Text :
20.04.00: Ankündigung des 3. Internationales
Rhein-Symposiumm 15. - 17. Juni 2000
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M ittwoch ab 9:30 Uhr Congress Centrum West
Köln Messe. IKSR und Stadt Köln laden zur Tagung. Ökologie und Hochwasservorsorge.
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17.04.00
: UNGARN/WWF: Hochwasser in Ungarn belebt geschaedigte Fluesse
WWF fordert mehr natuerliche Ueberschwemmungsgebiete
/ Positive Folgen fuer die Natur Rastatt, 17. April 2000
Fuer die ungarische Bevoelkerung ist es eine weitere
Katastrophe nach dem grossen Fischsterben im Februar: Das Jahrhunderthochwasser
an der Theiss. Und wieder handelt es sich um Folgen menschlicher Eingriffe,
denn nach Aussagen des WWF-Auen-Instituts gibt es in Europa kein Gebiet,
wo der Verlust an natuerlichen Ueberschwemmungsflaechen derart dramatische
Ausmasse hat wie an Ungarns zweitgroesstem Fluss. Vorschlaege fuer
mehr Ueberflutungsgebiete hat der WWF im letzten Jahr in einer Studie
vorgestellt.
"Frueher war fast ein Drittel der Flaeche Ungarns
ueberschwemmbar", erlaeutert Prof. Emil Dister, Leiter des WWF-Auen-Instituts.
Doch seit dem 19. Jahrhundert gingen allein an der Theiss durch Eindeichungen
ueber 600.000 Hektar, das sind 84 Prozent der einstigen Ueberschwemmungsflaechen,
verloren. Ganz wie am Oberrhein seien viele dieser Gebiete heute besiedelt.
"Da muss man sich ueber das Ausmass der Katastrophe nicht wundern",
urteilt Dister und raet: "Ein halbwegs angemessener Hochwasserschutz
laesst sich nur erreichen, wenn man ausgedeichte Flaechen wieder an
den Fluss anschliesst und dort Ueberschwemmungen zulaesst." Welche
Gebiete dafuer in Frage kommen, hat das WWF-Auen-Institut letztes
Jahr in einer umfassenden Studie ermittelt. "Allein 10.000 Hektar
koennte man an der Muendung des Bodrog in die Theiss bei Tokai gewinnen",
schlaegt Dister vor. Der WWF fordert die Verantwortlichen nun auf,
diese Vorschlaege konstruktiv umzusetzen.
So hart das Hochwasser die Menschen trifft, auf die
Natur wirkt es belebend: Auf den ueberschwemmten Flaechen koennen
sich zahllose Fische, darunter viele gefaehrdete Arten, vermehren.
Ausserdem gedeihen Kleinorganismen, von denen sich die Fische ernaehren.
Diese dienen wiederum als Nahrungsgrundlage fuer fischfressende Voegel
wie den Silberreiher. Nach Einschaetzung des WWF beschleunigt das
Hochwasser damit die natuerliche Wiederbesiedlung der durch die Umweltkatastrophen
geschaedigten Flussbereiche. Eher positiv bewertet der WWF auch, dass
die bei dem zweiten Bergwerksunfall im Februar ausgetretenen Schwermetalle
mit den Fluten verteilt werden - dies fuehre zu einer Verduennung
der Giftkonzentration. Weitere Informationen erhalten Sie bei: Anja
Rech, Pressereferentin im WWF-Auen-Institut, Tel.: 0 72 22/38 07-14,
Fax -99 E-Mail: rech@wwf.de, Internet: www.wwf.de
04.04.00 : Thailand: Activists float together
calling for river to be set free
Bangkok Post, April 4, 2000Rituals
and rivers PROTEST: Activists
float together calling for their river to be set free during a traditional
ceremony Prasittiporn Kan-Onsri
If culture is defined as a way of life, the culture
of fishing villages along the Moon River in Ubol Ratchathani has been
severely eroded by the construction of the Pak Moon Dam completed
10 years ago.
The uprooted Pak Moon villagers, however, have refused
to let their fate fade from public consciousness. Apart from using
political means the Pak Moon dam villagers have employed local traditions
and customs to make their voices heard.
Banking on the power of rituals, more than 3,000
people gathered recently at the Pak Moon Dam to perform the Sueb Chata
Maenam and to lobby authorities to let the Moon River run free again.
Sueb Chata Maenam means extending a river's life.
It is a modern adaptation of an old ceremony which pays homage to
rivers-the life blood of Thai traditional society.
Pak Moon Dam is at the mouth of the Moon River where
it meets the Mekong.The dam obstructs the passage of fish between
the two rivers and so the fish population has declined. Furthermore,
environmental degradation, the inundation of water over farm land,
and displacement of people have led to severe social problems.
Thongdee Prathumchai of Baan Ta Pae in Ubol's Khong
Chiam district said many affected villagers had been forced from the
area to work in sugarcane plantations elsewhere for a meagre income.
The villagers' traditional livelihood of fishing
has also been severely undermined.
The Sueb Chata Maenam also provided an opportunity
for academics and environmentalists to exchange views with the displaced
people about the adverse effects of development projects on local
people.
Seree Somchob, vice rector of Ubol Ratchathani University,
said the widespread problems of amphetamine abuse and HIV/Aids in
the areas might also be linked to projects like the Pak Moon Dam construction
since it undermined society by robbing local people of their livelihood.
Nikorn Visapen, lawyer and environmentalist, said
the government's promises that the Pak Moon Dam would bring prosperity
have proved empty and false
.He urged the authorities to accept responsibility
for their mistakes and tostop doing more harm to people by pursuing
megaprojects that damage the environment, local communities and their
culture.
During the Sueb Chata Maenam ceremony, dam victims
issued a consensus urging the authorities to stop operating the dam.
"We Want to Return Freedom to our River," one of
the banners read. Others read: "Rivers are life, not death".
On April 20 and 21, there will be a seminar entitled
"The Poor and Answers for Thai Society", at the Mae Moon Mun Yuen
village, where people affected by the Pak Moon Dam have lived in a
protest village for a year.
For more information call:
13.04.00 : Hungary Urged
to Protect Embattled Rivers
ENS Newsservice, by Bob Burton GYOR, Hungary, April
13, 2000 (ENS) - Environmentalists are urging the Hungarian government
to launch a reforestation program and review the future of mining
and other industrial operations in the Tisza River basin, headwaters
of the Danube, second longest river in Europe. The Tisza River, poisoned
by a deadly cyanide spill January 30 which originated in northwestern
Romania, is now overflowing as snow melt and heavy rains create flood
conditions. Danube River at Visegrad, Hungary (Photo courtesy International
Scientific Forum Danube - River of Cooperation) Gyorgy Droppa, manager
of the environmental group Danube Circle, told ENS, "Ninety-six percent
of all the water that is coming to Hungary comes from its neighbors
or the high Hungarian plains." Droppa said deforestation in the Carpathian
Mountains at the head of the Danube catchment basin is compounding
problems all the way through the river system.
For more informarion contact http://ens.lycos.com/ens/apr2000/2000L-04-13-02.html
07.04.00 : Mine Waste Risk for European
Rivers Still High
ENS Newsservice, by Alexandru R. Savulescu BUDAPEST,
Hungary, April 6, 2000 - Central and Eastern Europe could be hit again
with releases of toxic mine wastes similar to three cyanide and heavy
metals spills from the Romanian mining industry since January 30.
Seeking solutions to current and future problems, delegates from scientific,
intergovernmental and environmental groups gathered at the "Rivers
of Life, Rivers of Death" conference on April 3 and 4 in Budapest,
organized by the Central European University.
For more informarion contact http://ens.lycos.com/ens/apr2000/2000L-04-06-02.html
06.04.00 Angara River (Sibiria/Russia):
Western NGOs (included ERN) involved in Independent Public EIA of
dam project
Four foreign experts have started the process of the
Independent Public Environmental Impact Assessment (public EIA) of
dam project (Boguchany Hydro Power Plant, BHPP) on the Angara River
in Russia. From March, 22nd through 31st the team members, including
David Martin (Pacific Environment & Resources Center (PERC), California),
Dr. Pillip Williams (Intenational Rivers Network, California), David
Wegner (Glen Canyon Institute, Colorado) and Alfred Olfert (ERN, France)
have visited the dam site on the Angara river and reviewed several
documents submitted by the executive Director and the head Engineer
of the dam building company "Boguchany Hydro". The international involvement
in that project had started two years ago, when a conference was organised
by PERC in the village of Boguchany. PERC has been very engaged in
that issue during the past and is specifically supporting the regional
organisations in conducting the public EIA. Russian environmental
legislation makes provisions to carry out this kind of independent
public EIA . The dam project has been under construction for 23 years.
It is part of the planned Dam cascade on the Angara river, being the
4th structure in the row downstream. 3 further would have to follow
diverting the Angara River into a cascade of 7 dams with not a single
meter left to the flowing river .
Contact: alfred.olfert at rivERNet.org Phone
+33 471 02 08 14
05.04.00 : Dams are direct cause of species
decline, says WWF 5 April, 2000
click here for french version
Gland, Switzerland - Releasing a new report on the
eve of a World Commission on Dams (WCD) meeting April 6-8 in Cape
Town, South Africa, WWF, the conservation organization, said the dramatic
decline in the world's rivers species was a direct result of dam construction.
The WWF report, "The Impact of Dams on Life in Rivers," was compiled
from data on 91 dams in 30 countries. It shows more than 250 species
are directly affected by their construction. WWF wants the WCD to
consider the report's findings in its final recommendations on dams.
"Because neither baseline data prior to, nor results following, the
construction of dams have been available," Dr. Biksham Gujja, Head
of WWF International's Freshwater Programme observed, "the actual
amount of species loss and damage to ecosystems worldwide is likely
to be much greater than these findings indicate." Affected species
include fish such as Atlantic sturgeon, birds such as the Siberian
Crane and mammals such as the Tapir. In addition, dolphins living
in many of the world's largest rivers including the Indus, Yangtze,
Ganges and Amazon are now endangered, due in large part to dam construction.
Worldwide, there are already approximately 42,000 'large' dams (i.e.
those more than 15 metres high), with many more currently proposed.
According to WWF many of these dams are unnecessary, and alternatives
are available for meeting food and energy needs. Their impacts could
also be minimized with proper environmental impact assessments, and
design and location that facilitate movement and breeding of species.
"Dams built for irrigation, flood control and hydroelectric power
cause the most species loss and ecosystem damage," Gujja added. "Species
decline - both in numbers and diversity - reflects a serious disruption
to the ecological chain, with repercussions for people who depend
on the rivers' natural resources." One example of this are the inland
wetlands in Africa, reported to produce 1.5 million tonnes of fish
annually and support one million fishermen. In Asia alone, more than
two billion people depend on wetland crops and fish as their main
staple food and protein source. WWF's goals are to manage water at
the river basin level and protect wetlands, which are among key steps
to prevent further loss of species and damage to ecosystems.
For further information: Lisa Hadeed, tel: +41 22
364 9030, mobile: +41 79 372 1346, email: lhadeed@wwfnet.org Shaleen
Russell, tel: +41 22 364 9571, mobile: +41 79 477 3553, email: srussell@wwfnet.org
05.04.00 : Les barrages sont une cause
directe du déclin des espèces, affirme le WWF 5 April, 2000
Gland, Suisse - A la veille d'une importante réunion
de la Commission mondiale sur les barrages, du 6 au 8 avril à Cape
Town (Afrique du Sud), le WWF vient de publier un rapport établissant
un lien direct entre la construction des barrages et le déclin de
la faune des rivières dans le monde entier. Basé sur des données concernant
91 barrages dans 31 pays, l'étude - intitulée "The Impact of Dams
on Life in Rivers" (disponible en anglais seulement) - montre que
plus de 250 espèces animales sont directement affectées par la réalisation
de ces ouvrages. Le WWF demande à la Commission mondiale sur les barrages
de prendre en compte les conclusions de ce rapport dans ses recommandations
finales. "Comme aucun travail de recherche dans ce domaine n'a jamais
été mené avant et après la construction de barrages, il est à prévoir
que le nombre d'espèces qui ont disparu ou d'écosystèmes qui ont été
saccagés soit bien plus important que dans le rapport," estime le
Dr Biksham Gujja, responsable du programme du WWF pour les écosystèmes
d'eau douce. Parmi les espèces touchées figurent des poissons comme
l'esturgeon de l'Atlantique, des oiseaux comme la grue de Sibérie
et des mammifères comme le tapir. De plus, les dauphins vivant dans
de grands fleuves tels l'Indus, le Gange, le Yangtsé et l'Amazone
sont aujourd'hui menacés, en grande partie du fait de la construction
de barrages. Il y a déjà quelque 42 000 grands barrages (de plus de
15 mètres de haut) dans le monde, et beaucoup d'autres sont projetés.
Selon le WWF, la plupart de ces derniers ne sont pas nécessaires,
d'autant que les alternatives existent pour couvrir les besoins en
énergie et en nourriture. Par ailleurs, les conséquences négatives
de ces barrages pourraient être réduites par le biais d'études d'impact
sur l'environnement correctement effectuées, et par des choix d'emplacement
à même de faciliter les mouvements et la reproduction des espèces
animales. "Ce sont les barrages destinés à l'irrigation, le contrôle
des inondations et la fourniture d'énergie hydroélectrique qui provoquent
le plus de dégâts," poursuit Biksham Gujja. "Le déclin des espèces,
tant en nombres qu'en diversité, est le signe d'une altération de
la chaîne écologique, et cela a des répercussions sur les populations
humaines qui dépendent des ressources naturelles des cours d'eau."
Ainsi les zones humides intérieures du continent africain produisent
1,5 millions de tonnes de poissons chaque année et font vivre un million
de personnes. Et rien qu'en Asie, deux milliards de personnes dépendent
des ressources des zones humides pour leur alimentation de base. Le
WWF entend à la fois gérer l'eau à l'échelle des bassins fluviaux
et protéger les zones humides, afin d'éviter une plus ample dégradation
des écosystèmes et la disparition des espèces qu'ils abritent. Pour
tout renseignement complémentaire: Lisa Hadeed, tél.: +41 22 364 9030
ou +41 79 372 1346 (portable); e-mail: lhadeed@wwfnet.org Shaleen
Russell, tél.: +41 22 364 9571, ou +41 79 477 3553 (portable); e-mail:
srussell@wwfnet.org
24.03.00 : two
new large dams in Guinea : 75000 persons under the threat of displacement!
click here for a more complet version
in french
A consortium of multinationals, whose names are still
being kept secret, are planning to build two new large dams in Guinea
Conakry, in Souapiti and Kaléta, on the Konkoure river, to supply
with water an aluminium factory.
The reservoir would cover 780 km² and would contain
17 milliards m3 of water. The property developers are already expecting
an important recrudescence of water-caused diseases like paludism.
In the adjacent country, Mali, the Manantali dam was the cause of
an unprecedented outbreak of bilharzioze on 1400 km along the Senegal
river ! 35 000 would have to be resettled as soon as 2002, and 40
000 in 2005. Those people are now living in 207 different villages
(18 to 700 inhabitants). Their resettlement would be accompanied by
important investments (basic equipment, water supply, etc.) But what
is the future of these kind of infrastructures ? In many cases, when
the building is over, they are neglected and abandoned … This project
is appearing despite the abundant number of studies which, all over
the world, are emphasizing the negative effetcs of dams : the tragedies
of displacement, the disastrous consequences downstream for fishermen
and peasants, etc …
24.03.00
: Deux grands barrages en Guinée Conakry en 2002-2005:
75000 personnes menacées de déplacement !!
Un consortium d'entreprises multinationales, dont
le nom est encore tenu secret, fait étudier par le grand cabinet Coyne
et Bellier la construction de deux nouveaux grands barrages en Guinée
Conakry à Souapiti et Kaléta sur le fleuve Konkouré, en région difficilement
accessible, pour alimenter une usine d'aluminium alors que le Président
Chirac vient juste d'inaugurer un premier grand barrage dans ce pays.
La retenue d'eau couvrirait 780 km² et compterait
17 milliards de m3 d'eau, soit 6 de plus que le grand barrage de Manantali
au Mali sur le fleuve Sénégal. Les promoteurs du projet escompte d'ores
et déjà une forte recrudescence des maladies d'origine hydrique comme
le paludisme à l'amont de la retenue et de l'onchocercose à l'aval
en raison des changements du régime hydrologique des barrages, avec
une vitesse de l'eau accrue en aval tout au long de l'année. Ils engageraient
des fonds importants pour les "mesures techniques d'atténuation".
35000 personnes seraient à reloger dès 2002 et 40000
en 2005, issues de 257 villages de 18 à 700 personnes, dans les régions
de Sangaréya, de Madina Oula et la vallée de la Kollenté. Leur alimentation
en eau et leur état de santé ferait l'objet d'investissements importants
en zone d'accueil ( forages, infrastructures, personnel, organisation
institutionnelle et… "partage des coûts de fonctionnement entre l'Etat
et les populations" ! ) mais qu'en sera-t-il de leur pérennité alors
qu'à Manantali, une fois les illusions du chantier dissipées, les
infrastructures socio-sanitaires sont à l'abandon et qu'à l'aval l'épidémie
de bilharzioze sur plus de 1400 kms est qualifiée de "véritable tragédie"
par les épidémiologistes ?
Alors que de nombreuses études soulignent les effets
néfastes des déplacements de population à Manantali au Mali et pour
les autres grands barrages africains en Côte-d'Ivoire et au Ghana,
non loin de la Guinée, et les conséquences désastreuses pour les populations
en aval, pêcheurs , agriculteurs ou éleveurs, il convient d'appeler
à la prudence face à la démesure d'un tel projet dont certains experts
soulignent déjà le faible niveau de faisabilité.
Mais le marché de l'aluminium est en forte expansion…et
le régime guinéen si brutal et si fragile à la fois. Un appel urgent
doit être lancé face à ce projet, à financement privé en apparence,
alors que la Banque Mondiale et la Commission mondiale des grands
barrages s'interrogent sur l'utilité, les conséquences et la durabilité
des grands barrages et que de nombreuses luttes de l'Inde au Brésil
en passant par l'Europe marquent l'opposition croissante des populations.
24.03.00 :
UN Commission on Human Rights: Arundhati Roy on Large Dams
In the context of this year's UN Commission on Human
Rights session, prominent writer Arundhati Roy and film director Jharana
Jhaveri denounced the massive human rights violations caused by the
construction of large dams in India's Narmada Valley. Together with
the Berne Declaration and the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, the
two Indian artists called for an immediate halt of dam construction
at a conference in Geneva on 23 March.
On 23 March, prominent writer Arundhati Roy and film
director Jharana >Jhaveri testified at a conference organized by the
Swiss NGO, the Berne Declaration, and the US-based Earthjustice Legal
Defense Fund at UN headquarters in Geneva. Addressing an audience
of Human Rights Commission delegates, media and NGO representatives,
the two Indian artists denounced the serious human rights violations
caused by the construction of large dams in India's Narmada Valley.
Introducing the subject, Thierry Pellet of the Berne
Declaration pointed out that the world's 40,000 large dams have so
far displaced at least 60 million people. "Experience shows that the
human and environmental costs of such projects are consistently underestimated",
Pellet warned. Yves Lador of the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund maintained
that the human rights and environmental problems of large dams are
reinforcing each other. "In order to avoid massive violations of human
rights, the affected people must be granted access to information
and the right to participate in decision-making", Lador stated.
Arundhati Roy, who had visited the project area several
times, denounced >the serious resettlement problems of the Sardar
Sarovar and Maheshwar dams on the Narmada river. "Apart from the fact
that the benefits will not accrue to those in whose name the project
is being built, but to politically powerful industrial lobbies", she
said that "there is simply no land available for the dam oustees".
"Anybody concerned with human rights issues ought to publicly support
the Narmada Bachao Andolan's (Save Narmada Movement's) petition to
the Supreme Court of India, asking for an independent review of the
entire project", the writer said. "It is no coincidence that the majority
of the 33 million people uprooted by big dams in India are indigenous
people, who have been consistently brutalized by the economic and
political decision-makers", Arundhati Roy concluded.
Jharana Jhaveri described the experience of a mass
demonstration against the Maheshwar dam in mid-January of this year.
Around 1000 peaceful protesters, including Jhaveri and Roy, were arrested
and imprisoned near the dam site. Pointing to the determined resistance
of the affected population, the film director warned that "the Maheshwar
and Sardar Sarovar dams can only be built by using force and violating
human rights. The coming monsoon is critical, and the people's resolve
is final; they are willing to lay their lives but will not move from
their homes and lands. It is the responsibility of every citizen to
appeal to the Indian Government's for stopping the construction of
the two dams in question and taking those affected into confidence
before continuing with forced eviction." Ms. Jhaveri further said:
"The international community's role is vital and we hope that they
will join the thousands questioning the viability of the project,
the environmental and economic feasibility of the project and the
conitnued human rights violations."
For further information: . Thierry Pellet, Berne Declaration,
decladeberne@club.ch, ph +41 21 624 54 17 .
Peter Bosshard, Berne Declaration, finance@evb.ch,
ph. +41 1 277 70 07. www.narmada.org, www.evb.ch
Background information:
The Narmada project entails the construction of 30
large, 135 medium-sized and 3000 small dams in India's Narmada Valley.
More than 100,000 people have already been displaced due to the project,
but have not been rehabilitated. If all dams were built, at least
another 1 million people would need to be resettled. In 1995, India's
Supreme Court ruled that construction of the controversial Sardar
Sarovar dam be suspended. The Court allowed the construction of another
5 meters in 1999; a decision on further construction is still pending.
Arundhati Roy, author of "The God of Small Things"
and winner of the renowned Booker Prize in 1997, became involved in
the struggle against the Narmada dams in spring 1999. After visiting
the project area, she published a passionate essay on the Narmada
experience under the title of "The Greater Common Good". Jharana Jhaveri
in 1997 directed and produced the film "Kaise Jeebo Re!" ("How do
I survive, my friend?") describing the struggle against the Narmada
projects.
Arundhati Roy and Jharana Jhaveri are presently visiting
Switzerland, and are scheduled to appear at public events in Geneva
and Basel. The Swedish-Swiss company ABB is involved in the Maheshwar
dam. The Berne Declaration supports the struggle of the Save the Narmada
Movement, and is campaigning against foreign funding for the Maheshwar
and other Narmada dams.
23.03.00
: Kader Asmal ministre of education , south africa, wins 10th Stockholm
water price
Jubilee Prize Award for Visionary Leadership that
Changed South Africa's Water Management
(STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN) The Stockholm Water Foundation
today announced that the 10th Stockholm Water Prize has been awarded
to Professor Kader Asmal, current Minister of Education and formerly
Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry in South Africa. In its motivation,
the Foundation's nominating committee wrote:
Professor Kader Asmal, Minister of Education in the
Republic of South Africa, is awarded the 2000 Stockholm Water Prize
in recognition of his unprecedented efforts in the development of
vision, legislation and practice in the field of water management
in South Africa.
Professor Asmal - a noted human rights scholar, teacher
and activist who also serves as chairman of the World Commission on
Dams (WCD) - has long been held in high esteem internationally. But
it is for his unprecedented efforts in the field of water management
in South Africa that he will receive the $150,000 Stockholm Water
Prize.
After his important contributions to the drafting
of the South African Constitution, Professor Asmal in 1994 became
Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry in President Nelson Mandela's
Government of National Unity. In this position Professor Asmal was
responsible for developing an action plan to solve the country's large
water problems. In spearheading a fundamental overhaul of water management
policy and practice doing so, Professor Asmal went back to his roots,
ensuring that policies and practices were anchored in human rights,
social justice and environmental sustainability.
Professor Asmal pioneered major reforms in water legislation
such as the National Water Act of 1998. The country's water is no
longer being used as it was in the apartheid era as a political tool
to fuel racial divisions and segregation. He also instituted far-reaching
initiatives such as the Working for Water Program, Community Water
Supply and Sanitation Program and National Water Conservation Campaign.
The National Water Act has been hailed as the most
"comprehensive and visionary" in the world. Among its key provisions
were the "water reserve" concept that puts human needs and basic ecological
functioning before the interests of commercial or industrial uses;
"water- use rights," which means water use is paid for on a sliding
scale (major water users such as industry and agriculture pay more,
and the poor pay what they can afford); and an acknowledgement that
South Africa has a duty to ensure that neighboring states have an
equitable share of water from shared rivers.
At the time of his ministerial appointment, more than
16 million South Africans did not have reasonable access to safe drinking
water, and some 20 million lacked access to safe sanitation. Today,
the situation is changed drastically, with some four million people
having benefited directly through water provision close to their homes,
and another three million benefiting through access at schools, clinics
and work places.
The Community Water Supply and Sanitation Program,
which focuses on providing access to the basic levels of service required
to assure health for all South Africans, has employed some 300,000
people, more than half of whom were women. By the end of 1998, the
Working for Water Program was employing 24,000 people in over 300
projects across the country. Their task was to clear invading alien
plants (species) that robbed South Africa of up to seven percent of
its mean annual runoff, overtook its most productive lands and threatened
its biological diversity.
Professor Asmal's impressive accomplishments to achieve
an equitable water situation in South Africa through legislation and
development programs have garnered notice outside of the country's
borders. They have among others resulted in his appointment as chairman
for the World Commission on Dams, an independent organization developed
by both proponents and opponents of large dams. The commission's goal
is to develop international ethics and guidelines for all parties
interested in the building, operating and closing large dams. Today,
there are more than 40,000 large dams (more than 15 meters high) in
the world. Internationally, the WCD's work, to be reported later this
year, will have a far-reaching influence on the dams debate, water
utilization and sustainable development in general.
The Stockholm Water Prize, founded in 1990, is presented
annually to an institution, organization, individual or company that
has made a substantial contribution to the preservation, enhancement
or availability of the world's water resources. The Prize recognizes
outstanding research, action or education that increases knowledge
of water as a resource and protects its usability for all life.
HM King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden will present the
Stockholm Water Prize at a ceremony during the World Water Week in
Stockholm in August. Previous Laureates have come from Australia,
Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, India, Israel, Japan, Switzerland
and the United States and have represented a variety of disciplines.
Founders of the Stockholm Water Prize include Anglian
Water, Aragon Fondkommission, Bacardi Limited, Compaq, General Motors,
Grundfos, ITT >Flygt, Kemira Kemwater, KPMG, Ragn-Sells, Scandinavian
Airlines (SAS), SNECMA, Stockholm Water Festival, Swedish State Railways
(SJ), Uponor Group and the Water Environment Federation.
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