Asia

Asia’s rich tapestry of cultures and unparalleled ethnic diversity are connected by important transboundary river basins, including the Mekong, Salween, Indus, and Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna. These rivers originate in the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau, connecting ecosystems fed by glaciers and snowmelt to floodplains and major river deltas downstream.

They support rich biodiversity, and the food, livelihoods and cultural systems of the region’s people are intimately connected with their flows. Large dams, ill-conceived infrastructure projects and climate change threaten to wreak havoc on these systems.

Our Work

We work closely with local communities to protect these sacred, productive and biodiverse rivers. We seek to ensure that women, indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities have their voices heard and rights respected in the decisions that affect their lives, and we build movements to stop destructive projects and promote a just energy transition.

River Basins

Related Resources

Featured Resource

• State of Knowledge: Women and Rivers in the Mekong Region (2020).

Reports & Publications

• Reckless Endangerment: Assessing Responsibility for the Xe-Pain Namnoy Dam Collapse (2019)
• Free Flowing Rivers (2018)
• Framework for Transboundary EIA’s in South Asia (2017)

See all Publications

Factsheets

• Tragic Trade-Offs: The MRC Council Study and the Impacts of Hydropower Development on the Mekong (2019) (Also available in Thai, Lao, Khmer, and Vietnamese)
  
• Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project: The Real Cost of a Controversial Dam (2010)

See all Factsheets

Featured Campaigns

• Nu River Campaign
• Mekong Mainstream Dams Campaign
• Transboundary Rivers of South Asia Campaign

Latest Updates

• 
  Women and Rivers’ Defender Spotlight: Zerin AhmedJanuary 28, 2022
  by Connecting to riverine communities gave direction to her career  Globally, young activists have increasingly taken a stand to call for social change. Zerin Ahmed is one. The 25-year-old activist…
• 
  Women and Rivers’ Defender Spotlight: Rummit LepchaJanuary 26, 2022
  by Petro Kotze and Nalori Chakma She found her roots by the river “I have been on a rollercoaster journey of discovery about my land and identity,” Rummit Lepcha says…
• 
  Women and Rivers’ Defender Spotlight: Mueda NanawatJanuary 25, 2022
  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…
• 
  Women and Rivers’ Defender Spotlight: Marmit LepchaJanuary 24, 2022
  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…