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dam-l ACTION ALERT: SAN ROQUE DAM

YOUR HELP NEEDED NOW TO STOP FUNDING OF SAN ROQUE DAM IN THE PHILIPPINES!

Dear friends,

We urge you to send faxes now to stop the release of Japanese loans for
the San Roque Dam Project in the Philippines.  The dam, located in
Northwestern Luzon, would destroy the indigenous Ibaloi community and
negatively affect more than 20,000 people. The Ibaloi are fiercely opposed
to the project as they believe it will destroy their community and their
livelihood. Still, the Japanese Export-Import Bank (JEXIM) is set to
release more than $300 million in loans for the project next Wednesday,
September 23.

An independent review of the project's environmental impact assessment
coordinated by International Rivers Network, Friends of the Earth Japan and
the Cordillera Peoples Alliance found that there were serious deficiencies
in the quality of the studies and that many important questions regarding
issues such as seismicity and sedimentation were not addressed. In
addition, a recent fact-finding mission to the existing resettlement sites
found that the resettlement is proceeding under very poor conditions.

We urge you to fax letters to JEXIM today! A sample letter follows.

Thank you for your support.

Aviva Imhof
South-East Asia Campaigner
International Rivers Network


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SAMPLE LETTER

September 17, 1999

Hiroshi Yasuda
Governor
The Export-Import Bank of Japan
Fax: + 81 3 3287 9539

Dear Mr. Yasuda

San Roque Dam Project

I urge you to reconsider your support for the San Roque Dam project, and to
withhold any additional funds for the project until the following matters
are adequately dealt with. I believe that any approval of additional JEXIM
loans at this stage would be premature, and could seriously jeopardize the
lives of many thousands of people upstream and downstream of the dam.

I am concerned about the findings of the independent panel which reviewed
the project's environmental impact assessment. The independent panel found
that the reservoir could fill with sediment much faster than the EIA
predicts, thus greatly shortening its lifespan and affecting its economic
viability. The accumulation of toxic sediments could poison the water in
the reservoir and downstream. The dam could be more prone to failure from
earthquakes than the EIA predicts, and the project could exacerbate rather
than alleviate flooding. These issues have not been addressed by the
project developers
or the National Power Corporation.

The indigenous Ibaloi people are fiercely opposed to the project as they
believe it will destroy their community and their livelihood. They are
concerned that high rates of sedimentation in the watershed area will cause
increased flooding around the reservoir, inundating their lands. People who
have already been resettled by the project are worse off than before they
were resettled and have no land to till or source of long-term livelihood.
Some families have been forced to relocate using military intimidation.

With all the problems associated with this project, it is quite clear that
any release of JEXIM funds would be premature. I urge you to undertake a
thorough and public reassessment of the economic, social and environmental
impacts of the project before disbursing any additional funds. To do
otherwise could jeopardize JEXIM's reputation, which would be funding a
project that is seriously flawed, endangering the lives and livelihoods of
thousands of people downstream and upstream of the dam site.

Yours sincerely,

YOUR NAME 


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Aviva Imhof
South-East Asia Campaigner
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley CA 94703 USA
Tel: + 1 510 848 1155 (ext. 312), Fax: + 1 510 848 1008
Email: aviva@irn.org, Web: http://www.irn.org
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