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2000. The WCD’s <strong>final</strong> report puts forward a framework for planning water and energyprojects and is intended to protect dam-affected people and the environment, whilst ensuringthat the benefits from dams are equitably distributed. The Commission disbanded after thereport was published, but work on dams and development continues in many different ways.Shortly after the report, the Dams and Development Project (DDP) was established tobroaden awareness of the issues presented and to look at how the WCD recommendationscould be translated into action on the ground. The DDP project was hosted by UNEP andsupported national as well as global dialogue on the WCD. 62Particularly relevant to Chinese overseas dam building are the United Nations Norms on theResponsibility of Transnational Corporations (“Norms”). Approved in 2003, the Norms statethat transnational corporations are responsible for upholding human rights as set forth in theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights. The Norms state that transnational corporationsmust protect human rights as set forth by national and international law, provide equalopportunity employment, ensure safe and healthy working environments, comply with theenvironmental laws of host countries, and implement sustainable development practices. 63Box 15 & 16: International environmental and social stakeholdersAmong the international NGOs, the EarthRights International also plays an important roleamong river damming in Southeast Asia. In 2008, the EarthRights International issued a reportnamed China in Burma. This report identifies 69 Chinese TNCs involved in 90 projects in thehydropower and extractive sectors in Burma. 64 The EarthRights International also sets up atraining program - the EarthRights School Mekong (ERSM) - for civil society advocates fromthe Mekong Region who are working on environmental and human rights issues. This schoolis inaugurated in June 2006, which focuses on the impacts of large-scale infrastructure projects,particularly hydropower dams, and how citizens are engaged in advocating for more equitabledevelopment in the Mekong region. 65In addition to the EarthRights, maybe the most active organization in the anti-Myitsone Dammovement is the International Rivers. International Rivers is an environmental and humanrights anti-dam organization based in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1985 bya host of social and environmental activists, International Rivers works with a global networkof policy and financial analysts, scientists, journalists, development specialists, local citizensand volunteers to address destructive dams and their legacies in over 60 countries. 66On September 30, 2013, International Rivers issued a report “Independent Expert Review of theMyitsone Dam EIA”, which found that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) made byCPI contains some serious deficiencies and flawed conclusions. It said that the EIA reportcommissioned by China Power Investment and published in 2011 fails to identify numerous62Ibid.63Brewer, Nicole. "The new great walls: a guide to China’s overseas dam industry." Berkeley: InternationalRivers Network (2008).64http://www.earthrights.org/publication/china-burma-increasing-investment-chinese-multinationalcorporations-burmas-hydropower-o65http://www.earthrights.org/training/earthrights-school-mekong66http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rivers109
impacts that could reasonably be expected to occur as a result of such large, complex andcascade hydropower scheme. Despite China Power Investment’s commitment to abide byinternational standards and conduct its work in accordance with the highest standards, sevenof the eight expert opinions found that the Report falls well below best practice. 67All these international organizations keep close relations with Burmese NGOs and somepolitical organizations. They use various forms of propaganda in or outside Myanmar toexpress their opposition to the construction of the Myitsone dam, exerting high pressure onthe Government of Myanmar and China, to <strong>final</strong>ly form public opinions with a broad socialbase.3. DiscussionThe Chinese stress the fact they have a contract with the Myanmar government. The Burmesemeanwhile emphasize the strength of public opinion against the project. The crux of the issueis: does “legal” automatically mean “legitimate”? An outside developer dealing with a militarygovernment can get away with ignoring other factors – the government has the power to dealwith those. But when there is a change of regime to one that has even the slightest publicsupport, ignoring public opinion risks landing foreign investors in trouble. Therefore, ratherthan complain about the Myanmar government reneging on a deal, China should take a cruciallesson from this episode: when working abroad, it is no longer enough to communicate withgovernments alone.China’s construction industry is the world’s biggest, and in 2010 it became the world’s biggestoverseas contractor. In 2011, Chinese firms signed engineering contracts overseas worthUS$140 billion. In 2012, that rose by more than 10% to US$156.5 billion. 68 The MyitsoneDam project is a good proof of China’s ambitious expansion of overseas constructions.67http://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/independent-expert-review-of-the-myitsone-dam-eia-812968https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/ch/7274-Social-instability-is-the-main-threat-to-China-s-overseas-investments110
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ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL RISKMANAGE
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PREFACEProfessor Sir Peter Crane FR
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Synthesis report on the Yale-WWF wo
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up of environmental and social stan
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game. There are prior examples of C
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expectations, including commercial
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Trade is a good thing. It is a way
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Going beyond compliance to mitigate
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These policy documents collectively
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4. Peru’s conflicting lawsThe Per
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contradictions in Peru’s legal re
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in natural resources that are essen
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Organization of American States. 20
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creating and maintaining positive r
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China Minmetals: Protecting Bio-Div
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The Corporation maintained and expa
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operations in Australia. The projec
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Case: Flood Relief Donations to Que
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1. Outward foreign direct investmen
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third country is often not directly
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financial returns and reputation. 1
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From 2005-2014, around a half of Ch
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Analytical framework of OFDI’s en
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(2) Identify the key business playe
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high environmental and social sensi
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and economic interests overseas. Th
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In recent years, there is an increa
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outlets that cover environmental an
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Main goals:(1) Understand the main
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Internationalregime11&12131415&16Un
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Page 67 and 68: Fig. 3 Distribution of the Río Bla
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Page 71 and 72: First, the project should consider
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Page 79 and 80: copper project. 25 After the projec
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Page 85 and 86: Besides the reports from NGOs, unde
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Page 91 and 92: 87Fig. 6 Timeline of the Rio Blanco
Page 93 and 94: Besides Peru and China, the U.K. al
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Page 97 and 98: China407.318Vietnam329.390Singapore
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Page 103 and 104: Fig. 3. Myitsone Hydropower Project
Page 105 and 106: elated engineering studies; highway
Page 107 and 108: Box 3 & 4: Environmental and social
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Page 111 and 112: taken steps to strengthen the stand
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Page 125: AcknowledgementsThe editors would l
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