International Rivers Network

International Rivers is a recipient of a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions that champions the protection of rivers and defends the rights of communities that depend on them by stopping destructive dams and promoting water and energy solutions for a just and sustainable world. This grant will deepen its engagement on environmental policy development with Chinese hydropower developers. The organization will continue efforts to score and rank systematically major players in the Chinese overseas hydropower industry on their environmental and social policies and project performance; sustain active engagement with hydropower companies including Sinohydro, Gezhouba and Hydrolancang to improve policy standards and increase accountability in the implementation of those standards; and share lessons learned with other NGOs working on a variety of China-focused climate, environment and human rights issues around the world.

International Rivers champions the protection of rivers and defends the rights of communities that depend on them by stopping destructive dams and promoting water and energy solutions for just and sustainable world. With this grant, the organization seeks to establish enabling conditions for permanent protection of free-flowing rivers in the tropical Andes, building on the success of Wild and Scenic Rivers campaigns in the United States. International Rivers and its partners are conducting stakeholder consultations in priority watersheds of Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia and conducting legal analysis to develop technical and policy proposals for permanent river protection. The goal is to conserve these freshwater resources and secure aquatic biodiversity, regional food security, indigenous sacred sites, and efficient transportation in the tropical Andes and Amazon.

International Rivers works to protect rivers and defend the rights of communities that depend on them. They have been a driving force behind the Save the Mekong Coalition and the campaign to stop Mekong mainstream dams. The grant will renew support to International Rivers’ efforts to build a strong civil society movement in the Mekong region to protect the Mekong River Basin, stop destructive hydropower projects, secure livelihood restoration for communities affected by existing dams and promote better energy solutions in the region.

International Rivers works to protect rivers and defend the rights of communities that depend on them. It aims to strengthen the policies and practices of Chinese dam builders overseas and within China, and to stop the most destructive projects from going forward. Under this renewed grant, International Rivers will continue their engagement on environmental policy development with Sinohydro. It will now monitor how the company begins implementation of environmental and social safeguards and start to document lessons learned to improve future practice. Grant funds will also go towards campaigns to oppose destructive projects that do not comply with the policy.

International Rivers Network (IRN) works to protect rivers and rights, and promote real solutions for meeting water, energy and flood management needs. IRN will expand global knowledge of the impacts of dams and large-scale irrigation projects along the Lower Omo Valley on human communities, biodiversity and ecosystem services, and illuminate the potential for better dam operation and watershed management to protect these services and the people who rely on them.