprised that we are taking down even ully unctional dam

in the US, and tend to assume that dam removal is motivated by

a high economic value o shing. Grant believes that the power o

the US regulatory structure is what primarily paves the way or

river restoration.Though viewing the project through the lens o a scientist, Gran

is quick to note all restoration occurs within a cultural context.

However, i you have a strong core scientic process, that can trans

late across cultural lines. l

Fdng hungry Rrby Elizabeth Brink

Water and rivers have always been a part o Wil Dvoraks lie. He

was born three blocks rom a river in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and

built his rst kayak at 13. When not busy at International Rivers

putting together theRiver Revival Bulletin, Dvorak can be ound

camping and kayaking the western states alone, or with his grown

daughter. He became interested in conservation and water issues

early. It was irritation, I guess, anger at the pollution o our rivers

that set me on course or environmentalism or the rest o my lie.

Dvorak says his work on theRiver Revival Bulletin gives him

hope or the uture. Im the good-news guy most o the time!

he says with a grin. Its ocus on the positive restoration o water

systems around the world is very upliting and hopeul in a world

ull o negative environmental news. He has been working on tha

good news or six years now, making him a veteran volunteer or

International Rivers.

Dvorak is 69 but you would never guess it rom his appearance

or activity level. He has the build and bearing o a marathon run

ner, combined with the weathered appearance o a man who has

spent most his lie outdoors. Even his unruly mustache and tousle

grey hair jammed under a baseball cap looks like it is dying to be

outdoors.

Dvorak has been in Caliornia since 1965. I guess my love o

clear streams sent me west, he says. Ater 30 years as an enginee

and surveyor in the San Francisco Bay Area, retirement rolled

around. I had more time to volunteer and my daughter had grow

up, so I looked up [International Rivers] and they needed a volun-

teer and they took me in.

I remember a vivid experience near Monterey when I hiked u

the Carmel River and came upon the ace o a dam. There was a

sh ladder and huge steelhead trout going up it, but the sh ladde

was poorly constructed and the sh could jump out. They would

jump over the side and all on the rocks below and get stranded. I

would put them back in the stream to rescue them, said Dvorak.

It seemed cruel or humans to deprive the sh o their habitat.

Dvorak is continuing that rescue mission with his work at Inter-

national RiversRiver Revival Bulletin, or many more years

we hope! l

a l Rrs: w Drk by Tim Kingston

Wil Dvorak, International Rivers volunteer extraordinaire



D R n R n Snby Pedro Bruao

In Spain, dam removal is booming. Water oversight committees,

municipalities, anglers and environmental groups are pressing or

healthier ways to manage rivers.

Almost all o the demolitions in Spain have been small dams,

but some larger dams are currently under review, such as Alcal

del Ro and Cantillana dams in Seville, which eliminated the stur-geon population in the Guadalquir River; and the Palombera Dam

on the Nansa River, which caused the extinction o local salmon

runs. These dams are saety risks as well. So ar, no success: they

are mammoths, and will not go down easily.

In the past decade, around 50 dams have been torn down in Spain,

mainly on northern rivers, or two purposes: to eliminate the risk o

foods, and to protect salmon stocks. Water oversight committees are

in charge o reorming the water permit process to abide by the EU

Water Framework Directive. So ar, in the North Basin, more than

6,100 water permits have been cancelled and 38 small dams have

been removed. The last dam to be removed was the Presa de Rubeiras

on the Eo River, whose Atlantic salmon stock had dwindled to a rate

too low to ensure survival. This hydropower dam was bought by the

North Basin Water Body and decommissioned this summer.New demolitions are scheduled in 2009 near the city o Oviedo,

to reduce fooding and allow salmon to migrate to spawning areas.

The Bidasoa river system, on the rontier between France and

Spain in Basque country, has had ve dams demolished or envi-

ronmental purposes in the past two years. Nearly 500 water per-

mits in this basin have been cancelled to protect salmon and brown

trout. This river is blocked a hundred times in 120 kilometers.

Elsewhere, numerous dam removals are planned, including:

Two dams in the Gea River in the National Park o Picos de

Europa will be removed shortly.

In the South near Seville, the Guadaira River suers rom high

levels o pollutants, and reduced fows rom 95 dams on its main-

stem; 25 o them will

be decommissioned.

Near Madrid, an

abandoned dam was

removed in 2007 to

restore riparian habi-tat in the regional

park o Manzanares

River.

One more dam

will be removed

next year to ree

40 km o river in

Cceres province

and restore trout

populations.

Around 100

new removals

are planned by

the EstrategiaNacional de Restaura-

cin de Ros, passed by the Ministry o the

Environment.

We will continue to work to restore even more o Spains riv-

ers through dam removal, using the new tools to protect water

resources under the EU and nationally. The law is helpul, but the

denitive weapons are political and social pressure. It takes a vil-

lage to protect a river! l

The author is the president o Rios Con Vida (www.riosconvida.es).

Watch a documentary on the eort to restore the Bidasoa River:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMkKdQaIOk

This year alone, 64 dams have been removed

or are slated or removal in the US. The

removal o these dams will help improve

water quality, increase populations o sh

and wildlie and improve food protection

and public saety. It is time to rethink our

nations water inrastructure. These dam

removals are an example o how our com-

munities can reap multiple benets whenwe let nature work, and when we let rivers

be rivers, said American Rivers President

Rebecca Wodder.

Eels, darter sh, redn pickerels and creek

chubsuckers have returned to a branch o

Connecticuts Eightmile River since a small

dam was removed last year. The dam was

built in the early 1900s to power a mill that

has long since been shuttered. Observers

have noticed the rapid recovery o riverine

plants and animals. Last year, we counted 40

dierent plant species here, and now there

are 80, said Adam Whelchel o the Nature

Conservancy. Theres been a doubling o the

diversity.

The Cahaba River is teeming with lie since

a dam was removed in October 2004. When

dams were built on Alabamas large rivers,millions o snails and mussels were killed.

Biologists recently observed thousands o

snails in the river basin.

The restoration o native sheries to the

Penobscot River is one step closer to real-

ity. Permit applications were recently led

by the Penobscot Project to remove two

dams and install a sh passage at another

dam. The unlikely coalition o conserva-

tion groups, the dam owner, the Penobscot

Indian Nation and government agencies is

working to restore 11 species o sea-run

sh on a nearly 1,000 mile stretch o river,

while also maintaining energy produc-

tion. The coalition has raised $25 million

to purchase the three dams to allow this

innovative restoration work.

The Penobscot people and the river haveshared this place or thousands o years,

and the health o our people is directly tied

to the health o this river. Opening up this

waterway will revitalize a signicant part

o our culture and bring back health to our

sacred river, said Chie Kirk Francis o the

Penobscot Indian Nation. We are so grate-

ul to all the people who are helping to make

this project a reality.

Rstrng US Rrs St by St by Susanne Wong


8/16

Frng t Rrs: a ls cng

Born to the River: Leaf HillmanLea Hillman did not choose t

and still lives in the ancestral Ka

hunting, shing, and gathering thowner o the sacred white deersadvocate o traditional environm

Ts s y i sy y ns stng i d, ts t ny nd t t g n.

As a young man, Lea adoptereligious practices, and spiritual

people must live to be successul in lie. Without them we wgenocidal policies o the 1800s, only to have their religious ceremoved rom their homes and taken to government schools wspite o these seemingly insurmountable burdens, today you whaving restored and revived our ceremonies that were given

Now, as a result o our hard work, our strong belies, andwith Mr. [Warren] Buetts Klamath River dams, and are oeancestors, by reminding mysel o what they were able to oveme, it actually drives me harder.

Lea notes that throughout time the Karuk have been knowconduct o annual world renewal ceremonies.

We believe that all o the non-human spirit people, the roman spirit people on this earth. Taking care o the sh is just

Thai Fisher Never Gives Up HopeWere there still plenty o shes

to do, says 57-year-old Somkiat SinPor Somkiat (Por means at

the Mun River. A armer and shermDam started in 1992. He said that vaected villagers have still not bee

Por Somkiat is just one o more was highly controversial rom the stributary o the Mekong. Between

living along the Mun River. Some, like Por Somkiat, have contHe described the various stages o the villagers ght, sta

o sheries livelihood, allocation o new armland, and nallyvillagers have had incremental victories along the way, but sin 2002, ater a long campaign, the government agreed to op

in recent years it has not complied with this agreement. Nevimpacts, and the government says it would be dicult to buiPor Somkiat earned more than $440 monthly rom Mun Ri

even enough or daily ood. His six children, ages 18 to 35, hathey had no other option but to become laborers in big cities.

erytng s s u r ntu n t st.ntd t r utur us. N ts gn. Fss

Por Somkiat says he is disappointed over the lack o concsuered by the aected villagers.

This is really a lietime pain or all o us. We are swallowinpen again. Now that the government is talking about building the Thai-Lao border, it seems he will never be able to rest in hi

Inspired by Free Rivers:Serena McClain

Serena McClain was toolingalong at a public relations agency

when one day she realized she justcouldnt work in a corporate settingany longer. She had ideals and val-ues that were all being shoved asidein the name o paying clients andbillable hours. Now, as an AssociateDirector o the River RestorationProgram in American Rivers Wash-ington, DC, oce, Serena is inspired

daily by the work o her colleagues and the people whose livesthey impact. Attending a public meeting where a grandathergives an impassioned plea to be able to take his grandsonshing much as he used to do is a vast improvement, she says,

rom lobbying on behal o insurance companies.I was personally inspired by the Rivers or Lie gathering in

Thailand in 2003, where we listened to personal testimonialsrom people all over the world ghting dams. Those stories makeme question what right I have to ever give up hope, she says.

The majority o Serenas work has been national in scope,ocusing more on communicating the broader messages o thedam removal movement, and developing tools that will helpcommunities succeed in their restoration projects.

All told, the picture is positive: dam removal is now a morewidely accepted tool in restoring rivers, and states all acrossthe country are removing dams.

Stndng n t bnks rr s i t t tr

urng trug brd d nsrs t rk stt i n tnss tt rd gn nd gn.At the individual project level, Serena tries to nd out what

motivates individuals interested in pursuing a dam removal.By tapping into the passions and drive o that one activist oragency employee or dam owner who wants to make a dier-ence, she nds she can better help them ocus their campaign.

Ive learned to accept that there is always going to besomeone who disagrees with what I do or a project Im workingon, and the reasoning behind their opposition might dey logic.I have to be okay with that because Im not going to win overeverybody. I am better served ocusing on what I can changeand how I can help the greater project and community.

Given the current global economic situation, Serenabelieves it will be increasingly important to build multiac-eted campaigns that talk about the multiple benets o damremoval. Stressing the pressure o aging inrastructure andmaking a strong economic argument, including project liecycleestimates, can help make the case or continued river restora-tion activities, she says.

Continuing to invest in unsustainable technologies andpractices isnt a smart use o limited resources. We shouldwork at making communities more resilient and look to or-ward-thinking solutions to get them there. In the end, dams willbe the solution in very ew cases.


9/16

izabeth Brink

Following the River of Life:Mark Angelo

Mark Angelo has beenan avid paddler and fy sher

or more than our decades.His great aection or riversand awareness o threatsto them began when hewas a young boy. During hisyounger years, Mark livednear the Los Angeles River,which had been ully en-cased in a concrete culvert,and even at an early age herealized this wasnt the wayit was supposed to be.

i ys bd tt rrs r t rtrs

ur nt. Ty r ns n t trust sns ndty ns u r ntur, utur ndrrtn rst.

While virtually everyone who has been active in the eldo river conservation has experienced some lost battles, itsthose times when a river might be saved or restored, or whenyou see some tangible signs o progress, that inspires you andkeeps you going.

Shortly ater university, Mark moved to Vancouver, Canadato become part o the Fish and Wildlie Program at the BritishColumbia Institute o Technology. He was happy to live in aplace with a great river heritage and, ever since, has beenan avid river advocate. He also serves as Rivers Chair or the

Outdoor Recreation Council o British Columbia, which worksto conserve and enhance outdoor settings and resources andto secure public access to them or recreation. Mark workedwith both organizations to ound BC Rivers Day, which isnow World Rivers Day, held annually on the last Sunday inSeptember; it has been celebrated by more than 30 countriessince its inception in 2005.

Mark emphasizes the importance o communication inriver advocacy. Once you can demonstrate public support andmedia interest, the chance o making some real progress isgreatly improved, he says.

His hopes or the uture run deep. Having spent sometime in the Varanasi, India with one o my river restorationheroes, Dr. Veer Bhadra Mishra, it was wonderul to see thegreat reverence that locals and pilgrims had or the GangesRiver, their countrys holiest waterway. Yet, despite this, theGanges, like so many rivers in dierent countries, is pollutedand remains troubled in many ways. My hope is that well seea time when we not only revere rivers but we also actuallytreat them in a way thats consistent with that devotion.

or Klamaththe campaign to restore the Klamath River. He was born, raised,iphiruk on the Klamath. His earliest childhood memories are o

which surrounded him. He is a ceremonial leader and hereditarya practitioner o traditional Karuk culture and language, and anp and management practices.

rk s nt : fgtng r y nd t rrknn. its nt stng i n sut , k ts f k

is mentors, the restoration and revival o ancient ceremonies,e was taught that these are the oundations upon which Karukhe ace o the earth, he says. The Karuk people survived overtultural practices outlawed. Then their children were orciblyorbidden to speak their language or practice their religion. In

eople still practicing their ancient ceremonies and religious rituals,tor at the beginning o time, says Lea.

campaigning, people all around the world are aware o the issuesh this struggle. It is air to say that I also draw inspiration rom myn the richest man on the planet is not something that intimidates

rld people, or their ardent and stubborn adherence to the

water, shes and animals are our close relatives, as are all the hu-as taking care o our children and elders, it is our responsibility.

at Singhakhamy children would have been better educated and had a decent job

ran o the campaign to remove Pak Mun Dam in Thailand.pect in Thailand) has lived most o his lie in a village alongd how things have changed since construction on the Pak Munen ghting or over 15 years or justice, but the majority o theensated or what they have lost.gers aected by the Pak Mun Dam. Completed in 1994, the damts impacts on the rich sheries o the Mun River, the largesthere was intense opposition to the dam by thousands o peoplee even today.nsation or fooded armland, ollowed by compensation or lossopen the dam gates and restore the Mun River sheries. Thements have oten reneged on their commitments. For example,he dam or our months per year to allow or sh migration, but

agers struggles have helped widen the understanding o damsThailand because o the huge opposition to such projects.ore the dam. He is struggling now on merely $30 a month noto ormal schooling. Now that shing is no longer a possibility,

fss. i sd t, xngd t r d, nd r-ug r dy-t-dy tng, sd.he authorities to help heal the economic and emotional setbacks

and blood or a living every day. I hope that this would never hap-wer project, Ban Kum Dam, on the mainstream o the Mekong onrivers. He vows to ght on or the rights o the villagers.



Crossing through ten countries and draining the territory o

19 countries, the Danube is the most international river in

the world. In addition to the 83 million people living in the

river basin, the Danube is home to globally important species o

fora and auna.

In its 2,780 km course rom Germanys Black Forest to its outletat the Black Sea, the Danube basin supports a diverse system o

natural habitats and unique biological diversity. The Danube River

Basin has more than 100 dierent species o sh including ve

sturgeon species and it is home to rare birds like the white peli-

can, white tailed eagle and black stork.

While large sections o the Upper Danube in Austria and Ger-

many have been regulated, the middle and lower Danube and the

Danube Delta eature a highly rich and unique biological diversity

that has been lost in most other European river systems. These

foodplains provide multiple ecosystem services, such as water

purication, nutrient sinks, food protection, sheries and tourism.

The rivers history

Over the past 150 years, the Danube has been much abused. Dikes,dams and dredging have straightened large sections o the river. More

than 80% o the Danubes wetlands have been lost, and with them the

rich diversity o sh and other species on which they depend.

Nearly two decades have passed since the all o the Iron

Curtain. In that time, huge changes have swept the Danube region.

The top-down control o Communist regimes has been replaced

by a multiplicity o actors in politics, economy, environment and

protection o nature. The region is being increasingly integrated

into the global economy.

The sudden collapse o Soviet industry and agriculture did the

environment a good turn. Pollution suddenly dropped dramati-

cally. Tougher environmental standards and massive investment in

sewage and waste treatment became the norm, especially in the

EUs newest member states. The International Commission or theProtection o the Danube River (ICPDR) and the EU Water Frame-

work Directive have given the worlds most international river a

ramework or governance and integrated river basin management

that has become an example o good practice.

Many ormer foodplain and wetland areas are being restored,

demonstrating benets not only or shing, tourism and recreation,

but also or food and water management. In 2006, WWF published

a comprehensive study that shows how restoration o wetland areas

could signicantly contribute to food mitigation on the Danube.

The Danube has in the past 20 years signicantly recovered rom

decades o abuse. Today, the river is largely swimmable, and many o

the worst environmental hot spots have been addressed. But while

there have been notable successes or environmental protection,

there are also many new and persisting challenges. One o the biggerchallenges is reconnecting the Danube up and downstream.

Plight o the sturgeonIn the Middle Ages, giant Beluga sturgeon the size o a small bus

migrated up the Danube as ar as Germany. Dams nearly 60 block

the Upper Danube cut o the sturgeons migration routes. But

the Iron Gates dams on the Danube between Serbia and Romania

are the one barrier stopping sturgeon rom migrating the 2,000 km

rom the Black Sea to Slovakia.

WWF is now working with the ICPDR and the governments

o Serbia and Romania to examine options or making the dams

passable to sturgeon and other species. A Sturgeon Action Plan

was adopted by the ICPDR, giving the Danube sturgeon priority o

conservation on the river.

A basin-wide approach is vital or the success o any conserva-

tion or restoration measures or sturgeon. This includes require-

ments to re-open sturgeon migration routes by enabling upstream

and downstream sturgeon passage at dams and other barriers to

sturgeon movements, and at the same time taking measures to

maintain or restore their spawning and eeding habitats.

Unsustainable developmentDespite these eorts, signicant threats to the sturgeon and the

Danubes ecological well-being remain. One o the biggest threats

today comes rom EU and government plans to dike and dredgethe river to allow or ever-larger ships.

As part o the EUs Trans-European Transport Networks, new

inrastructure projects are planned that threaten many o the

Danubes last ree-fowing sections, and hence the most ecologi-

cally valuable areas. Important wetlands along 1,000 kilometers o

the river could ace destruction i these plans are realized.

In December 2007, representatives o Danube governments,

the European Commission, navigation lobbies and a small group

o Danube advocates, including WWF, agreed to a common vision

or environmentally sustainable navigation on the Danube. But th

proo will be in the pudding.

The rst projects that are now moving orward provide little

ground or optimism. A plan by the Romanian government to in-

crease navigation between Calarasi and Braila would unnecessarilcut o the most important migration routes or Danube sturgeon

and destroy highly valuable nature areas.

In the meantime, Bavarian plans to build dams on the last ree

fowing section o the Danube in Germany between Straubing and

Vilshoen suered a setback in recent months. German Federal

Ministers or Transport and Environment have emphasized that

only improvement o navigation through river regulation withou

construction o dams is an option.

Closer to being implemented are plans or a section between Vi-

enna and Bratislava fowing through the Danube Floodplain Nation

Park. This project represents a compromise between shipping inter

Dndng t Dnubby Suzanne Ebert

Pelicans in the Danube Delta, Romania. Photo: Daniel Petrescu

Continued opposi


11/16WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2008 11

The modern story o the Iraqi Marshlands begins tragically

with intentional environmental destruction used as a

political weapon but today is one o miraculous renewal,

international cooperation and hope. Once at the brink o total col-

lapse, the area has been restored to a point where it will soon be

proposed as a UN World Heritage Site.The Iraqi Marshlands, said to be the location o the Garden

o Eden, are also home to a 5,000-year-old civilization and rich

biodiversity. Located at the confuence o the Tigris and Euphrates

rivers in southeastern Iraq, with a small extension into Iran, the

wetlands used to cover up to 20,000 square kilometers and sup-

ported a population o over 500,000 Madan, or Marsh Arabs.

In the early 1970s, Saddam Hussein began rerouting water rom

the marshes to agriculture in the north, and by the

1980s was orcibly resettling entire Madan villages.

Ater the 1991 Shia insurrection, Saddam perse-

cuted the Madan or allegedly harboring Iranian

guerrillas and Shia insurgents, eventually killing

tens o thousands o people. He also created a dia-

bolically eective water diversion project. Multiplecanals, dams, levees, and even a new river, the

Um-Al-Maarik (Mother o All Battles named or

the 1991 Kuwait war) were created to divert water

away rom the marshes. By the time o the US inva-

sion in 2003, nearly 200,000 people had fed their

homes. The marshlands, ormerly twice the size o

the Everglades, had shrunk to a mere 760 square

kilometers.

Even amid the chaos in Iraq ater the US inva-

sion, many recognized the importance o restoring

this wetland beore it was too late. Shortly ater

Saddams overthrow in 2003, southern Iraqi arm-

ers began blowing up dams and dikes to let water

back in. Azzam and Suzie Alwash, scientists anddirectors o Nature Iraq, are leading the ocial

charge or restoration in conjunction with US universities, the US

Agency or International Development (USAID), the Italian Minis-

try o the Environment, and a number o Iraqi ministries.

As o September, 65% o the wetlands have been refooded,

with over hal o them revegetated, and some 90,000 Madan have

returned. Native macro-invertebrates, sh and birds have alsoreturned to re-fooded areas. The marshes are a key part o the

liecycles o migratory sh and shrimp that move through the

Tigris and Euphrates basins; they also serve as an annual resting

place or millions o birds migrating between Siberia and Arica.

The Iraqi Marshlands are home to the rare Sacred Ibis and the

threatened Iraq babbler, which has nally returned ater decades.

h nd Rn n t irq mrsndsby Berklee Lowrey-Evans

Marsh Arabs in the restored wetlands. Photo: Heathcli OMalley

Dndng t Dnub continued

ests and the environment, and includes deepening the river channel

as well as directing water to the foodplains o the national park,

which have been slowly drying out. WWF and others are concerned

about the great depth that is planned or the river channel, which

will set a precedent or river regulation urther downstream.

The Ukrainian government has started construction on another

project o major concern, a navigation canal or large vessels that

runs through the heart o the Danube Delta, Europes largest

remaining natural wetland. Despite international protests and

the canal being in breach o international conventions or natureconservation, the rst phase o the project has already been imple-

mented. I continued, the canal will cause signicant damage to

the Danube Delta, both in the Ukraine and Romania.

I shipping on the Danube is indeed to be promoted as an

environmentally riendly mode o transportation, then there must

be a balance between protection and use along the entire stretch

o the river. To date, however, there has been no strategic assess-

ment o the impacts o planned projects on the Danube as a whole.

Without such an evaluation, sustainable economic development is

a arce and the uture o the Danube as a living river is in question.

Existing navigation could be signicantly increased with sot

measures such as improved logistics, modernized feets, and river

inormation systems or skippers without sacricing the Danubes

most valuable wetlands and benets.

National and EU plans threaten to turn the living Danube

into a shipping canal, said Dr. Orieta Hulea, head o Freshwater

or the WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme. This is expensive

and unnecessary. We need to use proven technology, logistics

and innovation to start tting our ships to the river, not our river

to the ships.

The Danube region has developed tremendously over the past

two decades rom an environmental perspective, both or betterand worse.

The world is heading toward an ecological credit crunch as

human demands on the worlds natural capital reach nearly a third

more than earth can sustain. That is the stark warning in the latest

edition o WWFs Living Planet Report.

This is just one o the many reasons we need to seek smart

solutions that balance dierent uses o our rivers while preserving

the essential ecosystems on which we all depend. l

The author is the Freshwater Ofcer with the WWF International

Danube-Carpathian Programme.

Continued on page 1



News Briefsby Susanne Wong

Judge suspendssecond Madeira Dam

Brazils environmental protec-tion agency, Ibama, granted

a preliminary construction

license in mid-November or

the Jirau Dam on the Amazons

principal tributary, the Madeira

River. Ten days later the license

was suspended by a Federal

Court judge, who stated that

Brazilian law does not allow

the granting o a preliminary

license. The judge said that

construction couldnt start on

the project until a nal license

was issued by Ibama.The preliminary license gave

a consortium led by French

energy giant Suez permission to

begin construction on the 3,300

MW project, although Ibama

wasnt planning to issue the

nal license or two months.

Jirau is the second o two dams

being built on the Madeira.

Construction on the rst, the

Santo Antonio Dam, started

earlier this year.

Ibama granted the pre-

liminary license despite the actthat the consortium announced

ater winning the project auc-

tion that it was planning to

move the dam nine kilometers

rom the area specied in the

original bidding rules.

Although it appears that no

additional environmental im-

pact assessments were carried

out to determine the impacts

o this move, Ibama autho-

rized construction with ew

contingencies, only requiring

some additional environmental

analysis prior to construction

o the coer dam. A petition or

an injunction was led by the

Brazilian Forum o NGOs and

Social Movements or Environ-

ment and Development, which

requested revocation o the

preliminary license granted by

Ibama.

Ibamas creation o the

phony license is the latest in

a series o decisions by the

Brazilian government that demonstrates its determination to

move orward with large dams

in the Amazon Basin at any

price. A number o other law-

suits are also working their wa

through the Brazilian courts

challenging the approval o th

new dam site, any o which

could put urther obstacles in

ront o the project developers

The Madeira River dams

have been the subject o

intense controversy in Brazil

because they would block thetransport o sediment and the

passage o sh, and threaten

the rivers unique biodiversity

The project would aect the

land and livelihoods o thou-

sands o river-bank dwellers

and indigenous people.

Brazilian tribes shutdown dam site

Members o the Enawene Naw

tribe occupied and shut downthe site o a huge hydroelectri

dam in October. They argue

that plans to build 77 dams on

the Juruena River will pol-

lute the water and block sh

rom reaching their spawning

grounds. Fish play an essentia

role in the rituals and diet o

the Enawene Nawe.

The dam is being promoted

by the Maggi amily, which

owns the worlds largest soya

companies.

I the sh get sick and dieso will the Enawene Nawe,

said one o the tribes 500

members. The relatively iso-

lated tribe has aced increasin

incursions onto their lands. Fo

the past decade, cattle ranche

have invaded and deorested

the region, according to Surviv

al International. Invaders have

used weapons and violence to

intimidate the tribe.

Mercury rising in South Arica

Communities living around one o South Aricas largest drinking-

water reservoirs are suering rom mercury poisoning, according

to a recently revealed report. Researchers ound evidence that the

contamination has spread throughout the ood chain.

The government has tried to reassure residents o Durban and

those living around Inanda Dam that there is no reason to panic.

Still, a government task orce told people not to eat sh or locally

grown vegetables as a precaution. Mercury is highly toxic to the

human nervous system and can damage the lungs, brain and kid-

neys. Children are particularly vulnerable.Researchers rom the Medical Research Council made the

discovery ater analyzing sh, mud and human hair samples rom

the reservoir area. According to the South Arican newspaper

The Mercury, nearly 20% o hair samples rom people in Mshazi,

Nqetho and Madimeni villages contained mercury levels above the

World Health Organizations recommended limit.

When the report was completed nearly a year ago, the research-

ers said the ndings warranted urgent action rom authorities.

However, the report was not publicized, and ocials seem to have

taken no remedial action.

Finding the source o the pollution is proving challenging. Pos-

sible sources include a chemical plant which stored mercury waste,

airborne mercury pollution rom coal-red power plants, and small-

scale gold mining.A more likely explanation lies in the water. Studies have shown

that fooding land or dams can release mercury naturally present

in soils. In the dark depths o reservoirs where oxygen levels are

low, mercury is converted into a more toxic orm known as meth-

ylmercury. Plankton then take up the contaminants, are consumed

by larger and larger sh, and are in turn consumed by humans.

People in the region are organizing themselves to discuss the

contamination and pressure the government to take action. At

a recent meeting, government ocials agreed as a rst step to

place signs at the dams warning people o the potential danger

o eating the sh.

People moved or Inanda Dam already had their lives turned upside-

down by resettlement; now they have to contend with mercury poison-ing, too. Photo: Liane Gree


13/16



In PrintTwo lms on dammedrivers, and hopes orrestoration, reviewed byColin Carpenter.

River o Renewal:A Native JourneyDirected by Carlos Bolado;

Written and produced

by Stephen Most

www.terrapinpictures.com

River WaysProduced, directed, and edited

by Colin Stryker

www.sawgrassproductions.com

With the 2007 removal o

Marmot Dam on the Sandy River,

the Pacic Northwest established

itsel as a leader in the nationaldam decommisioning movement.

Now, two new lms bring us up to

date with portraits o the Klamath

and the Snake, two Northwestern

rivers with dams whose utures

hang in the balance.

Stephen Most, author o

the 2006 bookRiver Renewal,

oers up a clear and thorough

hour-long documentary that illu-

minates the multiaceted battle

or water and livelihoods on

the Klamath River in Northern

Caliornia. It comes at an oppor-

tune moment (see cover story).

The lm does a commendable

job o painting the picture with

only lightly biased strokes. In

the century-old battle involving

Native American communities,

commercial sherman, armers,

and dam-builders, its clear that

the biggest loser has been the

river itsel.

The lm ollows Jack Kohler,

a sel-described sidewalk

Indian who grew up in the city,

unaware o his ancestral culture,

as he embarks on a mission to

learn more about his roots in

the Yurok and Karuk tribes. His

journey, like that o his people,

is closely interlinked with thesalmon that once thrived in the

Klamaths waters. Kaleidoscop-

ing between the rivers natural

beauty, the political restorm

surrounding it, and the heart-

breaking human struggles

resulting rom its damming,

Kohler leads us up the river

step by step, checking in with

all o the players in this erce

environmental drama. Its a com-

pelling tale, made even more

poignant by intimate moments

with members o the tribal coun-

cil, th-generation commercial

shermen, and salt-o-the earth

armers upstream all o whom

depend on the Klamaths dimin-

ishing fow or survival.

The ongoing debate over dam

removal on the Snake closely

parellels that o the Klamath

(though it lags several years

behind in coming to ruition),

and Colin Stryker delivers a

lm o similar perspective in his

patient and thoughtul portrait

o lie along the Snakes course

in Eastern Washington. Scarcely

taking sides in the controversy,

River Ways steers rereshingly

clear o blame. The lm presents

a meditation on the slow pace olie along the river, ar rom the

environmentalists and lawyers

o Portland, the rivers ultimate

destination.

The lm ollows three very

human characters, all o whom

depend on the river or their

livelihood: Frank Sutterlict, a

tribal sherman and member o

the Yakama nation, who is barely

able to catch enough salmon to

get by; Mark Ihander, a com-

mercial sherman upended by

diminishing sh populations an

misguided government regula-

tion, and Ben Barstow, a arme

urther upstream whose busi-

ness requires the much-damme

river to eciently transport his

wheat to the big city.

The lmmaker spends quali

time getting to know each o

these intriguing men, none o

whom claims to have the answ

to the big question on the table

should the our lowest Snake

River dams be removed in orde

to revive the salmon and steel-

head runs (and hopeully the

economy along with them), or

should the dams stay?

As in the Klamath story, Riv

Ways on the Snake are complexand interdependent. Communi-

ties ghting or their survival wa

to know whats more valuable:

human lives or a healthy river

ull o sh? Hung up on the horn

o a dilemma, people in both

watersheds continue to search

or a viable third option, where

everyone wins. While neither o

these lms oers a solution, they

both hint that i we keep looking

hard enough, one just may rise t

the surace.l

Sut ass mst csty D Gts n inusnby Ann-Kathrin Schneider

Pakistans National Economic Council has approved US$1.5

billion toward the construction o the 4,500 MW Diamer-Bha-

sha Dam on the Indus in the North o the country. With this

decision, the government gives the go-ahead or a project with a

200-square-kilometer reservoir and a price tag o $12.6 billion. The

$1.5 billion is earmarked just or the acquisition o land.

According to Raja Pervez Ashra, ederal minister or water andpower, Chinese companies are interested in constructing the project

and some Arab countries want to orm a consortium to help Paki-

stan build the project. Pakistan has already signed a memorandum

o understanding with the China International Water and Electricity

Corporation or the construction o Diamer-Bhasha Dam, however,

no international nancier has ocially associated themselves with

the most costly project currently planned in South Asia.

In August 2008, a act nding team o our water activists rom

Pakistan visited six villages near the dam site to assess the situation

on the ground. They ound widespread ear among the local people

that the project would eat away all ertile land in the area, and that

only those paying bribes would be compensated or their losses.

While preparing or the visit, the activists had immense prob-

lems accessing inormation about the planned dam. Transparenc

levels are very poor and thereore it is very dicult to get inorma

tion or educated citizens o the country, and almost impossible o

illiterate laymen to access inormation, they said.

In the villages around the planned dam site, residents com-

plained that nobody had consulted them on a project that wouldfood their homes and orce them to leave their villages. The only

ocials who talked to them were there to measure their land to

assess compensation, they said.

Land matters greatly in this hilly area: steep slopes and bare

mountains leave only small tracts o fat land or people to grow

ood and graze their animals. With the reservoir fooding 11,400

hectares, 150 hectares needed or workers colonies and 200 hect

ares or the construction workshop and equipment, locals doubt

whether enough ertile, fat land would be let or them.

The act nding team reports: People think they will be

having no land to settle and becomeMohajareen [People

who migrate]. l


15/16WoRlD RIVeRs ReVIeW Dcmbr 2008 1

For decades, the Sardar Sarovar Dam on Indias Narmada River

has been a powerul symbol o what is going wrong with large

dam projects. A new independent review shows that the

projects benets have not been realized, while the social, environ-

mental and nancial costs are even more serious than expected.

Dam proponents are promoting Sardar Sarovar as the lielineo Gujarat. They say the project will irrigate large swathes o land,

generate electricity and provide drinking water to the thirsty cities

o this dry state in western India. I completed, the project will

displace more than 300,000 people, including many indigenous

communities in the Narmada Valley.

The World Bank approved $450 million in loans or Sardar

Sarovar in 1985 even though the project did not comply with the

governments conditional environmental clearance. Under strong

public pressure, the World Bank withdrew rom the Narmada Val-

ley in 1993. Indias Supreme Court ordered the project to be sus-

pended in 1995, but later allowed construction to continue under

the condition that the displaced people were properly rehabilitat-

ed. Even though these conditions have never been met, the dam

height has been raised to 122 meters. I the dam is completed, itwill reach 139 meters, and food out thousands more people.

In August, one o Indias leading think-tanks, the Tata Institute

o Social Sciences (TISS), published a detailed analysis o the

costs and benets o the Sardar Sarovar Project. The conclusions

o this independent review are damning:

The projects irrigation system has never been completed, and

the Narmada waters do not reach the intended beneciaries. Even

in the area closest to the river, the distribution channels dont

bring water directly to armland. Instead, armers are liting water

rom the canals with diesel pumps and pipes something which

only rich land owners can aord.

The project authorities are reneging on their promise to sup-

ply drinking water to Gujarats population. They have increased

industrys share o the water to industry rom 0.20 to 1.00 millionacre eet (MAF), while drinking water or domestic use has been

reduced rom 0.86 to 0.06 MAF.

The project was supposed to generate electricity at a capacity

o 1,450 megawatts. In practice, the hydropower plant will only

have a capacity o 425 megawatts, and once the irrigation system

is ully operational, this capacity will drop to 50 megawatts.

I the dam is completed, its reservoir will submerge 376 square

kilometers o land and displace approximately 240,000 people. The

canal network will displace even more people. The Supreme Court

decided that the dam oustees need to receive cultivable replace-

ment land and housing plots. The TISS report nds that the state

governments have never complied with this binding order, and

that the replacement land or the oustees is not available.

Indias Environmental Ministry ordered that the reservoirscatchment area needed to be treated in order to prevent soil ero-

sion. In addition, the orest land which was going to be submerged

needed to be replaced. None o this has happened. The TISS team

ound that 86% o the area which was supposedly aorested had

little or no tree cover.

Even though the dam and irrigation network have not been

completed, aected people have not been rehabilitated and

environmental mitigation measures have not been carried out, the

project costs have gone through the roo. The original project cost

in 1986 was 64 billion rupees (or slightly more than US$1 billion).

In the meantime, the cost has skyrocketed to 457 billion rupees

(more than $9 billion), and is expected to reach 700 billion rupees

by 2012.

The TISS report nds that keeping the dam height at 122

meters would only marginally aect power generation, and would

have no eect whatsoever in realizing the targets on irrigation

and drinking water. At the same time, not raising the dam heightwould save approximately 150,000 people rom being displaced.

The independent review concludes as ollows: It is strongly

recommended that the dam height at 121.92 m should not be

raised urther at least until the past obligations are ullled, the

benets o 121.92 m are completely realized, and an honest com-

parative analysis o uture costs and benets is carried out. Such a

decision would also ensure that concerns on social and ecological

impacts are addressed, responsibility or non-compliance is xed,

and violators are penalized.

The World Bank kick-started the Sardar Sarovar Project at a

time when Indias Environmental Ministry was still warning against

it. Thousands o poor armers still pay the price or this decision.

The World Bank should publicly support the recommendations o

the TISS review. And it should not approve any urther support orhydropower and irrigation projects in India as long as the prob-

lems o the Sardar Sarovar Dam have not been resolved. l

irq mrsnd continued

Although USAIDs Iraqi Marshlands Restoration Program was

phased out at the end o 2006, it still supports marshland resto-

ration as part o a three-year agribusiness program in Iraq. The

other organizations are still hard at work, aiming or the creation

o the Mesopotamian Marshlands National Park. I approved, the

Marshlands o Mesopotamia could become a World Heritage Site

in 2011. The park will work to protect the environment, promotesocio-economic development, protect and re-introduce endan-

gered species, preserve cultural heritage, and establish ecologi-

cal corridors.

Local indigenous knowledge o how to live sustainably in this

unique ecosystem still exists. The marshlands have never been

pristine; they have been abundantly occupied and well-tended.

The new national park proposes to restore them to this state,

integrating nature and culture in a seamless balance.

We cant live without the marshes or without the water. We be-

long to this. So you can imagine our eelings when the water came

back, said a Marsh Arab who was orced into exile and returned

when the water was let back in.

While there is much hope or the uture o the Iraqi Marsh-

lands, they are still in danger rom proposed development proj-ects. It has been estimated that three billion cubic meters o water

are needed to restore the marshes entirely, yet this much water

doesnt exist in the whole o Iraq. Making matters worse, over 30

dams have been built or proposed or the Tigris and Euphrates riv-

ers since the 1990s. It has been estimated that Turkeys Southeast

Anatolia project alone will cut Iraqs current water resources

by hal. There are also a growing number o irrigation projects

upstream in Syria and Turkey that will divert much-needed water

away rom Iraq and its marshlands. So while much progress is

being made, serious international water rights issues still pose a

threat to this important and unique ecosystem. l

N indndnt R Dunts Fur Nrd Dby Peter Bosshard


16/16

1847 Berkeley Way

Berkeley, CA 94703 USA

internationalrivers.org

sPeCIal FoCus oN RiveR ReSToRaTioN

Progress in restoring Floridas Everglades, said to be the

largest ecosystem restoration project in history, may be held

back or another decade by numerous budget and procedur-

al problems. Since the approval o the Comprehensive Everglades

Restoration Plan (CERP) by Congress in 2000, not one o the 60

proposed components o the plan has been completed, bringingserious concern or the continued loss o endangered ecosystems

and dwindling public support.

The process is a mess, says Sara Fain, National Co-Chair o

the Everglades Coalition. All the regulations governing CERP

projects need to be re-evaluated given what weve learned over

the past eight yearsWeve recognized that ecosystem restoration

doesnt neatly t into a box made or planning a civil works or food

protection project.

Nicknamed the River o Grass, the Everglades is the largest

subtropical wilderness remaining in the US and a World Heritage

Site. In the late 1880s, eorts to drain the land or development

set the marsh o on a slow decline. The marsh supports at least 68

species listed as threatened or endangered, with some remaining

only inside the national park. Almost three million acres o theseiconic wetlands have been drained, threatening a $20 billion tourism

industry, more than 365,000 jobs, and the only source o sae clean

drinking water or South Florida, according to the Everglades Trust.

The Everglades plan has been burdened by approval processes

at both state and ederal levels, meeting success only recently. In

2007, Congress nally passed legislation authorizing three projects

to go through. O these, the closest to ruition is a project to re-

store the wetlands in Indian River Lagoon (estimated to cost $1.2

billion). Picayune Strand, a scam housing development that largel

ailed in the 1960s, will have its canals and roads removed to

restore water fow across the tract. A recent proposal by the state

to purchase 187,000 acres o land rom the US Sugar Corp. will als

allow storage o water over large areas o land.Funding remains a key obstacle. In November, the U.S. Sugar

Corp. deal was modied to 181,000 acres, reducing the price tag

by about $4 million. Even so, the cost o the ull restoration plan

remains projected at $10-12 billion, and is expected to grow with

more delays.

Unortunately, the Everglades have not been a priority to the

Bush administration or to the previous governor o Florida, Jeb

Bush, says Fain. But the current governor, Charlie Crist, is mak-

ing eorts. The state has repeatedly put money orward to start

the projects, but the ederal government has to do its part.

A key step is to revise the ederal approval process to multiyea

budgets to release more unding, and also review multiple project

at once. A project-by-project analysis is undamentally fawed.

We need to do this comprehensively because each o the projectsalone does not restore the Everglades, and has diculty standing

alone in its individual benet to the ecosystem.

I such changes occur, CERP will have numerous implications,

not only or Florida. We know that there are people throughout

the world watching us, says Fain. At the same time, we dont

know all the answers and may make some missteps along the way

It will be dicult, but not insurmountable. l

ergds Rstrtn pn: abtus nd Sby Stacy Lee

Because the worlds lie-givingrivers need to be deended

today and tomorrow...

Making a bequest to

International Rivers or our

supporting organization the

Fund or International Rivers

(FIR) can help sustain the

struggle or healthy rivers

and human rights.

For inormation on making a bequest, contact us at

+1 510 848 1155 or [email protected].

wrr december 2008-updated

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