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dam-l ERN: Comments on WCD Hearing in Europe

from       : Roberto Epple & ERN's News Service (Gaele Rousseau)
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EXTRACT  ERNs rivernews_europe 26.01.00
Comments and Press release of the NGO meeting held in Bratislava on
WCD (World Commission on Dams) related issues (english / français)

join our listserv rivernews_europe: http://www.rivernet.org/istserv.htm
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ERN, Bratislava/Le Puy, 24.01.00
A European NGO-organised hearing on WCD (World Commission on Dams) related 
issues has been held
in Bratislava on 17th and 18th January. Over 60 European NGOs, as well as 
representatives from other
continents were present. The hearing has been hosted by Friends of the 
Earth Slovakia.
WCD, founded by the World Bank and the IUCN, has to review the 
effectiveness of large dams and
assess alternatives for water ressources and energy development and develop 
standards and guidelines
for decision-making in the planning, construction, operation and 
decommissioning of dams.
Hearings have been held all over the world but no European one was planned 
in the WCD process
despite the importance of dam issues in Europe. NGOs thus decided to meet 
to agree on what they think
should appear the in the final WCD report, which will be presented in 
September 2000.
NGOs deeply regret that the WCD has not respected the human and financial 
efforts to organise such an
important event which has been attended by only one of the Commissioners 
and two members of the
staff, despite the fact that the meeting was convened on the date set by 
the WCD.

One of the main goals of this meeting was to explode the myth that dams are 
uncontroversial in Europe
and the presented cases indeed proved that dams have, even in Europe, 
tremendous social and
environmental impacts.
Another main goal was to denounce the fact that European-based companies 
are using different
Standards wether they operate in Europe or abroad. While social and 
environmental guidelines start to
be used in their operation at home, they still export outdated and outmoded 
technologies to the South .

The meeting documented how dams are not a benign source of energy and mainly:
     - how gross violations of human rights are often accompanying dam building
     - how dams are producing an important mass of green house gas
     - how dams only benefited northern companies while they often failed 
to bring the expected development
       to southern communities
     - how dams haved proved ineffective in flood prevention

The participants thus concluded that in the future, large dams must not 
play a major role in energy and
  water management policies.

- for the officiel press release 
http://www.rivernet.org/prs00_01.htm  (english / français)
- fore more information on the hearing http://www.rivernet.org/nconf99.htm
- for more informations on WCD http://www.dams.org
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End
Roberto A. Epple
Executive Director, ERN-European Rivers Network
e-mail : roberto.epple@ern.org   or  ern@rivernet.org
website: http://www.rivernet.org  or http://ern.org

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