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 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 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 MoreAdvancing Pico / Micro Hydropower in the Ganga, Meghna, Brahmaputra, and Salween River Basins
By Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET) Originally published on HPNet’s website The river basins of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna, and Salween (GBMS) Rivers are endowed with rich natural resources, exceptional biodiversity, and vibrant indigenous cultures. Yet social and environmental well-being continue to be undermined by large hydro development, as decision makers seek economic prosperity and economic…
Read MorePress Release | Civil Society Groups Across Asia demand the ADB recalibrate its Draft Energy Policy in line with climate and community realities
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Manila, Philippines –Civil society groups across South, Southeast and Central Asia are raising the alarm as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) gears up to announce a new Energy Policy that — unless recalibrated — will fail to reflect the realities of climate science and local peoples’ burning concerns. On September 6th, the…
Read MoreThree Years Later the Lao Dam Disaster is still a warning on How Unsustainable and Unjust Dams Are
By: Phairin Sohsai, Thai-Mekong Campaign Coordinator for International Rivers This article was originally featured in Bangkok Tribune. Countless examples of dam disasters, the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydropower project in Southern Laos included, point to a countless number of risks to local communities and environments, but these risks are seldom integrated into the costs of the project. Instead,…
Read MoreOur World Heritage is deeply tied to rivers and they need protection from dams
by Gary Lee, Southeast Asia Program Director for International Rivers, Sarinee Achavanuntakul, Head of Research for Fair Finance Thailand, and Eugene Simonov, Co-founder, Coordinator and Conservation Science Expert for Rivers without Boundaries. This article originally appeared in Mongabay This month’s World Heritage meeting represents a critical opportunity for the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) to protect…
Read MoreHumanitarian catastrophe on the Salween River
By: Pai Deetes, Regional Campaigns and Communications Director, Southeast Asia ProgramInternational Rivers Originally published in the Bangkok Post ‘I can’t figure it out. Thai officials told us to leave and [we’ll] probably have to end up living in the forest. We need to squeeze ourselves among the cracks of the ravines to keep ourselves safe…
Read MoreAsian Development Bank: It’s Time to Stop Financing Large-scale Hydropower and other False Climate Solutions
Yesterday, International Rivers’ Southeast Asia Program Director Gary Lee joined partners at the NGO Forum on ADB press conference. The science and historical evidence is clear–if we want to tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis, increase resiliency and food security, and protect the rights of people, the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) energy policy must prohibit…
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 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…
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