INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

Pressreleases / Communiqués / Pressemitteilungen 
(all in original language, en langue originale, in Originalsprache):

    Contents:
     
  • News "newer" the 14.06.99

  •  
  • 14.06.99 :Nach dem Kosovo-Krieg: Trinkwasser und Donau in Gefahr
  • 03.06.99 : Monsanto's expands into water buisness
  • 04.06.99 : Hunger Strike in Aragón (Spain)against Large Dams projects
  • 02.06.99 : Deutschland : WWF Aueninstitut ausgezeichnet
  • 02.06.99 : Brazil: REQUEST FOR URGENT LETTER ! NGO-Campaign for the creation of an Extractive Reserve on the islands in Tucuruí Dam reservoir
  • 28.05.99 :  WWF : Natuerliche Ueberflutungsgebiete haetten Flut in Bayern entschaerft 
  • Natuerliche Ueberflutungsgebiete haetten Flut in Bayern entschaerft 
  • 27.05.99 : Chinese premier breaches silence on Three Gorges Dam failures
  • 19.05.99 : UN Foundation Announces Million-Dollar Funding

  • For Partnership in Global Policymaking on Dams
  • 17.05.99 : South Africa: RIVERS ASSOCIATION OPPOSES DAMMING OF RIVERS 
  • 16.05.99 : Hochwasserschutz muss auf  Pruefstand ! Mehr natuerliche Ueberflutungsflaechen noetig / Hessen in die Pflicht nehmen (WWF-Bilanz) 
  • 14.05.99 : Schweiz : Kein Stausee im Val Curciusa
  • 12.05.99 : Norway: Foe requests urgent help to save the Upper Otta River
Text :

14.06.99 :Nach dem Kosovo-Krieg: Trinkwasser und Donau in Gefahr
WWF verlangt internationales Programm zur Rettung der Donau 

Wien, Frankfurt a. M. 14.06.1999.  Die Umweltstiftung WWF hat zur Unterstuetzung der Anrainerstaaten der Donau ein sofortiges grenzueberschreitendes Aktionsprogramm gefordert, um die oekologischen Folgen des Kosovo-Konflikts  zu begrenzen und die Trinkwasserqualitaet fuer Millionen Menschen zu sichern. Als Folge der Bombardierungen jugo-slawischer Chemiefabriken und Raffinerien seien insbesondere die untere Donau und das Schwarze Meer gefaehrdet. Ueber das genaue Ausmass der Schaeden lasse sich bislang nur spekulieren, da Laender wie Bulgarien und Rumaenien nicht ueber ausreichende Messgeraete verfuegten.

"Wir muessen den Verschmutzungen so schnell wie moeglich entgegentreten. Nur so kann verhindert werden, dass auf die menschliche Tragoedie eine oekologische folgt," betonte Philip Weller, Projektleiter des Donau-Karpaten-Programms. Man solle sich nicht dadurch taeuschen lassen, dass bisher entlang des Flusses nur kleinere Schaeden sichtbar geworden seien. Eine Vielzahl der Verschmutzungen z.B. durch Quecksilber seien mit blossem Auge nicht zu erkennen. "Die bisherige Ueberwachung der Donau ist sehr lueckenhaft und beruht vorwiegend auf Beobachtungen von Grenzposten," berichtet Weller. Nur vereinzelt seien Wasserproben analysiert worden. 

Der WWF unterstuetzt die Regierungen in Bulgarien und Rumaenien bei ihren Forderungen nach einem internationalen Hilfsprogramm. "Beide Laender  brauchen Unterstuetzung, um bestehende Untersuchungsprogramme auszubauen. Verunreinigungen durch Oel oder Chemikalien muessen so schnell wie moeglich erkannt werden, um entsprechende Gegenmassnahmen einzuleiten", skizziert  Philip Weller die noetigen Schritte. Er befuerchtet, dass sich die menschliche Tragoedie durch die langfristigen oekologischen Schaeden in Jugoslawien und den anderen Balkanstaaten noch ver-schaerfe.

Der WWF arbeitet seit Jahren grenzuebergreifend in verschiedenen Projekten entlang der Donau. Von einer Wasser-verschmutzung gehen erhebliche Gefahren fuer die Menschen und die Natur aus. Das untere Donautal ist aufgrund seines Artenreichtums von hohem oekologischen Wert. Der Fluss ist ein Trinkwasserreservoir fuer rund zehn Millionen Menschen in Jugoslawien, Rumaenien, Bulgarien, Moldawien und der Ukraine. Vor allem fuer die besonders empfindli-chen Wasserorganismen muesse nach Einschaetzung des WWF mit schwerwiegenden Folgen gerechnet werden.  Selbst wenn es nicht zu weiteren unmittelbar sichtbaren Schaeden komme, drohten langfristige Folgen. Da sich die Gifte entlang der Nahrungskette anreicherten, bestehe die Gefahr, dass die Fortpflanzung von Organismen nachhaltig gestoert werde. 

Weitere Informationen: 
Philip  Weller , WWF-Donau-Karpaten-Programm (Wien),  Tel: 00 43 1 488 17253 ; Fax: -431
Umweltstiftung WWF-Deutschland, Pressestelle, Joern Ehlers, Tel.: 069 / 29 72 41 45
http://www.wwf.de


03.06.99 : Monsanto's expands into water buisness

Over the past few years, Monsanto, a chemical firm, has positioned
itself as an agricultural company through control over seed - the
first link in the food chain. Monsanto now wants to control water, the
very basis of life.

In 1996, Monsanto bought the biotechnology assets of Agracetus, a
subsidiary of W. R. Grace, for $150 million and Calgene, a
California-based plant biotechnology company for $340 million. In
1997, Monsanto acquired Holden seeds, the Brazilian seed company,
Sementes Agroceres and Asgrow. In 1998, it purchased Cargill's seed
operations for $1.4 billion and bought Delta and Pine land for $1.82
billion and Dekalb for $2.3 billion.

In India, Monsanto has bought MAHYCO, Maharashtra Hybrid Company, EID
Parry and Rallis. Mr. Jack Kennedy of Monsanto has said, "we propose
to penetrate the Indian agricultural sector in a big way. MAHYCO is a
good vehicle." According to Mr. Robert Farley of Monsanto, "what you
are seeing is not just a consolidation of seed companies, it's really
a consolidation of the entire food chain. Since water is as central to
food production as seed is, and without water life is not possible,
Monsanto is now trying to establish its control over water. During
1999, Monsanto plans to launch a new water business, starting with
India and Mexico since both these countries are facing water
shortages."

Monsanto is seeing a new business opportunity because of the emerging
water crisis and the funding available to make this vital resource
available to people. As it states in its strategy paper, "first, we
believe that discontinuities (either major policy changes or major
trendline breaks in resource quality or quantity) are likely,
particularly in the area of water and we will be well-positioned via
these businesses to profit even more significantly when these
discontinuities occur. Second, we are exploring the potential of
non-conventional financing (NGOs, World Bank, USDA, etc.) that may
lower our investment or provide local country business-building
resources." Thus, the crisis of pollution and depletion of water
resources is viewed by Monsanto as a business opportunity.

For Monsanto, "sustainable development" means the conversion of an
ecological crisis into a market of scarce resources. "The business
logic of sustainable development is that population growth and
economic development will apply increasing pressure on natural
resource markets. These pressures and the world's desire to prevent
the consequences of these pressures, if unabated, will create vast
economic opportunity. When we look at the world through the lens of
sustainability, we are in a position to see current - and foresee
impending - resource market trends and imbalances that create market
needs. We have further focussed this lens on the resource market of
water and land. These are the markets that are most relevant to us as
a  life sciences company committed to delivering food, health and hope
to the world, and there are markets in which there are predictable
sustainability challenges and therefore opportunities to create
business value."

Monsanto plans to earn revenues of $420 million and a net income of
$63 million by 2008 from its water business in India and Mexico. By
010, about 2.5 billion people in the world are projected to lack
access to safe drinking water. At least 30 per cent of the population
in China, India, Mexico and the U.S. is expected to face severe water
stress. By 2025, the supply of water in India will be 700 cubic km per
year, while the demand is expected to rise to 1,050 units. Control
over this scarce and vital resource will, of course, be a source of
guaranteed profits. As John Bastin of the European Bank of
Reconstruction and Development has said, "Water is the last
infrastructure frontier for private investors."

Monsanto estimates that providing safe water is a several billion
dollar market. It is growing at 25 to 30 per cent in rural communities
and is estimated to rise to $300 million by 2000 in India and Mexico.
This is the amount currently spent by NGOs for water development
projects and local government water supply schemes and Monsanto hopes
to tap these public finances for providing water to rural communities
and convert water supply into a market. The Indian Government spent
over $1.2 billion between 1992 and 1997 for various water projects,
while the World Bank spent $900 million. Monsanto would like to divert
this public money from public supply of water to establishing the
company's water monopoly. Since in rural areas the poor cannot pay, in
Monsanto's view capturing a piece of the value created for this
segment will require the creation of a non-traditional mechanism
targeted at building relationships with local government and NGOs as
well as through mechanisms such as microcredit.

Monsanto also plans to penetrate the Indian market for safe water by
establishing a joint venture with Eureka Forbes/Tata, which controls
70 per cent of the UV Technologies. To enter the water business,
Monsanto has acquired an equity stake in Water Health International
(WHI) with an option to buy the rest of the business. The joint
venture with Tata/Eureka Forbes is supposed to provide market access
and fabricate, distribute, service water systems; Monsanto will
leverage their brand equity in the Indian market. The joint venture
route has been chosen so that "Monsanto can achieve management control
over local operations but not have legal consequences due to local
issues."

***** Another new business that Monsanto is starting in 1999 in Asia is
aquaculture. It will build on the foundation of Monsanto's
>>agricultural biotechnology and capabilities for fish feed and fish
breeding. By 2008, Monsanto expects to earn revenues of $1.6 billion
and a net income of $266 million from its aquaculture business. While
Monsanto's entry into aquaculture is through its "sustainable
development" activity, industrial aquaculture has been established to
be highly non-sustainable. The Supreme Court has banned industrial
shrimp farming because of its catastrophic consequences. However, the
Government, under pressure from the aquaculture industry, is
attempting to change the laws to undo the court order. At the same
time, attempts are being made by the World Bank to privatise water
resources and establish trade in water rights. These trends will suit
Monsanto well in establishing its water and aquaculture businesses.
The Bank has already offered to help. As the Monsanto strategy paper
states: "We are particularly enthusiastic about the potential of
partnering with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the
World Bank to joint venture projects in developing markets. The IFC is
eager to work with Monsanto to commercialise sustainability
opportunities and would bring both investment capital and
on-the-ground capabilities to our efforts."

Monsanto's water and aquaculture businesses, like its seed business,
aimed at controlling the vital resources necessary for survival,
converting them into a market and using public finances to underwrite
he investments. A more efficient conversion of public goods into
private profit would be difficult to find. Water is, however, too
basic for life and survival and the right to it is the right to life.
Privatisation and commodification of water are a threat to the right
to life. India has had major movements to conserve and share water.
The pani panchayat and the water conservation movement in Maharashtra
and the Tarun Bharat Sangh in Alwar have regenerated and equitably
shared water as a commons property. This is the only way everyone will
have the right to water and nobody will have the right to abuse and
overuse water. Water is a commons and must be managed as a commons. It
cannot be controlled and sold by a life sciences corporation that
peddles in death.

(Vandana Shiva is Director of the Research Foundation for Science,
Technology and Ecology, New Delhi. She can be reached at
vshiva@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in)


04.06.99 :Hunger Strike in Aragón (Spain)against Large Dams projects.

From: "Coordinadora de afectados por grandes embalses y trasvases COAGRET" <coagret@jet.es>
To: "ERN-news" <rivernews_europe-request@rivernet.netsysteme.net>,
       
Subject: Hunger strike

Dear friends:
After discussions which have taken place for weeks among several areas affected by the building of large dams we, the Coordination of People Affected by Large Dams and Diversions (COAGRET), have decided to launch a three-weeks hunger strike protest. The numbers of strikers are expected to increase gradually up to at least 1000 people joining to fast symbolically on June 5th, The World’s day for the Environment. On the following day, June 6th, the whole process is expected to culminate in a big demonstration at Zaragoza which will start at noon from Pignatelly Park.
We would like to establish firmly that everyone involved in the hunger strike, whatever the length they could take on, will be under the supervision of a doctor. In other words, we are not playing with our health, we are only playing with our own willpower and hunger.
The motto that will preside over this campaign is. «For the dignity of the Mountains, for Aragon’s dignity. Stop drowning valleys and planning diversions!»
The hunger strike will be started on May 15th and will take place around five fasting centres: Jaca, Biscarrues-Ayerbe, Huesca, Santaliestra and Zaragoza. At these centres the most important thing won’t be the hunger strike in itself but the work of people who volunteer to support during these weeks. We need hundreds of people to organise the demonstration of June 6th
That so falsely called Department of the Environment collaborating with Aragon’s County Council has eventually decided to assault the central Pyrenees, its strategy being the building of large dams as a pretext for the realisation of large scale private business with the buying and selling of waters.
The dams of Yesa, Biscarrues, Jánovas, Santaliestra, Lechago and El Val are the very representation of the brutality of this assault on the Aragonese Pyrenees. Yesa’s enlargement scheme has been presented within the frame of a shameful and demagogic propaganda which claims the enlargement being indispensable for the quality of Zaragoza’s water supply.
The irrigation of Monegros II and the Jiloca-Jalón area is simply an excuse for the building of Biscarrués, Jánovas and Lechago, for the maximum irrigate extent in these areas according to the National Irrigation Schedule does not require at all the building of more dams.
Referring to Santaliestra, Catalonian Electric Companies in collaboration with Mr. Jordi Pujol (President of Catalonian County Council) are consciously manipulating the public opinion of the inhabitants around the Irrigation Channel of Aragón and Catalonia. Besides, in which concerns to Santa Liestra the Department of Environment is criminally ignoring its own technical reports which acknowledge for the dam actually menacing the life of the 4000 inhabitants of the downriver area.
The conflict at El Val, where the Government has failed to keep its own promises; Beceite, where the inability for political management has been replaced with authoritarianism in everything concerning to the useless pumping of the river; all of them  indicate the necessity  for a change not only in the manners in which hydraulic politics are carried out but also in the basic question of these politics.
We feel completely defenceless. The very legality concerning European legislation on environment is being violated. Citizenship mobilisations in the Pyrenees areas are being systematically underestimated by both the County Council and the National Department on the grounds that protesters are nothing but minorities.
A manifesto «For the Dignity of the Mountain» to which ADELPA (Pyrenees villages association) and the greatest part of Pyrenees villages and communities have subscribed points out the fact that we can all be considered a minority in a sense -highlands against lowlands, lowlands against Zaragoza and Aragon in itself against Catalonia, Valencia or Spain as a whole. Only respecting our own minorities will we have the moral strength to  call for respect to ourselves as Aragonese. 
We have reached now a point where only fool and hostile people can keep on rejecting our accounts when we report that these large dams stand not only for the ruin of the mountain but also for the beginning of large diversions.
From COAGRET we are appealing to make worth this tough effort which is going to be the HUNGER STRIKE. We are calling to a general mobilisation of the Aragonese people, not only of those belonging to the affected areas but also of those in the low lands and irrigation areas.
We want to emphasise our call to the Zaragoza’s public opinion, which is being blatantly manipulated by a campaign called  «Quality water supply for Zaragoza and its surroundings». The only aim of this publicity campaign is to benefit from a huge private business at the expense of taxpayers ant to convert public opinion into public support for Yesa’s enlargement which is not necessary at all, and for those diversions against which we have fought for so long.

Both this hunger strike and  the demonstration of June 6th have two main targets and basic claims:

1- We demand respect for the European legislation on impact assessment studies which is currently being violated by the pressing of powerful lobbies
2- We also demand for a delay on the building of large dams and diversions which will allow for a radical change on hydraulic politics taking the «New Water Culture» as the starting point of analysis. Drawing on this framework we demand a new social agreement according to the National Irrigation Scheme, to the European legislation on waters and also according to the new criteria shown at the Libro Blanco del Agua.

COAGRET
Coordinadora de Afectados por Grandes Embalses y Trasvases.
Coordination of People Affected by Large Dams and Diversions.
C/ Sta. Cruz 7, Oficina 3
50.003 ZARAGOZA
Tel/Fax 34-976392004
coagret@jet.es
web de COAGRET: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Jungle/1839
web del ayuno: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Jungle/1839/coagara.htm



02.06.99 : Deutschland : WWF Aueninstitut ausgezeichnet

WWF-Auen-Institut erhaelt Antaios-Medaille
"Der Silberne Bruch" wuerdigt Naturschutz-Leistungen am Kuehkopf

Rastatt, 02. Juni 1999. Den Stiftungspreis fuer herausragende uebernationale Leistungen zum Schutz der Flussauen uebergab der Orden "Der Silberne Bruch" bei seinem Landeskonvent im Europareservat Kuehkopf-Knoblochsaue dem WWF-Auen-Institut aus Rastatt. Zusammen mit dem Stiftungspreis von DM 5 000 erhielt das Auen-Institut die Antaios-Medaille.
Damit zeichnete der Orden, der sich dem Schutz von Wald, Wild und Flur widmet, die Ar-beiten des WWF im Naturschutzgebiet Kuehkopf-Knoblochsaue aus. In der Wuerdigung heisst es: "Heute kann das Projekt mit Recht als europaeisches Modell fuer eine gelungene Integration von wissenschaftlicher Grundlagenarbeit, zielgerichteten Massnahmen zum Schutz einer ein-maligen regional typischen Naturlandschaft und zur Verbesserung natuerlicher Lebensgrundla-gen in der Kulturlandschaft angesehen werden." 
Das etwa 2 400 Hektar grosse Europareservat Kuehkopf-Knoblochsaue am Rhein in der Naehe von Darmstadt gilt als eines der bedeutendsten europaeischen Auengebiete. Seit 1983 ein Damm brach, laeuft dort ein einmaliges Naturexperiment. Die Landwirtschaft wurde aufgege-ben und die Flaechen sind regelmaessigen Ueberflutungen des Rheins ausgesetzt. Es findet eine zum Teil ungestoerte Naturentwicklung statt. So entstanden, unterstuetzt durch gezielte Pflege-massnahmen, auf den ehemaligen Ackergebieten artenreiche, farbenpraechtige Wiesen, die Le-bensgrundlage fuer eine vielfaeltige Tierwelt bieten. Allmaehlich waechst auf unbeeinflussten Flae-chen sogar wieder Auenwald heran. Das WWF-Auen-Institut begleitet diese Renaturierung seit fast 15 Jahren fachlich und schoepft daraus Erkenntnisse, die sich auch fuer Projekte an an-deren Fluessen wie Donau, Elbe und Oder einsetzen lassen.
Auch fuer interessierte Besucher ist das Gebiet erschlossen: Auf beschilderten Wegen koennen Fussgaenger die Natur erkunden. In einem Infozentrum des oertlichen Forstamtes in Stockstadt koennen sie sich mit den Pflanzen und Tieren des Gebietes vertraut machen. 

Weitere Informationen erhalten Sie bei
Anja Rech, Pressereferentin im WWF-Auen-Institut
Josefstr. 1, 76437 Rastatt
Tel. 07222/3807-14, Fax -99
Internet: http://www.wwf.de



02.06.99 : Brazil: REQUEST FOR URGENT LETTER ! NGO-Campaign for the creation of an Extractive Reserve on the islands in Tucuruí Dam reservoir

REQUEST FOR URGENT LETTER WRITING/PEDIDO DE CARTAS URGENTES:

Campaign for the creation of an Extractive Reserve on the islands in
Tucuruí Dam reservoir, Pará state, Brazil/

Summary:  Tucuruí Dam, the largest ever constructed in a tropical
rainforest, flooded over 2,400 sq. km. of the Amazon. More than 30,000
people were expelled from their homes, including various indigenous groups.
Tens of thousands of more living downstream lost their livelihood when fish
stocks were depleted as a consequence of the dam. Many of these families
moved to the reservoir area, occupying "islands" of the rainforest in
Tucuruí Lake.

Extractive Reserves are a new form of land designation in Brazil, a legacy
of Chico Mendes' work which combines environmental protection with
sustainable resource management by local populations. The Tucuruí
Extractive Reserve would be the first established in an environmentally
devastated area, and would have as its goal instituting resource management
programs capable of prolonging the viability of dwindling fish stocks in
the lake, in the process guaranteeing the health and well-being of fishing
and extractivist populations in the reservoir area.

Please see addresses for urgent letter writing at the close of this message.
 
 

For centuries, the inhabitants of the Amazon lived in equilibrium with
nature. The groups had small areas of land, the idea of property was
unknown to them, and they were able to find everything they needed to live
well. This style of life was destroyed by the arrival of the first
Europeans, and ever since the exploitation of nature and its inhabitants
has caused the extinction of species, alimentation, cultures, and more
widespread poverty.

Public services were never available in the region, to the detriment of
rural workers, artisinal fishermen, and gatherers of forest products, and
there was no one to listen to them, or to give priority to proposals coming
from local communities. Families were expelled from their cultural origins
and urban areas filled with migrants, leading to slums and social
marginalization.

The creation of the Extractive Reserve as the first action toward a project
of sustainable development in the region, with public policies constructed
with the full participation and partnership of the residents of the
reservoir area, not only in the decisionmaking process, but also in the
carrying out of an integrated development plan, which could make it
possible to reduce social and economic exploitation, taking into
consideration their traditional way of life and their form of organization,
and social and economic needs. Workers don't need handouts, but rather
instruments to permit them to support their families, to guarantee the
availability of food, and to market their production.

The movement for the creation of an Extractive Reserve in the islands of
Tucuruí Dam reservoir marks a return to the original history of the region,
seeking a form of development that recognizes the value of the way of life
of its people, and the preservation of natural resources. There are an
estimated 1,100 islands in Tucuruí reservoir, where about 6,500 people are
living. The islands were disappropriated by the Federal Government when
Tucuruí Dam was built, and are considered to be an area of permanent
environmental preservation.

The residents live by artisinal fishing, and collection and extraction of
forest products; they have no schools, medical assistance, or even
electrical energy. Since 1992 the movement has fought for the creation of
the Reserve, but politics has meant the proposal has moved forward slowly,
with many obstacles placed in the way.

Currently, all the necessary actions for the creation of the Reserve have
been concluded, and the final decree authorizing the Reserve awaits the
signature of the Brazilian President, Mr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

Promoting the campaign are the following labor unions, and fishermens' and
extractivists' associations and community groups: CEAP-Centro
Agro-ecológico de Assessoria e Educação Popular; STR TUC-Sindicato dos
Trabalhadores Rurais de Tucuruí; ATRA-Associação dos Trabalhadores Rurais e
Pescadores Artesanais do Lago da UHE Tucuruí; ACOVIA-Associação Comunitária
Vista Alegre; ACOAP-Associação da Comunidade São Pedro; APATER-Associação
Ambiental de Pescadores Artesanais de Tucuruí e Região; STRN
REPART-Sindicato dos Trabalhadores Agro-extrativistas e Pescadores do Lago
da UHE Tucuruí; ATAEPA-Associação dos Trabalhadores Agro-extrativistas e
Pescadores Artesanais do Lago da UHE Tucuruí; ASPESCA-Associação dos
Pescadores Artesanais S. Sebastião; STR GOIANESIA-Sindicato dos
Trabalhadores Rurais de Goianésia; MOPEP-Movimento Estadual dos Pescadores;
MONAP-Movimento Nacional dos Pescadores; CNS-Conselho Nacional de
Seringueiros.

PLEASE TAKE PART IN THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CREATION OF THE EXTRACTIVE RESERVE
IN TUCURUI DAM RESERVOIR:
Send letters, faxes, or emails to the following addresses:

The Amazon and its people thank you!

* PRESIDENCIA DA REPUBLICA (Brazilian President)
Exmo. Sr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Praça dos Três Poderes, Palácio do Planalto, 3° andar
CEP 70.800-200 Brasília DF
fax: 061.226.7566
e-mail: pr@planalto.gov.br

* DR. JOSE'  SARNEY FILHO (Environment Minister)
Ministro do Meio Ambiente
Esplanada dos Ministérios, Bloco B, 5° andar
CEP 70.800-200 Brasília DF
fax: 061.226.7101
email: sarneyfilho@mma.gov.br


     
28.05.99 : WWF : Natuerliche Ueberflutungsgebiete haetten Flut in Bayern entschaerft
Natuerliche Ueberflutungsgebiete haetten Flut in Bayern entschaerft
WWF: Haben Staustufen Deichbruch provoziert?

Rastatt, 27. Mai 1999. Der Ausbau der Donau durch Staustufen und das Abschneiden natuerlicher Ueberflutungsgebiete duerften das dramatische Hochwasser in Bayern verschaerft haben. Dies ver-muten Experten des WWF-Auen-Instituts in Rastatt. 
Nach Aussage von Dipl.-Ing. Georg Rast, WWF-Referent fuer Wasserbau, liegt Neustadt, wo am Montag ein Deich gebrochen war, unterhalb einer Reihe von Staustufen. "Moeglicherweise war die Hochwasserwelle unnatuerlich hoch, weil es entlang dieser Staustufen kaum Rueckhalteflaechen gibt, in die sich das Wasser verlaufen konnte", vermutete Rast. "Diesem Druck hielten die Dei-che bei Neustadt schliesslich nicht stand." Doch die Fluesse Donau, Lech und Iller sind von aus-gedehnten ehemaligen Auengebieten gesaeumt, in die das Wasser einst ausweichen konnte. "Heute ist das nicht mehr moeglich, diese natuerlichen Rueckhalteflaechen sind groesstenteils durch Deiche vom Fluss abgeschnitten", erklaerte Rast.
Gerade diese Flussauen bieten jedoch eine einmalige Chance, den Hochwasserschutz zu optimie-ren, indem man technische Massnahmen mit oekologischen verbindet. "Die Politiker sollten diese Chance nutzen und das Geschehene nicht wieder mit ihrer Entschaedigungsphilosophie ad acta legen", forderte Rast. Er raeumte ein, dass dies schmerzhafte Entscheidungen und Opfer von allen Flussanliegern verlange. "Immerhin wuerde eine solche Loesung jedoch die Schaeden im Katastro-phenfall vermindern, die immer wieder Einzelne hart treffen", schloss Rast. Zudem forderte der WWF die Landesregierung von Bayern auf, zu ueberpruefen, inwieweit die Staustufen das Hoch-wasser in Neustadt und Passau kuenstlich verschaerft haben. Bereits existierende Ansaetze fuer Auenrenaturierungen und oekologischen Hochwasserschutz sollten kuenftig gefoerdert werden.
Dass die Einbindung von Auwaeldern in den Hochwasserschutz moeglich ist, zeigt eine vom WWF fuer die Stadt Ingolstadt durchgefuehrte Planung. Dort soll eine Auwaldflaeche von etwa 1 400 Hektar renaturiert, d.h. wieder an den Fluss angebunden werden. Sie kann so kuenftig besser als natuerlicher Rueckhalteraum bei Hochwasser genutzt werden. 

Weitere Informationen erhalten Sie bei
Anja Rech, Pressereferentin im WWF-Auen-Institut
Tel. 07222/38 07-14, Fax -99
oder Georg Rast, Handy 0170/344 38 80
Internet: http://www.wwf.de



27.05.99 : Chinese premier breaches silence on Three Gorges Dam failures
NOTES ON CHINA by JASPER BECKER

 Premier Zhu Rongji made the first public criticism of the Three Gorges Dam project in Monday's People's
Daily, admitting all the assumptions about resettlement had been misplaced.

   For Dai Qing , the dam's most vocal opponent, now in the United States, it was a rare moment of triumph.

   "In 1987, the Propaganda Department issued an edict forbidding anyone to publish articles opposing the
project," she said. "Now the Premier himself has criticised it."

   From the beginning, she and others had been infuriated by the way the dam's proponents had
justified the scheme by "lying" about the facts. She quoted Li Boning, the chief advocate, as saying: "We
must be careful about the figures we cite since they could become a bullet used by opponents."

   Critics say the dam-builders deliberately covered up the number of people who would be displaced and how
they could be resettled.

   "It has always been our view that it is impossible to relocate so many people," Ms Dai said. Proponents
have also turned out to be wrong about the cost of the dam which, in 1990, was supposed to be 90 billion yuan
(HK$83.7 billion) and is now reported to be heading past 200 billion yuan.

   In private conversations, Chinese officials have told Western diplomats it will certainly end up
costing two, even three times as much. When the project was approved in 1992, Li Peng , then premier,
confidently claimed China needed no outside help.

   But this year it was publicly admitted the state was already running short of funds and must raise the
money abroad.

   Advocates also rejected opinion that the dam would cause rapid silting and threaten an environmental
catastrophe.

   This week, the China Economic Times  said all efforts to stop soil erosion in the upper reaches had
not only failed but the problem was getting worse.

    In 1991, Li Boning said only 725,000 people would need to be resettled, although other experts talked of
1.8 million by 2012.

   Of the 725,000, half were peasants who would have no problems because there was "upwards of 20 million
mu (1.3 million hectares) of undeveloped land" in the region, he said.

  Trial projects had proved resettlement would be easy and just 500,000 mu of reasonable quality land was all
that was required.

   Now Mr Zhu has admitted there was no such land for the peasants, who will number more than one million.

   Li Boning had said peasants whose land would be flooded could move up hills and on to terraces.

   Mr Zhu recognised this was impossible because the land was too steep. He had banned building terraces on
slopes of more than 25 degrees because any steeper would cause soil erosion, not only endangering the
reservoir but threatening worse floods downstream.

   "This is what we always said," said Ms Dai.    The result was that the 550,000 people who must be
moved in the next stage of the project would have to be given land in other provinces.

   Initial attempts to resettle displaced people in provinces like Xinjiang, Hainan, Hunan and Henan had
been a failure.

   A retired official and long-term dam supporter rejected criticism of the earlier plans.

   He said: "We can surely find one million mu of proper land in the area and build terraces to grow
citrus trees and other crops. After all there is nearly 20 million mu of land to choose from."

   Trials carried out over eight years had proved this method was effective. He warned the alternative,
moving the displaced people elsewhere, had proved disastrous in the past.

   "The lessons from reservoir dams on Sanmenxia, Xinanjiang and Dangjiangkou is that large groups of
displaced people have, in the end, always returned to their old homes."

   So far, the authorities in the Three Gorges area, in Sichuan province, have managed to relocate only
150,000 people in six years since 1992.    If Premier Zhu wants to move 550,000 people by 2003, when the reservoir waters rise 135 metres, 100,000 people a year will have to be relocated.    In 1991, Li Boning said creating new jobs for
citizens of small towns that would be submerged would be easy.

   But Mr Zhu also overturned this projection and said industrial enterprises would not be moved and rebuilt
because most were bankrupt and their machinery was outdated.
for more informations: doris Shen <threegorges@irn.org>



20.05.99 : Live- Blick ins Storchennest in den March- Auen (WWF)

 Vogelbeobachtung bekommt eine ganz neue Qualitaet. Internet User sind jetzt hautnah am Geschehen im Storchenhorst in den March-Auen. Den sensationellen Blick ins Privatleben von Familie Storch ermoeglichen WWF Oesterreich und der Internet Provider ARGE DATEN, der das Projekt sponsert und die technische Infrastruktur zur Verfuegung stellt. Bis Ende Juli sind Storchenfreunde immer live dabei, wenn die Stoerche brueten, ihre Jungen schluepfen und fluegge werden. Real Video erlaubt die Beobachtung des Verhaltens; fuer  Detailbeobachtungen steht ein minuetlich aktualisiertes, hochaufloesendes Standbild zur Verfuegung. 

Weitere Informationen und der Link zur Webcam:
http://www.wwf.de/c_bibliothek/c_presse/c_presse_newsarchiv/c_pm_9905/c_presse_pm_990520a.html
oder http://www.wwf.at/stoerche/index.html


19.05.99 : UN Foundation Announces Million-Dollar Funding
For Partnership in Global Policymaking on Dams

 Today the UN Foundation, Inc., created by CNN founder Ted
Turner, announced a grant of US$1.7 million to support the partnership
initiative of the World Commission on Dams and the UN Environment
Programme.

This donation is in keeping with the Foundation's goal of encouraging
international co-operation, through the United Nations, on environmental
and other global issues. UNEP,  the UN's principal environmental agency,
and the Commission have joined in a groundbreaking exercise in global
public policymaking on sustainable management of the planet's finite
water resources.

In announcing the grant, UN Foundation President Timothy Wirth said:
"This partnership brings the UN into an exciting collaboration with
business, activist groups, non-governmental organizations, government,
indigenous peoples' groups and international agencies that are
represented in the World Commission on Dams. These kinds of
public-private partnerships are a promising means for working together
on difficult, cross-cutting global challenges."

"The United Nations has a strong commitment to strengthening
multi-stakeholder processes in international policymaking," said UNEP
Executive Director Klaus Toepfer. "The WCD experience challenges
international organizations to re-think institutional structures and
processes, to become more participatory."

Commented the WCD Chair, Professor Kader Asmal: "The UN Foundation's
support for this partnership signals the international community's
interest in developing effective conflict resolution processes. These
are desperately needed in seemingly intractable disputes such as those
over  dams."

Of the $1.7 million, $800,000 is a lump sum grant to the partnership.
The remainder is a 'challenge grant' through which the Foundation will
match every dollar the partnership raises from other sources, up to a
total of $900,000. First to accept the challenge is the international
engineering firm ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd. ABB will contribute
US$200,000 under the matching facility, doubling its previous donation
to the Commission.

"Public-private partnerships are key to finding solutions to  difficult
issues related to sustainable development," said Göran Lindahl,
President and CEO of ABB and a member of the World Commission on Dams.
"The Commission's work, as a representative process, is vital to
addressing the issue of large dams in the context of sustainable
development. I encourage others in industry, NGOs and foundations to
invest in this ground-breaking venture."
 

...2
 

The issues
The planet's limited water resources are subject to increasingly
competitive demands. Population growth and unequal access to the
resource exacerbate tensions over the water needed to provide for energy
and food security, while maintaining river ecosystems. The world's
45,000 large dams (meaning those over 15 meters in height) are an
important yet controversial aspect of sustainable, equitable management
of water: they can provide development benefits in terms of hydro-power,
water supply, irrigation and flood control but there also are costs in
human, economic, and environmental terms (eg loss of land and
biodiversity when valleys are flooded as dam reservoirs).

The public debate on large dams has been characterized by intense
disagreement between advocates and opponents over the costs and benefits
of dams. To break the resultant stalemate, the IUCN-World Conservation
Union and the World Bank brokered a meeting of pro- and anti-dam
interests in Gland, Switzerland in April 1997. The parties took the
surprising step of unanimously agreeing to collaborate in creating an
independent World Commission on Dams.

The Commission's two-year mandate is to research and make
recommendations on tough social, environmental, economic and
institutional questions surrounding dams in the context of sustainable
development, and to assess alternatives to dams. The 12 Commissioners
are eminent leaders from the fields of business, civil society, academia
and government. Their final report will be issued in mid-2000.

The partnership
"Rather than duplicate efforts, the Commission and UNEP are building on
each other's strengths in these difficult questions of sustainable water
management," said Professor Asmal. He is also South Africa's Minister of
Water Affairs and Forestry and an internationally-recognized human
rights advocate. "The Commission will profit from UNEP's strategic role
in the global environmental policy arena and its considerable in-house
expertise. Together our efforts will bolster the Conventions on Climate
Change and Biodiversity as well as Agenda 21, the strategy that emerged
from the Rio Earth Summit in 1992."

Said Dr. Toepfer: "Two major UNEP concerns are the conservation and
sustainable use of freshwater supplies, and the promotion of
environmentally-acceptable forms of energy. In those two contexts, dams
pose both solutions and problems, so we'll learn a great deal from the
WCD's research program and its final conclusions."

This is one of a number of strategic partnerships the WCD has undertaken
to widen its support base and the scope and impact of its work. It
recently organized the first meeting of its advisory Forum, made up of
55 NGOs, governments, donors, utilities, indigenous peoples' groups,
international organizations, researchers and bankers. It also has broken
new ground in attracting no-strings-attached financial contributions
from 26 donors from all sides of the dams debate.

Added Prof. Asmal: "The Commission closes shop after disseminating its
report in 2000. That makes our strategic partnerships all the more
important, to ensure our recommendations live on rather than gathering
dust on a shelf."

ENDS

For further information, please consult the UN Foundation website
http:/www.unfoundation.org, the WCD website at http://www.dams.org , and the UNEP website at http://www.unep.org
.
For general media enquiries regarding the WCD, please contact :

Kate Dunn
Senior Advisor - Communications, Media and Outreach
World Commission on Dams
PO Box 16002
Vlaeberg, Cape Town 8018
Phone: 27 21 426 4000; cell 27 83 326 8825;
Fax: 27 21 426 0036
mailto:kdunn@dams.org
Website: http://www.dams.org



 

17.05.99 : South Africa: RIVERS ASSOCIATION OPPOSES DAMMING OF RIVERS
The Southern African Rivers Association (Sara) on Tuesday called on Water
Affairs Minister Kader Asmal to declare publicly before the June 2 election
that no more large dams would be ratified or built until alternatives had
been studied.

In a statement Sara national administrator Graeme Addison said the
organisation was opposed to the building of new large dams on the Tugela and
Bushman's rivers in central KwaZulu-Natal. He called on Asmal to seek
alternatives to "the destruction of South Africa's wild and scenic
waterways".

"Sara calls upon (Asmal), who is president of the World Commission on Dams,
to declare publicly in the run-up to the general election that no more large
dams will be ratified or built before the technical and policy alternatives
have been studied and reported on.

"We suggest that a national commission be appointed and that amongst other
things it should designate river courses that may not be touched by damming
or other constructions," Addison said.

He said it was not in the national interest to impound any undammed rivers.
"No matter how many dams are built, the country will run out of water within
20 to 40 years at current rates of water wastage."
The association said water recycling, desalination of the sea, and demand
side management to limit water usage, were sensible alternatives to damming.

from: South Africa Press Association news service:
transmitted by : lori@irn.org (Lori Pottinger) 



16.05.99 : Bilanz: Hochwasserschutz muss auf  Pruefstand ! Mehr natuerliche Ueberflutungsflaechen noetig / Hessen in die Pflicht nehmen (WWF-Bilanz)

Rastatt, 17. Mai 1999. Zwei grundlegende Maengel in der Hochwasserschutzpolitik der Laender stellte der WWF bei der Bilanzierung der letzten Flut fest: Die geplanten Rueckhalteraeume reichen bei weitem nicht aus, und die Planung wird zu langsam umgesetzt. "Der unnatuerlichen Haeufung von Spitzenhochwassern kann man nur begegnen, indem man grossraeumig moeglichst naturnahe Ueberflutungsgebiete schafft", sagte Prof. Emil Dister, der Leiter des WWF-Auen-Instituts in Rastatt.

Der WWF fordert daher die Bundeslaender Baden-Wuerttemberg, Rheinland-Pfalz und Hessen auf, die Grundlagen ihrer Hochwasserschutzplanung auf den Pruefstand zustellen. "Es muss", so betonte Dister, "zu einer Neubewertung der Landnutzung entlang des gesamten Oberrheins kommen." Nach Ansicht des WWF muessen grosse Flaechen aus der landwirtschaftlichen Nutzung genommen und fuer Hochwasserschutz, Auenentwicklung und Erholung freigemacht werden, so wie es ansatzweise in Rheinland-Pfalz versucht wird. Ausdruecklich forderte der WWF das Land Hessen auf, seine Verweigerungshaltung beim Hochwasserschutz aufzugeben.

"Zeithorizonte wie das Jahr 2015, das von der Politik fuer die Fertigstellung der vertraglich vereinbarten Hochwasserschutzmassnahmengenannt wird, kann man sich nicht mehr leisten", kritisierte Dister. Rund 20.000 ha Ueberflutungsflaechen seien am Oberrhein nachUntersuchungen des WWF-Auen-Institutes zu gewinnen, wenn man dies politisch wolle. "Der Ansatz, mit einem Minimum an Flaeche und einem Maximum an Technik dem Hochwasserproblem zu begegnen, ist grundfalsch, wie sich immer deutlicher zeigt", mahnte der Auenexperte. 

Wie Dister weiter erlaeuterte, werden weit mehr Rueckhalteflaechen gebraucht als bisher angenommen, denn mit Wassermengen von 5000 Kubikmeter pro Sekunde am Pegel Basel hatte man bisher nicht gerechnet. "Dieses Mal sind wir nur deswegen mit einem blauen Auge davongekommen, weil die Nebenfluesse des Oberrheins kein Hochwasser fuehrten", erklaerte Dister. "Fast alle verfuegbaren Rueckhalteraeume zwischen Basel und Karlsruhe waren bereits geflutet", fuegte er hinzu. Waeren nur aus dem Neckar noch 2000 Kubikmeter pro Sekunde hinzukommen, was im Februar 1990, im Dezember 1993 und im April 1994 deutlich ueberboten wurde, waeren die Staedte Mannheim, Ludwigshafen und Worms ernsthaft bedroht gewesen.

Weitere Informationen erhalten Sie bei
Anja Rech, Pressereferentin im WWF-Auen-Institut
Tel. 07222/38 07-14, Fax -99
oder Handy 0171/5 89 72 26

oder unter http://www.wwf.de
 



14.05.99 : Schweiz : Kein Stausee im Val Curciusa

Tages Anzeiger Autor: Hannes Nussbaumer 

Die Misoxer Kraftwerke verzichten auf den Bau des Pumpspeicherwerks Curciusa. Der Widerstand der Umweltverbände hat Wirkung gezeigt. 
 

Fünfzehn Jahre währte die Auseinandersetzung um den Bau eines Pumpspeicherwerks im Val Curciusa zwischen Splügen- und San-Bernardino-Pass. Am Mittwoch gab die Muttergesellschaft der Misoxer Kraftwerke, die Elektrizitätsgesellschaft Laufenburg, bekannt, auf die Konzession für das Werk verzichten zu wollen. Die steigenden Projektkosten und die Ungewissheit über die Auswirkungen des liberalisierten Strommarkts hätten die Situation für das Projekt Curciusa "drastisch verändert". Dass das 580 Millionen teure Projekt allmählich "in Schieflage geraten und unwirtschaftlich geworden ist", wie sich Geschäftsleitungsmitglied Alex Niederberger ausdrückte, ist der Triumph der Umweltorganisationen. 
Nach den gewonnenen Auseinandersetzungen um die Greina-Hochebene und um das Val Madris ist die Erhaltung des Val Curciusa und der durch das Projekt bedrohten Auenwälder im Misox ein weiterer grosser Erfolg der Umweltverbände. Sie haben die von der Bündner Regierung 1989 erteilte Konzession beim Bundesgericht erfolgreich angefochten. Das Gericht wies den Fall zur Neubeurteilung an die kantonale Behörde zurück. Darauf leitete der Kanton 1995 ein zweites Genehmigungsverfahren ein, auf welches die Umweltverbände mit einer weiteren Beschwerde reagierten. 
Der Entscheid der Elektrizitätsgesellschaft kommt dem Bundesgerichtsurteil jetzt zuvor - zum Leidwesen des Bündner Baudirektors Stefan Engler. Er sei "etwas enttäuscht über den Zeitpunkt des Entscheids", da er sich vom Bundesgericht Antwort auf "zahlreiche Fragen" erhofft habe. "Das Urteil hätte geklärt, was quantitativer Gewässerschutz ist und welche Bedeutung der positiven Energiebilanz zukommt." 
Die Bündner Regierung bedauert den Entscheid der Elektrizitätsgesellschaft, "vor allem aus energie- und volkswirtschaftlicher Sicht". Beim Curciusa-Werk habe es sich um ein umweltverträgliches Projekt gehandelt, von dem das wirtschaftlich schwache Misox profitiert hätte, sagte Stefan Engler. Angesichts der veränderten Bedingungen könne er den Entscheid der Elektrizitätsgesellschaft verstehen, finde ihn aber zu kurzfristig gedacht: "Als erneuerbare Energie hat Wasserkraft Zukunft", gibt er sich überzeugt. 
Das eigentliche Drama 
Kein Verständnis für das Bedauern der Regierung hat Kaspar Schuler vom WWF Graubünden. Mit dem Verzicht werde nicht nur eine grossartige Landschaft gerettet, hinzu komme, "dass wir keine weitere nicht amortisierbare Investition an den Hals bekommen". Im liberalisierten Strommarkt hätte Curciusa unmöglich rentieren können, meint Schuler. 
Bleibt das "eigentliche Drama der Geschichte" (Schuler): die Situation der Gemeinden im Misox. Die Regierung habe in der Hoffnung auf Steuererträge alle Warnungen ignoriert, wonach "die Elektrizitätsgesellschaft Laufenburg am Abschleichen" sei; sie habe den Gemeinden suggeriert, dass das Werk gebaut werde, sagt Kaspar Schuler. Drei Jahre lang hätten die Umweltverbände die Gemeinden zum Verzicht auf das Kraftwerk und auf die mit ihm verbundenen Wasserzinsen zu bewegen versucht. Wären sie darauf eingetreten, hätten sie dafür Ausgleichszahlungen erhalten. 
Keine Ausgleichszahlungen 
Da diese Zahlungen an der Realisierungswahrscheinlichkeit eines Projekts bemessen werden, stehen die Gemeinden jetzt vor einem Scherbenhaufen. Sie werden weder das Pumpspeicherwerk samt Arbeitsplätzen noch die Wasserzinsen erhalten. Und weil die Realisierungschance auf null gesunken ist, besteht auch das Recht auf Ausgleichszahlungen nicht mehr - zumindest in diesem Punkt sind sich Kaspar Schuler und Stefan Engler einig. Im Gegensatz zu den betroffenen Gemeinden, die angekündigt haben, sich damit nicht abfinden zu wollen. 


12.05.99 : Norway: Foe requests urgent help to save the Upper Otta River

Urgent call for support!
Friends of the Earth Norway (Norges Naturvernforbund) requests urgent 
help to save the Upper Otta River from hydroelectric power 
exploitation. You can do this by endorsing the enclosed 
appeal/protest to the members of the Norwegian Parliament 
(Stortinget) and the political parties of Norway. Please, send your 
endorsement no later than Friday May 16th by e-mail (or
by fax) directly to

Friends of the Earth Norway/Norges Naturvernforbund
Save the Upper Otta Campaign
E-mail: naturvern@naturvern.no
Fax: +47 22 40 24 10

We will pass on your messages to the Parliament and the political 
parties.

Please find enclosed
A) the appeal we request you to endorse
B) short background information

For more information, please contact Kåre Olerud or Tore Braend.
-
A. APPEAL

To: The representatvies of Norway's Parliament
The political parties of Norway 

Save Upper Otta
We appeal to you to reject the plans to exploit The Upper Otta River 
system for hydroelectric power production.

The fate of Upper Otta is of great international concern. Upper Otta 
is a unique part of Norway's nature and thereby also a unique part of 
the world's common natural heritage.

We appeal to you to give Upper Otta and its tributaries status as 
permanently protected rivers and secure the rivers and the 
surrounding landscape for future generations.

Yours, sincerely

Name of signatory:
Date:
City, country:
Organisation:
 

BACKGROUND

Save Upper Otta

Partly in wilderness, in an area of mountains, forests and culture 
landscape, there are plans to construct a big hydroelectric power 
plant. The river is known as the Upper Otta river, and it is located 
in the Gudbrandsdalen valley between Oslo and Trondheim in the
heart of Eastern Norway.

Upper Otta and its tributaries constitute a part of Norway's last 
few, relatively untouched watercourses with several waterfalls and 
other unique qualities. This may now be exploited for hydroelectric 
power production.

39 kilometres of tunnels in the mountain are planned to lead the 
water away from 7 rivers and to two power stations. For long periods 
of time there will be practically no water in 5 waterfalls and long 
stretches of the main river and its tributaries. New power lines 
will keep one of Europe's last stocks of wild reindeer away from 
important feeding areas.

These plans are one of the most serious threats to Norway's nature 
and one of the most important challenges Friends of the Earth 
Norway/Norges Naturvernforbund is facing at present. The outcome is 
uncertain, but we fight to win. We know that international support
is important in such cases and we would be most grateful for your 
support. Please help us to Save Upper Otta. We thank you in advance.

Regards,
Erik Solheim, President
Joerund U. Soma, Secretary General
Kåre Olerud, Head of Information 
--- REPLY TO: info@foeint.antenna.nl ---

 ann doherty, information officer
 friends of the earth international
 po box 19199, 1000 gd amsterdam, the netherlands
 tel 31 20 6221369  fax 31 20 6392181  www: www.xs4all.nl/~foeint

 

back to the Homepage

These pages and their content are © Copyright of European Rivers Network.
For more information, remarks or propositions, send us a message !.
rt. Please help us to Save Upper Otta. We thank you in advance.

Regards,
Erik Solheim, President
Joerund U. Soma, Secretary General
Kåre Olerud, Head of Information 
--- REPLY TO: info@foeint.antenna.nl ---

 ann doherty, information officer
 friends of the earth international
 po box 19199, 1000 gd amsterdam, the netherlands
 tel 31 20 6221369  fax 31 20 6392181  www: www.xs4all.nl/~foeint

 

back to the Homepage

These pages and their content are © Copyright of European Rivers Network.
For more information, remarks or propositions, send us a message !.