Urrá Dam Exacerbates Sin River Flooding - Help Needed in Colombia

Please Support Victims of Sinú River Flooding

'Save The Ribble' has received this urgent call from Friends of the Earth Colombia (CENSAT Agua Viva), it has many chilling echoes of the situation in Britain, where residents of Hull and Doncaster still face official inaction weeks after catastrophic flooding to their homes:

After intense rain showers more than 20,000 people living on the banks of the Sin River in San Pelayo, Cereté Lorica in Montería, Colombia were forced to find temporary shelter or be relocated to higher land. Their lands and homes are now under water from the June 29 inundations, which over-ran the Urrá Dam on the Sin River. Pets and livestock were lost, as reported by ASPROCIG the Producers' Association of the Greater Sin Region.

Sinú residents face poverty after flooding exacerbated by the Urrá dam

The same source confirmed that 600 of the 20,000 affected people are part of the social resistance process to the Urrá Dam. These are the communities who noticed the effects of the dam on fisheries and promoted agroecology and forestry initiatives in response the the threats. These initiatives are today under water.

In addition to the initial impacts of the Urrá Dam's construction on the communities and their territories, the government has been slow in responding to the flooding that is being experienced in Córdoba. The flooding was exacerbated by the presence of the dam, and there is a danger that government negligence could increase the humanitarian crisis and frame the perfect argument in favour of Urrá II, a "megadisaster" that would exacerbate the agony of the Sinú residents after the Urrá.

We need your help to support the victims in Córdoba. CENSAT Agua Viva is collecting non-perishable food, clothing, and medicine. CENSAT Agua Viva is also collecting financial support for the victims.

Please make a donation to the relief effort.


Censat-Agua Viva


Join IRN and join the international movement to protect rivers and defend human rights:
http://www.irn.org/support.

More information here about rivers and dams

Urgent Narmada Appeal - Solidarity Needed From Ribblesiders

We received the following message from the International Rivers Network, it explains about how a local community in India is resisting the damming of their river, and who find their views and needs being ignored by those with political power (does that sound familiar?). - please click on the link now and send messages of protest about the treatment of the villagers of Gunjari to the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh!

"On June 11, 2007, the government of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh closed the gates of the Omkareshwar dam in the Narmada valley. Since then, dozens of villages have been flooded, and houses, fields and trees have disappeared under the water. Most families from the submerged villages have not been given new land -- they have nowhere to go.



Since the submergence started, the affected people have been doing everything in their power to protest their unjust treatment and the destruction of their livelihoods. People in semi-submerged Gunjari village in Madhya Pradesh are refusing to vacate their houses, and women are standing knee-deep in water for hours. In Khandwa, the district headquarters, 4,000 people have been sitting in protest, facing strong monsoon rainstorms, for more than two weeks.

Residents say that they will not vacate their villages until adequate rehabilitation is provided by the administration. Support the demands of the people in the Narmada Valley by sending a letter to the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh!


Visit the following website to send the letter:


http://www.irn.org/action/070622omkareshwar.php

In solidarity,

South Asia Team

International Rivers Network"

You can read our earlier coverage of the Narmada Dam protests (and other pro-river campaigns around the world) here.

Pro-River Campaigns Around The World

When we at “Save The Ribble’ first began our campaign almost a year ago exactly, we thought we were just an isolated case of a local community and it’s river under threat from an undemocratic alliance of local politicians, officials and developers.

As we have continued our campaign, we have quickly learned that we are not on our own, and that all around the world, rivers, the people who live nearby and the eco-diversity they support face very similar challenges to those faced by the people living near the Ribble.

Save The Mary River Campaigners


For example, in Australia, local people are resisting a huge project to dam the Mary River: they have set up The Save The Mary River Campaign, they say:

“The more that is known about the Traveston Crossing Dam proposal on the Mary River, the worse it looks Queensland Premier Mr. Peter Beattie announced on Thursday, 27th April 2006 that the Queensland Government proposes to build a mega-dam (more than 1.3 times the area of Sydney Harbour) on the Mary River at Traveston Crossing that will inundate the central Mary Valley in Queensland's Sunshine Coast hinterland and re-direct the water of the Mary River catchment into Brisbane. Until the announcement, no information had been made public about ANY planning procedures or studies to justify the decision. There had been absolutely NO public consultation with any of the local stakeholders regarding this decision before the announcement.

The State Government's own scientific evidence indicates that this proposal would seriously degrade the 200km of river downstream of the proposal and greatly effect the Great Sandy Straits by stopping all fresh water flow to the sea from the river for a significant proportion of the time. Independant economic analysis now shows that the proposal is an extremely high risk, high cost strategy compared to other viable means of providing for urban water supply in SE Qld, and would produce water that will cost the public significantly more than most of the other viable options investigated. Reputable academic studies assessing social impact of the way the project has been implemented to date have been condemnatory in their conclusions.
It still looks as if the decision to spend billions of dollars of public money on a potential environmental and social disaster has been made on the basis of political expediency rather than good science, engineering and planning.

Read more at Traveston Swamp News

Image from www.riosvivos.org.br

Meanwhile people in the La Plata Basin in Paraguay are resisting plans to turn their river into an industrial shipping channel.

“scientists predict that the channelization of the Paraguay River would cause the wetlands to shrink, with associated losses in biodiversity”

The preservation of wetlands is also a key issue for the future of the Ribble - these would be drowned upriver of a barrage, and starved of the silts that nourish them downriver.

People in China face an even more massive, threat, from the ‘Three Gorges Dam Project’



According to the International Rivers Network:

“The (three gorges) project has been plagued by massive corruption problems, spiraling costs, technological problems, human rights violations and resettlement difficulties. One million people have been displaced by the dam as of 2006; many are living under poor conditions with no recourse to address outstanding problems with compensation or resettlement. Said one peasant from Kai county, "We have been to the county government many times demanding officials to solve our problems, but they said this was almost impossible. They have threatened us with arrest if we appeal for help from higher government offices."

The dam is having terrible effects on the environment as well as the people:

“The dam is also affecting one of the world’s biggest fisheries in the East China Sea. Scientists estimate that annual catches may be reduced by one million tons due to the decline in fresh water and sediment reaching the sea. The Yangtze delta and tidal wetlands are already being badly eroded the loss of sediment.”

This is very similar to the potential consequences of a Ribble barrage, which would cut of the flow of silts to the environmentally significant Ribble Estuary and the Ribble Estuary Wetland Park.

Another set of dams threatens the River Narmada in central India


Campaigners demonstrated and fasted against the Narmada dam project

Campaigners against this project argue

“A quick look at the ground reality would disabuse anyone of the real nature of the dam-builder's enterprise. Large dams imply large budgets for related projects leading to large profits for a small group of people. A mass of research shows that even on purely technical grounds, large dams have been colossal failures. While they have delivered only a fraction of their purported benefits, they have had an extremely devastating effect on the riverine ecosystem and have rendered destitute large numbers of people (whose entire sustenance and modes of living are centered around the river). For no large dam in India has it been shown that the resettled people have been provided with just compensation and rehabilitation.”

There are also campaigns sparking off to destroy existing dams and barrages; the American group Taxpayers for Common Sense argue for the destruction of 4 dams on the Snake River.

They say:

Several stocks of Lower Snake River salmon and steelhead are already extinct or headed to extinction. Removing the four hydroelectric dams on the Lower Snake River in eastern Washington State is the only way to save the fish...

The sooner the dams are removed, the better. They are the key barrier to a crucial ecosystem – the pristine fish spawning grounds above the dams and the estuaries that lead to the Pacific Ocean. Environmentalists, Native Americans and commercial and sport fishing interests all have a special interest in the fish and the ecosystem.

Around the world, experts and now some governments are beginning to realise that as well as being environmentally destructive, and socially damaging to local people BARRAGES AND DAMS ARE EXPENSIVE - they neccessitate dredging and groundwater pumping which can cost £millions every year - of course it is the taxpayers who end up carrying this economic burden, when the developers have long since departed, with pockets full of cash.

There is lots of information on the economic costs of dams and on the benefits of destroying them in the “River Revival Bulletin”:
and also here


Dam being decommissioned
© Roberto Epple, ERN

It is great to know we are part of a worldwide pro-river movement, and we are sure that if enough people mobilise and explain the true social, economic and environmental costs of barrages and dams, we can gradually turn the tide against unsound and irresponsible dam and barrage projects, including the Riverworks Barrage.

Worldwide Blog Coverage For "Save The Ribble"

The 'Save The Ribble' blog has had a big impact since we started it 4 months ago, and not just in the corridoors and smoke filled rooms of Preston Town Hall.

Bloggers all over the world are interested in our technique of using blogging to publicise our campaign. They are inspired by the beauty of the River Ribble, and by the commitment displayed by local people to keeping its banks green and beautiful, its mudflats a muddy paradise for wading birds and other wildlife and the tidal flow of the river unimpeded as it goes down to the sea.

See 'Trashing a Monet' below

Here are a few of the 98 (so far) blogs that have recently linked to the 'Save The Ribble' Campaign:

Jane Perrone at Horticultural is an allotment keeper who was interested in our report on the Penwortham Holme Allotments

Jane writes:

I've been meaning to write about this blog for ages - it's a campaign to save the beauty of the River Ribble in Preston from a "development" (I use the word with heavy irony) scheme. The plan includes the rather wonderful sounding Penwortham Holme allotments that are packed full of wildlife and are situated close to the river.

There are loads of reasons why these plots should be saved - not least because there have been allotments there since 1913, and because the land is a natural flood defence.

The same article was covered by The Joyful Gardener

Camden Kiwi is a 'Green blogger' who hosted the recent Fortieth Edition of the Carnival of the Green where she linked to our article A guide to the pro-Ribble response to the Preston Riverworks Proposals.

The Carnival of Community Campaigns at Humantide covers the question Will Ribbleside residents voices be heard?

The Owners Manual links to our post Tales from the Riverbank

Railbridge at high tide from Avenham & Miller Park


Random Thoughts Notes and Incidents covers our report on the Riverworks Housing Sums that don't add up in the Second Edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy

a development going into an environmentally sensitive area where all local government agrees there is an "over-supply" of housing.

More of our coverage of Preston City Council Politics is linked to by The Disillusioned Kid who hosts the 42nd Carnival of the Green which features our report on The Vague Promises of Preston Riversway Councillors

The 'Dave's Not Here' Blog covers our Ribble Pub Debate Primer at His Showcase Carnival

The Carnival of Socialism covers our Letter To Local Councillors this is what they said about the letter:

Save the Ribble gives a clear example of local activism. a sample letter to city councillors ... explains the issue and also serves as a model for how to affect concrete change at the local level.

Even pagans are linking to us: the Carnival of Paganism picked up our report Sikh's Seek Ribble Funeral Permission, the same article being linked to by the "North West Enquirer's" North West Blogwatch which keeps an eye on many of the best Blogs from the North West of England.

The poetry posted on these pages has caused ripples too: The Carnival of Part Time Poets featuring the excellent pro-Ribble poem 'Trashing a Monet' The French Poet, Jonathon Penetti warns;

They will drown it in concrete,
They will pave paradise,
To the green tree tunnel
It will be 'Au revoir'
To be left with the housing scar,
All will be left with,
Is memories,

The full poem is here: Pictures, Poems and Songs from the Riverbank



I have to mention here the excellent page of beautiful Ribble Photographs put together and posted at www.angst.org.uk - I am inspired every time I look at them.

There are so many blogs linking to us, that many have been left out here - we appreciate every link that we get, as it helps us reach new supporters and build our campaign - if you have a blog or a website, why not put up a link to our site?

UPDATE 6th September

The Westmorland Gazette has recommended 'Save The Ribble' as a good site for people thinking about which university to choose - we hope plenty of Cumbrian students decide to support our campaign as a result!

UPDATE 27th October

Birdwatchers, twitchers and avian enthusiasts of all kinds have noticed our blog, and included it in the 'I and The Bird' Blog Carnival at Migrations a blog by a biologist with a special interest in avifauna.

Saving Iceland

The 'Save The River Ribble Campaign' received an important email today from Iceland.

Just as we, who live by the Ribble are resisting proposals to put a barrage across our River, that would cause untold damage to our environment (including the 250.000 birds living in the Ribble Estuary), and raise the risk of flooding to those of us living near the area where the water level would be permanently raised to become a 'water sports park' for jet-skiing yuppies, the people of Iceland are resisting plans to build a set of dams in the eastern highlands to power US owned ALCOA aluminium smelting plant which is being built in the beautiful Reydarfjordur fjord on the eastern coast.


Here is the Guardian Report on the plans which states:

"Environmentalists in Iceland and abroad have looked on in disbelief as the project has proceeded, sidestepping one obstacle after another, driven by a government seemingly determined to push it through, whatever the cost to nature or the economy"

This is the kind of beautiful landscape that would be destroyed if the project is allowed to go ahead, in one of the world's last true wildernesses:
langsisjor

"Incredibly, some areas earmarked for destruction - such as Kringilsárrani and Thjórsárver in the southern highlands - are protected under Icelandic and international law. All are of outstanding natural beauty and their unique botanical, geological, biological and ecological characteristics are of universal scientific importance."

Save The Ribble campaigners will be watching developments in Iceland closely, including the innovative and determined tactics used by local Icelandic campaigners, and their international allies, to prevent this dam from proceeding.

Icelandic Government officials have described the Kárahnjúkar area as 'only gravel and sand', just as officials in Preston City Council have described the River Ribble area as 'bleak, barren and underdeveloped'

Find out more about the Icelandic Campaign from: Saving Iceland