International Rivers Take Action!
Stand with Dam-Affected Indigenous People in Sarawak
This morning, I witnessed hundreds of indigenous people protest destructive dam projects in front of the International Hydropower Association. Their courage is inspiring, and their challenge is daunting.
TAKE ACTION
Dear Supporter,

Earlier this week, I arrived in Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo to attend the International Hydropower Association’s (IHA) biennial congress, hosted by state-owned dam builder Sarawak Energy. This morning, hundreds of local indigenous people protested about the impacts of a series of dams shrouded in secrecy that have already displaced thousands of indigenous people. The protestors demand a stop to the dams as long as they violate indigenous peoples‘ rights, and call on the IHA to admit the devastating consequences the dams would have on the rainforest and the people who call it home.

  • Sign a petition now calling on officials in Sarawak to stop construction of these dams and instead respect indigenous rights and find alternatives that reduce social and environmental impacts while still meeting Sarawak’s energy needs.

Tens of thousands more indigenous people are threatened with displacement as the Sarawak government forges ahead with plans for an energy corridor of 12 dams in the state. These dams would devastate the lands and livelihoods of indigenous communities, drown pristine tropical habitat, and generate methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than CO2.

Although the IHA claimed that the voices of affected people would be included at the congress, Sarawak Energy barred dam-affected representative Peter Kallang, Chairman of the SAVE-Rivers network, from entering a workshop on Monday, kicking off the congress with a shameful act of repressing dissenting voices. Indigenous communities from across Malaysian Borneo came together to form the SAVE-Rivers network to fight for their land rights and against the Sarawak dams, but they are once again being kept out of the very conversations about their lands that concern them most.

Please take action now in solidarity with the hundreds of people who protested today and the thousands more they represent by demanding that decision makers in Sarawak stop these destructive dams and respect the right of indigenous peoples to make their own development decisions.

Standing for rights and rivers in Sarawak,

 

#previous #articles #videos #water #humanrights #international rivers

 

#previous #articles #videos #indigenous #humanrights

 Zachary Hurwitz
Policy Program CoordinatorP.S. For more updates from the IHA Congress about the Sarawak dams, be sure to follow SAVE-Rivers @riverssarawak and me @ZacharyHurwitz on Twitter, or visit our website.