Asia

Asia’s rich tapestry of cultures and unparalleled ethnic diversity are connected by important transboundary river basins, including the Mekong, Salween, Indus, and Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna. These rivers originate in the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau, connecting ecosystems fed by glaciers and snowmelt to floodplains and major river deltas downstream.

A woman on the Mekong river in a small boat collecting lilies, surrounded by lily pads.
Woman harvesting lilies on the Mekong River | Photo by Oxfam

They support rich biodiversity, and the food, livelihoods and cultural systems of the region’s people are intimately connected with their flows. Large dams, ill-conceived infrastructure projects and climate change threaten to wreak havoc on these systems.

Our Work

We work closely with local communities to protect these sacred, productive and biodiverse rivers. We seek to ensure that women, indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities have their voices heard and rights respected in the decisions that affect their lives, and we build movements to stop destructive projects and promote a just energy transition.

  • A woman pans for gold along the Upper Salween River| Photo by Pai Deetes, International Rivers
  • International Rivers’ Pai Deetes and partners at the Salween River, Day of Action 2018 |Photos by International Rivers

River Basins

Mekong

We work with river communities fighting the rapid escalation of dam-building throughout the Lower Mekong Basin, where over 65 million people across four countries rely on the river for their food, livelihoods, culture and identity. Learn more.

Salween

We work with the Salween River’s richly diverse ethnic and indigenous peoples to protect one of the last and longest remaining free-flowing rivers in Asia, and to support their ongoing struggles for self-determination. Learn more.

Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna

We are working with civil society groups, networks and peoples’ movements to protect the transboundary Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basin and to promote a socially just development path for the region. Learn more.

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