The Last Descent
By Scott Ligare & Katie Scott
Mission Statement
To raise public awareness that some of the world's most beautiful, culturally rich and ecologically significant rivers are threatened by large scale hydropower projects. The team will produce a whitewater adventure film with the focus on international rivers that are threatened by dams. Two world class kayakers will descend three major rivers self supported by whitewater kayaks in order to fully illustrate the beauty and value of the rivers as they are, possibly for the last time.
Route:
The team will travel with kayaks and film equipment to Nepal , India , Africa and California . The film will focus on three of the worlds great rivers: the Marsyandi River in Nepal , the Brahmaputra River in India and the White Nile River in Uganda which are all threatened or in the process of being dammed.
Equipment: Whitewater kayaks, Sony high definition cameras, necessary camping equipment
Timeline: Filming 10/07-10/08, editing and promoting 10/08-3/09, release and promotional tour 3/09-5/09
Media Projects: Full-length documentary style film, interactive web site, national promotional tour, print advertisements and articles.
Collaboration: The team will be exploring with other professional kayakers as well as working together with non profits and other environmental activists to promote The Last Descent.
Sponsorship Benefits and Commitment of Team
Marsyandi River
The Marsyandi means “raging river” in the local Nepali dialect. The river flows off of the Northern slopes of the Annapurna range of the Himalayas which provide the river with breathtaking beauty. The whitewater run is considered by many, including author of “Whitewater Nepal ”, Peter Knowles to be one of the most spectacular runs in Nepal . The turquoise blue water, surrounded by some of the world's highest mountains makes for spectacular scenes.
Currently the Marsyandi has one dam on the lower stretch which was built in the 1980s and a second large dam is under construction. The second dam near Basisharar will flood part of the canyon above the dam and dewater the canyon below the dam, effectively destroying the ecology of the river system, the whitewater and the traditional way life for the people who live along the river.
The Brahmaputra River
India is the world's third largest dam builder after China and the US. There are already nearly 4,300 large dams in India that produce nearly one third of the country's power. Since 1947 there have been more than 40 million people displaced by the projects, most of whom are left with little or no compensation. The stretch of the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh is an attractive site for a large dam because of the large gradient, high flows and the potential for flood control.
The river is known as the Tsang Po River as it flows through Tibet and when it crosses into India the name changes to the Brahmaputra. The greatest threat to the Brahmaputra is from China who has plans to dam the river in China and divert it's waters into the Yellow River Basin. This would leave India and Bangladesh without water in the sacred river that has been a central part of life for millions of people that live along it's banks.
The state of Arunachal Pradesh is one of India 's most culturally sensitive areas where much of the ancient Indian culture has been retained. Until recently tourists were not allowed into this area and now a special visa and permit are required to visit. The difficulty of getting a permit makes this stretch of the Brahmaputra rarely descended.
The Brahmaputra is known as one of the world's greatest river expeditions. The expedition is 180 km long and will take the team 7 days to complete the descent through one of the most inaccessible regions of the world. The team will be fully self supported, carrying all of their food, camping and filming equipment in their kayaks from Tuting to Pasighat. Some of the rapids are described to be “twice as big as the Grand Canyon.”
The White Nile River
The World Bank has started funding the Ugandan government in construction of a 200-megawatt dam just downstream from Bujagali Falls at the source of the Nile . This section of the Nile, flowing out of Lake Victoria, is known as the White Nile and home to some of the largest rapids on earth. Lake Victoria is the world's largest tropical lake which due to the project could seriously alter the delicate ecological balance of the lake. The section of rapids is considered a national treasure by Ugandans and whitewater boaters worldwide. The dam will flood the rapids as well as the homes of about 6,800 people, some of which have already been relocated with poor results. The local Busoga people consider this area which will be flooded as having great spiritual and cultural significance. The project is underway and by some accounts will start being flooded by June 2008.
Update 1
The team has started the project in Nepal and has completed two full 5 day descents of the Marsyangdi from high in the Annapurna Mountains down to the valley below.
The second of the three dams is nearing completion and the team was able to paddle right up to the site and was required to portage around the construction in order to continue their descent of the river.
They left the Marsyangdi amazed by the whitewater, the people and the scenery, and also sad to see such an amazing place being changed forever.
The team is now on their way to the state of Arunachal Pradesh in Eastern India where they plan to run the mighty Brahmaputra from near the border of Tibet down to the town of Paghasat in 8 days fully self supported. Because of the remoteness of this area updates will be difficult from the field, but will be sent as soon as possible. The team will return to civilization on January 5th 2008.
By Scott Ligare & Katie Scott
By Scott Ligare & Katie Scott
Mission Statement
To raise public awareness that some of the world's most beautiful, culturally rich and ecologically significant rivers are threatened by large scale hydropower projects. The team will produce a whitewater adventure film with the focus on international rivers that are threatened by dams. Two world class kayakers will descend three major rivers self supported by whitewater kayaks in order to fully illustrate the beauty and value of the rivers as they are, possibly for the last time.
Route:
The team will travel with kayaks and film equipment to Nepal , India , Africa and California . The film will focus on three of the worlds great rivers: the Marsyandi River in Nepal , the Brahmaputra River in India and the White Nile River in Uganda which are all threatened or in the process of being dammed.
Equipment: Whitewater kayaks, Sony high definition cameras, necessary camping equipment
Timeline: Filming 10/07-10/08, editing and promoting 10/08-3/09, release and promotional tour 3/09-5/09
Media Projects: Full-length documentary style film, interactive web site, national promotional tour, print advertisements and articles.
Collaboration: The team will be exploring with other professional kayakers as well as working together with non profits and other environmental activists to promote The Last Descent.
Sponsorship Benefits and Commitment of Team
Marsyandi River
The Marsyandi means “raging river” in the local Nepali dialect. The river flows off of the Northern slopes of the Annapurna range of the Himalayas which provide the river with breathtaking beauty. The whitewater run is considered by many, including author of “Whitewater Nepal ”, Peter Knowles to be one of the most spectacular runs in Nepal . The turquoise blue water, surrounded by some of the world's highest mountains makes for spectacular scenes.
Currently the Marsyandi has one dam on the lower stretch which was built in the 1980s and a second large dam is under construction. The second dam near Basisharar will flood part of the canyon above the dam and dewater the canyon below the dam, effectively destroying the ecology of the river system, the whitewater and the traditional way life for the people who live along the river.
The Brahmaputra River
India is the world's third largest dam builder after China and the US. There are already nearly 4,300 large dams in India that produce nearly one third of the country's power. Since 1947 there have been more than 40 million people displaced by the projects, most of whom are left with little or no compensation. The stretch of the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh is an attractive site for a large dam because of the large gradient, high flows and the potential for flood control.
The river is known as the Tsang Po River as it flows through Tibet and when it crosses into India the name changes to the Brahmaputra. The greatest threat to the Brahmaputra is from China who has plans to dam the river in China and divert it's waters into the Yellow River Basin. This would leave India and Bangladesh without water in the sacred river that has been a central part of life for millions of people that live along it's banks.
The state of Arunachal Pradesh is one of India 's most culturally sensitive areas where much of the ancient Indian culture has been retained. Until recently tourists were not allowed into this area and now a special visa and permit are required to visit. The difficulty of getting a permit makes this stretch of the Brahmaputra rarely descended.
The Brahmaputra is known as one of the world's greatest river expeditions. The expedition is 180 km long and will take the team 7 days to complete the descent through one of the most inaccessible regions of the world. The team will be fully self supported, carrying all of their food, camping and filming equipment in their kayaks from Tuting to Pasighat. Some of the rapids are described to be “twice as big as the Grand Canyon.”
The White Nile River
The World Bank has started funding the Ugandan government in construction of a 200-megawatt dam just downstream from Bujagali Falls at the source of the Nile . This section of the Nile, flowing out of Lake Victoria, is known as the White Nile and home to some of the largest rapids on earth. Lake Victoria is the world's largest tropical lake which due to the project could seriously alter the delicate ecological balance of the lake. The section of rapids is considered a national treasure by Ugandans and whitewater boaters worldwide. The dam will flood the rapids as well as the homes of about 6,800 people, some of which have already been relocated with poor results. The local Busoga people consider this area which will be flooded as having great spiritual and cultural significance. The project is underway and by some accounts will start being flooded by June 2008.
Update 1
The team has started the project in Nepal and has completed two full 5 day descents of the Marsyangdi from high in the Annapurna Mountains down to the valley below.
The second of the three dams is nearing completion and the team was able to paddle right up to the site and was required to portage around the construction in order to continue their descent of the river.
They left the Marsyangdi amazed by the whitewater, the people and the scenery, and also sad to see such an amazing place being changed forever.
The team is now on their way to the state of Arunachal Pradesh in Eastern India where they plan to run the mighty Brahmaputra from near the border of Tibet down to the town of Paghasat in 8 days fully self supported. Because of the remoteness of this area updates will be difficult from the field, but will be sent as soon as possible. The team will return to civilization on January 5th 2008.
By Scott Ligare & Katie Scott
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