By Ayesha DSouza, South Asia Program Coordinator One of the most visible things one sees when travelling from Siliguri in West Bengal up the winding roads to Northern Sikkim are huge streaks down the sides of the mountains. You can clearly see them sliding all the way to the River Teesta. These streaks or scratches…
Read MoreWomen and Rivers’ Defender Spotlight: Zerin Ahmed
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…
Read MoreWomen and Rivers’ Defender Spotlight: Rummit Lepcha
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…
Read MoreWomen and Rivers’ Defender Spotlight: Mueda Nanawat
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…
Read MoreBrumadinho: Three years since the collapse of the Córrego do Feijão tailings dam, the worst dam disaster in the world in the last decade
From International Rivers Latin America Team The worst dam disaster in the world in the last decade. This January 25, 2022 marks three years since the collapse of the Córrego do Feijão tailings dam, in Brumadinho, Brazilian city. Check the exclusive Photo Gallery that International Rivers and MAB (Movement Of People Affected by Dams –…
Read MoreWomen and Rivers’ Defender Spotlight: Marmit Lepcha
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…
Read MoreInternational Rivers Condemns and Denounces the Brutal Murder of an Environmental Defender’s Family in Amazon region, Brazil
International Rivers, Brazilian Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), Pará’s Society in Defense of Human Rights (SDDH) and several other national and international organizations condemns and internationally denounces the brutal murder environmental defenders family in the Xingu region, Brazil. Last Sunday, the bodies of José Gomes (also known as Zé do Lago), his wife Márcia Nunes and…
Read MoreKhuga Dam Continues to Devastate the Lives of Indigenous Women in Manipur, India
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…
Read MoreHow Hydropower Development Devastated the Loktak Wetlands and the Livelihoods of Women and Communities
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…
Read MoreThe Kaptai Dam: A Story of Disenfranchisement, Displacement, and Destruction
By Nalori Chakma, South Asia Senior Programme Coordinator, Transboundary Rivers of South Asia The history of dams is riddled with tragic stories of displacement and blatant disregard for Indigenous groups, and the Jumma Peoples are no exception to that. Under the direction of United States and Pakistani government officials, the Kaptai Dam was built in…
Read MoreAPIB’s International dossier of complaints denounces the offensive against Indigenous peoples and the environment led by Bolsonaro government
With informations by APIB. APIB launched earlier this week a International Complaints Dossier of Brazil’s indigenous people. The document brings together a series of data and information that demonstrate that president Bolsonaro selected indigenous peoples as enemies of his government, and turned his hate speeches into state policy. The document also relates Bolsonaro’s actions and…
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