PRESS RELEASE | 265 Civil Society Groups Call on Chinese Authorities to Ensure that Covid-19 Financial Relief Does Not Bail Out Harmful Projects

April 30, 2020 – Today, International Rivers joined 265 civil society groups around the world in calling upon the Chinese government to ensure that COVID-19 related financial relief for struggling Belt and Road projects flows only to high-quality overseas investments that meet stringent criteria aimed at protecting people and safeguarding the environment. The organizations urged China to…

PRESS RELEASE | Thai Mekong communities submit evidence of impacts in Xayaburi lawsuit

By: Pai Deetes, Thailand & Myanmar Campaigns Director FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Today, the Network of Thai People in Eight Mekong Provinces submits additional evidence to the Thai Supreme Administrative Court in the ongoing lawsuit regarding the Xayaburi dam on the Mekong River in Laos. The lawsuit targets five Thai state agencies and challenges the legitimacy…

PRESS RELEASE | Backers of Collapsed Laos Dam Must Be Held Accountable

New report calls on developers, banks and insurers to ensure full compensation and restitution for victims, who remain in dire conditions facing an uncertain future FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Bangkok, July 23, 2019 – One year after the devastating collapse of saddle dam D of the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydropower project in southern Laos, none of the…

PRESS RELEASE | The ASEAN We Want: An Open Statement to ASEAN Leaders

In an open statement to ASEAN leaders as they gather in Bangkok for the 34th ASEAN Summit, 110 community and civil society organisations and networks have urged ASEAN to respect people’s rights and livelihoods.  Noting that ASEAN economic integration has prioritised the interests of investors with little regard to the negative impacts on people’s territories, livelihoods…

PRESS RELEASE | Inga 3: An Exclusive Development Deal for Chinese and European companies

By: Rudo Sanyanga, former Africa Program Director & Ange Asanzi, former Africa Campaign Coordinator On October 16, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government announced a 14 billion USD joint and exclusive development agreement with a consortium of Chinese and European developers to construct the Inga 3 hydroelectric dam, following years of delay and controversy….

PRESS RELEASE | Dam collapse in Laos displaces thousands, exposes dam safety risks

By: Maureen Harris, Programs Director International Rivers expresses its concern and regret about the tragic loss of life and hardship facing communities living downstream of the collapsed dam in Lao PDR. An auxillary dam that was part of the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower scheme on the Xepian River collapsed the night of July 23 as…

PRESS RELEASE | UNESCO World Heritage Committee inscribes Kenya’s Lake Turkana as “in danger” over Gibe Dam impacts

Today, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee took the decision to officially inscribe Lake Turkana as a World Heritage site “in danger” because of severe impacts caused by the Gibe 3 Dam, constructed upstream on Ethiopia’s Omo River. The dam and associated sugar plantations have severely restricted flows into Kenya’s Lake Turkana, the world’s largest desert lake. “We…