Aviva Imhof's blog

Communities March Against La Parota Dam (CECOP)

For thousands of people living along the Papagayo River in Guerrero State in Mexico, the news that the destructive and unjust La Parota Dam has been delayed until at least 2018 comes as a huge relief. After a 6-year battle, the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission announced yesterday it is postponing the project, along with nine other electricity projects across the country. The Commission cites the economic downturn as one reason for the postponement, but the real reason is the intense opposition by thousands of small farmers and indigenous people who would lose land, fisheries and other natural resources as a result of the dam.

Toxic water being released from the Chalillo Dam in Belize (BELPO)

See that horrible, dirty water flowing out the Chalillo Dam on the Macal River in Belize? Environmentalists in Belize took these photographs last week after seeing the color of the water in the Macal River. Scary stuff, considering that the Macal River directly or indirectly supplies water for one third of the country.

Read Part 1 of the blog. 

Victor Caal from Las Margaritas Copon (Aviva Imhof)

Our next stop was Las Margaritas Copón: a village of some 45 families that's an hour's walk away from the river. To get there we took a boat upstream along the Chixoy River: a gorgeous turquoise tropical river surrounded by forests and plots of maize. Parts of Las Margaritas would be flooded by the reservoir, and much of their land would be lost: land where they currently grow cardamom, corn and beans. Here we participated in an assembly of ACODET, the community organization that has been formed to fight the dam (ACODET stands for Association of Communities for Development, Defense of the land and natural resources).

Location of Xalala Dam (INDE)

A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of visiting communities that would be affected by the proposed Xalalá Dam in Guatemala. It was an inspiring and harrowing experience. Inspiring to witness the organization and strength of communities threatened by the dam: indigenous people proud of their heritage and determined to fight to retain it. Harrowing to hear stories of the legacy of the war and genocide that killed so many people in the area and forever changed the lives of the survivors. To these people, who have been through war, displacement, violence and dispossession, and who have benefited so little from government services since the Peace Accords were signed in 1996, the dam is a new kind of war.

Dead fish in the Madeira River (AGÊNCIA AMAZÔNIA)

In 2007, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva famously announced that "environmentalists are trying to dump some catfish on my lap" by opposing dams on the Amazon's Madeira River. The quip came after scientists released studies documenting the serious impacts that the dams would have on catfish and other migratory species on the Madeira River. Well, over the past few weeks, dead catfish are just one of the many problems that have been plaguing the Santo Antonio and Jirau Dams.

by Aviva Imhof, Campaigns Director

The Pascua River

In January 2008, I was privileged to take part in one of the first ever expeditions to the headwaters of the majestic Pascua River. The journey, which involved two days on a bus down the dusty Carretera Austral, an 18-hour boat journey, and two days back, took us to some of the most remote and wild parts of Patagonia, passing by magnificent lakes, spectacular glaciers, the two Patagonian ice caps, and a series of wild and untamed rivers.

HidroAysén, a Chilean-Spanish corporation, wants to construct three dams on the Pascua and two on the nearby Baker River and send the power 1500 miles north to Santiago. Environmentalists in Chile have teamed up with International Rivers and other international organizations to put a stop to their plans. International Rivers organized this expedition to give journalists, activists and local people a first-hand glimpse of what’s at stake. Here’s the story of our journey.