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dam-l WDC to study major river basins <fwd>



WORLD DAMS COMMISSION TO STUDY MAJOR
RIVER BASINS


CAPE TOWN - A global commission probing
controversial large dam projects said on Monday it
would study 150 dams in at least 10 major river
basins around the world.

"The commission resolved to conduct independent
reviews in at least 10 of the world's major river basins
with significant dams," Kader Asmal, World
Commission on Dams chairman and South African
Water Affairs Minister, told a news conference.

The independent commission was set up earlier this
year with support from the World Bank and the World
Conservation Union to try to find solutions to the
heated issue of dam building around the world by
bringing together activists opposed to dams and the
companies which build them.

The World Bank has come under intense pressure in
recent years from environmental and human rights
groups, who say large dams supported by the bank
and other lenders hurt the environment and displace
thousands of people unnesessarily.

Commission Secretary-General Achim Steiner said
he could not give details yet of which 10 river basins
would be studied, but said they would be spread
across the globe.

Steiner said the commission's purpose was not to
adjudicate on specific projects but attempt to review
all sides and establish guidelines and criteria for
future dam schemes.

The Cape Town-based body had planned to hold its
meeting in India, but was forced to gather in South
Africa after the Indian government asked for the
meeting to be cancelled.

The commission said misinformation had created an
atmosphere of political controversy about the purpose
of its planned hearings in the Indian state of Gujarat
where the huge Narmada dam project has prompted
unrest.

"The controversial nature of the debate surrounding
dams in India illustrates the sensitivity of the issues
at hand, such as the resettlement of communities
and the environmental impact of dams," the body
said in a statement.

Asmal said the commission would meet next in Sri
Lanka in December but said future hearings would
also be held in India.

"We owe it to democracy in India to have a session
there," he said.

(C) Reuters Limited 1998.