Day of Action for Rivers - Just One Week Away

By: 
Katherine Brousseau
2010 Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum March for the Indus River
2010 Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum March for the Indus River


With just seven days until the 15th International Day of Action for Rivers, we've already heard of over 50 planned actions in 30 countries!

Not all the actions will wait until March 14th - in Chile and Mexico actions will be held this Sunday, March 11th!


A great variety of actions are planned for this year's Day of Action for Rivers: press conferences, camps near rivers, music festivals, prayer gatherings, declarations made and publicized, film screenings, protests, educational events, kayaking trips, tours of rivers and dam sites, poster-making competitions, and more. Check out the 2012 Actions by Region page to read about these events!

Here's a sample of events planned:

  • Argentina - A folk music festival will be held in the municipality of Alba Posse, organized by the Provincial Table Against Dams (Mesa Provincial por el NO a Las Represas) to publicize their stance against planned megadams, Garabi and Pnambi. The festival is part of an ongoing campaign to build awareness about the dams, to open up a dialogue and debate about the dams between communities, scientists, and government members, and to increase community involvement in these efforts.
  • 2011 Day of Action for Rivers in Patagonia
    2011 Day of Action for Rivers in Patagonia
    Chile - A campsite will be set up on March 11 along the confluence of the Baker and Chacabuco River, in protest of the multi-dam hydropower scheme, HidroAysén.
  • Mexico - On Sunday, March 11, the Council of Common Lands and Communities Opposed to the Presa Dam (CECPO) has organized a press conference in which the state governor, Angel Aguirre Rivero, was invited to sign the Agreement of Cacahuatepec to cancel the La Perota hydroelectric project.

  • Pakistan - along Lake View Park in Islamabad, there will be a "Walk of Awareness," speeches about river conservation, and a poster competition
2009 - University students of KwaZulu Natal in Durbanin, South Africa organized a clean up of the Umngeni River
2009 - University students of KwaZulu Natal in Durbanin, South Africa organized a clean up of the Umngeni River
  • South Africa - The South African Water Caucus Stirring Committe is organizing events across many provinces. Communities will be able to organize events focusing on the protection of their local rivers. In Cape Town, potential events include the gathering of many beneficiaries of the Kius River to discuss how they depend on it, and to identify pollution sources.

  • Iran - for the 4th consecutive year of participation in the Day of Action for Rivers, a gathering will be held, in which participants can also write and submit letters to newspapers and magazines about the gathering and dam issues in Iran.


    2011 Burma - Prayer along Salween River
    2011 Burma - Prayer along Salween River
  • Burma - for the 7th year of participation in Day of Action for Rivers to stop the Tamanthi Dam, this year all affected villages will gather near the dam site to pray for the end of the dam's construction. The villagers will be wearing Kuki traditional dress, and the Kuki Women's group is also planning several activities next to the dam site.

  • Czech Republic - On the Elbe River bank,  the Nature Conservation Program will hold an event to bring attention to and mock the government's neglect of the region's environment and people in its plan to build a dam in the Elbe Canyon - qualified as part of the Europa Natura 200 network of protected areas by the European Commission in March 2011. A new Declaration for Protecting the Elbe will be issued during the event, demanding that the river and surrounding areas be acknowledged as a Nautra 2000 site and the government withdraws its dam-building plans.

And two International Rivers campaign coordinators, Katy Yan and Zachary Hurwitz, will be participating in two actions: Katy will be in Thailand at events along the Salween River, and Zach at the Alternative World Water Forum in Marseille, France. Follow our blogs to read about their experiences.

Email dayofaction@internationalrivers.org to let us know about your plans, and be sure to share stories, photos and video. We can't wait to hear from you! 

Share your actions!

  • If you've already planned an event, you can make a Facebook event page, and link to our page on Facebook.
  • Tweet your event by tagging #one4rivers!