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

• 
  Asian Development Bank: It’s Time to Stop Financing Large-scale Hydropower and other False Climate SolutionsJune 18, 2021
  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…
• 
  Op-Ed | Women Bear the Highest Cost of InjusticeMarch 8, 2021
  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…
• 
  International Rivers stands in solidarity with the people affected by the 2021 Uttarakhand disasterFebruary 9, 2021
  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…
• 
  A legal challenge to dams on the last free flowing stretch of the Teesta: Ms. Mingma Lhamu, a Sikkimese lawyer up for the challenge!October 23, 2020
  A young women lawyer working with indigenous Lepcha activists to protect the last free flowing stretch of the Teesta from a destructive dam.  By: Ayesha DSouza, South Asia Program Coordinator…