By: Monti Aquirre, Latin America Program Director Last year, International Rivers and the Peruvian organization Forum Solidaridad commissioned a study about Peru’s energy future. We wanted to understand what plans were in the works, and rigorously examine whether these plans were in step with 21st century realities. We asked Dr. Alberto Ríos Villacorta, an engineer, researcher and renewable…
Read MoreA River of Impunity: The Situation for Environmental Defenders Opposing Hydropower Projects
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 MoreDamming the Patuca
By: Monti Aquirre, Latin America Program Director In 1998, I traveled to Honduras at the request of representatives from the Tawhaka indigenous people, who live by the Patuca River. The planned Patuca II Dam, located near their lands, was threatening their livelihoods and lives. Villages would be flooded, and people would lose their fruit trees…
Read MoreThe Surprising Success of Micro Hydro
By: Sarah Bardeen, former Communications Director Dipti Vaghela is passionate about micro hydro. To be fair, she’s also obsessed with other mini-grids, including biomass gasifiers and small-scale solar. But since 2006, Vaghela has been deep in the weeds on this subject, working as both a researcher and a practitioner to develop community-based micro-hydro in South…
Read MoreThe Race to Snapshot South American Rivers: River Guardian Nathan Lujan
By: Margaret Zhou, Partnerships Manager Nathan Lujan began his career studying South America’s ancient rivers. Now he’s racing against time to document the continent’s fish species before they’re lost. This is a special River Guardians feature for World Fish Migration Day 2016. A life exploring America’s rivers In 2005, fish biologist Dr. Nathan Lujan was leading…
Read MoreIndigenous Activists: In the Crosshairs of Development
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 MoreThe Mortal Danger of Opposing a Dam
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 MoreMEDIA | Media Kit on Xayaburi Dam Lawsuit
In August 2012, 37 plaintiffs made up of villagers living in eight provinces along the Mekong in Thailand from Chiang Rai to Ubon filed a lawsuit against five government bodies, including the National Energy Policy Council, the Thai Cabinet, and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) for their role in the Xayaburi Dam. In…
Read MoreNew Hope for China’s Last Free-Flowing River
According to several Chinese news sources, the government of Yunnan Province has decided to stop all dam construction in the Nu Valley, a biodiversity hotspot of global importance. The decision still has to be confirmed by China’s State Council. If confirmed, this is very good news for China’s last remaining free-flowing river. Peter Bosshard, the Interim…
Read MoreJOINT STATEMENT | 10 Reasons Why Climate Initiatives Should Not Include Large Hydropower Projects
By: Amazon Watch – Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact – Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente (AIDA) – Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation – Carbon Market Watch – Fondation Danielle Mitterrand (France Libertés) International Rivers – Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement International – Movimiento Rios Vivos – Oxfam International – Rede Latinoamericana contra represas y por…
Read MoreZombie Dams: Five Projects That Just. Won’t. Die.
By: Sarah Bardeen zom·bie dam /ˈzämbē dam/ noun 1. A proposed dam project that activists successfully halt before it’s built, only to see it rise again and again – years later – in different forms. We’ve all seen classic zombie movies like “Night of the Living Dead.” If you haven’t, here’s a summary: A member of…
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