The Stream, November 25: India’s Green Tribunal Directs Action on River Pollution

The Global Rundown

India’s top environmental court has ordered action on harmful river pollution. Indonesia has been slow to reclaim polluted mine areas, an El Salvador city voted to ban mining, and a United States judge issued an injunction to stop federal action restricting Alaska’s Pebble mine. Canada’s oil sands industry pledged to cut water use, while New South Wales committed to protect water supplies from extreme weather. Fighting has cut off water to much of Damascus. Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo will talk about water sharing, while Thailand’s national water plan will go back to the drawing board.

“We have prayed to the tribunal to direct the respondents to take action against polluting industries and get them to stop discharging effluents into rivers,” petitioner Chandraveer Singh, after India’s National Green Tribunal directed government officials and agencies to respond to excessive metal pollution in the Hindon, Krishna and Kali rivers that is sickening communities along their banks. (The Times of India)

By The Numbers

$1 billion Amount set aside for a Regional Water Security and Supply Fund in New South Wales, meant to protect water supplies from increasingly extreme weather. Sydney Morning Herald

99 percent Voters who said “No” to metallic exploration and mining in the El Salvador city of San Jose Las Flores during a referendum in September. The ban is expected to become law by the end of the year. The Independent

50 percent Cut in fresh water use Canada’s oil sands industry hopes to achieve by 2022—the first numerical environmental performance goal set by Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance. Bloomberg

Science, Studies, And Reports

Indonesia has yet to start reclamation work on more than 830,000 hectares of land and water degraded by abandoned mines, leading to public and environmental health hazards, according to a report from the Indonesia Center for Environmental Law. Mongabay

On The Radar

The water supply for 5 million people in Damascus has been shut off due to fighting between rebels and the Syrian army. Syria Direct

Representatives from Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s two largest cities, will meet for a mediation session at the country’s Supreme Court this week to negotiate water sharing amid Sao Paulo’s severe drought. Bloomberg

Thailand’s government rejected a national water management plan prepared by the Royal Irrigation Department and ordered the department to clarify the details of the plan. Bangkok Post

The United States Environmental Protection Agency cannot move forward with restrictions on the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska—meant to protect water and salmon fisheries—following a temporary injunction issued by a U.S. District Court Monday. Alaska Public Media

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek