Fwd: Response to : Invitation to a World Bank Consultation on Environmental & Social Aspects of the Rogun Hydropower Project

[Svet Zabelin]

От: eugene simonov <esimon...@gmail.com>
Date: пт, 8 нояб. 2024 г. в 11:59
Subject: Response to : Invitation to a World Bank Consultation on Environmental & Social Aspects of the Rogun Hydropower Project
To: lisa....@gegenstroemung.org <lisa....@gegenstroemung.org>, mfo...@rightsindevelopment.org <mfo...@rightsindevelopment.org>, jkl...@internationalrivers.org <jkl...@internationalrivers.org>, andrey...@bankwatch.org <andrey...@bankwatch.org>, svet...@gmail.com <svet...@gmail.com>, in...@bankinformationcenter.org <in...@bankinformationcenter.org>, pe...@re-course.org <pe...@re-course.org>, con...@world-heritage-watch.org <con...@world-heritage-watch.org>, Dustin Schäfer <dus...@urgewald.org>, Nora Sausmikat <nora.sa...@urgewald.org>, Tanya Lee Roberts-Davis <ta...@internationalrivers.org>, Manana Kochladze <man...@bankwatch.org>
Cc: secre...@forum-adb.org <secre...@forum-adb.org>, alex.k...@gmail.com <alex.k...@gmail.com>, Mari Jeanie Derillo <j...@forum-adb.org>, Lorena Cotza <lco...@rightsindevelopment.org>, Tala Batangan <tbat...@rightsindevelopment.org>, Nash Vek Public Foundation <nash...@gmail.com>

Dear All:

We sent the response letter on consultations to the WB today.

It is already on the web site https://rogun.exposed/letters

Letter to the World Bank on improper consultations. 8 November  2024  (letter was in English only)

It was signed by only 5 organizations. I hope others still support this position, just had no time to look.

4 hours after it was sent, the World Bank repeated their invitation for consultation on Thursday. It is hardly a coincidence.

As far as we know their plan was to engage their engineers and other "experts" to explain at the consultations orally why CSO questions sent earlier to the World Bank do not make sense. We indicated that we want to see those things in writing as an intrinsic part of draft assessments not yet disclosed.

If you decide to participate, I recommend not to register until Wednesday, giving them time to follow our request to postpone the consultations.

Please, inform everyone else here if you are planning to participate and whether you support the plan described below.

At the last collective discussion Mark Fodor suggested that each of delivers the same concise message refuting their way doing "consultations" and that we do not comment on substantive issues that they present.

 

We discussed it today with Tanya and propose that based on the arguments presented in the letter sent to WB we develop a nuanced collection of messages which end with the same sentence reflecting Mark's idea.  This way they will have do document that as different consecutive statements (  we can send those to them in chat as we finish talking). What do You think?

We are ready to send you our ideas on messages derived from the letter on Monday-Tuesday.

We also need to discuss with the groups from Central Asia, who were NOT invited to this consultation, whether they want to write a collective (or individual) letters on November 15th regarding this outrageous omission.

I also suggest to have brief bi-weekly meeting on Rogun issues on November 14th immediately before the consultations at 7:45 EST (New York) to better plan how we act together.

Cheers!

Eugene Simonov

RwB

 

On Tue, 5 Nov 2024 at 18:51, eugene simonov <esimon...@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear All!!!

Please see, critique\improve and sign (!!) those draft response to the WB regarding the consultations which I promised to draft last week.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A-aqpGLmPMBTa-mEU7WTUcRrke_PkYmJ/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107903846952942455611&rtpof=true&sd=true

Please, sign as soon as possible before Thursday.

The letter will work well only if signed by most of those whom they invited to November 14 meeting.

(It does not preclude us from visiting that meeting -TBD)

Cheers!

Eugene Simonov

RwB

PS explanation - i claim that we got their invitation on November 4 , because it was spamed in our mailboxes on Saturday. (No real environmentalist works on Saturdays!!)

On Sat, 2 Nov 2024 at 09:02, Zarina Nurmukhambetova <znurmukh...@worldbank.org> wrote:

Dear colleagues, 

 

We invite you to join an online consultation on Environmental and Social (E&S) Aspects of the Rogun Hydropower Project (Rogun HPP) on Thursday, 14 November 2024, from 9:00 to 10:30 AM EST. 

 

The Rogun Hydropower Project (HPP) puts Tajikistan on a path to address energy shortages and help Central Asia transition to cleaner energy. The project aims to provide approximately 10 million people with improved access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity. Approximately 70% of the energy generated will be exported, displacing fossil-fuel-fired generation in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, thereby supporting the decarbonization of Central Asia’s power grids, alleviating energy shortages across the region, and driving economic growth. 

 

The World Bank acknowledges the scale and complexity of this project, as well as the challenging environment in which it is being implemented. Recognizing the high environmental and social risks associated with the project, the World Bank is convening this consultation to: 

1. Address concerns on E&S and technical issues in more detail, including cumulative impacts. 

2. Further explore stakeholder engagement in the project, and 

3. Ensure these perspectives are meaningfully integrated into the project. 

 

We value your ongoing engagement and look forward to an in-depth exchange. 

 

Meeting Details: 

• Date: Thursday, November 14, 2024 

• Time: 9:00 – 10:30 AM EST

• WebEx meeting connection details will be shared to those who RSVP. 

 

Please RSVP by replying to this email with “RSVP Rogun Consultation” in the subject line to confirm your attendance. 

 

Best regards, 

Zarina

 

 

 

Zarina Nurmukhambetova

External Affairs Officer

Infrastructure, Europe and Central Asia Region

www.worldbank.org

1818 H St NW, Washington, DC 20433