News

International Rivers, alongside members and supporters of the Vietnam Climate Defenders Coalition, has joined this week in an open letter to the European Commission regarding the recent upgrade of diplomatic relations between the European Union and Vietnam. While the strengthened partnership signals growing cooperation on trade, climate, and energy, the letter raises urgent concerns about…

I was born by the Magdalena River in Colombia, where I learned to swim as a child – back when I was still smaller than the bagre, the great catfish my family pulled from the water. Each year came la subienda, the great seasonal migration, when millions of bocachico surged upstream together, traveling hundreds of…

In case you missed it: On March 3, 2026, International Rivers, together with partner organizations, hosted the webinar “From Obsolete Dams to Restored Rivers: Global Lessons for Chile.” Moderated by Juan Pablo Orrego (Ecosistemas), the event brought together diverse perspectives on dam removal as a tool for river restoration in Chile. Speakers included Malen Leubü…

Across Brazil’s Lower Tapajós region, Indigenous peoples, traditional communities, and civil-society allies are mobilizing to defend the Tapajós River Basin – one of the Amazon’s largest free-flowing freshwater systems and a region critical to biodiversity, climate stability, and the cultural survival of river-dependent peoples. At the center of this movement is Movimento Tapajós Vivo, a…

Rucalhue Dam is a 90 MW hydro project on the middle Biobío River in Chile, now under construction despite years of community resistance, serious concerns about Indigenous and river rights, and the growing influence of Chinese and US strategic interests over Latin America’s energy and minerals. Around this conflict, new tools and proposals like reservas…

La Central Hidroeléctrica Rucalhue es un proyecto energético de 90 MW en el tramo medio del Río Biobío en Chile, actualmente se encuentra en construcción a pesar de años de resistencia comunitaria, serias preocupaciones sobre derechos indígenas y fluviales, y la creciente influencia de intereses estratégicos chinos y estadounidenses sobre la energía y minerales de…

January 24, 2026 marks four years since environmental lawyer Dang Dinh Bach was sentenced to five years in prison in Vietnam. With significant time already served, and with Tết Lunar New Year – the Year of the Horse commencing on February 17 – this moment offers an important opportunity for amnesty and reunion.  Bach was…

For 40 years, International Rivers has worked to ensure that victories for rivers don’t disappear with the next political cycle or development proposal. Our work is grounded in a simple but urgent idea: hard-won momentum must be transformed into lasting safeguards for rivers and the communities that depend on them. In 2025, this vision came…

International Rivers has released a new Public Participation Resource Manual and accompanying Curriculum designed to equip African communities affected by large hydropower and other large-scale infrastructure projects with the tools to defend their rights and shape development decisions. Developed by the International Rivers Africa Program, the materials offer practical guidance for indigenous peoples, women, farmers,…

Media contact: Shayna Samuels, shayna@ripplestrategies.com, +1-718-541-4785 (Phone / WhatsApp) Environmental defenders are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, yet across the world they face escalating threats—from violence and criminalisation to exclusion from decisions that shape their futures. In launching a recent report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on…

November 2025 – Environmental defenders are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, yet across the world they face escalating threats—from violence and criminalization to exclusion from decisions that shape their futures. In a recent report to the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders said: “In their struggle to…