The real cost of hydropower plants in Central Asia and the Caucasus
July 12, 2022
International financial institutions’ support for hydropower in Central Asia and Caucasus is fuel for environmental damage and human rights violations.
Update to the Bern Convention on the Complaint No. 2016/09 – Possible threat by hydropower to “Svaneti 1” Candidate Emerald Site
February 22, 2022
The Svaneti 1 Candidate Emerald site in Georgia is threatened by the decision of the Georgian government to reduce its size for construction of the 280 MW Nenskra Hydro Power Plant (HPP) project. This is an update by the complainants on the Complaint No. 2016/9 – Possible threat to “Svaneti 1” Candidate Emerald Site who request an on-the-spot appraisal mission by the Bern Convention to Georgia, in order to investigate the threats to rivers that were recorded by Bankwatch during its fact-finding mission in July 2021.
Nenskra hydropower project: update
January 29, 2021
Since it was first proposed, the Nenskra hydropower project in Georgia has raised significant controversy and concerns among the indigenous Svan communities living near the proposed plant, as well as the general public in Georgia. The accountability mechanisms of the EIB, EBRD and ADB have found numerous violations of the lenders’ environmental and human rights standards, as well as violations of the rights of affected Svan communities.
Can the EIB become the “EU Development Bank”?
November 9, 2020
This report analyses the EIB’s track record in the development field and offers a series of detailed recommendations for fundamental reforms at the EIB, so that the Bank can better support partner countries’ development priorities and ultimately become a credible candidate for the “EU Development Bank” seat.
The never ending saga of the Nenskra HPP
September 17, 2020
The Nenskra HPP is one of 35 hydropower plants slated for development in Upper Svaneti, a region roughly one-and-a-half times the size of Luxembourg.
EIB’s lack of public disclosure on the Svans challenged by Ombudsman
September 16, 2020
The European Ombudsman concluded that the EIB should disclose an expert report on whether Svans that live in the Svaneti region of Georgia are indigenous people.
Georgia’s billion dollar dam violates international standards
September 9, 2020
Significant failures were found in the project’s compliance with the environmental and social policies of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Status update on the Nenskra hydropower plant project
April 9, 2020
New comprehensive assessments of project alternatives, climate risks, and environmental and social impacts are necessary if the project will ever restart.
Outlook 2020 Georgia
January 21, 2020
Energy developments in Georgia last year saw Kakha Kaladze, the mayor of Tbilisi and an influential member of the ruling Georgian Dream party, throw his support behind the $1bn Nenskra HPP hydropower project, while rejecting accusations related to the
Nenskra: new players, new risks
December 4, 2019
More than a year after Salini Impregilo, a major construction company, mysteriously abandoned the Nenskra hydropower project before construction had even begun, new contractors are now said to have been hired to build Georgia’s biggest and most divisive hydropower project.
