Damming Rivers Is Terrible for Human Rights, Ecosystems, and Food Security

Damming Rivers Is Terrible for Human Rights, Ecosystems, and Food Security

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…

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Joint Statement | Klamath River Dam Removal Back on Track

Joint Statement | Klamath River Dam Removal Back on Track

By: Darryl Knudsen, Executive Director & Bruce Shoemaker, Klamath project Liason The struggle of the diverse and broad coalition of tribes and others who value the fundamental importance of a healthy and free-flowing Klamath cleared a daunting and important hurdle today with the announcement by PacifiCorp, the States of California and Oregon, the tribes and…

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Klamath River Dam Removal Update: An Urgent Need for Action!

Klamath River Dam Removal Update: An Urgent Need for Action!

By: Bruce Shoemaker, Klamath Project Liaison The proposed removal of four aging dams on the Klamath River in far-northern California and southern Oregon is at a crucial juncture. Following sustained campaigning by tribal and environmental groups, what is likely the largest proposed dam removal project to date world-wide, one that has huge implications for the…

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Dear China, it’s time to talk: Despite saying it takes multilateral cooperation seriously, China has not yet responded to civil society concerns in Latin America

Dear China, it’s time to talk: Despite saying it takes multilateral cooperation seriously, China has not yet responded to civil society concerns in Latin America

By: Cooperacción, Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN), International Rivers, China-Latin America Sustainable Investments Initiative At the end of April, 263 civil society groups from around the world sent a letter to the heads of various Chinese institutions about financial aid to help coronavirus-affected projects connected to the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s global infrastructure program. They…

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PRESS RELEASE | South Africa and DRC plan to press ahead with Inga 3 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic

PRESS 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…

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PRESS RELEASE | 265 Civil Society Groups Call on Chinese Authorities to Ensure that Covid-19 Financial Relief Does Not Bail Out Harmful Projects

PRESS RELEASE | 265 Civil Society Groups Call on Chinese Authorities to Ensure that Covid-19 Financial Relief Does Not Bail Out Harmful Projects

April 30, 2020 – Today, International Rivers joined 265 civil society groups around the world in calling upon the Chinese government to ensure that COVID-19 related financial relief for struggling Belt and Road projects flows only to high-quality overseas investments that meet stringent criteria aimed at protecting people and safeguarding the environment. The organizations urged China to…

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For Hasankeyf the Bell Tolls

For 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…

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JOINT STATEMENT | Climate Bonds Initiative must abandon its misguided attempt to greenwash hydropower

JOINT STATEMENT | Climate Bonds Initiative must abandon its misguided attempt to greenwash hydropower

By: 276 civil society organizations On behalf of 276 civil society organizations from around the world, we are calling upon the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) to abandon the certification of destructive hydropower projects as climate-friendly. The proposed hydropower criteria developed by CBI and its technical working group fall far short of acceptable standards and practice, and…

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JOINT STATEMENT |  One year after Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy dam collapse, civil society from Korea and the Mekong call for immediate accountability and redress

JOINT 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…

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