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

• 
  Free-flowing Salween River needs protectionMarch 14, 2023
  Originally posted in the Bangkok Post By Pianporn (Pai) Deetes, Thailand and Myanmar Campaigns Director of International Rivers This morning at Sob Moei — the confluence of the Moei and…
• 
  BCG Economy and Apec: Just empty rhetoric?November 19, 2022
  Originally published in the Bangkok Post By Pai Deetes The Apec Leaders’ Summit in Bangkok this week includes an agreement to work toward the “Bangkok Goals” on Bio-economy, Circular Economy…
• 
  Geopolitics are not accounting for local communitiesSeptember 12, 2022
  Originally published in Centre on Asia and Globalisation Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy’s newsletter Guest Column by Pianporn Deetes is Regional Campaigns Director, Southeast Asia Program at International…
• 
  Court dismissal of Xayaburi dam lawsuit highlights the need to strengthen accountability of cross-border investmentsAugust 18, 2022
  By Phairin Sohsai and Gary Lee On 17 August, the Thai Supreme Administrative Court ruled to dismiss a lawsuit, filed by 37 Thai villagers against five Thai state agencies for…