In 1985, a dedicated group of volunteers united around a shared vision to develop a worldwide network to protect rivers and promote just and sustainable energy options. Today, that movement is still going strong. Join us in celebrating the communities and partners who oppose destructive hydropower, protect rivers, and advocate for the rights of rivers and riverine communities.
Since 1985, International Rivers has been at the heart of the global movement to ensure river-dependent communities’ voices are heard and their rights are respected.
Rivers are the arteries of the earth, supporting the highest rate of biodiversity compared to any other ecosystem and providing for the livelihoods of millions of local, indigenous and traditional peoples. Rivers are also under extreme threat, with less than 10% of the world’s river basins protected.
International Rivers strengthens movements of communities and civil society at the forefront of defending rivers by:
• Undertaking investigative research to generate robust data and evidence to inform policies and campaigns.
• Remaining independent and fearless in campaigning to expose and resist destructive projects.
• Developing a vision that protects rivers and the communities that depend upon them.
After a 15-year delay, the environmental licensing process for the Tabajara Hydroelectric Plant has been cancelled, effectively ending the project. On June 30, 2025, Brazil’s environmental regulator, IBAMA, definitively archived the project, proposed on the Machado River in Rondonia, after the developer Eletronorte failed to submit the required studies for over two years. International Rivers…
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By Kamila Sampaio, Johnson Portela, and Alice Matos from Movimento Tapajos Vivo. The Tapajós River basin connects Brazil’s two largest biomes: the Amazon and the Cerrado. It is one of the country’s last major free-flowing water corridors, covering an area of 489,000 square kilometers. The river originates in the state of Mato Grosso from the…
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