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dam-l SA hearings for dam affected/LS


        The Hearings for Communities Affected by Large Dams

The Southern African Hearings for Communities Affected by Large
Dams, will take place on November 11th and 12th at the Breakwater
Lodge at the Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa.

Delegates are expected from almost all SADC countries and all major
dams in the region. One member of each Community will be giving a
15 minute input on the negative and positive social, environmental and
economic impact of the large dam on the community. This
presentation will be developed in consultation with the particular
community concerned prior to arrival in Cape Town.

The Hearings will be hosted by the Environmental Monitoring Group
(EMG), the Group for Environmental Monitoring (GEM), and, the
Botswana Office of the International Rivers Network (IRN - Botswana).

They form part of a global process in which communities affected by
large dams have a chance to put their positions to the World
Commission on Dams (WCD).  This is the first time such an event will
have been organised by Southern African Civil Society on a regional
scale. As such, Southern African Civil Society has a unique opportunity
to participate in the WCD process and to ensure that the findings and
recommendations of the WCD, accurately reflect both the negative
and positive impacts of large dams. The Hearings provide an important
vehicle to do this.

The Hearings aim to:
Record,in the words of the people directly affected by large dams, both the
    positive and negative consequences of building large dams in Southern
Africa;
Developa Southern African civil society submission to the World Commission
    on Dams (WCD);
Highlightissues of concern in the region regarding large dams;
Facilitatecommunication and solidarity linkages between those who have been
    affected in the past and those who may be similarly affected in the
future by
    proposed dams.

The WCD, which is making the first ever comprehensive and
independent assessment of large dams and to establish standards for
dam planning and construction in the future, is chaired by South
Africa's Minister of Education, Kader Asmal.  Its international
Secretariat is based in Cape Town. Minister Asmal will host a
reception on the evening of the 11th of November.

Contact:
Noel Stott (Johannesburg)
Tel: +27 - 11 - 4722380 Fax: +27 - 11 - 4722380
e-mail: sacbl@sn.apc.org

or Karen Sack
e-mail: emgdams@global.co.za

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      Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
        and Editor, World Rivers Review
           International Rivers Network
              1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
                  Tel. (510) 848 1155   Fax (510) 848 1008
                        http://www.irn.org
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