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The Invisibilized Costs of Hydroelectricity
The pristine river systems of the world have been dammed for various purposes like irrigation, hydroelectricity, and storing water in reservoirs for drinking purposes. Hydroelectricity is generated by the energy in a flowing river. The hydroelectric dams convert the potential energy stored in the water reservoirs into kinetic energy as the water flows through the […]
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Belo Monte Dam has tripled greenhouse gases in the eastern Amazon
Belo Monte hydroelectric dam on the Xingu River 2017, photo by Fernanda Brandt (CC) Research published in the Science Advances journal shows that greenhouse gases in the eastern Amazon have tripled after the construction of the Belo Monte dam. The study showed that “post damming greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in this dam area are […]
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Groups Create San José Declaration Counter Statement
Dam Watch International, along with environmental and social justice organizations from around the world are proud to publish the following statement countering the claims of the “San José Declaration on Sustainable Hydropower” being presented at the 2021 World Hydropower Congress, hosted virtually by Costa Rica from September 7-24. In 2019, over 270 civil society organizations […]
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Open Letter to the PM of India Regarding Unjustified Hydropower Development
Civil Society Organizations and researchers in India have written an open letter to the Prime Minister and Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change regarding the recent announcement that seven hydropower projects will be restarted in the geologically unstable Himalayas. An excerpt of this letter are included below. A copy of the complete letter is […]
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Indigenous women’s gathering aims to strengthen female leadership in Brazil
The “1st Meeting of the Women of Western Paraná – The Uprising of Guarani Women and the Strengthening of the Struggle for Land Demarcation”. Photo: Hosoya, 2021. — Dam Watch International, through the Latin American and Caribbean Subcommittee, participated in a historic moment for the Avá-Guarani peoples of Western Paraná Brazil: the “1st Meeting of […]
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Hydropower is not a climate solution
In August, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published their most incriminating report yet on the state of the global climate crisis. This means that now, more than ever, we need to be investing in renewables like hydropower, right? Not necessarily. Hydropower is often presented as a climate solution, and its low-carbon electricity is […]
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Global Movement for Rivers and Peoples
“Between September 7 and 24, the World Hydroelectric Congress will be held in Costa Rica, basically a “show” of companies and governments to promote hydroelectric dams. Faced with this, from Costa Rica, and in coordination with a set of environmental and socio-environmental organizations from Latin America and the world, we have proposed the Global Movement […]
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Stop the Intentional Flooding of O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation
Manitoba Hydro, a crown corporation, flooded and destroyed the land at O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation/South Indian Lake in 1974 when they diverted the Churchill River to generate hydroelectric power. This flooding was called the Churchill River Diversion Project (CRD). The CRD was contentious, and alternatives were ignored by the Government of Manitoba and Manitoba Hydro. In […]
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A Conversation on Hydro and Indigenous Territories
In partnership with Kitatipithitamak Mithwayawin (COVID-19 Indigenous), we hosted the webinar, A Conversation on Hydro and Indigenous Territories. This featured members of our network that have directly and indirectly experienced the impacts of hydro. The panelists included Shannon Chief, Willard Napash, Nathan Neckoway, and Maira Oliva Ríos. Resources that were mentioned in the webinar include: Odinewin […]
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