Report

Dam Removal For those of us now being saddled with the costs of years of unquestioned dam–building, it would be unconscionable to remain silent. – Dan Beard, Commissioner of the US Bureau of Reclamation (1993 – 1995) Once revered as temples of engineering prowess, dams are now viewed more critically. Dams devastate river ecosystems and undermine the rights and livelihoods of affected communities. Increased international recognition of the high environmental and social costs of dams, along with numerous river restoration successes, are inspiring dam removal campaigns worldwide. Numerous d

Download In Whose Interest? (PDF 1 MB)This joint report reveals how the aluminum industry in Cameroon is being prioritized over the energy needs of the country’s majority population, at great social and environmental risk, and without a participatory planning process for energy development.

Publication by International Rivers, Friends of the Earth Amazonia, Friends of the Earth Brazil and others sounds an alert to the threat posed by dams planned for the Madeira River

The Chixoy Dam and its Pueblo Viejo Hydroelectric facility, built by INDE (Instituto Nacional de Electrificación) with financing from the Inter–American Development Bank and the World Bank, is the major source of electrical power for the nation of Guatemala. Chixoy Dam–Affected Communities and the Rio Negro Massacres Designs for this facility were approved, the project financed, and construction begun in 1975 without notifying the local population. Construction began without conducting a comprehensive census of affected peoples, without legal acquisition of all the land supporting the

This is International Rivers' guide on how to use the World Commission on Dams report in their struggles for justice and human rights. This 59–page booklet provides background on the formation of the WCD, a detailed summary of the WCD’s findings and recommendations, and responses from NGOs, institutions and governments to the report. Most importantly, the guide provides suggestions for how activists can use the report to stop destructive development projects and promote better alternatives. Excerpts from the Introduction to the Citizens’ Guide to the World Commission on Dams There is goo

Report from a Visit to Sudan and a Fact-Finding Mission to the Merowe Dam Project, 22 February – March 2005. Published by Peter Bosshard (International Rivers) and Nicholas Hildyard (The Corner House) in May 2005 

Presented at the Southern African Hearings for Communities Affected by Large Dams Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Anna Moepi. I come from Lesotho. I am a representative of the community from Matala, who initially came from Molikaliko. We thank you happily for inviting us here to get our side of the story and are hoping you will support us. Here is our position before the Lesotho Highlands Water project came. We were living in peace and harmony. Our life was a simple undisturbed life. Our mode of transport was ourselves – we were travelling on foot, also using donkeys and