Rivers without Boundaries

The Role of Energy Systems in Decline and Recovery of Aquatic Biodiversity

by Jeff Opperman , WWF-US Freshwater ecosystems and species are in crisis, and 2020 is a pivotal year for countries and companies to take steps to solve that crisis. What does this have to do with energy? A surprising amount.  From hydropower dams that fragment rivers and block fish migration …

World Small Hydropower Development Report Demonstrates Diminishing Role of Small Hydro

The World Small Hydropower Development Report (WSHPDR) 2019 is the result of a collaborative effort between the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the International Center on Small Hydro Power (ICSHP) and over 230 local and regional small hydropower (SHP) experts, organizations, engineers, academics and government officials across the globe. …

Hydro-obituary: The Chinese Paddlefish, Which Lived for 200 Million Years, Has Been Dammed to Extinction

Last year we placed these two pictures on the back cover of the Heritage Dammed report to UNESCO to illustrate the role of dams in mass extinction of freshwater biodiversity. We suggested that scientists will wait for 50 year before declaring the paddlefish extinct. We were wrong, by 49.5 years. …

The end of the misguided Amazar pulp mill project?

As the RwB is still cautiously calculating what else could be done by owners and officials in futile attempts to revive hopeless project, many allies have published epitaphs on Amazar Pulp Mill. Famous former Mayor of Mogocha District and now democratic activist Dmitry Pliukhin, who invited the RwB to assess …

Pulp Mill at Amazar? Thank You, we will not invest in that risky project!

After all our efforts to inform Hong Kong Stock Exchange about undisclosed risks of Amazar Pulp and Saw Mill (“Polyarnaya” Project) we got the final answer from the potential investor: “The Company hereby announces that in light of the potential risks in relation to the Project as disclosed in the …

“Clean hydropower” can do more harm than good

Opinion by Paul Hockenos(CNN) Climate change is already wreaking lethal havoc on the world of flora and fauna. So, all hands on deck to save the planet, right? We’re behind in the chase and need all the clean energy resources we can muster to hit the 2015 Paris summit goals …