Participants at First International Meeting of Dam-Affected People
For more than 20 years, International Rivers has helped build an international movement of dam-affected people, social movements, NGOs and academics who work to stop destructive dams and protect rivers and rights. This global movement has come together for two international meetings: the First International Meeting of People Affected by Dams, held in Curitiba, Brazil, in 1997, and Rivers for Life: The Second International Meeting of Dam-Affected People and their Allies, held in Rasi Salai, Thailand, in November 2003. A Third Meeting will be held in late 2009. This international movement has become one of the world's most effective international civil society networks, slowing the construction of dam projects globally, building support for the rights of dam-affected people, and promoting better solutions for water and energy needs.
International Rivers has also worked with our partners around the globe to develop a series of regional and national networks of dam-affected people and their allies. The following are just a few of the networks we are a part of:
A few members of ARN at the Bujagali dam site (2006).
The African Rivers Network (ARN) is a network of dam-affected peoples and NGOs working on river and dam issues on the continent. ARN's purpose is to promote solidarity among member groups; amplify participants' voices in important continent-wide discussions; and promote the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams (WCD), particularly for more participatory methods of dam planning. ARN's first meeting in 2003 began a pan-African civil society dialogue that illustrated the need for a grassroots river-issues network. They have since begun to tackle major regional river-development schemes that would have negative social and environmental effects and inequitable benefit-sharing. International Rivers is an active member of ARN.
Robert Kugonza, Coordinator of African Rivers Network (ARN), is based in Kampala, Uganda. He can be reached by email at robertk [at] nape [dot] or [dot] ug or rnkugonza [at] yahoo [dot] com.
The Kayapó get settled at the encampment in Altamira, Xingu Encounter, 2008 (Glenn Switkes)
International Rivers is a founding member of Redlar,
the Latin American Network Against Dams and for Rivers, Communities and
Water. Redlar is comprised of more than 250 indigenous, environmental,
human rights and women’s organizations from 19 countries in Latin
America. Redlar works to build alliances between groups and design
strategies to confront the threats of hydropower development across
Latin America. The network has held four regional meetings, the most
recent one taking place in Colombia in July 2008. International Rivers
also works with national and regional networks in México, Mesoamerica, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and other parts of Latin America.
Thai villagers protest at Chinese Embassy in Bangkok to demand a halt to blasting rapids on the Mekong (SEARIN/Thailand)
In the Mekong region, civil society organizations, academics, and community movements from Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam have built determined national coalitions committed to defending the region’s rivers. As widespread dam development threatens many rivers shared between countries, these groups also work together in regional coalitions and are joined by a wide network of global supporters. Recently-revived plans to dam the Mekong River's mainstream have been met with unified calls for the river to remain free-flowing. International Rivers works with groups throughout the Mekong region, supporting their efforts to protect its life-giving rivers.
Ratan Bhandari of HYPHEN with Narmada children activists (Narmada Children Festival, Feb. 2008)
HYPHEN,
the Himalayan and Peninsular Hydro-Ecological Network, was established
in 2007 and aims to work on dam projects in Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Burma, Bhutan, China, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Hyphen will do research, training, litigation and campaigns for the
conservation of Himalayan and Peninsular rivers, coasts,
and wetlands, as well as addressing the problem of climate
change by promoting community-managed eco-friendly development
activities and livelihoods.
In 2008, Hyphen is working on the West Seti, Upper Karnali and Arun III
dam projects in Nepal and on the proposed Chalakudy River dams in
India. The regional secretariat of Hyphen is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Contact them at: secretariat [at] hyphenasia [dot] org.
