Our rivers are a source of life – and a coveted resource for corporations and governments. While most hydropower companies commit to protecting these ecosystems, there’s a significant gap between policies and performance.
The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) says that corporations bear direct responsibility for upholding human rights. Dam builders routinely run afoul of even weak national laws and policies, however, facing little accountability for the damage they cause. The cost is borne by those who can least afford it – rural communities, women and fragile ecosystems.
Our Work to hold the Hydropower Industry Accoutable
We work with communities to hold these companies accountable, documenting and exposing human rights abuses, harm and corruption. We advocate for redress, including through the judicial system. We engage with governments and financiers about private sector standards and safeguards. We press for a just energy transition.
Learn More
- Swindling the Mekong: Run-of-River Hydro (2017) (Also available in Thai, Khmer or Vietnamese)
- US Congress Supports Environmental Justice in IFI Projects (2014)
- Activist Guides to Sinohydro’s Environment and Social Policies (2014)
- The World Bank’s Big Dam Legacy
- Greenwashing Dams (2011) (Also available in Português, Español, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Turkish, or Lao)
- Powering Conflict: An Analysis of Business and Human Rights Responsibilities in the Salween Basin (2020)
- Reckless Endangerment: Assessing Responsibility for the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Dam Collapse (2019)
- Watered Down: How do big hydropower companies adhere to social and environmental policies and best practices? (2019)
- Klamath Dam: PacificCorp must accept responsibility for removing its dams (Shoemaker, 2020)
- Chinese-built dam projects failing on environmental standards, green group International Rivers warns (2019)
- Migratory river fish populations plunge 76% in past 50 years (The Guardian, 2020)
Latest News
- STATEMENT | International Rivers statement on Teesta-V hydropower station destruction in Sikkim
On August 20, 2024, the world witnessed another major landslide that badly damaged a hydropower project in the fragile Himalayan ecosystem along the river Teesta. This latest landslide caused major … Read more - Placing the Interests of the Public and Planet at the Center of Thailand’s Power Development Plan 2024
By Rin Sohsai and Tanya Lee Roberts-Davis. Originally published in the Bangkok Tribune. Opinion piece highlights are below. In the coming months, Thailand’s updated draft Power Development Plan (PDP 2024-2037) … Read more - Communities Left in Dire Straits After the Construction of the Souapiti Dam in Guinea
By Genny Ngende, Senior Campaign Coordinator, Africa Program Introduction The Africa Program works in partnership with a local organization in Guinea, Centre du Commerce International pour le Développement (CECIDE). Individually … Read more