We stand with our partners and friends in Myanmar. We mourn the tragic loss of life and condemn the brutal violence and unimaginable terror they are facing. We applaud their incredible courage. We urge the international and business community to take immediate action to support the brave people of Myanmar in their struggle against this…
Read MoreWater, Women, and Governance: What are the challenges for gender equity? (Webinar)
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…
Read MoreOp-Ed | Women Bear the Highest Cost of Injustice
By: Pai Deetes, Regional Campaigns and Communications Director, Southeast Asia ProgramInternational Rivers Op-ed originally published on Bangkok Post Soithip, an ethnic Karen-Thai woman from Bang Kloi in the Kaeng Krachan Forest, was among 22 villagers who were rounded up last Friday by state authorities and put behind bars at the Phetchaburi Provincial Prison. Returning to…
Read MoreDamming 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…
Read MoreInternational Rivers stands in solidarity with the people affected by the 2021 Uttarakhand disaster
International Rivers expresses our sorrow and regret over the tragic loss of life and destruction in a disastrous flash flood affecting the Chamoli district and other parts of India’s Uttarakhand state on 7 February 2021. A wall of water and debris swept through the Himalayan valley and overtopped two hydropower dams, leaving at least 175…
Read MorePRESS RELEASE | Coalition Submits Amicus Brief Calling for Enforcement of the Rights of the Piatúa River and Indigenous Rights in Ecuador
Contacts: Constanza Prieto Figelist (cpfigelist@earthlaw.org, 202-621-3877) Monti Aguirre (monti@internationalrivers.org, 707-591-1220) QUITO, ECUADOR—On November 26, a coalition of civil society organizations and law professors submitted an amicus brief to Ecuador’s Constitutional Court calling for the protection of the Piatúa River based on the Rights of Nature and Indigenous rights. The Piatúa River is under threat from…
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 MorePRESS RELEASE | Amazon Communities Protest to Maintain the Xingu River Alive
By: Movimento Xingu Vivo para Sempre Original post in Portuguese. This Monday morning (11/09), over 150 representatives of fishermen, riverbank communities, family farmers and the indigenous Curuaya and Xipaya peoples occupied a section of the Transamazon Highway in a protest against Norte Energia (NESA) the concessionaire of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam complex located in the state of Pará (Brazil). The…
Read MoreA legal challenge to dams on the last free flowing stretch of the Teesta: Ms. Mingma Lhamu, a Sikkimese lawyer up for the challenge!
A young women lawyer working with indigenous Lepcha activists to protect the last free flowing stretch of the Teesta from a destructive dam. By: Ayesha DSouza, South Asia Program Coordinator & guest writer Melanie Scaife The Teesta River originates in the eastern Himalayas, winding its way through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal…
Read MoreSpeaking up for a silenced river
By: Ayesha DSouza, South Asia Program Coordinator & guest writer Melanie Scaife Mayalmit Lepcha grew up listening to the sounds of the Rongyoung River, which flows past her village in Dzongu, in the Indian state of Sikkim. This tiny state lies in the heart of the Himalayas between Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, and is a…
Read MorePeace on the Salween
Nestled beside Asia’s last free-flowing river, the Salween Peace Park in Myanmar’s Karen State (officially called Kayin State) is protecting the rights of Indigenous Karen people to self-determination, cultural survival and environmental conservation. By Pianporn Deetes, Thailand and Burma/Myanmar Campaigns Director Introduction In Myanmar’s Karen State, the Indigenous Karen people have turned a war zone…
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