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Article from the Kathmandu Post
This is an interesting article that relates the issues in India, Nepal and China over water and power. This article was from the Kathmandu Post on March 26, 2008.
--Scott
--Scott
Protest on the Dibang River, Arunachal Pradesh, India
This is one of the many rivers in Arunachal Pradesh, India that have plans for dams in the next few years. It looks like from these images that the demonstration took place at the bridge where we put-in and started our descent down the Dibang. It is good to see that the people are voicing their opinions.
--Scott
--Scott
PRESS RELEASE
March 14th: International Day of Action Against Dams and for Rivers, Water and Life
Local people boycott Dibang dam public hearing
AIMSU reiterates opposition to cosmetic consultations
New Anaya, March 14: The
public hearing for the proposed 3000 MW Dibang Multipurpose Project
which was to be held in New Anaya (Dibang Valley district, Arunachal
Pradesh) on March 12th could not be conducted due to strong opposition
from the local affected people. Hundreds of protestors from various
affected villages staged a road blockade along the Roing-Anini road
blocking all the vehicular movement towards the venue of the public
hearing. The vehicles carrying officials and staff of the Arunachal
Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (APSPC
, National Hydroelectric
Power Corporation (NHPC) and the National Productivity Council (NHPC) were prevented from reaching New Anaya.
The All Idu Mishmi Students Union (AIMSU) had earlier, on March 11th, called for a boycott of what it called was a 'cosmetic' public hearing. It had accused the government of treating the Dibang project as a fait accompli as the foundation stone of the project was laid by the Prime Minister, Manhoman Singh on January 31st, without the completion of public consultation and mandatory evaluation of the project for its social and environmental viability. It had also expressed concern about the poor quality of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report done by consultants NPC, stating that it was no point seeking citizens inputs based on such substandard studies.
On March 12th villagers from New Anaya, Kano, Arzoo, Shuklanagar and other adjacent villages blocked a bridge on the Ithi river on the Roing – Anini road, 18 km. from New Anaya towards Roing, from 3 am in the morning. The villagers along with AIMSU members staged a demonstration before the officials conveying a strong message with slogans of "Go back NHPC". Witnessing the defiant protest, the APSPCB officials along with NHPC and NPC left for Roing without conducting the public hearing. The Deputy Commissioner of Anini and other government officials who had reached the venue for the conduct of public hearing also returned back to Anini after the APSPCB officials failed to reach the venue. The protestors lifted the road blockade and called off the peaceful protest at 12 pm after the APSPCB officials left.
AIMSU General Secretary Tone Mickrow said, "When the government itself undermines the due process of law, the people have no choice but to resist the forceful imposition of the will of the government."
For more information contact: Raju Mimi : +91 9436677416 rajumimi@gmail.com Tone Mickrow: +91 943...
An article from The Kathmandu Post
The Marsyangdi is not the only river in Nepal that will be under water soon. Unfortunately the Karnali, Arun, Kaligandaki and Bhote Kosi rivers are all threatened. There is a big election happening in 22 days in Nepal that will determine the ruling political party and the fate of these great himilayan rivers.
Most of the projects are funded, owned and constructed by foreign investors (mostly Indian) which do nothing to help the people of Nepal. At least now they are realizing this and are trying to change.
Most of the projects are funded, owned and constructed by foreign investors (mostly Indian) which do nothing to help the people of Nepal. At least now they are realizing this and are trying to change.
Update from the Rio Baker, Chile
Evan Garcia writes in from the epic journey into patagonia.
The Rio Baker is in southern Patagonia on the Chilean side of the border. From the Futaleufu we drove 2 days south on dirt roads crossing huge passes over looking massive glaciers and many un-run rivers en valleys below. After passing through the main city in the south Coyihaque, we drove another 300km on mostly dirts roads until reaching the birth place of the Rio Baker.
This is the lake that feeds the Baker, it is beyond massive.
The Baker comes out of this lake with 50,000 cfs give or take 15,000? It travels only a short 200km to the ocean but gains more and more water from tributaries adding to its overall mass. About 15km from the lake the river pours over a massive series of ledges creating the first major drop of the river and marking the put in for the first canyon.
The group entering the biggest rapid.
Over all we ran the top canyon, which contains five massive rapids, three different times. Every time the whitewater seemed to be different. This is because the entire river is chocked down to 50 feet in places and reactionary holes and waves come and go with the changing currents. To break it down a little more here it goes:
The first drop is the sneak of the Salto de Baker. It is a little sluece box drop on the far left away from the pour-over from hell. Even though it is a sneak it is still a fun double boof.
Scouting the first canyon.
Evan in the 4th rapid.
After pasing through a short gorge you reach the takeout bridge and you are greated with one of the best surf waves I have personaly seen. It´s a huge wide, fluffy pile, smooth glass, great hight, and a short hike to get back to the top. Heaven!
Clean Blunt.
Here lies the problem. In 2009 there are 5 different dam sites that are going to be built on this beautiful river flooding every piece of this land and all of these canyons. There is a group project known as Patagonia sin Represas that is fighting the Endesa company from Spain, but it has already been approved for '09. They are also trying to keep other rivers in the area safe from future dams. It's a sad thing to see such a beautiful and untouched place and know that in less than a year everything will be gone.
"No inundation of Patagonia"
The Rio Baker is one of the best rivers and most wild places I have ever seen. I have been all over the world so this means it's pretty special. While I was kayaking and enjoying my time there I shot a film for The Last Descent brought to you by Scott Ligare and Katie Scott and Charlie Center. (thelastdescent.com) They are making a movie about endangered rivers and I agreed to help film a section on this river. So look for that film in 2009 and you will see a full version of this trip.
There is also a second gorge, but we didn't have the time to run it because we were so stoked on the top section. We only spent a short but sick three days running the river and had to return back north to The Futa then to Pucon. Now we are trying to find the right level for a rarely run section of the Fuy. The trip down south was very interesting for all of us. We saw so much new earth and so many unrun rivers. It was a great way to almost wrap up my 3 and a half months here in South America. Thanks to Rodrigo Tushner, Ema Passi, Lj Groth, Severin, and Juanito for making this trip so good and unforgetable.
--Evan Garcia egcreekin.blogspot.com
The Rio Baker is in southern Patagonia on the Chilean side of the border. From the Futaleufu we drove 2 days south on dirt roads crossing huge passes over looking massive glaciers and many un-run rivers en valleys below. After passing through the main city in the south Coyihaque, we drove another 300km on mostly dirts roads until reaching the birth place of the Rio Baker.
This is the lake that feeds the Baker, it is beyond massive.
The Baker comes out of this lake with 50,000 cfs give or take 15,000? It travels only a short 200km to the ocean but gains more and more water from tributaries adding to its overall mass. About 15km from the lake the river pours over a massive series of ledges creating the first major drop of the river and marking the put in for the first canyon.
The group entering the biggest rapid.
Over all we ran the top canyon, which contains five massive rapids, three different times. Every time the whitewater seemed to be different. This is because the entire river is chocked down to 50 feet in places and reactionary holes and waves come and go with the changing currents. To break it down a little more here it goes:
The first drop is the sneak of the Salto de Baker. It is a little sluece box drop on the far left away from the pour-over from hell. Even though it is a sneak it is still a fun double boof.
Scouting the first canyon.
Evan in the 4th rapid.
After pasing through a short gorge you reach the takeout bridge and you are greated with one of the best surf waves I have personaly seen. It´s a huge wide, fluffy pile, smooth glass, great hight, and a short hike to get back to the top. Heaven!
Clean Blunt.
Here lies the problem. In 2009 there are 5 different dam sites that are going to be built on this beautiful river flooding every piece of this land and all of these canyons. There is a group project known as Patagonia sin Represas that is fighting the Endesa company from Spain, but it has already been approved for '09. They are also trying to keep other rivers in the area safe from future dams. It's a sad thing to see such a beautiful and untouched place and know that in less than a year everything will be gone.
"No inundation of Patagonia"
The Rio Baker is one of the best rivers and most wild places I have ever seen. I have been all over the world so this means it's pretty special. While I was kayaking and enjoying my time there I shot a film for The Last Descent brought to you by Scott Ligare and Katie Scott and Charlie Center. (thelastdescent.com) They are making a movie about endangered rivers and I agreed to help film a section on this river. So look for that film in 2009 and you will see a full version of this trip.
There is also a second gorge, but we didn't have the time to run it because we were so stoked on the top section. We only spent a short but sick three days running the river and had to return back north to The Futa then to Pucon. Now we are trying to find the right level for a rarely run section of the Fuy. The trip down south was very interesting for all of us. We saw so much new earth and so many unrun rivers. It was a great way to almost wrap up my 3 and a half months here in South America. Thanks to Rodrigo Tushner, Ema Passi, Lj Groth, Severin, and Juanito for making this trip so good and unforgetable.
--Evan Garcia egcreekin.blogspot.com
The Last Descent film trailer is up!
Check out the project trailer. Go to www.thelastdescent.com and follow the link to View Film Trailer.
Quiktime is needed to view it which is available for free.
Quiktime is needed to view it which is available for free.
Goodbye to paradise
We left the village of Bujagali saddened to know that we probably will never return. In as soon as August the silverback stretch will be closed to boating for the safety of the boaters. After the dam is completed and the reservior is full there will still be some good rapids (Itunda, Kalagala, Hypoxia, Dead Duchman, Overtime, and some more smaller ones) as well as an epic wave, but much will be lost. This place is one of the most enjoyable kayak destinations in the world and I am sure that it will continue to be a destination that boaters will come to but it will not be the same without the silverback run and the back channels.
Nile has some amazing bird life.
Chapati, the breakfast, lunch and dinner of champions.
Borris and I playing King of the Wave on the Cuban.
And the winner is....
Jake going big on Nile Special
Fine Bujagali dining
I snapped this shot off right as the sky turned black and it started to pour
After 3 weeks of being blown off by the dam company, I was finally granted an interview and tour of the dam site 2 days before we left. In the interview the project manager stated that the government of Uganda had already come to them about building two more large dams on the White Nile in the near future. Here are some more photos of the village of Bujagali and the White Nile.
This is where the Ugly Sisters used to join the Silverback channel.
Katie is now in India and I am back in Nepal.
---Scott
Nile has some amazing bird life.
Chapati, the breakfast, lunch and dinner of champions.
Borris and I playing King of the Wave on the Cuban.
And the winner is....
Jake going big on Nile Special
Fine Bujagali dining
I snapped this shot off right as the sky turned black and it started to pour
After 3 weeks of being blown off by the dam company, I was finally granted an interview and tour of the dam site 2 days before we left. In the interview the project manager stated that the government of Uganda had already come to them about building two more large dams on the White Nile in the near future. Here are some more photos of the village of Bujagali and the White Nile.
This is where the Ugly Sisters used to join the Silverback channel.
Katie is now in India and I am back in Nepal.
---Scott
Nile River, Uganda - Update 3
We have spent the last week upriver on the White Nile near the town of Bujagali. Bujagali Falls is a spiritually significant place for the local Busoga tribe and marks the start of the "Silverback" run. We are still trying to get a tour of the dam site but in the mean time we have been making smaller "commando" missions into the construction site from the river. The dam itself is being constructed at the Silverback rapid where the river splits into 3 channels: The Ugly Sister, Silverback, and Headbanger. Construction started in August when they built a temporary coffer dam at the Ugly Sisters channel. The are constantly pumping the water out of this now dry channel and digging down to build the foundation of the dam. In combination with the digging they use explosives to blast through the bedrock. On the days in which they blast the river is closed to boating in the afternoon. We headed down during these times to check out the destruction.
Surveyors on river right at the construction site.
We were stopped at a small rock island by security guards above the blasting location and were told to wait. After 30 minutes or so without much of a warning a huge explosion ripped through the area sending rock and a cloud of dust hundreds of feet in the air. It was definitely the largest explosion that we had ever seen.
Locals watch as their childhood playground is blasted and moved away in trucks.
The total project cost is $600 million dollars, of which only a portion has been secured. The dam itself is to be owned by Bujagali Energy Limited which is a subsidiary of Sithe Global, an international corporation that is mainly owned by US investors. An Italian construction firm, Salini, has been contracted to build the dam. The power generated will be sold to the Ugandan Government for distribution to the people of Uganda. There are already two dams at the very source of the Nile where it flows from Lake Victoria but they are not providing enough power for Uganda because of mismanagement (they run on 1-2 turbines of 4) and that much of it is exported to Kenya who funded these dams.
Cats at the construction site.
In our investigations and discussions with Ugandans we have learned that most of them are in favor of the dam in hope that they will get electricity to their villages and that the economy of the country will increase. Tourism is currently the number one industry in Uganda with whitewater rafting being the number one activity of tourists. The White Nile currently provides some of the biggest, friendly class 5 rafting in the world. After the dam is constructed there will still be a possible raft run below the dam but it will not be nearly as exiting. The raft companies are going to move their operations downstream and continue to operate, the effect of the dam on the raft industry is bound to be large however.
White trucks with the "Salini" logo on the side are a common site in Jinja and around the river.
Katie in Paradise
Katie surfing Malalu, downstream of the dam site
----Scott Ligare
Surveyors on river right at the construction site.
We were stopped at a small rock island by security guards above the blasting location and were told to wait. After 30 minutes or so without much of a warning a huge explosion ripped through the area sending rock and a cloud of dust hundreds of feet in the air. It was definitely the largest explosion that we had ever seen.
Locals watch as their childhood playground is blasted and moved away in trucks.
The total project cost is $600 million dollars, of which only a portion has been secured. The dam itself is to be owned by Bujagali Energy Limited which is a subsidiary of Sithe Global, an international corporation that is mainly owned by US investors. An Italian construction firm, Salini, has been contracted to build the dam. The power generated will be sold to the Ugandan Government for distribution to the people of Uganda. There are already two dams at the very source of the Nile where it flows from Lake Victoria but they are not providing enough power for Uganda because of mismanagement (they run on 1-2 turbines of 4) and that much of it is exported to Kenya who funded these dams.
Cats at the construction site.
In our investigations and discussions with Ugandans we have learned that most of them are in favor of the dam in hope that they will get electricity to their villages and that the economy of the country will increase. Tourism is currently the number one industry in Uganda with whitewater rafting being the number one activity of tourists. The White Nile currently provides some of the biggest, friendly class 5 rafting in the world. After the dam is constructed there will still be a possible raft run below the dam but it will not be nearly as exiting. The raft companies are going to move their operations downstream and continue to operate, the effect of the dam on the raft industry is bound to be large however.
White trucks with the "Salini" logo on the side are a common site in Jinja and around the river.
Katie in Paradise
Katie surfing Malalu, downstream of the dam site
----Scott Ligare
Nile River Update Two
Jacob Scott lovin' life on Nile Special.
The White Nile is home to one of the worlds most epic play waves called Nile Special. We recently have been spending our days surfing the giant waves and running the rapids on the Day 2 stretch of the Nile which include Itunda and Kaligala.
Katie Scott hucking Kaligala in style
I once again find myself feeling overwhelmed by the beauty that exists along the Nile River. The sunsets are one in a million and paddling along side the lush green fields of healthy plants could not be more perfect. Every time I paddle the Nile river I am awestruck by the peacefulness of its environment but everyday I am brought back to the reality of the future of this dream land. The takeout of the Silverback run is where the majority of the dam
construction is going on, everyday more progress is made on the dam and yet another paradise begins to diminish.
Beautiful Sunset from NRE
It has been depressing to interview some of the locals who are not benefiting from the dam at all. They have been lied to in the past and are being lied to now. They were initially promised jobs working for the foreign dam company but they were not hired. Since the main source of income for most villagers is tourism many locals will soon be without jobs and will not be able to afford the power that will be generated from their homeland.
Scott Ligare Playing at Nile Special
The White Nile -- Part 1
I have never been a journaler. I have never kept a diary. This is not because I have a good memory, I cannot remember the names of people or places well. Three years ago I was a teacher and a coach for World Class Kayak Academy and we visited Uganda. On that trip, for a short time I had the idea that I wanted to start keeping a journal of my travels. When I returned there was only one entry in my journal from Africa. The entry was written in barely legible handwriting, written after a night hanging out with friends at the Nile River Explorers Bar. The entry read “Get your ass back here.” Since that trip, the White Nile has been a place that I knew that I needed to return to.
Katie having fun with some kids
We arrived to meet many friends including Jacob Scott, Katie’s older brother, a lot of rain and a river that has already been changed forever. This is dry season in Uganda but instead we have had rain everyday, sometimes torrential downpours that last for hours.
Sunset on the White Nile
The dam construction has already started and the progress that they have made is staggering. They have built a temporary coffer dam in the channel known as “the ugly sisters” which has backed up the water drowning one of the best rapids on the run “total gunga.” This dam has diverted the entire flow through the rapid known as “silverback,” this increased flow has made the waves much bigger and more difficult especially for rafts.
Some Bujagali kids
Due to increased releases from the dam upstream for years prior to 2005, the level of Lake Victoria (the world’s larges tropical lake), has dropped. This unnaturally low level of the lake has had a detrimental effect upon the ecology of the lake. In response to this the dam company released less water for 2 years but now it seems that again the releases have increased. The higher water makes for better whitewater and play-spots such as “Nile Special” have returned.
Scott running Bujagali Falls
It has been a struggle to get interviews with the officials from the dam company or a tour of the construction site but we have another appointment this afternoon. Hopefully we will meet the right person and get inside. Stay tuned!
---Scott
Katie having fun with some kids
We arrived to meet many friends including Jacob Scott, Katie’s older brother, a lot of rain and a river that has already been changed forever. This is dry season in Uganda but instead we have had rain everyday, sometimes torrential downpours that last for hours.
Sunset on the White Nile
The dam construction has already started and the progress that they have made is staggering. They have built a temporary coffer dam in the channel known as “the ugly sisters” which has backed up the water drowning one of the best rapids on the run “total gunga.” This dam has diverted the entire flow through the rapid known as “silverback,” this increased flow has made the waves much bigger and more difficult especially for rafts.
Some Bujagali kids
Due to increased releases from the dam upstream for years prior to 2005, the level of Lake Victoria (the world’s larges tropical lake), has dropped. This unnaturally low level of the lake has had a detrimental effect upon the ecology of the lake. In response to this the dam company released less water for 2 years but now it seems that again the releases have increased. The higher water makes for better whitewater and play-spots such as “Nile Special” have returned.
Scott running Bujagali Falls
It has been a struggle to get interviews with the officials from the dam company or a tour of the construction site but we have another appointment this afternoon. Hopefully we will meet the right person and get inside. Stay tuned!
---Scott
Varanassi
On our way west in India we made a short stop in the historic city of Varanassi. Varanassi is located along the Ganges River in the state of Uttar Pradesh in eastern-central India.
A man bathes in the Ganges
This city is known to be one of the oldest and most holy cities in the world. Many Hindus come from all over the world to bath in the river and to die. There are two "burning ghatts" where bodies are burned and then the remains are dumped into the river.
Burning Ghatt
Life in Varanassi revolves around the sacred River Ganga. Everyday thousands of people bathe, wash their clothes, drink, swim and fish in the Ganga river.
Scott riding the public transportation
-Katie and Scott
A man bathes in the Ganges
This city is known to be one of the oldest and most holy cities in the world. Many Hindus come from all over the world to bath in the river and to die. There are two "burning ghatts" where bodies are burned and then the remains are dumped into the river.
Burning Ghatt
Life in Varanassi revolves around the sacred River Ganga. Everyday thousands of people bathe, wash their clothes, drink, swim and fish in the Ganga river.
Scott riding the public transportation
-Katie and Scott