International Rivers

📢 NEW podcast and article - listen to the latest Green Pulse episode discussing destructive on the

There are a staggering number of proposed and built dams in the river system.

Listen🦻➡️ https://ow.ly/lvLg50SSJVR
Read 📖 ➡️ https://ow.ly/tnX750SSJVS

International Rivers' Pai Deetes speaks about how downstream communities have already experienced the destruction of ecosystem services.

“We’re not only talking about fisherfolk, we’re not talking about river ecosystems or riverbank gardeners any more,” she said. “It’s everyone.”

Electricity users also need to be educated and better informed on the impact of the dams, she added.

“Decision-making needs to be changed,” she said. “We need to include more voices of the local people and voices of the taxpayers, and voices of electricity users as well.”

Hundreds of dams endangering the Mekong - Green Pulse In the quest for renewable hydropower, indiscriminate dam building in the basin of the Mekong is changing the landscape and negatively impacting local communities and ecosystems. Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, fro...

Reports coming from Himachal Pradesh in the Himalayas show a collapse with multiple people still missing.

Heavy rains caused the to collapse which flooded the valley, washed away buildings and damaged roadways.

Rescue efforts are underway. People are advised to stay away from the river and affected areas. Our thoughts are with the community and rescuers.

Monsoon Havoc in Himachal: Dam Break in Malana Causes Floods and Chaos - HIMACHAL HEADLINES Monsoon rains have wreaked havoc in Himachal Pradesh. The dam of the power project built in Malana village, Manikaran, in Kullu district has broken. This

📢 Read our Latest OpEd from the Climate Defenders Coalition and 350.org on the missing 'Just' in the Partnership in Vietnam.

"Without a principled approach, the risks not only furthering injustice, but jeopardizing 's ability to implement the truly transformative & inclusive transition needed to meet its urgent challenges."

"There is still time to change course. High level talks in Hanoi this week on climate and trade with the EU's foreign policy chief, , represent one opportunity."



Manushya Foundation Global Witness Center for International Environmental Law EarthRights International Urgewald Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide - ELAW Friends of the Earth U.S. CEED - Center for Energy, Ecology and Development The 88 Project

https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Vietnam-s-Just-Energy-Transition-Partnership-is-not-Just

Vietnam's Just Energy Transition Partnership is not 'Just' Poor financing and governance, suppression of activists put energy future at risk

📢 ICYMI - Last week we released our 2023 Annual Report - check it out today ➡️
https://www.internationalrivers.org/news/2023-annual-report-building-coalitions-and-movements/

Learn about our work:
💦 Defending like the River

🌎 Leading the call for permanent river protections in and worldwide

✊🏽 Accelerating women’s leadership roles in water governance, and more

This work is made possible because of the support of our incredible donors, partners, and allies around the world.

Thank you 🌊 !!!

2023 Annual Report: Working Alongside River Defenders - International Rivers With immense gratitude, International Rivers is proud to share our 2023 Annual Report and celebrate what supporters like you made possible. From defending the free-flowing Salween River to leading the call for permanent river protections in Brazil and worldwide to accelerating women’s leadership r...

Energy expert Ms. Ngô Thị Tố Nhiên becomes the sixth and latest leader wrongly jailed and sentenced in Vietnam.

Despite Vietnam’s commitment to a $15.5 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership ( ) with G7 and other governments aimed at supporting the country’s transition away from coal, the government has been arresting and imprisoning numerous individuals working on renewable energy alternatives.

These individuals include: Nguy Thi Khanh, Dang Dinh Bach, Hoang Thi Minh Hong, Mai Phan Loi, and Bach Hung Duong, who were all jailed on charges of tax evasion which critics describe as politically motivated.

The Vietnam Climate Defenders Coalition is calling for the immediate release of the climate and environmental defenders unjustly imprisoned in Vietnam.



Manushya Foundation Global Witness Center for International Environmental Law EarthRights International Urgewald Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide - ELAW 350.org Friends of the Earth U.S. CEED - Center for Energy, Ecology and Development The 88 Project

Statement | The Unjust Sentencing of Vietnamese Energy Expert Ms. Ngô Thị Tố Nhiên - International Rivers FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 26, 2024 CONTACT: [email protected] On June 27th, Vietnamese energy expert Ngô Thị Tố Nhiên (Nhien) was reportedly sentenced to three and a half years in prison during a closed-door trial in the capital, Hanoi. No formal information has been disclosed on th...

For years, communities affected by the construction in have suffered from , lack of water, fertile land and electricity and broken promises.

Researchers joined Cecide-Guinée and International Rivers to investigate.

Before displacement from the , communities had arable land, water access and land ownership. Now that is gone. The investigation revealed many problems the company and government need to urgently address including lack of water, electricity, overcrowding, free prior and informed consent, and loss of land ownership that has far-reaching implications for the next generation and more.

In the future, governments must consider alternative energy such as solar, wind and micro-hydropower, which generate electricity with less negative environmental and social impacts than large . This can avoid loss of farmland, homes, livelihoods and land ownership and reduce the risk of flooded reservoirs collapsing or overflowing into communities.



Learn more ➡️

Communities Left in Dire Straits After the Construction of the Souapiti Dam in Guinea - International Rivers By Genny Ngende, Senior Campaign Coordinator, Africa Program Introduction The Africa Program works in partnership with a local organization in Guinea, Centre du Commerce International pour le Développement (CECIDE). Individually and collectively, we conduct research, engage with government and econ...

The project on the River threatens to submerge tribal lands and displace many. Two activists, Ebo Mili and Dugge Apang, were detained on July 8, ahead of the Union power minister’s visit.

People and civil society across the country and world are condemning the continued harassment of Ebo Mili and Dungge Apan by the Arunachal Police.

Mili and Apang were among a group of activists who wanted to submit a memorandum to the power minister expressing their opposition to the project on the Siang River. “The proposed Siang mega dam threatens our ancestral abode that hosts delicate ecosystems, wildlife habitats, and biodiversity. It threatens our way of life,” the memorandum read.



https://scroll.in/article/1070339/why-arunachal-pradesh-residents-are-stalling-surveys-for-a-mega-dam?

Why Arunachal Pradesh residents are stalling surveys for a mega dam The power project on the Siang river threatens to submerge tribal lands. Two activists were detained on July 8, ahead of the Union power minister’s visit.

Earlier, Mili had been arrested for his protests against construction of Mega Dams in the state .
News source : Arunachal times

📢 NEW MAP - Check out our latest map illustrating sites along the where communities and civil society groups have held ground and significantly delayed proposed dams as well where destructive are still being built.

Despite the public outcry of riparian communities, civil society groups and entities, the state-owned energy group, has sided with vested business interests by signing agreements on 3 new destructive projects on the : Luang Prabang, Pak Lay and Pak Beng.

Impacts of these projects range from economic to irreparable social, cultural, livelihood and environmental damages:
💰Higher electricity costs
🏗️ Years of construction before electricity is generated
🗑️ The unnecessary need given the high energy surplus in Thailand
🎣 Major decline in fish populations and people's livelihoods
🐟 Loss of biodiversity and nutrient-rich sediment flow that feeds the river's delta, farmlands and maintains coastlines and riverbanks

These challenges are also exacerbated by related extreme weather and slow onset events, including torrential downpours outside of the usual monsoon seasons, periods of drought and heat waves as well as riverbank erosion.

The Mekong River is one of the most important rivers in the world. It’s the world's largest inland supporting over 65 million people and after the Amazon, it’s the second most river in the world.

There are better alternatives to hydropower dams for decentralized, localized ways of generating power.

International Rivers, Fair Finance Thailand, ETOs Watch Coalition เครือข่ายติดตามการลงทุนไทยและความรับผิดชอบข้ามพรมแดน and other allied coalitions are urging both commercial banks and any international development financiers to:

🚫 Stay away from offering loans, equity financing, bonds or other forms of assistance to this line up of yet-to-be completed destructive hydropower projects

☀️ Prioritize support for expanding decentralized, locally appropriate energy solutions that meet the needs of communities within rural and urban centers for affordable, reliable, accessible electricity, such as rooftop and stacked solar options

✅ Ensure financial backing upholds international standards and protects public participation, such as the:
- UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
- OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises and the
- Equator Principles
as well as emerging obligations, such as the Maastricht Principles on the Human Rights of Future Generations

Learn more ➡️ https://www.internationalrivers.org/news/sites-of-struggle-sacrifice-mapping-destructive-dam-projects-along-the-mekong-river/

Community Resource Centre Foundation - มูลนิธิศูนย์ข้อมูลชุมชน International Accountability Project (IAP) Mekong Watch Project SEVANA South-East Asia Chiang Khong Mekong School โฮงเฮียนน้ำของ ธนาคารแห่งประเทศไทย - Bank of Thailand

Sites of Struggle and Sacrifice: Mapping Destructive Dam Projects along the Mekong River - International Rivers by Pai Deetes, Phairin Sohsai and Tanya L. Roberts Davis Today, International Rivers is releasing a map illustrating sites of struggle along the Mekong River where communities and allied civil society groups have been able to hold their ground —significantly delaying the planned development of des...

Today marks the 3rd anniversary of the wrongful arrest and imprisonment of environmental lawyer and advocate, Dang Dinh Bach, on trumped-up charges and under harsh conditions and degrading conditions.

Join the global letter-writing solidarity campaign to call on government decision-makers abroad to raise Bach's case with the Vietnamese government.

Learn more ➡️ https://www.standwithbach.org/june-24-anniversary

Every year, many human rights and environmental defenders around the world are imprisoned or killed. Bach wishes for June 24th to become a day of commemoration and recognition of the sacrifices have made and to criticize all institutions that do not respect .



Manushya Foundation The 88 Project EarthRights International Urgewald Global Witness Friends of the Earth U.S. 350.org Center for International Environmental Law CEED - Center for Energy, Ecology and Development Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide - ELAW

📢 Today a new in-depth report, “The Missing ‘Just’ in Vietnam’s Just Energy Transition Partnership ( )" was released by the Defenders Coalition

Report ➡️ https://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/reports-and-publications/report-the-missing-just-from-vietnams-just-energy-transition-partnership-jetp/



The report explores the JETP in four key areas:
💰Financing
🏦Governance and implementing mechanisms
🔋Technology and energy solutions
🤚Civil society participation

Check out the press release ➡️ https://www.internationalrivers.org/news/new-report-highlights-the-missing-just-from-vietnams-just-energy-transition-partnership-jetp/




The 88 Project EarthRights International Urgewald Global Witness Friends of the Earth U.S. 350.org Center for International Environmental Law CEED - Center for Energy, Ecology and Development Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide - ELAW

Report: The Missing “Just” in Vietnam’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) - International Rivers A new in-depth report about Vietnam’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) was released in June 2024, outlining the problems with the financing, governance, energy solutions, and participation necessary to achieve a truly just transition. The report, ‘The Missing “Just” in Vietnam’s J...

🌍 Exciting News! ✨

We are proud to announce the launch of the first-ever Biocultural Community Protocol (BCP) for the OvaHerero peoples of Kaokoland in Namibia and Angola! 🎉 This groundbreaking document, capturing the rich history, cultural practices, and traditions of the OvaHimba, was launched in Opuwo this week.

Around 200 community members from Kunene (Namibia) and Cunene (Angola) gathered to celebrate this historic milestone, marking the culmination of four years of dedicated community engagement supported by Natural Justice () and International Rivers ()

The BCP provides a roadmap for understanding traditional protocols, cultural practices, and the sustainable use of natural resources. It aims to safeguard the community’s knowledge and affirm their rights. 🙌

Read more at internationalrivers.org

🌍 Exciting News! ✨

We are proud to announce the launch of the first-ever Biocultural Community Protocol (BCP) for the OvaHerero peoples of Kaokoland in Namibia and Angola! 🎉 This groundbreaking document, capturing the rich history, cultural practices, and traditions of the OvaHimba, was launched in Opuwo this week.

Around 200 community members from Kunene (Namibia) and Cunene (Angola) gathered to celebrate this historic milestone, marking the culmination of four years of dedicated community engagement supported by and .

The BCP provides a roadmap for understanding traditional protocols, cultural practices, and the sustainable use of natural resources. It aims to safeguard the community’s knowledge and affirm their rights. 🙌

Read more here at internationalrivers.org

It's been one year since the that flooded and displaced communities, killed many people and wreaked havoc on and ecosystems.

Hydropower are not designed or fit for a modern and now -Impacted world. Today is also a sad reminder that too often, hydropower dams and other energy infrastructure are used as weapons of war.

➡️ https://euobserver.com/opinion/154675

Weaponising water — Ukraine's dams are targets in Putin's war Observers are increasingly concerned that the use of water as a weapon will escalate as the war continues, with devastating consequences.

ENG:
A year has passed since Russian troops sabotaged the Kakhovka hydropower dam, draining Reservoir and unleashing a catastrophic flood on the Lower .

dams, often unsafe even in peacetime, become a weapon of mass destruction in times of war. The sabotage of the Kakhovka hydropower plant on Ukraine’s Dnipro River has become the most visible example of this phenomenon. In fact, environmentalists have argued that the simultaneous destruction of hundreds of millions of living organisms caused by the dam’s destruction should be considered as a basis for initiating a case of under a new article in international law (mass destruction of all living things).

We take a look back at some consequences of the Kakhovka disaster analyzed by Ukraine War Environmental Consequences Work Group experts over the past year and reflect on what might come next🌱

Read in the article “After the deluge: One year on, can the ecosystems disrupted by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam recover?” at the link: https://uwecworkgroup.info/after-the-deluge-one-year-on.../

Image: Dead Danube newts, washed into the sea from the Lower Dnipro by floodwaters from the reservoir. Source: Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine

UKR:
Рік минув відтоді, як унаслідок підриву російськими військами греблі ГЕС було спущено Каховське водосховище.

Греблі ГЕС, часто небезпечні навіть у мирний час, у пору війни стають зброєю масового ураження. Підрив Каховської ГЕС став найбільш наочним прикладом цього. Саме у зв’язку з одномоментним знищенням сотень мільйонів живих організмів, руйнування греблі стало розглядатися як підстава для порушення справи за новою для міжнародного законодавства статтею про #екоцид (масове знищення всього живого).
Огляд “Рік після потопу: чи зможуть відновитися екосистеми, зруйновані підривом Каховської греблі?” узагальнює й актуалізує всі теми, які були проаналізовані експертами UWEC у зв’язку з підривом греблі Каховського водосховища та охороною річкових екосистем🌱

Читайте за посиланням: https://uwecworkgroup.info/uk/after-the-deluge-one-year-on-can-the-ecosystems-disrupted-by-the-destruction-of-the-kakhovka-dam-recover/

Фото: Загиблі особини тритона дунайського, викинуті з нижнього Дніпра в море потоком води з водосховища. Джерело: Міністерство захисту довкілля та природних ресурсів України

On , over 120 leaders at the Asia joined to collectively call for the inclusion of many more women leaders and women-led solutions and perspectives in water, energy and decision-making. This is critical to achieving effective outcomes and a true .

To learn more ➡️ https://www.womenandrivers.com/women-and-rivers-congress/asia-women-and-rivers-congress-2024






Mekong Community Institute - สถาบันชุมชนลุ่มน้ำโขง มหาวิทยาลัยแม่ฟ้าหลวง MFU Oxfam Mekong Water Governance Program Oxfam in Asia Oxfam in Cambodia Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund Global Greengrants Fund Synchronicity Earth GIZ Thailand Open Development Cambodia Open Development Mekong Sida - Styrelsen för Internationellt Utvecklingssamarbete Simavi Network Of Indigenous Women In Asia - NIWA Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Southeast Asia Oxfam in Southeast Asia

En defensa del río : mujeres kukama lideraron el VI Congreso de la Federación Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana. El evento fortaleció la defensa del río, reconocido como sujeto de derechos por el Juzgado Mixto de Nauta gracias a la lucha de estas mujeres.

Por IDL-Instituto de Defensa Legal: https://ow.ly/jNsi50S3V1k

Mujeres kukama lideraron el VI Congreso de la Federación Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana El evento significó un espacio importante para la integración y el fortalecimiento del proceso por la protección del río Marañón.

📢 WATCH the fifth and final video in our River Basin animation series ➡️ Alternative Energy: https://youtu.be/wY47U6f49hE?si=YOb79Jq1NZit7SCA

This video gives an overview of hydropower’s greenhouse gas emissions and its contribution and vulnerability to climate change. The importance of the Congo Plume and rainforest as carbon sinks and wind, solar and micro-hydropower as better alternatives to large hydropower.

Launched this month, this animated community education series on the Congo River Basin aims to provide easily digestible information for riverine and hydropower dam-affected communities. It covers the basics of river basin ecology, hydroelectric dams and their impacts, as well as community rights and renewable alternatives.

Check out all the videos in the series! We hope you find it useful and educational for your community and the communities you support.

💧Learn more about the series: www.internationalrivers.org/news/congo-rivers-animation/

CORAP WoMin African Alliance The 11th Hour Project Synchronicity Earth Earthlife Africa Johannesburg American Jewish World Service - AJWS Radio Workshop ADEV Cecide-Guinée Natural Justice Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria

Congo River Animation Series - Video 5: Alternative Energy International Rivers’ Africa Program is excited to launch an animated community education series on the Congo River Basin. This animated series aims to provi...

Over 120 women leaders will join together next week for the Asia Women and Rivers Congress! 🌊

Leaders from riverine and communities, civil society, and academia will share knowledge, discuss collaborative strategies to tackle water, energy and challenges

Learn more ➡️ www.womenandrivers.com/women-and-rivers-congress/asia-women-and-rivers-congress-2024

Spotlight on Asia:
Water conflict in Asia has largely been between river developers and local communities adversely impacted by development projects. This is increased by the challenges of climate change. In spite of clear linkages between gender, water, energy, and climate change, women’s roles and leadership have not been a significant part of the discourse in management. Women in Asia manage and disproportionately bear the negative impacts of water and energy provisioning fundamental to household and community sustenance needs. Although women have experience, ideas, and knowledge of how to manage these resources, their views are rarely sought at decision-making levels. Understanding the ways in which gender shapes policy over the sustainable management of our natural resources when faced with climate change and the differing needs and positions of women and men, is crucial to addressing poverty and ensuring sustainability.



Mekong Community Institute - สถาบันชุมชนลุ่มน้ำโขง มหาวิทยาลัยแม่ฟ้าหลวง MFU Oxfam in Asia Oxfam in Cambodia Oxfam in Southeast Asia Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund Sida - Styrelsen för Internationellt Utvecklingssamarbete Global Greengrants Fund Synchronicity Earth GIZ Thailand Simavi Network Of Indigenous Women In Asia - NIWA Open Development Cambodia Open Development Mekong Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Southeast Asia Oxfam Mekong Water Governance Program

We're Hiring! We seek a Legal Consultant to support our work protecting the River. Location: Remote, preferably from Brazil

Join the International Rivers' team as we work to create a world where healthy rivers and the rights of local communities are valued and protected.

Apply Today! ➡️ https://www.internationalrivers.org/about/jobs/

Jobs - International Rivers Join the International Rivers team as we work to create a world where healthy rivers and the rights of local communities are valued and protected. Apply Today!

📢 WATCH the fourth video in our River Basin animation series ➡️ What are our rights? https://youtu.be/2-BYRK0aDEs

This video unpacks the topics of , local knowledge, public consultations, participatory water resource management, gender considerations and impacts, free, prior, and informed consent, community organizing, accountability mechanisms, security and who to contact for support.

Launched this month, this animated community education series on the Congo River Basin aims to provide easily digestible information for riverine and hydropower dam-affected communities. It covers the basics of river basin ecology, hydroelectric dams and their impacts, as well as community rights and renewable alternatives.

Check out the series as it launches every Wednesday this month. We hope you find it useful and educational for your community and the communities you support.

💧Learn more about the series: https://www.internationalrivers.org/news/congo-rivers-animation/

CORAP WoMin African Alliance The 11th Hour Project Synchronicity Earth Earthlife Africa Johannesburg American Jewish World Service - AJWS Radio Workshop ADEV Cecide-Guinée Natural Justice Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria

Congo River Animation Series - Video 4: What are our Rights? International Rivers’ Africa Program is excited to launch an animated community education series on the Congo River Basin. This animated series aims to provi...

📢 WATCH the third video in our River Basin animation series ➡️ The impacts of hydropower dams

https://youtu.be/_G3F23cdq78?si=vxxF7JYV4_SJsBC-

This video explores the history of Inga 1 and 2 dams, forced relocation, the impacts of on river ecology, fisheries, agriculture, health impacts, dam funders, power transmission, and debt.

Launched this month, this animated community education series on the Congo River Basin aims to provide easily digestible information for riverine and hydropower dam-affected communities. It covers the basics of river basin ecology, hydroelectric dams and their impacts, as well as community rights and renewable alternatives.

Check out the series as it launches every week this month. We hope you find it useful and educational for your community and the communities you support.

💧Learn more about the series: https://www.internationalrivers.org/news/congo-rivers-animation/

CORAP WoMin African Alliance The 11th Hour Project Synchronicity Earth Earthlife Africa Johannesburg American Jewish World Service - AJWS Radio Workshop ADEV Cecide-Guinée Natural Justice Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria

International Rivers International Rivers protects rivers and defends the rights of communities that depend on them.