Dariali hydropower plant project, Georgia, May 2014

... Dariali Energy began the construction of the project in September 2011 without the relevant clearance documents. Green Alternative reported this to the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and requested that both investigate the legality of the construction works. Initially, both agencies responded that they would investigate the case, yet just two months later and after hastily issuing permits, both ministries concluded that the company had obtained all the necessary permits for the construction. ...

Georgian legislation explicitly prohibits the construction of a hydropower plant on the territory of a national park. Nevertheless, the Dariali project was planned in the area of the Kazbegi National Park. The EIA report submitted to the Ministry of Environment for obtaining ecological expertise clearly states that the project area included 2.6 hectares of the Kazbegi National Park, yet the Ministry still approved the project and as such violated the law...

The Dariali project will divert 90 percent of river flow first into a channel and then a tunnel, resulting in an eight- kilometre section of the Tergi river devoid of water. The landscape on this section of the gorge will also radically change, affecting the historic and cultural value of the area and its importance as a tourist destination.