Opposing development of rivers

Lobbying against hydropower dams

Description

Opposing development of rivers involves coordinated actions to prevent or halt projects such as dam construction, channelization, and industrial exploitation that threaten river ecosystems and local communities. This strategy aims to safeguard biodiversity, maintain natural water flow, and protect livelihoods by advocating for sustainable alternatives, legal interventions, public awareness campaigns, and community mobilization. It remedies problems like habitat destruction, water pollution, and displacement by promoting river conservation and responsible resource management.

Implementation

As a result of 7 years of lobbying, the Norwegian parliament passed an act in 1993 which protect 130 rivers from hydropower development.

Belize's Public Utilities Commission acknowledged in court in 2002 that it never approved plans for a hydroelectric dam that would flood the Macal River Valley, a critical wildlife corridor sheltering tapirs, howler monkeys and rare scarlet macaws. The lawsuit by Belizean environmentalists challenged the government's environmental review of the project, which largely ignored the dam's impact on wildlife and so violated the country's laws.