Chinese hydropower companies and environmental norms in countries of the global South: the involvement of Sinohydro in Ghana’s Bui Dam

The livelihood challenges of resettled communities of the Bui dam project in Ghana and the role of Chinese dam‐builders

“…This is outlined as follows: until very recently, the majority of work on China's engagement with LMICs has been speculative (Mohan, ), economistic (Jacques, ) and Africa‐focused (Alden, Large, & Soares de Oliveira, ; Brautigam, ). This has changed in recent years as more scholars are exploring the rise of China and its internationalization from an environmental perspective as well as drawing on empirical data (Power, Mohan, & Tan‐Mullins, ; Hensengerth, ; Tan‐Mullins & Mohan, ; Kirchherr, Charles, & Walton, ; Shen & Power, ; Power, Newell, Baker, Bulkeley, Kirshner, & Smith, ). Understanding a complex set of international actors, interdependencies and ecological impacts necessitates a broad theoretical framework (Urban, Nordensvärd, Khatri, & Wang, ).…”

Equity-based Natural Resource Allocation for Infrastructure Development: Evidence From Large Hydropower Dams in Africa and Asia

“…In the case of Bui dam in Ghana the EIA has been commissioned before the construction of the dam by the Ministry of Energy of the Ghanaian government and carried out by the UK firm Environmental Resources Management (EMR) (Hensengerth, 2013;Environmental Resources Management, 2007). According to the environmental regulations in Ghana, before a development project is approved an environmental permit, obtained through the presentation of the EIA, has to be issued and presented to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA).…”

China as a new shaper of international development: the environmental implications

“…The Special Issue is a collection of articles that address key issues related to water -particularly hydropower-(see the papers by Hensengerth, 2012;Urban et al, 2012), forestry (see the papers by Huang et al, 2012;Fearnside et al, 2012) and land (see the paper by Zhao, 2012), as well as over-arching issues of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for reducing environmental impacts of Chinese enterprises (see the paper by Tan-Mullins and Mohan, 2012). The findings are based on research on China's overseas policies and practice as well as those of host country governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America.…”

“…The hydropower sector is an example where China is the world leader and has indeed started to 'dam the world' (Bosshard, 2009:43). The paper by Hensengerth (2012) therefore examines the role of environmental norms in Chinese overseas investment in hydropower dams, exemplified by Sinohydro's involvement in the Bui Dam in Ghana. While the investment of Western companies in hydropower dams in the global South is decreasing due to changing notions of sustainability in the West, the investment of Chinese companies in hydro dams in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America is accelerating at great speed.…”

“…The emergence of Chinese companies in international markets in the context of China's 'Going Out Strategy' has sparked a debate on whether China can be considered a norm-changer in international development. Hensengerth (2012) argues that the role of international norms in Chinese investment is dependent on two factors: the contractual arrangements under which Chinese companies operate abroad, and the political institutions of host countries.…”