The environment minister, Veysel Eroglu, said work on the Ilisu hydroelectric dam on the Tigris river in south-east Turkey would restart after a six-month funding suspension ends next week.
The announcement disappointed campaigners who believed that the project had suffered a potentially fatal blow last December, after German, Swiss and Austrian institutions announced they were withholding finance because fears about the dam's environmental and social impact had not been addressed. The governments agreed that 150 World Bank conditions on the environment, heritage sites, neighbouring states and human relocation must be met.
Turkey's government argues the dam - which is planned to generate 1,200MW of electricity - is an essential part of a £19.3bn plan to bring economic prosperity to the south-east, long blighted by armed conflict between the army and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers party (PKK).
Environmentalists have warned that the dam could destroy up to 80 towns, villages and hamlets, resulting in the forced relocation of between 50,000 and 80,000 people. Campaigners have argued that residents have not been offered adequate compensation and have accused Turkey of failing to properly consult Iraq, into which the Tigris flows, and Syria, another neighbour. The Ilisu project - due for completion in 2013 - is part of a wider network of dams known as the South-eastern Anatolia Project, which the government of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pinpointed as key to transforming the region's economy and quelling Kurdish separatist violence.
First planned in the 1980s, the dam has a history of troubles. The British construction company Balfour Beatty scrapped plans for a £200m investment in 2001 under pressure from environmentalists and human rights groups.
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The environment minister, Veysel Eroglu, said work on the Ilisu hydroelectric dam on the Tigris river in south-east Turkey would restart after a six-month funding suspension ends next week.
The announcement disappointed campaigners who believed that the project had suffered a potentially fatal blow last December, after German, Swiss and Austrian institutions announced they were withholding finance because fears about the dam's environmental and social impact had not been addressed. The governments agreed that 150 World Bank conditions on the environment, heritage sites, neighbouring states and human relocation must be met.
Turkey's government argues the dam - which is planned to generate 1,200MW of electricity - is an essential part of a £19.3bn plan to bring economic prosperity to the south-east, long blighted by armed conflict between the army and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers party (PKK).
Environmentalists have warned that the dam could destroy up to 80 towns, villages and hamlets, resulting in the forced relocation of between 50,000 and 80,000 people. Campaigners have argued that residents have not been offered adequate compensation and have accused Turkey of failing to properly consult Iraq, into which the Tigris flows, and Syria, another neighbour. The Ilisu project - due for completion in 2013 - is part of a wider network of dams known as the South-eastern Anatolia Project, which the government of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pinpointed as key to transforming the region's economy and quelling Kurdish separatist violence.
First planned in the 1980s, the dam has a history of troubles. The British construction company Balfour Beatty scrapped plans for a £200m investment in 2001 under pressure from environmentalists and human rights groups.
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Recently there is no open call in the field of environmental technology research under the 7th Framework Programme of the EU. Open calls in different research fields are available at the http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm homepage.
New research
initiatives in the context of the European Economic Recovery Plan
The Commission is
launching three Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as part of the European
Economic Recovery Plan. The Commission foresees to provide a contribution of 50%
to the total R&D budget from the budget of the 7th Framework
Programme, with matching investment coming from the private sector. In the PPP
approach there is a multi-annual integrated work programme with a pre-defined
budget, ensuring continuity and allowing industry to make long-term investment
plans... Several coordinated calls for
research proposals should be launched in July this year.
Tender: Climate change - modelling water
scenarios and sectoral impacts
The European Commission's
Directorate-General for the Environment has launched a call for tenders on
climate adaptation for the modelling of water scenarios and sectoral impacts.
The objective of this contract is to assess Europe's vulnerability to climate
change impacts and analyse adaptation measures with a specific focus on
water-related impacts and measures. Call Reference: OJ No S 107 of 6 June 2009,
Deadline: 31 July 2009.
Recently there is no open call in the field of environmental technology research under the 7th Framework Programme of the EU. Open calls in different research fields are available at the http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm homepage.
New research
initiatives in the context of the European Economic Recovery Plan
The Commission is
launching three Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as part of the European
Economic Recovery Plan. The Commission foresees to provide a contribution of 50%
to the total R&D budget from the budget of the 7th Framework
Programme, with matching investment coming from the private sector. In the PPP
approach there is a multi-annual integrated work programme with a pre-defined
budget, ensuring continuity and allowing industry to make long-term investment
plans... Several coordinated calls for
research proposals should be launched in July this year.
Tender: Climate change - modelling water
scenarios and sectoral impacts
The European Commission's
Directorate-General for the Environment has launched a call for tenders on
climate adaptation for the modelling of water scenarios and sectoral impacts.
The objective of this contract is to assess Europe's vulnerability to climate
change impacts and analyse adaptation measures with a specific focus on
water-related impacts and measures. Call Reference: OJ No S 107 of 6 June 2009,
Deadline: 31 July 2009.
The launch will be held under the auspices and addressed by H.E. Eng. Ahmed Amin El-Maghraby", Minister of Housing, Utilities & Urban Development, H.E. Dr. Klaus Ebermann, Ambassador & Head of EC Delegation, and Dr. Abd El Kawy Khalifa, Chairman of the Holding Company for Water & Wastewater "HCWW".
]]>The launch will be held under the auspices and addressed by H.E. Eng. Ahmed Amin El-Maghraby", Minister of Housing, Utilities & Urban Development, H.E. Dr. Klaus Ebermann, Ambassador & Head of EC Delegation, and Dr. Abd El Kawy Khalifa, Chairman of the Holding Company for Water & Wastewater "HCWW".
]]>At the signing ceremony the EIB Vice-President welcomed the Region’s new Finance Minister in her first dealings with the Bank, saying that the EIB would “offer its full cooperation on the Galicia Region’s projects, as it has been doing since 1989, the year in which it began its excellent close relations with the Region”. The Vice-President stressed that “the loan that we are signing today will bring clear environmental benefits by improving the quality of Galicia’s coastal and estuary waters, which will in turn impact positively on people’s quality of life and the economy, especially tourism and fisheries”. The Vice-President also spoke of “the investment’s contribution to job creation in these difficult times”.
The investment programme financed comprises the rehabilitation, extension and construction of wastewater treatment plants, interceptors and collectors throughout Galicia: 6 major wastewater management schemes in Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Ferrol, Lugo, Ourense and Vigo; 29 medium-sized treatment plants and collectors (for towns with between 2 000 and 70 000 inhabitants); and 8 smaller treatment plants and collectors (for towns with fewer than 2 000 inhabitants). The programme will be rolled out over the period 2009 – 2012.
This loan will enable the Region to adapt Galicia’s wastewater facilities to meet the requirements of the EU urban wastewater directive as regards the quality of effluent discharged into receiving water bodies.
]]>At the signing ceremony the EIB Vice-President welcomed the Region’s new Finance Minister in her first dealings with the Bank, saying that the EIB would “offer its full cooperation on the Galicia Region’s projects, as it has been doing since 1989, the year in which it began its excellent close relations with the Region”. The Vice-President stressed that “the loan that we are signing today will bring clear environmental benefits by improving the quality of Galicia’s coastal and estuary waters, which will in turn impact positively on people’s quality of life and the economy, especially tourism and fisheries”. The Vice-President also spoke of “the investment’s contribution to job creation in these difficult times”.
The investment programme financed comprises the rehabilitation, extension and construction of wastewater treatment plants, interceptors and collectors throughout Galicia: 6 major wastewater management schemes in Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Ferrol, Lugo, Ourense and Vigo; 29 medium-sized treatment plants and collectors (for towns with between 2 000 and 70 000 inhabitants); and 8 smaller treatment plants and collectors (for towns with fewer than 2 000 inhabitants). The programme will be rolled out over the period 2009 – 2012.
This loan will enable the Region to adapt Galicia’s wastewater facilities to meet the requirements of the EU urban wastewater directive as regards the quality of effluent discharged into receiving water bodies.
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