Three thousand miles apart, Nirmala’s and Violet’s experience led them both to the same calling: to protect the rivers in their communities. Growing up on a farm in rural Kenya without electricity, Violet Matiru developed a love of nature and the drive to fight its degradation early on. She began her environmental work with elephant…
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In recognition of the critical role women play in shaping water solutions and the support needed to grow their impact, International Rivers partnered with Women’s Earth Alliance and launched the first Women and Rivers Accelerator Program in 2022 to strengthen the global movement of women river defenders. The first accelerator brought together 23 women river…
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International Rivers’ 2023 IWD Week List with some of the inspirational women Environmentalists you should know and follow Join International Rivers in celebrating #WomensHistoryMonth and #InternationalWomensDay this week. Women play critical leadership roles in providing, managing and safeguarding water and other natural resources. Yet too often, governments ignore women’s lives and perspectives when making decisions…
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All over the world, women play a critical leadership and community role in providing, managing and safeguarding water resources. Yet too often, governments ignore women’s lives and perspectives when making decisions about water. Years of experience have shown us that dams and other water infrastructure impact communities in gendered ways. Hydropower dam projects often exacerbate…
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by Petro Kotze and Nalori Chakma Connecting to riverine communities gave direction to her career Globally, young activists have increasingly taken a stand calling for social change. Zerin Ahmed is one of those inspiring young leaders. The 25-year-old activist and educator is based in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, where she promotes environmental education and…
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by Petro Kotze and Nalori Chakma She found her roots by the river “I have been on a rollercoaster journey of discovery about my land and identity,” Rummit Lepcha says of her mission to reconnect with her roots and help save her home. Rummit is a member of the Lepcha community, and lives in her…
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By Petro Kotze and Nalori Chakma Once an ‘unseen’ person, she now helps ensure her community does not disappear When I was born, my father tied my umbilical cord around a tree in the forest, says Mueda Nawanat. Mueda is from the Ban Tha Rua village in Thailand’s Sob Moei District in the Mae Hong…
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By Petro Kotze She fights for the survival of the only place she belongs Some people already consider the Lepchas to be a vanishing tribe, says Marmit Lepcha, a Lepcha from Dzongu, in India’s North Sikkim region but, “this is where I belong.” I only understood this once I was away from my home, the…
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By: Christina Larlemdik, Nalori Dhammei Chakma, Jiten Yumnam & Petro Kotze The Khuga Dam is, by all accounts, a failure. Unable to deliver on any of the original objectives of the Khuga Multipurpose Hydroelectric Project, the price of this expensive catastrophe is paid by the local people. Already discriminated against due to their position in…
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By: Jiten Yumnam, Nalori Dhammei Chakma and Petro Kotze The Meitei people call the Loktak Wetlands in India’s North East region Loktak Lairembi or, the mother goddess. The wetlands are the foundation of their socio-economic development and rich cultural heritage, but has been decimated by the construction of the contentious and controversial 105 MW Loktak…
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On March 30, 2021, at 5 pm, Brasília time, the Water Governance Observatory (OGA), the Institute of Water and Sanitation (Instituto Água e Saneamento, IAS), International Rivers and Fundación Avina promote the Webinar “Water, women and governance: what are the challenges for gender equity?”. The event will be broadcast on the YouTube channel of the…
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