Rivers without Boundaries

Pressure on Lake Baikal from Tourism and Corruption

The shore of Siberia’s Lake Baikal that has seen the building of most hotels is now covered by algae caused by releasing untreated waste into the water. Every wave brings more algae [Image by: Vitaliy Ryabtsev] After the closure of the Baikal cellulose-paper industrial complex in 2013, the main cause …

Bosnia, Montenegro… who is next to get rid of small hydro and big problems it creates?

According to the International Hydropower Association, starting in early 2021, the Swiss Government-funded three-year initiative will see IHA Sustainability, the organisation’s non-profit subdivision, work with project developers, alongside regulators, investors and civil society organisations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. They will try to reestablish …

European Green Climate Finance Taxonomy: River fragmentation should not be funded by the EU money!

The Rivers without Boundaries International Coalition provided recommendations “On Hydropower and Infrastructure for Water Transport Impacts on Freshwater Bodies, Ecosystems and Species” as its submission on Draft Delegated Act (DA) on Sustainable-finance and EU classification-system-for-green-investments. The text of draft DA dilutes and weakens recommendations made to European commission by special …

“Blue Horse” Project Seeks to Suck Water from Kherlen and Orkhon Rivers

Before 2000 there were no mines in South Gobi apart from the state-run Tavan Tolgoi coal mine. But over the past two decades, foreign investment has flooded in, with companies now operating 12 large mines, including Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world’s biggest copper and gold mines. Driven …

Dam Construction Is Threatening the Landscapes of Dauria World Heritage

Appeal to Director of UNESCO World Heritage Centre Dear Ms. Rossler: Using satellite imagery we established the fact that, in July 2020 Wellmot (Вэлмот) Company started construction of a dam across Ulz River in Dornod Province of Mongolia, the  principle source of water for “Landscapes of Dauria” World Heritage property. …

Monuments of Hasankeyf Deteriorating, Local People Lose Income with the Filling of Ilisu Dam

By:Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive 1 September 2020 In past years, the ancient city of Hasankeyf attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, offering them the chance to explore the traces of more than 20 civilizations that contributed to the city’s cultural heritage. Hasankeyf – with a history spanning …