Silenced Rivers

McCully, Patrick

ISBN 10: 1856499022 / ISBN 13: 9781856499026

Published by Zed Books Ltd, 2001

About this Item

This is an updated edition of a classic study of one of the most controversial environmental and development issues - dam building. It explains the history and politics of dam building worldwide and shows why large dams have become such a contentious issue. Num Pages: 432 pages, notes, glossary, tables, index. BIC Classification: GTF; RNC; RNF; RNP. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 216 x 141 x 27. Weight in Grams: 584. . 2001. 2 Rev ed. Paperback. . . . .

Seller Inventory # V9781856499026

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Silenced Rivers
• Publisher: Zed Books Ltd
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1856499022
• ISBN 13: 9781856499026
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 2nd Edition
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Entirely updated in the light of the recent World Commission on Dams Report, and responding to it, this new edition of Patrick McCully's now classic study shows why large dams have become such a controversial technology in both industrialized and developing countries. The book explains the history and politics of dam building worldwide and shows why large dams have become so controversial. It details the ecological and human impacts of large dams, and shows how the 'national interest' argument is used to legitimize uneconomic and unjust projects which benefit elites while impoverishing tens of millions, describes the technical, safety and economic problems of dam technology, the structure of the international dam-building industry, and the role played by international banks and aid agencies.

It tells the story of the rapid growth of the international anti-dam movement, and recounts some of the most important anti-dam campaigns around the world. McCully shows how the dam lobby and governments have reacted to criticism by cosmetic 'greening' of the dam-building process, and through state repression outlines the alternatives to dams, and argues that their replacement by less destructive alternatives requires the opening up of the industry's practices to public scrutiny.

About the Author

Patrick McCully is Campaigns Director of the California-based International Rivers Network. He is also an Associate Editor of The Ecologist and a contributing writer for Multinational Monitor. Previous to that he was Co-editor of The Ecologist and at one time also worked for an environmental non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Uruguay. Since 1992 he has worked with activists in India opposing the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada River. He is co-author of two books, Imperilled Planet (1990) and The Road to Rio: An NGO Action Guide to the Earth Summit (1992).