rivers news from mongabay.com

High gold prices, army collaboration, play role in mining invasion in southern Venezuela

2009-11-25T02:46:00Z

Illegal gold mining involving wildcat miners, the Venezuelan army, and indigenous groups is threatening one of the country's most biodiverse river basins, according to local sources.

Ecological benefits of REDD boosted by inclusion of private landowners, potentially harmed by plantations

2009-11-17T05:06:00Z

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation [REDD] programs that include landowners will conserve more habitat and ensure greater ecosystem services function than programs that focus solely on protected areas, report researchers from the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC), the Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (IPAM), and the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG).

Forgotten species: Madagascar's water-loving mammal, the aquatic tenrec

2009-11-12T18:04:00Z

There are many adjectives one could attach to the aquatic tenrec: rare, mysterious, elusive, one-of-a-kind, even adorable, though one tries to stray from such value-laden titles since it excludes so many other non-adorable inhabitants of the animal kingdom. This small and, yes, cute insectivore, also known as the web-footed tenrec, lives in Eastern Madagascar where at night it spends the majority of its time swimming and diving in fast-moving streams for insects and tadpoles. It sleeps during the day in small streamside burrows. To date that is about the extent of our knowledge of this species.

Will Brazil's blackout drive a new push for more rainforest dams?

2009-11-12T02:20:00Z

The power outage that affected nearly a third of Brazil's population Tuesday could be used by development interests to justify a renewed push for hydroelectric dams in the Amazon rainforest.

China's Pearl River suffers from "almost impossible to remove" pollution

2009-10-29T17:17:00Z

A new study by Greenpeace has found high volumes of heavy metals and organic chemicals in China's Pearl River, which provides drinking water for 47 million people.

Amazonian natives say they will defend tribal lands from Hunt Oil with "their lives"

2009-10-25T22:31:00Z

Indigenous natives in the Amazon are headed to the town of Salvacion in Peru with a plan to forcibly remove the Texas-based Hunt Oil company from their land as early as today. Peruvian police forces, numbering in the hundreds, are said to be waiting in the town. The crisis has risen over an area known as Lot 76, or the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve. The 400,000 hectare reserve was created in 2002 to protect the flora and fauna of the area, as well as to safeguard watersheds of particular importance to indigenous groups in the region.

The Yangtze River may have lost another inhabitant: the Chinese paddlefish

2009-10-22T20:28:00Z

In December of 2006 it was announced that the Yangtze River dolphin, commonly known as the baiji, had succumbed to extinction. The dolphin had survived on earth for 20 million years, but the species couldn't survive the combined onslaught of pollution, habitat loss, boat traffic, entanglement in fishing hooks, death from illegal electric fishing, and the construction of several massive dams. Now, another flagship species of the Yangtze River appears to have vanished.

Freshwater species worse off than land or marine

2009-10-15T19:47:00Z

Scientists have announced that freshwater species are likely the most threatened on earth. Extinction rates for freshwater inhabitants are currently four to six times the rates for terrestrial and marine species. Yet, these figures have not lead to action on the ground.

Power, profit, and pollution: dams and the uncertain future of Sarawak

2009-09-03T13:58:00Z

Sarawak, land of mystery, legend, and remote upriver tribes. Paradise of lush rainforest and colossal bat-filled caves. Home to unique and bizarre wildlife including flying lemurs, bearcats, orang-utans and rat-eating plants. Center of heavy industry and powerhouse of Southeast Asia. Come again? This jarring image could be the future of Sarawak, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, should government plans for a complex of massive hydroelectric dams comes to fruition. The plan, which calls for a network of 12 hydroelectric dams to be built across Sarawak's rainforests by 2020, is proceeding despite strong opposition from Sarawak's citizens, environmental groups, and indigenous human rights organizations. By 2037, as many as 51 dams could be constructed.

Little hydroelectric dams become all the rage, but do they harm the environment?

2009-08-23T20:33:00Z

Looking for a way to create energy that doesn’t contribute to climate change and avoid the usual opposition that comes with building large hydroelectric dams, many energy companies are now pursuing constructing small hydroelectric dams in the wilderness, reports the Wall Street Journal.

After a hundred years, salmon swim by the Eiffel tower again

2009-08-12T14:38:00Z

Atlantic salmon have returned to the Seine river reports the AFP. Absent for nearly a century, the salmon have returned entirely of their own volition: no reintroduction efforts were undertaken.

NASA photos show severe flooding in the Amazon

2009-07-22T00:00:00Z

Photos released by NASA highlight last month's severe flooding of the Amazon River near the Brazilian city of Manaus.

Ganges River Dolphin population falls below 300, faces new threat from oil exploration

2009-07-19T22:48:00Z

The Ganges River Dolphin faces a high risk of extinction in India's Brahmaputra river system unless critical habitat is protected, report conservationists. Once abundant in the Ganges and Brahmaputra river systems in India and Bangladesh, the population of the Ganges River Dolphins has fallen sharply over the past century due to accidental bycatch by fishermen, direct killing for their meat and oil, and diversion of water for agriculture. Scientists estimate that only 2,000 remain, of which 240-300 survive in the Brahmaputra, according to a new survey by IUCN researchers, who warn the Brahmaputra population is also imperiled by new threats, including dam building and prospecting for oil.

Age of the Amazon River estimated at 11 million years

2009-07-08T05:29:00Z

A new study, published in the journal Geology, estimates the age of the Amazon river at 11 million years.

New Yangtze River dam could doom more endangered species

2009-06-22T18:20:00Z

Eight Chinese environmentalists and scientists have composed a letter warning that a new dam under consideration for the Yangtze River could lead to the extinction of several endangered species. The letter contends that Xiaonanhia Dam, which would be 30 kilometers upstream from the city of Chongqing, will negatively impact the river’s only fish reserve. Spanning 400 kilometers in the upper Yangtze, the reserve is home to 180 fish species, including the Endangered Chinese sturgeon, and the Critically Endangered Chinese paddlefish, as well as the finless porpoise.

108 river basins in Indonesia need rehabiltiation

2009-06-16T15:00:00Z

The number of river basins in need rehabilitation in Indonesia climbed from 60 to 108 over the past year says the Ministry of Forestry.

Near-record flooding in the Amazon

2009-05-13T16:00:00Z

Near-record flooding has displaced thousands of people in the Brazilian Amazon, reports the Associated Press.

River systems worldwide are losing water due to global warming

2009-04-22T17:30:00Z

Many rivers around the world are losing water due to global climate change, according to a new study from the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate. Large populations depend on some of the rivers for everything from agriculture to clean drinking resources, including the Yellow River, the Ganges, the Niger, and the Colorado, which have all shown significant declines.

Colorado River unlikely to meet current water demands in warmer, drier world

2009-04-20T21:03:00Z

Feeding the water habits of such major cities as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, in addition to providing irrigation waters for the entire Southwestern United States, has stretched the Colorado River thin. The river no longer consistently reaches the sea as it once did. Now a new study warns that the Colorado River system, which has proven dependable for human use throughout the 20th Century, may soon experience shortages due to global warming.

Dams in Laos threaten Asia's largest waterfall, critically endangered river dolphin

2009-03-16T21:12:00Z

Eleven proposed hydroelectric projects on the Mekong River in Southeast Asia threaten migratory fish stocks, regional food security, and the livelihoods of millions of people, warns a new campaign launched by environmental groups.

China delays massive water scheme to redirect rivers from south to north

2008-12-31T20:40:00Z

China will delay ambitious plans to divert billions of water to its arid north amid environmental concerns, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Captive breeding of monster Amazon fish could feed people and save it from depletion

2008-11-26T14:30:39Z

A new technique for sexing a giant Amazon fish may help create a sustainable source of protein in South America, report researchers writing in Fish Physiology and Biochemistry.

Brazil OKs $4 billion dam in the Amazon rainforest

2008-11-13T14:30:39Z

Brazil has given final go-ahead on a controversial dam on the Madeira river in the Amazon rainforest provided environmental conditions are met, reports the Associated Press.

Coca-Cola announces water conservation goal

2008-10-30T14:30:39Z

Coca-Cola Company has pledged to a 20 percent improvement in water efficiency over 2004 levels in its worldwide operations by 2012, saving some 50 billion liters of fresh water over projected use that year, reports WWF, which negotiated the agreement.

The extinction of the baiji a 'wake-up call' to conserve vaquita and other cetaceans

2008-08-25T14:30:39Z

In December of 2006 an expedition spent six weeks surveying the Yangtze River in China for one of the world's rarest cetaceans, the baiji. Also known as 'The Goddess of the Yangtze' the shy river-dolphin had roamed the river for millions of years locating fish with echolocation. The survey came back empty-handed without a spotting a single dolphin. Dr. Jay Barlow, a member of the surveying team, described his emotions on the expedition's findings in an interview with Mongabay.com: "I was stunned. I knew the species was in trouble, but I did not think they were already gone. We really had not seen the extinction of a large mammal species in 50 years, so we grew complacent."

Aquarium fish trade linked to cocaine, timber smuggling in Brazil

2008-08-10T14:30:39Z

Smugglers are using the ornamental fish trade to traffic cocaine and illegally logged timber according to a report from Sérgio Abranches of O Eco, a leading Brazilian environmental web site.

Three American mussel species lost to extinction

2008-08-10T14:30:39Z

After a five year review, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service has asked to take three mussels species off the Endangered Species List due to the belief that the mussels are extinct. The three species were all native to the Tennessee River and are thought to have gone extinct due to drastic changes in water conditions, including pollution and dams.

Dried-up Colorado takes toll on giant Mexican fish

2008-06-08T14:30:39Z

The Colorado River vanishes before it reaches the Sea of Cortez in all but the wettest years. Companies in California and the southwestern U.S. have diverted its once-vibrant flow to quench their thirst for water and power. Now, a new study in the April 2008 issue of the journal Biological conservation reports that the dwindling of this major artery has changed the way some marine fish in the Gulf of California grow and develop.

Diversity in streams may brace Chinook salmon for climate change

2008-06-03T14:30:39Z

Chinook salmon face a one-two punch. They have disappeared from several rivers in the western U.S. largely because of human interventions and some populations are threatened or endangered. Numbers of Chinook in California's Central Valley have dwindled by 88 percent in the past five years, a loss that closed fisheries for 2008 and may cost California's economy $167 million, according to the state Department of Fish and Game. On top of all this looms a second impact: These salmon will be in hotter water still because of climate change.

Will earthquake slow dam-building spree in China?

2008-05-14T14:30:39Z

Monday's 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan province left more than 15,000 dead, 26,000 missing, and 64,000 injured, according to state media. The quake also "seriously damaged" two hydroelectric stations in Maoxian county, leading authorities to warn that the dams could burst. More than 2,000 troops were sent to work on the Zipingku Dam, a dam said to be in "great danger" of collapse upriver from Dujiangyan, the city at the quake's epicenter.

Judge suspends Amazon dam project due to legal questions

2008-04-30T14:30:39Z

A Brazilian judge has issued a restraining order on a controversial dam in the Amazon basin, reports International Rivers, a conservation group.

New species of river dolphin discovered in the Amazon

2008-04-30T14:30:39Z

Researchers have identified a new species of river dolphin in the Bolivian Amazon according to the Whale and Dolphin conservation Society (WDCS). The announcement was made at a conservation workshop in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia.

New expedition seeks evidence for survival of the 'extinct' Baiji

2008-04-16T14:30:39Z

The EDGE program, apart of the London Zoological Society, has sent an expedition to the Yangtze River to survey local fishermen for any evidence that the Baiji may still survive.

U.S. flooding to continue well into spring

2008-03-21T14:30:39Z

Flooding in the American Midwest is likely to continue, said the U.S. National Weather Service.

Corn ethanol is worsening the Gulf dead zone

2008-03-10T14:30:39Z

Proposed legislation that will expand corn-ethanol production in the United States will worsen the growing "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico and hurt marine fisheries, report researchers writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Feds flood the Grand Canyon to save endangered fish

2008-03-05T14:30:39Z

Federal government officials unleashed a flood of water from Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona to help restore the Grand Canyon's ecosystem which has suffered as a result of changes caused by the dam.

Lake Mead could be dry up by 2021

2008-02-12T14:30:39Z

There is a 50 percent chance Lake Mead, a key source of water for millions of people in the southwestern U.S., will be dry by 2021 if climate changes as expected and future water usage is not curtailed, a new study finds.

Overfishing may hurt Amazon forest trees

2008-02-05T14:30:39Z

Overfishing is reducing the effectiveness of seed dispersal by fish in the Brazilian Pantanal, reports Nature. The research suggests that fishing practices can affect forest health.

U.S. biofuels policy drives deforestation in Indonesia, the Amazon

2008-01-17T14:30:39Z

U.S. incentives for biofuel production are promoting deforestation in southeast Asia and the Amazon by driving up crop prices and displacing energy feedstock production, say researchers.

Cellulosic ethanol production could fight Gulf Dead Zone, help fisheries

2008-01-16T14:30:39Z

Feedstocks for cellulosic ethanol production could help fight the massive "dead zone" that forms each year in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of current farming practices, says a University of Alabama in Huntsville biologist.

Controversial dam in the Amazon gets Brazilian go-ahead

2007-12-11T14:30:39Z

The Brazilian government has awarded rights to build and operate a controversial R$10bn hydroelectric power plant on the Madeira river in the Amazon rainforest near the border with Bolivia, according to FT.com.

Piranhas originated when Amazon was flooded by seawater

2007-12-04T14:30:39Z

South America's piranha family of fish -- notorious as eaters of flesh -- can be traced back to a single ancestor which dispersed when the Amazon was flooded by seawater some five million years ago, report researchers from the Institut de Recherche Pour le Développement (IRD). Today piranhas are exclusively freshwater fish found from the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela to the Paraná in Argentina.

China begins blocking river for second largest dam

2007-11-12T14:30:39Z

China began damming the Jinsha River for its biggest hydroelectric project after the Three Gorges Project, reports Chinese state media.

Central Africa's 'Most Beautiful Waterfall' to be destroyed

2007-11-04T14:30:39Z

One of Africa's most dramatic waterfalls will be destroyed by a hydroelectric project in Gabon, according to reports from a Gabonese NGO and the Inter Press Service (IPS).

Dams can pose security risk to Africa

2007-10-04T14:30:39Z

Floods are the most destructive, most frequent and most costly natural disasters on earth. And they are getting worse. In recent weeks, 14 African nations have seen their worst floods in decades. More than a million people have been affected, over 200 drowned, and countless others made homeless across the continent. At least some of this suffering was preventable.

Flooding in India Leaves 3.5 million Homeless

2007-09-11T14:30:39Z

The Indian military has been evacuating thousands of people from Assam, a state in northeastern India, after Monsoon rains flooded rivers. So far, 3.5 million people have been directly affected by the floods, in a state of 27 million. A total of 2,000 villages have been completely submerged by the floods, in some of the worst flooding in years.

Rare Chinese river dolphin sighting in doubt

2007-09-01T14:30:39Z

A prominent researcher is skeptical of last week's reported sighting of the baiji, the Chinese river dolphin declared extinct earlier this year, according to the New York Times. The sighting near Tongling city in Anhui Province -- widely reported in Chinese and Western media -- was captured on video.

Environmental, safety concerns mount over China's Three Gorges Dam

2007-08-29T14:30:39Z

Environmental problems are worse than anticipated at China's massive Three Gorges Dam, reports the The Wall Street Journal. A year after its completion, there are rising concerns of pollution, landslides, and flooding.

"Extinct" baiji river dolphin spotted alive in China

2007-08-29T14:30:39Z

An "extinct" baiji has been spotted alive in the Yangtze River, reports Chinese state media.

Extinction of the Yangtze river dolphin is confirmed

2007-08-08T14:30:39Z

After an extensive six-week search scientists have confirmed the probable extinction of the baiji or Yangtze river dolphin. The freshwater dolphin's extinction had been reported late last year.