Press Release

Conflict of Interest at Heart of Sustainability Guidelines, Says Environmental GroupFoz do Iguaçú, Brazil― Indigenous people from Brazil's vast but shrinking Amazon region yesterday interrupted the Congress of the International Hydropower Association, claiming that the Belo Monte Dam was approved illegally by the Brazilian government, vowing to fight as long as it takes to stop the dam. At the same event, environmental activists dismissed a new voluntary environmental tool as an effort by the dam industry to greenwash its practices. Sheyla Juruna of the Juruna tribe, which would be direct

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Local communities and NGOs deliver petition exposing human rights violations to Inter-American Commission on Human RightsBrasilia, Brazil - Local communities and NGOs delivered a petition to the Organization of American States' (OAS) human rights body today claiming that Brazil has steamrolled human rights in its rush to fast-track construction of the controversial Belo Monte Dam, slated for construction on the Xingu River in the Amazon interior. The petition, signed by representatives of indigenous communities and other populations threatened by the d

Decision by Peruvian government a blow to Brazil’s regional energy plansThe Peruvian government announced yesterday that the massive Inambari Dam, planned on a major Amazonian tributary, had been cancelled after years of strong community opposition. For the past 36 days, close to 2,000 people in the Puno area had been on strike in an effort to convince the government to cancel mining concessions and the dam project. They blocked access roads to the region and held mass protests. To appease the strikers, the government established a high-level commission to review the Inambari Dam. After a

Federal Public Prosecutors allege 40% of social and environmental conditions have not been met by project consortiumBrasilia, Brazil – Last week's decision by IBAMA, Brazil's federal environmental agency, to grant a license allowing full-fledged construction on the controversial Belo Monte Dam Complex on the Xingu River has spurred a new wave of legal challenges and protests throughout Brazil. Yesterday, Brazil's Federal Public Prosecutor (MPF) filed its 11th civil action lawsuit against the Belo Monte project, demanding immediate suspension of the installation license due to no

Translated from Portuguese: read the original version in Portuguese. The new lawsuit in Federal Court, the 11th against the Belo Monte Dam, questions IBAMA's granting of the installation license without fulfillment of the project's prerequisites. 40% of the agency's prerequisites were not met, presenting a risk of social chaos.
 Brazil's Federal Public Prosecutor (MPF) filed today its 11th civil lawsuit against the Belo Monte Dam, over problems in the dam's environmental licensing. The lawsuit demands the suspension of the installation license, which approves the b

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE IBAMA authorizes installation of Belo Monte Dam Complex despite escalating local, national and international oppositionBrasília, Brazil - The Brazilian government has issued the full installation license allowing the Belo Monte Dam Complex to break ground on the Amazon's Xingu River despite egregious disregard for human rights and environmental legislation, the unwavering protests of civil society, condemnations by its Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) and the request for precautionary measures by the OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Advisory May 19, 2011 Bay Area Chileans Show Their Opposition to HidroAysén DamsSan Francisco, CA - On May 20, scores of expat Chileans and Patagonian river lovers will hold a peaceful demonstration in front of the Chilean Consulate in San Francisco to protest the recent approval of a controversial dam project in Chile's Patagonia region. The protest will be one of dozens taking place in Chile and around the world this weekend, which are timed to coincide with President Pinera's annual State of the Union speech on Saturday. Protests have been held in Chile

Organizations Worldwide Call on Brazil to Respect a Resolution from Inter-American Commission to Suspend the Belo Monte DamWashington, D.C. – In a series of letters sent to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, nearly 100 prominent Brazilian and international human rights and environmental organizations, have expressed "deep concerns" over her government's refusal to comply with a resolution of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), part of the Organization of American States (OAS), that requested the immediate halt of construction on the Belo Monte Dam Complex in

Media Advisory International Rivers welcomes the recent decision by the Lao government to reconsider the proposed Xayaburi Dam on the Mekong River in northern Laos. The announcement was the result of a meeting between the Prime Ministers of Laos and Vietnam during last weekend’s 18th ASEAN Summit.  Laos stated that it has temporarily suspended the project in order for an expert review to be completed. In light of this recent decision, International Rivers requests confirmation that construction on the Xayaburi Dam has stopped and that all building equipment has been cleared from the dam s

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Critics call on Piñera to respect the will of the people and cancel HidroAysénCoyhaique, Chile - A five-dam hydroelectric scheme that locals fear will destroy the character of one of Chile's most important wild regions was approved today by the Aysén Environmental Review Commission with a vote of 11 in favor and one opposed. Critics say the HidroAysén approval process has been marred by a flawed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and serious conflicts of interest on the part of Commission members. The project has been the target of a local and international c