By: Monti Aguirre, Latin America Program Director (with Brent Milliken, Latin American Program Director) The global COVID-19 crisis has shed a light on the deep-seated inequities in the way our rivers and the people who depend on them are treated. With the exposure created by this crisis comes an opportunity. As International Rivers adapts to current…
Read MoreStaying safe, informed and active: Setting a new future for freshwater and rivers
For our environment, and the peoples that rely on our rivers and natural systems for their food and economic security, the time is now. International Rivers and our partners are perfectly placed to map out this new future. But we need your help.
Read MoreBelo Sun signals a restart, but controversial gold mining project in the Amazon remains suspended by three court decisions
BY: Movimento Xingu Vivo para Sempre On April 24th, the Canadian mining company Belo Sun released a corporate statement on its website claiming that it “successfully completed” the indigenous component of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for its controversial Volta Grande project, a massive open-pit gold mining operation proposed for installation along the Xingu River in the Brazilian…
Read MoreWith a new dam proposed on the Kunene River, the Himba people mobilize to permanently protect their lifeblood
By: Siziwe Mota, Africa Program Director The Kunene River forms part of Namibia’s border with Angola. The idea of damming the Kunene dates back as far as when the Germans occupied Namibia and there have since been a number of dams and weirs on the river. In 1991, the Namibian and Angolan governments began exploring…
Read MoreRestoring the Klamath: What we’re learning from the largest dam removal project in history
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 MoreWomen’s Voices Reign at First-Ever Women & Rivers Congress
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 MoreAn urgent call to protect Brazil’s human rights and environmental defenders
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 MoreWomen’s rights and river protection
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 MoreIN THE NEWS | Women must be central to Mekong dam decisions
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 MoreGoal 4 – Secure Human Rights for River Communities and Water Protectors
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 MoreThe Women of Inga: A Portrait of Resilience
“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