Work in Progress

As reported this morning Eugene Simonov spent his “Tigris
Day” at Selune River in Normandy, where two dams are being decommissioned to
restore connectivity and salmon spawning.

All Banks of Selune River are Plastered with Warning Against Sudden Rise of Water Levels due to Hydropower Operations

The task is huge: La Roche dam is 25 meters high, while Vezins Dam is 35 meters tall. Fortunately both dams are very thin, built using “multiple arch” design allowing to hold huge water volume behind relatively thin vaulted wall.

La Roche Dam July 2019

Downstream La …

Resistance continues against Ilisu Dam!

Hasankeyf, July 14

Following a call by the Initiative to Keep Alive (HYG) and the Mesopotamia Ecology Movement (MEM) for the “Big Jump” ecology activists in Hasankeyf, Turkey and the world protested the controversial Ilisu Dam on the 14th of July. This action day is the continuation of the growing activities of the last 1,5 months against the Ilisu Dam which is almost ready for the filling of its reservoir.

The most actions have been done within Turkey which is a positive development as it shows the …

Difficult dilemmas are discussed at the 43rd World Heritage Committee session in Baku. The RwB had a chance to introduce the “Heritage Dammed” Report during debate on two World Heritage sites threatened by dams.

NGO representative prepares for intervention

From July 1 afternoon African countries (which usually vote here in one united block) are challenging key enforcement mechanisms of the World Heritage Convention contrasting it with “rights to Sustainable development”. The move is backed now by Brazil, Bahrain and Azerbaijan.  Countries of Africa want more “development benefits from heritage …

The RwB Guide to the 43rd WH Committee Session, 2019

Vice-president of Azerbaidzhan Alieva opens the World heritage Committee Session

The 43rd Session of the World Heritage
Committee is opening today in Baku, Azerbaijan. This is an overview of most
pressing river and dam related issues planned for review or voiced by NGOs.

The 6th International NGO Forum on
World Heritage was be held on June 29th with participation of
representatives of World Heritage Center, IUCN, ICOMOS and many civil society
groups involved in conservation efforts in Africa, Australia, Asia, and the
Americas.  Forum discussed impacts of
climate change and …

The 7th
International NGO Forum on World Heritage at Risk

Baku, Azerbaijan, 29 June 2019

We, the Civil Society
Organizations who have attended the 7th International NGO Forum on World
Heritage at Risk organized by World
Heritage Watch on 29 June in Baku, Azerbaijan, coming from 19 countries in 5
continents, as active and concerned citizens dealing with Natural and Cultural
World Heritage properties at different places, would like to bring
the following to the attention of the World Heritage Committee:

Hydropower
development has caused a dramatic world-wide decline in the number of
free-flowing rivers due to haphazard planning and disregard …

Lake Baikal – the Largest Hydropower Reservoir on Earth

The RwB and World Heritage Watch presents the final complete version of the “Heritage Dammed” Report, dedicated to protection of natural freshwater ecosystems. This colorful report contains contributions from 30 civil society organizations (CSOs), experts and dam-affected communities around the world.

The Report documents how water infrastructure plays key role in degrading aquatic ecosystems at more than 50 World Heritage properties, of which 42 sites are threatened by hydropower.  Fourteen in-depth case studies illustrate and analyze the global threat to the rivers, …