WHAT’s the point of gauging the environmental impact of a dam before it’s
built? Not a lot, if a row over a proposed hydroelectric scheme in Belize is
anything to go by.
A group of leading biologists reckon the Chalillo dam would destroy an area
of rainforest containing rare and threatened species. But the companies that
commissioned the biologists’ report are not following its recommendation that
the dam should not be built, one of the report’s authors told New Scientist.
The dispute has highlighted growing concerns over the value placed on
“environmental impact assessments”. Last year, a report by the World Commission…
