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 MoreJoint 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…
Read MoreKlamath 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…
Read MoreDear 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…
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 MorePRESS RELEASE | Eight Organizations alert the OECD on serious weaknesses in Brazil’s Responsible Business Conduct policies (Policy Brief)
In a brief published today, FIDH and seven brasilian and international NGOs alert on the serious governance gaps that need to be urgently addressed.
Read MorePRESS 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…
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 | 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…
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…
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