Alter do Chão (Pará) – More than 60 participants reunited this week in Alter do Chão, Pará, for 2022 GT Infraestrutura Annual Meeting, a group formed by environmental NGOs, social movements, and indigenous organizations. The resolution from the encounter was the Letter from Alter (bellow the full content) where entities aimed at Brazilian society with…
Read MoreBrazil: Belo Sun mining project suffers another setback
A new court decision suspends environmental license for gold mining project in Pará based on the lack of consultation with affected riverside communities. Ruling comes one month after the Federal Appellate Court of the First Region upheld the suspension of the license for lack of consultation with Indigenous peoples Altamira, Pará, May 26, 2022 –…
Read MoreMekong environmental leader Niwat Roykaew wins prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize
By Pai Deetes, Regional Campaigns and Communications Director, Southeast Asia Program Today, Niwat Roykaew of Chiang Khong Conservation Group is a recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, for a momentous win for the Mekong River where the Thai Cabinet formally called for the cancellation of the Lancang-Mekong Navigation Channel Improvement Project, known as the Mekong…
Read MoreBrazil’s Legislative Assembly approves a law draft that prohibits the construction of hydroelectric dams on the Cuiabá River
Yesterday, the Legislative Assembly of the State of Mato Grosso in Brazil approved the law draft that prohibits the construction of dams along the entire length of the Cuiabá River. The draft was authored by state deputy Wilson Santos (PSDB) and was created in response to the proposition of six dams on the river that…
Read MoreDefenders of Brazilian Amazon travel to Europe to Denounce Threats and Rights Violations by Industrial and Illegal Mining
A delegation comprised of Brazilian Indigenous and community leaders from the Amazonian Xingu and Tapajós regions is traveling to Belgium and Switzerland to meet with European Union officials and denounce the invasions in their territories by mining companies such as the Canada’s Belo Sun and by illegal gold miners, who are driving the genocide of…
Read MoreLeonardo DiCaprio joins in supporting the Tapajós River basin
By Isadora Soares Armani, International Rivers’ Senior Communications Associate The actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio used his Twitter account to support the Tapajós river basin, one of the five largest regions of the Amazon hydrographic system. DiCaprio shared an exclusive interview by Mauricio Angelo, a journalist of Mongabay, about the International Rivers’ study, “Tapajós Sob…
Read MoreHappy Earth Day! Invest in our Planet—Invest in our Life-sustaining Rivers!
Happy Earth Day 2022! Although Earth Day is really every day, today is a good reminder to celebrate our planet and all that it provides us to survive and thrive. It’s also a day to learn more and commit to additional efforts to support the health of our planet. This year’s theme is: Invest in…
Read MoreInternational Rivers joins Acampamento Terra Livre, “Free Land Camp” event in Brasília
By Flavio Montiel – Interim Director International Rivers – Brazil Brasília (DF) – International Rivers is actively participating in the Acampamento Terra Livre (ATL) in Brasília, which has been taking place since April 4 and will continue until tomorrow, April 14. The ATL brings together more than 6,000 indigenous people from 200 ethnic groups from…
Read MoreCivil society organizations speak out for transparency, participation and the inclusion of traditional communities in the Leticia Pact and financial initiatives for its implementation
CSOs denounce that the Leticia Pact does not include solutions that ensure the sustainability of the Amazon, one of the main ecosystems on which humanity depends. There is concern the measures proposed in the Leticia Pact affect highly sensitive social and environmental areas. In 2019, the governments of Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador, Guyana…
Read MoreWeaponising water — Ukraine’s dams are targets in Putin’s war
Originally published in EU Observer by Nicholas Hildyard and Josh Klemm In the early hours of 26 February 2022, Ukrainian air defences shot down a Russian missile reportedly heading for the Kyiv dam on the Dnieper River. The hydropower reservoir behind the dam, which Russian forces had unsuccessfully attempted to seize on the first day…
Read More10 reasons why hydropower dams are a false climate solution
Originally published in Alternet by Josh Klemm and Eugene Simonov Not only does hydroelectric power fail to prevent catastrophic climate change, but it also renders countries more vulnerable to climate change while emitting significant amounts of methane, one of the worst greenhouse gases. A river is a spectacular living corridor that feeds forests, fisheries, coastal ecosystems, and…
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