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Worldwide, between 40-80 million people have been displaced by large dams since the beginning of the 20th century. This has had devastating consequences for an untold number of communities: The planning and implementation of dam-induced resettlement has frequently either worsened the living standards of affected communities or impoverished them. Large-scale resettlement can erase a community's history, while offering little hope for the future of those affected. At International Rivers, we work to help dam-affected communities fully realize and understand their rights, appreciate the impacts

We're thrilled to announce the fall release of "Belo Monte: After the Flood," a new film about the history and consequences of one of the world's most controversial dam projects.

On May 9, 2016, our Africa Program Associate Ange Asanzi sat down with Bruno Kapandji, Project Director for Grand Inga, to discuss the progress of the troubled Inga 3 Dam project. During the interview, the two spoke about energy poverty in the Democratic Republic of Congo and whether Inga 3 would address that (Kapandji says it won’t). They also talked about how DRC would mitigate the negative impacts of the Inga 3 project. Later in the meeting , Kapandji dropped a bombshell when he said that Grand Inga could be built without social and environmental impact assessments – and even suggeste

Governments often promise their people benefits that never materialize. In Sudan, years after the government promised to supply electricity to its Nubian people– after convincing them that hydropower is clean energy – the affected people have found themselves with electricity poles...but still no power. In fact, the Nubian people are doing more for their communities than the government is. Now the government is offering more big promises in the form of the Dal and Kajbar dams. These dams, if constructed, will bring more instability to communities in an area where agricultural land has al

Jaime Fraile works at the Confederación Hidrográfica del Segura (CHS), a government agency in charge of managing the Segura River Basin, in South-Eastern Spain. He wants to tell you about the Segura River and the latest initiatives the agency has taken in order to protect it and to enhance its ecological status.

Ready for our festive gala event! Our 30th anniversary celebration was a beautiful thing to behold. The location was gorgeous, the room was full, the "river-tini" cocktail was delicious and everybody was in a festive mood. It was a special night. There was so much love, respect and good will in the room. One person said it felt like a reunion. Robert Hass, former US Poet Laureate and International Rivers Board member, read two miraculous poems – one about dams and one about rain – that earned him a prolonged standing ovation. Youth Speaks poet Isa shared an incredible piece about t

“We don’t accept this. We disagree with whoever is planning this. We will never agree to it. Once the dam is functional, everything people feed on will disappear. Starvation will take over.” - Rebecca Arot, Turkana Pastoralist The people of Lake Turkana in Kenya are facing catastrophic changes from upstream developments in Ethiopia. In the years since Ethiopia began building the Gibe III Dam on the Omo River, there has been little effort to understand and document the concerns of the downstream communities that will be badly affected by this huge project. In addition to the changes t

photo by Alison Jones for No Water No Life በኢትዮጵያ በታችኛው የኦሞ ሸለቆ እየተገነቡ ያሉት ተያያዥ የልማት ፕሮጀክቶች በወንዙ የውኃ ፍሰት እና ከወንዙ ጋር ህይወቱን አቆራኝቶ በሚኖረው የአካባቢው ህብረተሰብ ዘንድ ታላቅ አደጋን ጋርጦ ይገኛል፡፡ እንደዚሁም በጊቤ ሶስት የኤሌክትሪክ ግድብ ግንባታ እና ከዚሁ ጋር በተያያዘ መልኩ እየተከናወነ ባለው ከፍተኛ የመስኖ ልማት ልማት ስራ

Dams and irrigated plantations being built in Ethiopia will bring major changes to the flow of the Lower Omo River, which in turn will harm ecosystem functions and local livelihoods all the way to the river's terminus at Lake Turkana in Kenya. More dams are planned for the basin that would compound the damages. Here we outline some of the basic changes that can be expected as a result of these developments, and include resources on where to get more information. The video below illustrates the hydrological risks the dam and plantations bring to the Lower Omo and Lake Turkana: Watch an Amhar