By: Deborah Moore, International Rivers Board Member Darryl Knudsen, Executive Director Michael Simon, former Senior Director of Strategy This article was originally featured on Truthout There’s some good news amid the grim global pandemic: At long last, the world’s largest dam removal is finally happening. The landmark agreement, which was finalized in November 2020 between farmers, tribes and…
Read MorePRESS RELEASE | South Africa and DRC plan to press ahead with Inga 3 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Democratic Republic of Congo has just concluded a week-long conference on the beleaguered Grand Inga Dam Project, restating the commitment from South Africa to purchase 5000MW of electricity from the proposed project. Meanwhile, back home the SA Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy is reported to be pressing ahead with their…
Read MoreFor Hasankeyf the Bell Tolls
Guest blog by Gokce Sencan Gokce Sencan, a Turkish water policy researcher based in California, shares the experience from her recent visit to the ancient town of Hasankeyf along the Tigris River in southeastern Turkey. Hasankeyf, which has been continuously inhabited for the last 12,000 years, is slowly being drowned as the reservoir behind the…
Read MoreJOINT STATEMENT | One year after Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy dam collapse, civil society from Korea and the Mekong call for immediate accountability and redress
One year ago today, on 23 July 2018, Saddle Dam of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower project in Attapeu Province, Laos, collapsed. The dam collapse unleashed a disaster with transboundary implications in which dozens of people were killed and thousands of residents were driven from their homes. We offer our thoughts and prayers for the 49…
Read MorePRESS RELEASE | Backers of Collapsed Laos Dam Must Be Held Accountable
New report calls on developers, banks and insurers to ensure full compensation and restitution for victims, who remain in dire conditions facing an uncertain future FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Bangkok, July 23, 2019 – One year after the devastating collapse of saddle dam D of the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydropower project in southern Laos, none of the…
Read MoreActivists Puncture Big Hydro’s Attempted Greenwash in Paris
By: Michael Simon There is no defensible way to continue damming the world’s rivers. That was the message that a powerful uprising of individuals, NGOs and social movements delivered to the World Hydropower Congress last week. (It’s not too late to lend your voice here.) Civil Society Constructively Challenges the World Hydropower Congress 9 MAY 2019 from Todd…
Read MoreA Joint Statement by Civil Society Organizations on occasion of the 2019 World Hydropower Congress in Paris
By: Civil Society Organizations The False Promises of Hydropower How dams fail to deliver the Paris Climate Agreement and the UNA Joint Statement by Civil Society Organizations on the occasion of the Sustainable Development Goals 2019 World Hydropower Congress in Paris, France We live in an age of urgency. Scientists have warned that we have little…
Read MorePRESS RELEASE | Inga 3: An Exclusive Development Deal for Chinese and European companies
By: Rudo Sanyanga, former Africa Program Director & Ange Asanzi, former Africa Campaign Coordinator On October 16, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government announced a 14 billion USD joint and exclusive development agreement with a consortium of Chinese and European developers to construct the Inga 3 hydroelectric dam, following years of delay and controversy….
Read MoreAs Blockade Against Sarawak Dam Continues, OECD Complaint Results in Unprecedented Agreement
By: Tanya Lee The blockade to stop the Baram Hydroelectric Dam in Sarawak, Malaysia from being built is now entering into its 21st month, standing as a testament to the strength, determination and hope of thousands of women and men, prepared to go up against all odds. Up to 20,000 indigenous people, known collectively as the…
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