History & Accomplishments
In 1985, a small group of volunteers formed International Rivers Network. Their vision was simple and yet remarkably ambitious: to develop a worldwide network of people working to protect rivers and promote just and sustainable water and energy development.
Today, almost everywhere that a big dam is being planned or built, there is organized local opposition. In communities where existing dams have created severe problems, dam-affected people are demanding reparations.
By the Numbers: Our Accomplishments
217: Number of dam projects we’ve held up, prevented or stopped, in collaboration with our partners around the world.
859: Number of NGO partners around the world.
1 Million: Number of unique visitors to our website, 2013-2015.
231: Number of countries visitors to our website hailed from, 2013-15.
317,000: Number of people reached globally by our International Day of Action for Rivers.
31: Average number of countries hosting Day of Action events since 1998.
295: Reports published in 21 languages.
3: Meetings of dam-affected peoples (Rivers for Life).
24: Number of river basins we’ve worked in, covering 17% of the earth’s total land area.
277: Number of grassroots organizations our programs regranted money to fight for rivers across Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
19: Number of our partners and collaborators who’ve won a Goldman Environmental Prize.
1: Number of MacArthur “genius” awards for creative organizations we’ve won. (2013)
Together with a global network of activists, we have:
- Stopped destructive river projects from Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands and Southeast Asia's Mekong River, to the Amazon Basin and the river valleys of Nepal.
- Catalyzed the formation of the World Commission on Dams, whose recommendations form a gold standard for water and energy planning.
- Coordinated the International Day of Action for Rivers: A global celebration of healthy rivers, a day of protest against projects that would harm them, and a day of solidarity with dam-affected communities.
- Ensured that promises made by companies and government agencies to dam-affected communities in Lesotho, Laos, Thailand and Brazil have been kept.
- Promoted a better way - from community watershed regeneration efforts in India to increased support for alternative energy options in Uganda - that advance economic development while protecting our rivers.
For an interactive summary of the global movement, see our Protecting Rivers and Rights timeline.