General Tag / No project reference
Life is dangerous if you stand up for nature protection these days! In 2016, 200 environmental activists have been killed globally, with a rising trend in 2017 (four per week). Brazil, Colombia and the Philippines are leading this alarming death poll. Read for yourself in yesterday’s Guardian article.
The leading heritage organisation in Europe Europa Nostra is very concerned about the recent developments in the historic city of Hasankeyf. Read their press release.
After the historic ‘Zeynel Bey Tomb’ monument in Hasankeyf has been relocated to make way for the Ilisu reservoir, several organisations call upon the Dutch company Bresser to withdraw from the relocation of 9 further monuments. They will hold a protest at the headquarters of Bresser on June 28. in the Netherlands.
It is getting serious for the 650 year old Zeynel Bey Tomb monument. The relocation has started in secret. The government is vigorously trying to prevent the documentation of the preparations for the drowning of Hasankeyf. Read yesterday’s press release of the Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive: +++ Hasankeyf Matters +++ Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive +++ Mesopotamian Ecology Movement +++
They are still alive - the Huchen in the free-flowing Mura in Graz! However, their surrival is at risk!! Previous restauration efforts of the Mura are now being irreversibly destroyed by the start of the construction of the hydropower project in Graz. Watch this video about the fish species "Huchen" in Graz and Franz Keppel - a fighter for fish and rivers. Enjoy! (Sorry, in German only)
Once again, the Initiative to keep Hasankeyf alive together with a coalition of international civil society organisation including Riverwatch, urge the Dutch and Turkish companies responsible for the planned relocation of the 600 year old monument Zeynel Bey Tomb to withdraw from this highly disputed undertaking. This monument of highest cultural importance is to be relocated to allow the inundation of Hasankeyf for the Ilisu dam reservoir. Resistance continues.
Find out in this video what a lower water level as a consequence of hydropower means for fish. The problem of "shallow water zones" due to reservoir flushing has been known for years. The ecological effects on river and fauna are immense. Sorry, in German only. !!Warning: this video contains disturbing images!!
If you want to see for yourself what „green and clean“ hydropower actually looks like, you currently have the chance to do so at the river Mur in Graz. In preparation for a highly contested hydropower project in Graz, about 700 trees – amongst them old willows, poplars and elm trees – have been clear-cut at the banks of the Mur under police protection and against heavy protests of thousands of people last week.
Read the latest news about the Ilisu construction from Ercan Ayboga, Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive: The construction of the Ilisu Dam and HEPP still continues, currently with an unknown number of workers (probably hundreds). According to a 26 November 2016 statement of Ali Fuat Eker, director of the 16th region of the DSI (State Water Works), 85 % of the project has been completed.