Press Release

World's Third Largest Dam Project Would Devastate Vast Area of Amazon Rainforest Environmentalists, indigenous people, and social movements in Brazil condemned today's preliminary environmental license issued by the Brazilian environmental agency IBAMA for the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam. Belo Monte, which would be the world's third largest hydroelectric project, would divert the flow of the Xingu River and devastate an extensive area of the Brazilian rainforest, threatening the survival of indigenous peoples. Belo Monte is the largest project of the Lula government's

Comunicado de Prensa Comision Interamericana de Derechos Humanos Hara Seguimiento a las Represas en America Latina Washington, DC. - Por primera vez, la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH) celebró una audiencia pública para analizar el impacto que las grandes represas en América Latina tienen en los derechos humanos y en el ambiente. La audiencia se realizó el lunes 2 de noviembre durante el 137º período de sesiones de la CIDH en Washington, DC y en palabras del Comisionado Víctor Abramovich "es un tema de mucho interés para la Comisión", por lo cual

ANZ, BNP Paribas and KBC Investment in Theun-Hinboun Dam Violates Equator Principles and Lao Law The Theun-Hinboun Expansion Project - a dam and water diversion project now under construction in Central Laos - poses a threat to the livelihoods and food security of local communities living in the project area. The project also violates Lao law and the Equator Principles, according to Expanding Failure, a new report and video released today by International Rivers; BankTrack, FIVAS, Les Amis de la Terre; and Justice and International Mission Unit, Uniting Church in Australia. The report, based o

On November 8/9, China’s and Africa’s governments will meet for the 4th summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Sharm-el-Sheik, Egypt. A report published by International Rivers finds that China and Africa have been successful in boosting their financial and economic cooperation, but have failed to deal seriously with the environmental challenges that have resulted from their growing cooperation.   The report, China, Africa and the Environment, concludes that the Chinese government has fulfilled the generous promises of increased cooperation which it made at the l

For Immediate Release  Contacts: Astrid Puentes - AIDA, (510) 220-7647, apuentes@aida-americas.org (Washington DC) Marco Von Borstel - IMDEC, +(52-1)33-1269 26 21, marco@imdec.net (Mexico) Monti Aguirre- International Rivers, +707-591-1220 monti@internationalrivers.org (California) Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Examines Impacts of Large Dams in Latin America Washington, D.C., On November 2, 2009 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will hold a hearing on the impacts that large dams in Latin America have on human rights and the environment. Dam-affected pe

Fifteen years after construction began, the reservoir of the Three Gorges Dam will reach its final height of 175 meters in early November. International Rivers calls for the following lessons to be drawn from the world's largest and most controversial hydropower project: The massive social and environmental impacts of the Three Gorges Dam should be independently evaluated before new mega-dams are built on the Yangtze River. More than 100 dams are currently being planned or built on the world's third-longest river and its tributaries. The 1.3 million people who were displaced b

The true costs of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Project, planned for the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon, have been revealed in a new independent review by a panel of 40 specialists. The panel found that the dam would have serious consequences for the region, its inhabitants, and ecosystems of the Amazon rainforest. The panel - comprised of scientists from major Brazilian research institutions - reviewed the project's environmental impact assessment and delivered a 230-page report to Ibama, the Brazilian government's environmental agency, on October 1st.One of the most alarming impacts ide

Light or water? That’s a choice Southern Africa could face in a few years if current plans to build more large dams on the Zambezi proceed. A new report reveals that Mozambique's plans to build the US$2 billion Mphanda Nkuwa Dam on the Zambezi River will mostly serve South Africa’s needs, while creating social and environmental impacts in Mozambique, and ignoring climate-change warnings that show major hydrological problems ahead for Southern Africa. The Zambezi, Africa's fourth largest river, is expected to be especially vulnerable to climate change. Millions of people depend upon it fo

Open letter reveals widespread concern amongst scientific community An independent scientific report made public last week has revealed that the Don Sahong Dam, proposed for the Mekong River’s mainstream in southern Laos, could threaten the food security of millions of people in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. The report was written by Dr. Ian Baird, an affiliate of the Polis Project on Ecological Governance at the University of Victoria, Canada, and a leading expert on fisheries in the Khone Falls area of Southern Laos. According to Dr. Baird’s research, the Don Sahong Dam would blo