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dam-l Further scientific studies confirm hidrovia threats

PRESS RELEASE
March 6, 1998

SCIENTISTS CONFIRM THAT HIDROVIA PROJECT WILL CAUSE SERIOUS AND
IRREVERSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

(Asuncion, Paraguay) Despite the fact that various independent technical
studies have affirmed that the official studies for the Paraguay-Parana
Hidrovia project are insufficient for the governments to use to decide to
begin engineering works, the five countries that are promoting the project
are meeting behind closed doors in Asuncion, deciding how to begin
implementation of the project, without taking the scientific advice into
account.

Representatives of various organizations that took part in the National and
International Seminar "The Hidrovia and the Paraguay and Parana Rivers"
have taken a position against the project and on Friday, March 6th,
presented their conclusions to the delegations of the governments of
Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brasil and Bolivia who are meeting in the
city.

In November, 1996, the Intergovernmental Committee on the Hidrovia
organized a Hydrological Workshop with internationally renowned scientists
to analyze the official studies financed by the Inter-American Development
Bank and United Nations Development Programme. Among their conclusions is
that fact that "the evidence presented fails to demonstrate that the
impacts of the hidrovia project are minimal, as the consultants who carried
out the studies assure", and they recommend that "additional technical,
environmental, and economic studies must be carried out if the intention is
to carry out the project without ecosystem damage".

In July, 1997, a report by an Expert Panel made up of well-known scientists
and academics from North and South America, organized by the CEBRAC
Foundation (Brasilia) and Environmental Defense Fund (Washington) concluded
that "the engineering and environmental feasibility studies as well as the
environmental impact evaluation are defective and inadequate. They did not
take into account aspects such as the cumulative effects of developed
induced by the infrastructure works such as massive migration, more
intensive resource exploitation and contamination."

The Environmental Impact Study Commission of the Dutch Cooperation
Ministry, made up of six specialists, completed their evaluation of the
official studies for the hidrovia in December, 1997. Their report says that
"the project is justified only through an economic perspective, primarily
by transport of minerals and soy products, which is not convincing.  The
consultants did not take into account the environmental considerations of
these activities themselves."

The Paraguayan government solicited an independent review of the project by
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Among their comments are that "the
elimination of rock outcroppings in various points is, not only a
significant cost, but also represents the major irreversible impact of the
project. if these rock outcroppings control the flow of the river system in
any way, their elimination could have consequences which go beyond the
channel itself. The complete stability of the system could be compromised."

For more information:
Oscar Rivas,
Sobrevivencia- Amigos de la Tierra Paraguay
Isabel la Católica 1867
Telefax: 595 21 480182
Email: survive@quanta.com.py


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      Glenn Switkes, Director, Latin America Program,
           International Rivers Network
              1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703-1576, USA
                  Tel. (510) 848 1155   Fax (510) 848 1008
                        http://www.irn.org

          South America:
                     Tel/Fax/Message: +55 65 627 1689
                        Tel: +55 65 627 6402
                                email: glen@nutecnet.com.br
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