Indigenous

International Court Finds Guatemala Guilty for Rio Negro Massacres

Carlos Chen Osorio, who lost his wife and two toddler daughters in the massacre, leads the row during the Via Crucis
Carlos Chen Osorio, who lost his wife and two toddler daughters in the massacre, leads the row during the Via Crucis. Photo by James Rodriguez For more than 20 years, the Maya-Achi people displaced by the Chixoy Dam have sought justice for the massacre of their husbands, wives and children that took place during Guatamala's civil war in the early 1980s. Last week their years of effort were finally recognized when the Inter-American Court on Human Rights found Guatemala guilty of the violation of human rights against the communities of Rio Negro. “After so many years struggling to seek justi

Indigenous Peoples Days on the Yuba River

International Rivers has a presence throughout the world, yet we were founded in Berkeley, California, which remains the address of our main office. Berkeley has quite a reputation: hosting the preeminent public university in the US, serving as the flashpoint for a wide array of social, economic and ecological movements in the US, and for going to great lengths to situate itself as an “international” city.

Indigenous Leaders File Corruption Complaint Against Malaysian Dam Builder

Peter Kallang, Chariman of SAVE Rivers, holding a copy of the report lodged to MACC
SAVE Rivers Network has brought their concerns of corruption in the Sarawak dams directly to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

World Heritage Committee Fails to Protect Lake Turkana

Lake Turkana fisherman
Over a dozen World Heritage Sites threatened by planned or existing dams were reviewed at this year’s World Heritage Committee meeting, held in St. Petersburg, Russia. While the Committee’s decisions showed clear recognition of the threat that dam building poses to the natural and cultural heritage embodied by these sites, it failed to protect one of the most dam-threatened properties: Lake Turkana in Kenya.

Indigenous Protestors Maintain Belo Monte Occupation

Word came early this morning that hundreds of indigenous people continue to occupy the Belo Monte Dam construction site.

Civil Society Letter to the Brazilian Designated National Authority

Thursday, June 14, 2012
Mr. Sanderson Alberto Medeiros Leitão Global Climate Changes Division Head Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Esplanada dos Ministérios, Bloco E - 2 andar - sala 268 70067-900, Brasilia-DF Brazil Dear Mr. Sanderson Alberto Medeiros Leitão, We are writing to express our concern regarding the applications of controversial large Brazilian dam projects for carbon credits within the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). These projects include the Madeira Complex projects – 3150 MW Santo Antônio Hydropower Project and the 3750 MW Jirau Dam – and the 1820 MW Teles Pires Dam in th

Goldman Prize for Kenyan River Activist Ikal Angelei

Ikal Angelei, the founder of Friends of Lake Turkana in Kenya, received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2012. The award honored an activist who is defending the interests of 500,000 poor indigenous people against a destructive hydropower dam, and has successfully taken on many of the world’s biggest dam builders and financiers.

Children of the Salween River

Children by the Salween River in Thailand, International Day of Action for Rivers 2012
Children by the Salween River in Thailand, International Day of Action for Rivers 2012 Hundreds of kilometers downstream from where I was this time last year, on this International Day of Action for Rivers it became clear to me that a major reason why communities in Burma and Thailand are opposed to dam building on the Salween River is because of their children. Half of those gathered on March 14 along the Salween's banks in a small village in Thailand were kids. Dressed in traditional attire, they danced and sang for an audience of over 200 villagers, artists, activists, journalists, and e

Manifesto by the Kayabi, Apiaká and Munduruku Against Hydropower Projects on the Teles Pires River

Thursday, December 1, 2011
In a December 2011 letter from the Kayabi, Apiacás and Mundurucu indigenous tribes to authorities of the Brazilian government, indigenous communities show that the environmental licensing process of the Teles Pires Hydropower Plant has been marred by: i) grave deficiencies in the analysis of impacts on indigenous peoples and their territories, ii)political pressures on federal agencies responsible for indigenous rights and environmental protection (FUNAI and IBAMA, respectively) to illegally approve licenses and iii) lack of free, prior and informed consultations and consent among threatened

Tibetan Village Stops Mining Project Near the Nu River

Mount Kawagebo
Mount Kawagebo http://nomadchina.wordpress.com Mount Kawagebo (or Kawagarbo) rises 6,740 meters above sea level – the tallest peak in Yunnan Province, China. Its eastern side is part of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Area UNESCO World Heritage Site (whose rivers – the Nu, Lancang, and Jinsha – are under threat by a number of proposed dam and mining projects). It is one of the most sacred mountains in Tibetan Buddhism and is visited by 20,000 pilgrims each year. To the local people, who also act as stewards of the sacred mountain, any destruction of the mountain body is u

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