Report

The Nu/Salween River originates in the Tibetan plateau and flows south through Thailand and Burma before emptying into the Andaman Sea. It is the western-most river in the “Three Parallel Rivers” UNESCO Wold Heritage Site, and the last major free-flowing river in China. Remote stretches of the river teem with plant and animal biodiversity that is yet to be fully understood. The area remains a natural gem, and one of the last symbols of China’s wild natural landscape. In the face of development plans for a large cascade of hydropower stations to be built on the Nu, the river has taken ce

In the language of Brazil’s indigenous Munduruku people, “Ocekadi” means “the river of our place.” It is their name for the Tapajós River, which forms the core of their traditional lands in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. A region of tremendous social and biological diversity, the Tapajós river basin connects two important biomes: the tropical savannah (cerrado) and the Amazon. Now, an unprecedented number of hydroelectric dam projects threaten the Tapajós and its major tributaries, together with industrial waterways (hidrovias), road paving, mining and agribusiness enterprise

Wind and solar resources are abundant throughout the world, but their dependence on uncontrollable factors such as weather has been one of the biggest impediments to their development. However in recent years, countries such as Denmark and Germany have pioneered and adopted strategies, planning tools, and technologies to cost-effectively and reliably manage these integration challenges. By leveraging these strategies, practices, and technologies early in the evolution of their electricity grid systems, African and other developing economies could leapfrog to clean, reliable, low-impact, and c

An Evaluation of Dams Under the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) In 2012, African heads of state launched the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), an ambitious infrastructure blueprint intended to spur development on the continent by addressing persistent infrastructure gaps. In the face of low energy generation and access rates, PIDA proposes a number of power plants and transmission lines in all four regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. The cornerstone of these plans is a suite of 13 large dams (11 of them listed in the table below) identi

China’s enthusiasm for dam building has in recent years spilled over into the Mekong region. Development plans and construction for a 28 dam cascade on the Upper Mekong (Lancang River) have been underway for over 20 years, which have fundamentally altered the entire Mekong River Basin. However, more recent has been the emergence of Chinese state-owned enterprises active in dam building in China taking a leading role in hydropower development of the Lower Mekong River Basin as project developers with the support of China’s “going-out” policy. In line with this trend, Hydrolancang – re

UC Berkeley’s Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory and International Rivers have co-published a review of the energy planning and resource assessment efforts being done by the East African Power Pool, and recommendations for its improvement.

In order to understand the magnitude of anticipated environmental and social impacts the Lower Sesan 2 Dam in Northeastern Cambodia poses and the nature of its decision-making process, International Rivers has published the report Starving the Mekong: Expected Social and Environmental Impacts from Construction and Operation of the Lower Sesan 2 Dam.

The remote Omo watershed in East Africa encompasses life-giving rivers and a huge desert lake in both Kenya and Ethiopia. Home to a number of tribal peoples who make their living from the land and waters, this region is now undergoing rapid transformation from major industrial projects that are taking resources from local people. At the core of this industrialization is Gibe III Dam. Ethiopia has repeatedly and deliberately ignored the ways that Gibe III Dam and related plantations affect downstream livelihoods and Lake Turkana. Externalizing costs, and isolating developments from their region

Despite the completion of lower cascade of six hydropower dams on the Lancang River (Upper Mekong) in 2014, little is known about the environmental impacts of the Lancang Dams. International Rivers has prepared a research brief examining the impacts of the Lancang dam cascade on hydrology, fisheries and sedimentation.