Under a new law, mining and oil companies in Peru will be required to hold talks with local communities about the effects of natural resource extraction on the environment and water supplies, Reuters reported. The law stops short of giving communities the power to veto potential projects.
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez faces criticism from within his own political party after water resources in Monagas state were contaminated from an oil spill, another obstacle to his reelection in the fall, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Rapid urbanization in China—the urban population is expected to reach 70 percent by 2030—poses challenges for providing adequate water, infrastructure and sanitation, said World Bank President Robert Zoellick, Xinhua reported.
Ohio’s state legislators have presented a revised plan for regulating water withdrawals from Lake Erie, the Associated Press reported. The Republican-backed plan would allow businesses to withdraw 2.5 million gallons (9.5 million liters) a day from the lake before having to apply for a permit, half the amount allowed in the original bill that was vetoed by the governor in 2011.
Local governments in French Polynesia are working to improve infrastructure, metering and pricing in an effort to conserve water and provide adequate supplies for drinking, the Guardian reported.
A satellite-driven water monitoring system may be expanded in Kenya with the hope that the real-time information on forage and water supplies will help livestock farmers cope with drought, according to AlertNet.
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