By: Bruce Shoemaker, Klamath Project Liaison After decades of controversy and campaigning by Indigenous and environmental groups, the largest dam removal project to date world-wide is moving forward in far-northern California and southern Oregon of the United States. Four large hydropower dams on the Klamath River are to be removed, restoring hundreds of miles of habitat…
Read More
By: Pai Deeetes, Thailand and Myanmar Campaigns Director One word stood out on the screen, above all others: Stories. It was the answer to a question posed on Day 1 of the first-ever Women & Rivers Congress, and it appeared above the crowd thanks to an interactive, real-time voting app. The question: What was your…
Read More
By: Brent Millikan, Latin America Program Director In response to the brutal assassination of Dilma Ferreira Silva, a leader of Brazil’s Movement of Dam-Affected Peoples (MAB) in the area impacted by the notorious Tucuruí hydroelectric dam, a joint statement drafted by International Rivers and AIDA, and co-signed by over 100 human rights and environmental organizations from 25 countries,…
Read More
By: Maureen Harris, Programs Director This article was originally featured on Asia Times Usually at this time of year during the dry season in northern Thailand, the Mekong River recedes, and sand and pebble beaches appear. Covering the pebbles, through the clear and shallow water, one can see the pale green kai, a river weed of…
Read More
By: Maureen Harris, Programs Director Originally published on Bangkok Post Today, on International Women’s Day, a recent trip to the Mekong Basin serves as a reminder that women’s voices must be central to decision-making on hydropower, and in broader energy planning for Thailand and the region. The Nam Ou River, a longest tributary of the…
Read More
By: Sarah Bardeen, Former Communications Director In recent years, the silencing, disappearance and assassination of environmental and indigenous defenders has become tragically common. Perhaps the most high-profile case involves Berta Caceres, our friend and partner who was gunned down in her own home in Honduras for her opposition to the Agua Zarca Dam on the…
Read More
“Go and tell them that we, the women of Inga, are suffering” By: Ange Asanzi, former Africa Program Associate One thing is for certain: the women of Inga are self-sufficient. They grow avocados, oranges, bananas, cassava, nuts and beans. They harvest medicinal plants to tend to their sick. Nearly everything they consume comes from their…
Read More
By: Kate Horner, former Executive Director & Igor Vejnovic This article originally appeared on Open Democracy. This week, activists from across the world are meeting in Tbilisi to share their experiences of resisting hydropower projects and the money that supports them. Free-flowing rivers are often the unsung heroes of the natural world. They support immense biodiversity, as…
Read More
By: Maureen Harris, Programs Director “I cannot freely walk on my territory or swim in the sacred river and I am separated from my children because of the threats. I cannot live in peace, I am always thinking about being killed or kidnapped. But I refuse to go into exile. I am a human rights fighter…
Read More
By: Peter Bosshard, former Executive Director This commentary first appeared in Mongabay When we learned that Berta Cáceres, a leader of the indigenous Lenca people, was murdered in Honduras, we were shocked but not surprised. A violent death is the all-too-frequent fate of indigenous activists who defend their rivers and lands against dams, logging and other forms of…
Read More
By: Sarah Bardeen, former Communications Director In Sudan last week, dozens of peaceful protesters were injured when Sudanese police used force to break up a protest against the Kajbar and Dal dams. For some, it was deja vu – a painful echo of 2006-07, when Sudanese security forces took the lives of at least seven people who…
Read More