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

• 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

Latest Updates

• 
  Peace on the SalweenSeptember 23, 2020
  Nestled beside Asia’s last free-flowing river, the Salween Peace Park in Myanmar’s Karen State (officially called Kayin State) is protecting the rights of Indigenous Karen people to self-determination, cultural survival…
• 
  PRESS RELEASE| Two Years After Lao Dam Collapse, Call for Justice PersistsJuly 23, 2020
  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Bangkok, July 23, 2020 – Two years ago today, at least 70 people died or disappeared and over 7000 were displaced when a dam collapsed in Laos, submerging…
• 
  A tribute to Ajaan Kraisak Choonhavan, a champion for the Mekong and Salween RiversJune 19, 2020
  By: Maureen Harris, Programs Director & Pai Deetes, Thailand & Myanmar Campaigns Director Last week we lost a champion for the Mekong and Salween Rivers, Kraisak Choonhavan, a long time…
• 
  STATEMENT | The Mekong needs just energy transitions, not more destructive damsJune 2, 2020
  By: Save the Mekong Coalition On 11 May, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) announced that the proposed Sanakham hydropower project in Laos will undergo the MRC’s Prior Consultation process.[1] Sanakham is…