Dams, Rivers and People Reports

Each year we focus on a key issue affecting the world's rivers and the people who depend upon them. We also summarize key dam-related developments in the previous year and predict where the hotspots will be for the coming year.

2008

Bad Deal for the Planet: Why Carbon Offsets Aren't Working...and How to Create a Fair Global Climate Accord

Efforts to solve the climate crisis are stumbling over poorly designed carbon-offset programs. One of the biggest programs created in Kyoto - the Clean Development Mechanism - is actually increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Our third annual "Dams, Rivers and People" report shows how the CDM is handing out billions of dollars for destructive dams and fossil fuel; it also dissects the CDM's major flaws and lays out a Greenhouse Development Rights framework for creating true climate equity.

2007

Before the Deluge: Coping with Floods in a Changing Climate

Floods are the most destructive, most frequent and most costly natural disasters on earth. Improving our ability to cope with floods under current and future climates requires adopting a more sophisticated set of techniques, which aims to understand, adapt to and work with the forces of nature. The 2007 "Dams, Rivers and People" report gives an in-depth look at the flaws with hard, structural flood-control techniques and describes what we need to do to make our communities safer from floods.

2006

Spreading the Water Wealth: Making Water Infrastructure Work for the Poor

The "Dams, Rivers and People" report from 2006 focuses on water infrastructure and poverty. The report analyzes the different strategies to reduce poverty in the water sector, and presents a proposal for a new global water policy that is pro-poor and environmentally sustainable.