Eugene Simonov, the Russian activist fighting to defend free-flowing rivers
Water defender Eugene Simonov’s mission is to protect rivers and their biodiversity along the borders of Russia, China and Mongolia.
The Earth defenders awarded the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize
Six tales of courage. Six examples to follow. These are the winners of the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize, the “Nobel Prize for the environment”.
Water defender Milica Kočović De Santo’s fight to save Serbian mountain rivers
Milica Kočović De Santo is a water defender working to oppose a hydroelectric plant in Stara Planina National Park, between Serbia and Bulgaria.
Guinea’s giant Souapiti dam is displacing and impoverishing thousands
A flawed resettlement process is robbing villagers of their homes and livelihoods to the pave way for the construction of the Souapiti dam in Guinea.
The Omo Valley, where life flows with the river
The tribes of the Lower Omo Valley in Ethiopia live in close contact with nature and the river they depend on. But their ancestral ways of life are being threatened by the impacts of a mega-dam, climate change and a booming tourism industry.
As Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed collects the Nobel Peace Prize, abuses in the Lower Omo Valley must be addressed
Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for reaching peace with Eritrea. Yet, Indigenous groups in Ethiopia’s Lower Omo Valley have been abused by security forces, a fact that the prime minister must address, says the Oakland Institute.
Ethiopia, displaced indigenous communities in the Lower Omo Valley deserve inclusive development
So-called development projects in the Lower Omo Valley, including a dam and sugar plantations, have come at an unbearable cost for indigenous communities. Elizabeth Fraser, Senior Policy Analyst at the Oakland Institute, on why the only way forward is for Ethiopia to address such abuse.
Zambia cancels plans to dam the Luangwa, one of Africa’s longest free-flowing rivers
A large dam along the Luangwa River in Zambia would have posed a serious risk to local people and wildlife, leading hundreds of thousands to oppose it. A call to which the government responded by halting plans to build it.
The activists defending the Tigris and Euphrates, in the birthplace of civilisation
The Mesopotamian Marshes are at risk of drying up, in part because of poor water management. We meet the activists in Iraq who are defending the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to stop this from happening.
Oroville Dam crisis, why 200,000 people near the US’ tallest dam are in danger
With its 230 metres (770 feet) the Oroville dam in California is the tallest in the United States, lying about 240 kilometres (150 miles) from San Francisco. On the 7th of February operators noticed damages to the main spillway, channel used to control the release of water from the basin, flowing into the Feather River. After they slowed