Press Release

10-minute Tour in 3-D Highlights the Dam's Harmful Impacts on Xingu River and Greener Alternatives Download the tour or view the video San Francisco, CA - International Rivers and Amazon Watch have teamed up to create a state-of-the-art 10-minute Google Earth 3-D tour and video narrated by actress Sigourney Weaver, with technical assistance from Google Earth Outreach, in support of Brazil's Movimento Xingu Vivo Para Sempre (Xingu River Forever Alive Movement). The video and tour allow viewers to learn about the harmful impacts of, and alternatives to the massive Belo Monte Dam Complex on t

The $62 billion South-North Water Transfer Project is the biggest engineering scheme in Chinese history. About 330,000 people are currently being relocated for the expansion of the Danjiangkou reservoir, which marks the beginning of the transfer project's Middle Route. On August 25, International Rivers published an eyewitness report on China's biggest ongoing resettlement project. The report finds that the Chinese government has learned lessons from the experience with the Three Gorges Dam, but that serious problems remain. The report was prepared by a Chinese development expert who k

“Dam rush” would Devastate Amazon Ecosystems and PeopleAn interactive online database and map launched today graphically illustrates the impacts from more than 140 large dams at various stages of planning in the Amazon Basin. This unique resource, available at www.dams-info.org, uses official sources of information to document the shocking number of dams planned in the Amazon Basin in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and outlines the devastation these projects would bring to the river and its peoples. The Amazon plays a key role in regulating the world's climate and is an area

Hundreds Converge on the Xingu River in Altamira to Highlight Threats from Mega-infrastructure Projects in the Amazon Altamira, Brazil - Hundreds of indigenous leaders from throughout the Brazilian Amazon Basin joined local riverbank dwellers and dam-affected people this week for the historic Terra Livre Regional Encampment.  Bearing the message "Defend the Xingu: Stop Belo Monte,” participants occupied the riverside port of Altamira, Pará to discuss threats posed by major infrastructure projects in the Amazon, in particular the controversial Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River. Org

For immediate release, August 5, 2010 Hundreds to Converge in Altamira to Highlight Threats of Proposed Belo Monte DamMembers of the Press Invited to AttendAltamira, Brazil - Hundreds of Brazilian indigenous leaders from the Amazon Basin will be joined by local riverbank dwellers and dam-affected people to participate in a regional meeting of the Terra Livre Encampment, in Altamira, Pará, from August 9-12. Organized by the Amazonian Indigenous Organization COIAB, and supported by a coalition of Brazilian and international organizations, participants will occupy the riverside port of Altamira

Amazon Mega-Dam Deemed Unfeasible in Risk Scenario Analysis Brasilia, Brazil - This week's announcement detailing the members of the consortium seeking to build the controversial Belo Monte Dam in the Brazilian Amazon reveals a striking lack of private sector participation. The 18-member Norte Energia consortium(1) is marked by the absence of key players in the country's dam-building industry. State-owned or state-controlled participation in the consortium totals 77.5 percent, dwarfing the role of private sector investors and reflecting concerns about the financial risks associated wit

Six dams will displace indigenous communities and threaten Amazon ecosystems Asserting its role as a regional superpower, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed an energy agreement with Peruvian President Alan Garcia yesterday, which includes building around six hydroelectric power plants in the Peruvian Amazon to supply more than 6000 MW of power to Brazil. The projects were designed by the Brazilian electric utility Eletrobrás in conjunction with Brazilian multinational construction giants Odebrecht and Andrade Gutierrez , all of which would be directly involved in dam cons

For Immediate Release May 21, 2010 The Kayapo Continue Blockades of Amazon Highway for the 28th Straight Day in Protest of the Belo Monte DamBrazil's Indigenous Peoples Vow to Block Dam Construction or "Die Fighting for our Rights"Piaraçu, Xingu National Park, Brazil - A group of Kayapo indigenous people led by Chief Megaron Txukarramãe have been blockading the Xingu River crossing of the BR-80 - a major Amazon highway in Mato Grosso State - since April 23 in protest of the government's plans to build the massive Belo Monte Dam. Dozens of Kayapo warriors have been blocking the ferry crossing

Brazilian civil society organizations forwarded this Thursday (13) a complaint to the Special Rapporteur of the Human Council on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers of the United Nations regarding the threats and pressures faced by the attorneys of Brazil’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s office (MPF) and by a Federal Judge of  the city of Altamira, Pará related to the auction of the Belo Monte dam. In April, the General Attornies Terre Cláudio do Amaral, Bruno Alexandre Gütschow, and Ubiratan Cazetta presented two public civil actions to suspend the auction outright. The Federal Judge

China’s Biggest Bank to Support Africa’s Most Destructive Dam Ethiopia’s Gibe 3 Dam is one of the most destructive hydropower projects being built today. If completed, it would destroy fragile ecosystems on which 500,000 poor indigenous people depend for their survival. A worldwide civil society campaign has held international financial institutions at bay for several years. Yesterday, however, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) offered to step in with a $500 million loan. If the loan is confirmed, China’s biggest bank will become responsible for a massive social and e