Hydroelectric Dam Project Research Articles

Examination of recent hydroelectric dam projects in Canada for alignment of baseline studies, predictive modeling, and postdevelopment monitoring phases of aquatic environmental impact assessments.

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been widely criticized by the aquatic science community for poorly aligned approaches when selecting endpoints and collecting data during the baseline, predictive modeling, and postdevelopment monitoring phases. If these critical phases of the EIA process are not aligned properly, it can be difficult to evaluate the presence of postdevelopment effects. Examples of the misalignment of these phases include baseline studies failing to measure indicators that are monitored postdevelopment; predictive assessments that do not quantitatively predict conditions or potential impacts postdevelopment; and the failure to identify relevant indicators that may detect effects postdevelopment. For aquatic assessments, understanding how to protect critical ecosystem attributes to satisfy regulatory concerns could help to better align aquatic science monitoring activities across EIA phases. In this article we investigate recent Canadian hydroelectric dam EIAs to evaluate how well recent assessment approaches are meeting these necessary conditions of good aquatic EIA practice through the lens of ecosystem services from a fish's perspective. We found that larger facilities generally had baseline studies and modeling that better supported postdevelopment monitoring, but improvements in structure, linkages, and expectations would better align EIA phases in a manner that would improve assessments and environmental protection. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:616-644. © 2023 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Socioeconomic Development of the Local Community and Causes of Land Use Change in Belaga, Sarawak, Malaysia

The state of Sarawak in Malaysia has witnessed a surge in demand for its valuable land resources, primarily driven by major commodity investors establishing plantations. These land concessions have further exacerbated land scarcity and the depletion of crucial forest areas, which are essential for the livelihoods of indigenous communities. The indigenous community in Sarawak, heavily dependent on forests, faces significant challenges due to land use changes. This study aims to identify the drivers of land use change and assess the socioeconomic impact on the local community in Murum, Belaga, Sarawak. The research was conducted in December 2020, utilizing a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and site observations were employed to collect data, involving 511 household heads and ten key informants. Statistical analysis using SPSS software was performed on the collected data. The findings highlight that the primary cause of land use change in the study area was the hydroelectric dam project, followed by the establishment of oil palm plantations, logging activities, forest plantation development, government policies, and agricultural activities. Regarding infrastructure satisfaction levels, respondents ranked sport/recreational facilities as the most important, followed by electricity supply, house/accommodation facilities, education facilities, clean water sources, communication accessibility, health facilities, and road accessibility. Overall, the data indicates an improvement in the economic and social conditions of families due to land use changes in the area. However, the study concludes that there is still a need for further improvements in essential services, including providing multiple clean water sources to each household, enhancing access to healthcare services, and improving road conditions. Improved road access will foster increased business and social activity, facilitating job opportunities and contributing to poverty alleviation within the local community.

Community-based conservation in Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot- a case study

Biodiversity resources of southern bank of Yarlung Tsangbo river valley in South Tibet and Bumdelling-Tawang corridor in the eastern Bhutan are less explored by tourism and urbanization. Institutional initiatives for the conservation of these rich biodiversity areas under the traditional ownership of local communities of Arunachal Pradesh led to a community-based conservation model of Community Conserved Areas (CCA). Spontaneous participation of the stakeholders in these CCA was lacking because conservation objective was conflicting with traditional livelihood practices. To create new livelihood opportunities, the village institutions mobilized community-based leisure models and aligned these alternate livelihood objectives with ecological conservation. These economic initiatives met the challenges of bureaucratic administration, restricted access being close to international boundary with Bhutan & China, ineffective promotion by government agencies, and, the threats caused by the hydroelectric dam project. Strategy implementation was flawed because of the information sharing mechanism between China-India and India-Bhutan is constrained due to international borders. Internal challenges of indigenous CCA were limited customer integration, skewed societal acceptance of leisure-based livelihood practices, and capital cost of conservation capacity. Marketing of tourism in CCAs of Thembang and Zemithang as nature tourism destination requires all-weather road, sustained technical and financial support, and distribution linkages. This research discusses the critical success factor of Zemithang as an expanding CCA and limitations of Thembang CCA in mobilizing host community support. The authors argue that the community-based biodiversity conservation in the western Arunachal Pradesh must be supported by a participatory format of alternate livelihood opportunities.

Technology of detachment: The promise of renewable energy and its contentious reality in the south of Colombia

Taking infrastructure as the means to control space, this paper analyses the large-scale hydroelectric dam project “El Quimbo” in Huila, South Colombia, and the environmental conflict it caused. The paper argues that instead of acting as a “technology of engagement” that extends vital infrastructure into marginalised territory, the dam functioned as a “technology of detachment” that destroyed the social and physical infrastructure in place, fragmented territory and marginalised affected populations further. While localised marginalisation can be considered an unintentional side-effect of a project, which otherwise serves the “greater good”, critical conceptualisations of the capitalist state see purpose behind these impacts. Governments use infrastructural objects as tools for social engineering, subjugating their population to control and discipline in line with their biopolitical project. The paper analyses how far this subjugation was visible in the El Quimbo dam case, and critically reflects on the promises of renewable energy. It brings novel insights to the infrastructure citizenship debate by highlighting that infrastructure can act as intermediary between state and citizens but, in the same way, can hamper citizenship formation.

Hydroelectric power dam-induced land use land cover change in Ethiopia, the case of AMerti-Nashe dams Horo Guduru Wollega Zone

ABSTRACT We examined dam-induced land use and land cover change (LULCC) detection in the Amerti-Nashe hydroelectric power reservoirs. These dams were constructed for a variety of purposes, primarily for irrigation in the lower reaches and hydropower generation in the upper reaches. The main objective of the study was to investigate dam-induced LULCC in the study area over the last 41 years. Satellite images were downloaded from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The data from remote sensing satellite images were used to reflect the spatial variation in LULCC, and land surface temperature (LST) in the study areas near hydropower plants in the years 1985, 2003, and 2021. The supervised classification method is adopted, and the maximum likelihood rule is used as the parameter rule for image classification. The land use classification results show that grazing land, woody grassland, and cultivated land gradually decreased, which could be associated with the establishment of dams. But commercial farming, waterbodies, and built-up areas increased during these study periods. LST variations based on its relationship with Land Use Land Cover (LULC) in the area decreased after the dam was constructed, particularly in the irrigated lowland and places inundated by water from the reservoir in the upper stream. Generally, the construction of the Amerti-Nashe hydroelectric dam projects in the study area has changed land use type and LST both at a lower and upper stream. Therefore, hydropower development in the area needs strategic planning on how to minimize land use land cover change impacts on the environment and the local community.

Population Status of Tapanuli Orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) within the Renewable Energy Development and its Management Implications

To protect Tapanuli orangutan it is essential to understand the actual situation. It has been studied 15% of its population live outside the protected area facing a density disruption due to forest conversion. Several best management practices have been created and tested for different natural concession types. Yet, the main objective to reduce the impact and increase wildlife survival is far away from the goal. To improve our understanding of the species survival within ongoing project construction, we conducted population density monitoring prior- to post-construction time frames within the hydroelectric dam project. Also, we carried out spatial analysis to understand the land cover change and orangutan’s suitable habitat distribution. This study found that during high construction activities, orangutans were avoiding the threat sources, and returned when the disturbances reduced. These findings indicated orangutans are ecology flexible and have the capability to increase its survival, although the company’s involvement is crucial to facilitate the successes. Our study is based on indirect observation, and spatial modeling, which may lead to an uncertain conclusion. Further research on orangutan ecology and behavior is prioritized.

Mercury in blood, hair, and feces from subsistence fish-eating riverines of the Madeira River Basin (Western Amazon)

BackgroundThe Madeira River (Amazon Basin) has been impacted by activities related to artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), deforestation and burning (for timber, agriculture, and hydroelectric dam projects). All these activities contribute to environmental mercury (Hg) release and cycling into the Amazon ecosystem and thus to changing lifestyles. MethodWe assessed exposure to total and MeHg in two small riverine communities of the Madeira River (Amazon): Lago Puruzinho (LP, n = 26 families) and São Sebastião do Tapurú (SST, n = 31 families). Samples of human hair (n = 137), blood (n = 39), and feces (n = 41) were collected from adults and children (0–15 years of age). ResultsIn women of childbearing age from LP village, the mean blood total-Hg (THg) (45.54 ± 24.76 μg.L−1) and MeHg (10.79 ± 4.36 μg.L−1) concentrations were significantly (p = 0.0024; p < 0.0001, respectively) higher than in women from SST village (THg: 25.32 ± 16.75 μg.L−1; MeHg: 2.32 ± 1.56 μg.L−1) village; the trend in hair-Hg persisted but was statistically significant (p < 0.0145) only for THg (LP, 11.34 ± 5.03 μg. g−1; SST, 7.97 ± 3.51 μg. g−1). In women, the median hair:blood ratio of total Hg was 269. In children, the mean hair THg concentrations were 6.07 ± 3.60 μg. g−1 and 6.47 ± 4.16 μg. g−1 in LP and SST; thus, not significantly different (p = 0.8006). There was a significant association (p < 0.001) between hair-Hg concentrations of mothers and their respective children. The excretion of Hg in feces of women (0.52 μg. g−1 dw) was not significantly different from children (0.49 μg. g−1 dw). The only statistically significant correlation between Hg in feces and in hair was found in children, (n = 16, rs = 0.38, p = 0.005). Significant relationship was seen between the levels of THg in blood and hair of women from LP and SST. Based on hair-Hg concentrations, fish consumption rate ranged from 94.5 to 212.3 g.day−1. ConclusionWomen and children excrete THg in feces in comparable concentrations. However, the mean fish consumption rate and blood MeHg are higher in the most remote villagers. Mother`s hair-Hg concentration is a good predictor of children’s hair-Hg.

Recovery of bird communities following the construction of a large-scale hydroelectric dam

BackgroundHabitat degradation is known to have a major impact on the composition of bird communities, yet how these communities recover following such disturbance is less understood. This study examined bird community changes from pre-logging to recovery over the course of habitat disturbance caused by the development of the Hulu Terengganu Hydroelectric Dam Project in Peninsular Malaysia, between 2007 and 2018. Bird surveys were conducted using point count observations and mist netting in the dam area from the pre-logging phase until the operation phase.ResultsIt was observed that while bird species significantly declined after large-scale habitat clearance between the pre-logging and construction phases, they showed positive signs of recovery from the inundation to operation phases. These findings indicate that the bird community is still recovering, and the permanent loss of habitat required by most of the original species has not occurred, as evidenced by recolonisation. Bird species composition differed across phases due to varying habitat conditions. The turnover rate and immigration rate (recolonisation and newly recorded species) were higher between the construction and operation phases. It was also observed that insectivorous birds were more heavily affected than others by changes to the landscape, which highlights the versatility, survivability and tolerance of certain species to extreme disturbance and habitat modification.ConclusionAlthough the operation phase showed an incremental change in bird species richness due to recolonisation and newly recorded species, this value remains far from that of the pre-logging phase. We predict that bird species recovery will continue to increase for some time before reaching a plateau among the newly created islands, reservoir and catchment area of the dam.

Examining the PALSAR-2 Global forest/non-forest maps through Turkish afforestation practices

ABSTRACT Forests and afforestation have significant importance, given the present course of World’s climate resulting from our insensitive behaviours, policies, ambitions, etc. Turkish Forest Service has departments, sole purposes of which are to combat desertification through afforestation, flood control, and watershed rehabilitation works. Majority of the works is carried out in the semi-arid central part of the country, which is known as the Irano-Turanian phytogeographic region. Hydroelectric dam projects, which have extensively been conducted to produce energy and to harness the rivers when needed, have been at the centre of these efforts in the region. Afforestation works, which have long been used to safeguard dam reservoirs, have always been associated with such projects because they are implemented even prior to water deposition. They along with the country’s managed forests are looked after as the natural forest cover. Improvements in remote sensing at this point enabled the agencies to diversify their efforts in monitoring the natural resources and strengthening the decision makers’ hand in management preferences in both global and regional scales. There are various data produced through the classification of satellite imagery representing the existence or the percentage of forests in any location on Earth. In this study, Global Phased Arrayed L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar PALSAR-2/PALSAR mosaic and forest/non-forest maps of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Global Forest Cover Change (GFCC) thematic image tiles of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which are two of the widely accepted such data, were compared to one another and to our control results produced by a pixel-based classification method to assess the performance of afforestation works around seven major hydroelectric dam reservoirs situated within the central part of Turkey. The results showed that Global PALSAR-2/PALSAR forest/non-forest maps were somewhat capturing the trend, but overly exaggerating the ground facts up to 1064%. GFCC epochs, on the other hand, did not yield sound results in this semi-arid part of Turkey. Latter data could not even capture the successfully afforested sites.

Emerging challenges for sustainable development and forest conservation in Sarawak, Borneo.

The forests of Borneo—the third largest island on the planet—sustain some of the highest biodiversity and carbon storage in the world. The forests also provide vital ecosystem services and livelihood support for millions of people in the region, including many indigenous communities. The Pan-Borneo Highway and several hydroelectric dams are planned or already under construction in Sarawak, a Malaysian state comprising part of the Borneo. This development seeks to enhance economic growth and regional connectivity, support community access to services, and promote industrial development. However, the implications of the development of highway and dams for forest integrity, biodiversity and ecosystem services remained largely unreported. We assessed these development projects using fine-scale biophysical and environmental data and found several environmental and socioeconomic risks associated with the projects. The highway and hydroelectric dam projects will impact 32 protected areas including numerous key habitats of threatened species such as the proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus), Sarawak surili (Presbytis chrysomelas), Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and tufted ground squirrel (Rheithrosciurus macrotis). Under its slated development trajectory, the local and trans-national forest connectivity between Malaysian Borneo and Indonesian Borneo would also be substantially diminished. Nearly ~161 km of the Pan-Borneo Highway in Sarawak will traverse forested landscapes and ~55 km will traverse carbon-rich peatlands. The 13 hydroelectric dam projects will collectively impact ~1.7 million ha of forest in Sarawak. The consequences of planned highway and hydroelectric dams construction will increase the carbon footprint of development in the region. Moreover, many new road segments and hydroelectric dams would be built on steep slopes in high-rainfall zones and forested areas, increasing both construction and ongoing maintenance costs. The projects would also alter livelihood activities of downstream communities, risking their long-term sustainability. Overall, our findings identify major economic, social and environmental risks for several planned road segments in Sarawak—such as those between Telok Melano and Kuching; Sibu and Bintulu; and in the Lambir, Limbang and Lawas regions—and dam projects—such as Tutoh, Limbang, Lawas, Baram, Linau, Ulu Air and Baleh dams. Such projects need to be reviewed to ensure they reflect Borneo’s unique environmental and forest ecosystem values, the aspirations of local communities and long-term sustainability of the projects rather than being assessed solely on their short-term economic returns.

Ichthyofaunic Inventory and Fish Landings of Lom Pangar Hydropower Dam Reservoir in the Eastern Region of Cameroon

The Lom Pangar hydroelectric dam project located in the eastern region of Cameroon was implemented by Electricity Development Corporation (EDC). The impoundment of the Lom Pangar dam created a large reservoir with an area ~590 km2 and a useful storage capacity ~6 billion m3. Thereby, this impoundment has created favourable conditions for the proliferation of fishery resources. However, a fisheries assessment study based on fishing activities is essential to attain reliable information for implementing a management plan to achieve rational and sustainable exploitation. This study was carried out on the ichtyofaunic inventory and the assessment of fish landings in Lom Pangar hydroelectric dam reservoir from April 2016 to September 30, 2016. Three main groups of fishing gear have been identified, among which gillnets, traps and longlines occupy major fishing activities. Indeed, the spatial and landing sites surveies were conducted on species composition, size composition, and quantities of fish landed during the study period. Moreover, 37 species of fish divided into 16 families were found in seven different selected fish landing sites. Carp (Cyprinus carpio) was the major fish species abundantly caught by these fishing gears which accounted for 81.60% of the total catch, and the least species was sardine (Sardinella aurita). A total of 623,229 Kg of fish were landed which were dominated by those of the Wami landing site with 480,773 Kg representing 76.96% of the total landed catches. The smallest species caught was the white carp (7 cm) while the longest one was the catfish (71 cm). In addition, the species of fish in the breeding season are carp, catfish, viper fish and red tail.

Direitos humanos e sociedades indígenas na Amazônia: o lado recôndito nas barragens hidrelétricas do Tapajós em face ao povo Munduruku em Itaituba – Pará

O presente artigo tem por objetivo realizar uma análise da relação existente entre os povos indígenas e o Estado, acerca da legalização de suas terras, dando ênfase aos projetos de barragens hidrelétricas no Tapajós. Nesse sentido, iniciaremos nosso estudo, com metodologia bibliográfica e documental, conceituando no que abrange os Direito Humanos apresentando as principais características de evolução no âmbito internacional e brasileiro, além de informar sobre a importância da Convenção 169 da OIT seus conceitos básicos e, também, certificar sobre os recônditos por de trás de tal empreendimento.

Spatio-temporal modelling of wetland ecosystems using Landsat time series: case of the Bajo Sinú Wetlands Complex (BSWC)– Córdoba– Colombia

ABSTRACTThis research is focused on the application of water indexes derived from historical Landsat image series to quantify the impact caused by anthropic activities on wetlands. This work is focused specifically on the Bajo Sinú Wetlands Complex (BSWC) located on the northern Colombian Caribbean Coast. We modelled the spatio-temporal dynamics of the BSWC in three specific periods (1991, 2003 and 2015) and during two seasons: dry and wet. We used data from Landsat 4 Thematic Mapper (TM), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM) and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) (Oli-Tirs) images, based on which we evaluated seven different water indexes in order to select the one which best describes changes in the BSWC.The modelling consisted of the identification of spatio-temporal changes over the BSWC caused by two main pressure factors: (1) anthropic activity in the Sinú River Watershed, which is the main water source of the BSWC and (2) the launch of the Urrá Hydroelectric Dam Project located in the upper basin of the Sinú River in 2000.The most suitable water index was found to be the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), based on which we acquired water index images and digital classifications. Reliability of these products was rated in terms of the Overall Classification Accuracy values above 87% and a Kappa index between 0.75 and 0.86.We found that over the 25 year study period, the maximum water storage capacity decreased by 56.2%, the number of the waterbodies reduced by 24.7%, and the average size of the waterbodies decreased by 41%. All the results indicate a deterioration of the water storage capacity in the BSWC.

Splintered Hinterlands: Public Anthropology, Environmental Advocacy, and Indigenous Sovereignty

This research analyzes the roles of action ethnobiology and public anthropology in “ecological distribution conflicts”—disputes over the benefits and burdens of natural resources—in policy-oriented research and advocacy. It considers the Natural Resources Defense Council's (NRDC) international campaigns to protect “frontier landscapes” of the Western hemisphere. Specifically, I examine case studies in Chilean Patagonia and the boreal forest region in the Canadian Northeast. Despite geographical, historical, and cultural differences, NRDC's campaigns in these two regions involved a shared focus on developing advocacy strategies that draw on biocultural knowledge to advance stronger environmental protections. NRDC and its local partners used ethnoecology as an environmental tactic to protect rivers from proposed large hydroelectric dam projects in Chile, and drew upon ethnozoology to preserve caribou threatened by industrial logging in Canada. To consider the synergies and tensions of environmental advocacy and Indigenous sovereignty in these two instances, I analyze partnerships between environmental activists, lawyers, and scientists on the one hand, and Indigenous leaders and local residents on the other. Taking a public anthropological approach, this comparative research sheds light on the role of action ethnobiology as a condition of possibility for advocacy to enhance environmental sustainability and Indigenous sovereignty across the Americas.

Report for the Commission of Inquiry Respecting the Muskrat Falls Project

This report was commissioned by the Commission of Inquiry Respecting the Muskrat Falls Project to provide the national and international context in which the Muskrat Falls Project took place. The Commission asked for the report to cover three specific topics of questions: (1) What is the national and international context of the Muskrat Falls Project with regards to cost overrun and schedule overrun? (What are the typical cost and schedule overruns of hydro-electric dam projects? How do hydro-electric dams compare to other capital investment projects? How do Canadian projects compare to other countries?), (2) What are the causes and root causes of cost and schedule overruns? (3) What are recommendations, based on international experience and research into capital investment projects, to prevent cost and schedule overruns in hydro-electric dam projects and other capital investment projects?

Determination of strength variation in jointed anisotropic rocks behavior using UCS and Brazilian Tensile test

Abstract The objective of this study is to determine the variations of strength on anisotropic rock using Uniaxial Compressive Strength (UCS) and Brazilian Tensile Strength (BTS) tests. The variability and distribution of UCS and BTS values were statistically estimated using measured strength of rock. The strength obtained was later to correlate with the quality of rock mass zones. The location of study is at the Ulu Jelai Hydroelectric Dam project, Cameroon Highland, the NW corner of Pahang on the upper reaches of the Sg. Bertam downstream of the existing Sultan Abu Bakar Dam and east of the township of Ringlet. The study is essentially required due to the exposure of sheared bedrock in the mylonite zones beneath the proposed dam. Six (6) boreholes were drilled at different depths along the dam foundation and 23 cores were collected and tested using the UCS and BTS tests. Simple regression analysis was conducted and a wide range of data on uniaxial compression strength and tensile strength of the rock were tabulated. The correlation between UCS and BTS obtained in this experiment is moderately correlated with R2 = 0.8066. Based on the UCS and BTS results, the overall range of UCS was in between 0.9 and 96.0 MPa and tensile strength range is between 0.5 and 14.31 MPa. For further correlation, UCS and Young’s Modulus were studied to shows good reliability (R2 = 0.818). The distribution of UCS data of each borehole is affected by the anisotropic rock behaviour that controls the quality of rock mass zoning.

Community Based Tourism Model for Conservation: A Case Study of Arunachal Pradesh, Part of Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot

The protected areas (PA) of western Arunachal Pradesh of India are less explored by tourism and urbanization, but high dependency on forest resources by the indigenous Monpa communities is a threat to Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. Institutional initiatives for the conservation of the forests in this PA led to community-based conservation model of Community Conserved Areas (CCA). Spontaneous participation of the stakeholders in CCA was lacking because conservation objectives was conflicting with traditional livelihood practices. To create new livelihood opportunities, the village institutions mobilised community-based tourism (CBT) and aligned the livelihood generation objective with ecological conservation. The CBT initiative faced challenges of bureaucratic restrictions, accessibility from Bhutan, government promotion and threat of large hydroelectric dam project. Internal challenges to CBT and CCA were limited customer integration, skewed societal acceptance of leisure-based livelihood, and, upgrading homestay facilities. Marketing of Thembang and Zemithang of the PA as nature tourism destination requires all-weather road, CCA funding, and distribution linkages. Research hypothesis indicates that the community-based biodiversity conservation is supported by a participatory form of tourism. The case study method discusses the critical success factor of Zemithang as an expanding CA and limitations of Thembang CCA in mobilizing primary stakeholder’s support.

Waste Management in Labrador and Northern Communities: Opportunities and Challenges

The Northern Review 47 (2018): 79–112This article discusses the origin and management of waste in two Labrador communities, Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Nain and results from the qualitative phase of a two-stage mixed methods research study. Results illuminate challenges and opportunities associated with waste management in northern communities. Like many regions across the Canadian North, the principal study area consists of a population centre surrounded by diffuse, rural, and Indigenous communities, multiple land uses, and complex governance considerations. We identify factors contributing to the accrual, management, and transport of solid waste in Labrador related to historical and ongoing colonialism. Among the consideration are military development and mobile labour forces that generate both industrial and household waste. A combination of remoteness and climate makes waste collection, storage, and transport costly and slows organic waste decomposition. Corrosion from municipally treated water generates excessive appliance waste. Limited local food production and remoteness from manufacturing and retail centres increase the consumption of disposable shipping materials. Despite these challenges, it is essential to simultaneously recognize the efforts of local grassroots initiatives to effectuate sustainable waste management. We conclude that communities may benefit from implementing synergistic waste management strategies to reduce costs and public health risks, and to concurrently recognize the practicalities of waste management in the North. Results of the qualitative research phase led to the selection of a priority waste stream, black spruce biomass cleared for the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric dam project, for an economic study in the project’s quantitative research phase.

Richard Peter Vari 1949–2016

Richard Peter Vari 1949–2016

Impacts of Tipaimukh Dam on the Down-stream Region in Bangladesh: A Study on Probable EIA

Amidst mounting protests both at home and in lower riparian Bangladesh, India is going ahead with the plan to construct its largest and most controversial 1500 mw hydroelectric dam project on the river Barak at Tipaimukh in the Indian state Manipur. In the process, however, little regard is being paid to the short and long-term consequences on the ecosystem, biodiversity or the local people in the river’s watershed and drainage of both upper and low reparian countries. This 390 m length and 162.8 m. high earthen-rock filled dam also has the potential to be one of the most destructive. In India too, people will have to suffer a lot for this mega project. The total area required for construction including submergence area is 30860 ha of which 20797 ha is forest land, 1195 ha is village land, 6160 ha is horticultural land, and 2525 ha is agricultural land. Cconstruction of the massive dam and regulate water flow of the river Barak will have long adverse effects on the river system of Surma and Kushiyara in the north-eastern region of Bangladesh which will obviously have negative impacts on ecology, environment, agriculture, bio-diversity, fisheries, socio-economy of Bangladesh. To assess the loss of Tipaimukh dam on downstream Bangladesh, an Eivironmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been conducted based on probable affect parametes. Present study intends to depict Tipaimukh dam construction post scenerio in Bangladesh thru assessing probable loss and damage of the Tipaimukh dam construction. The most effective Batelle method of EIA has been applied in this study. It is found -5 scale severity impact will be imposed if the proposed dam is being construct after assessing values of each parameter. Journal of Science Foundation 2015;13(1):3-10DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jsf.v13i1.27827