New Guide Details Ways to Protect Rivers, Aid Communities In Climate Resilience

In recent years, damaging floods were made worse by dam failures or unplanned releases in India’s Himalayas, Nigeria, Thailand, Australia, Europe, Malaysia and the Philippines. Drought reduced power output at hydropower dams in the US, central Europe, Venezuela and Tanzania, leading to economic losses and blackouts. Natural disasters cost the world US$160 billion in 2012, with floods and droughts accounting for almost 80% of disaster victims in 2012. Climate change is expected to bring even more droughts and worse floods.

We know that healthy rivers help protect us from the worst vagaries of climate change. Free-flowing rivers build deltas and mangroves that protect coastlines. They sustain fisheries and forests, provide water and support agriculture. Yet the world over, rivers are themselves under threat from climate change and runaway dam building. The combined impacts of climate change and river-altering dams are creating a “perfect storm” for the world's fisheries, forests, wildlife habitats, and river-based communities.  

The new Civil Society Guide to Healthy Rivers and Climate Resiliencepublished by International Rivers explains how rivers strengthen climate resilience, how large dams increase our vulnerability to climate change, and how climate resilience can be integrated into natural resource management and the planning processes for the water and energy sectors. The guide is written for civil society organizations, and includes concrete cases studies and practical guidance for groups working in the water and energy sectors and confronted by dam projects.

“We need honest and holistic cost-benefit analysis of dams to account for the risks from climate change,” says contributing author Parineeta Dandekar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People. “We also need more protected and free flowing rivers to appreciate the range of services a healthy river can provide.”

The new guide offers not just case studies, facts, and a menu of solutions to help stem the destruction caused by dams and climate change, but also a clear roadmap for building resilient communities. 

Developed with the help of a number of partner organizations, the Civil Society Guide to Healthy Rivers and Climate Resilience explains the role of healthy rivers in building climate resilience; describes how to work with communities to develop adaptation plans that address these risks. 
 
Jason Rainey, Executive Eirector of International Rivers, says: “Building greater resilience into our communities begins with clean water, and also in recognizing that Earth’s ‘water cycle’ is broken and in need of repair. Restoring river-dependent ecosystems and their services are essential for adapting to the additional pressures caused by a destabilized climate. The good news is that rivers are resilient, and they draw us together. Communities all over the world have been innovating ground-up solutions to meet water, energy and food security needs. With a concerted effort, we can help restore the health of our rivers so they may continue to provide innumerable local and planetary benefits.”

Download the guide today!

We’re also seeking help with translations. Please contact Dipti Vaghela if you are interested in translating the guide into your language. 

Finally, for practitioners or NGOs working directly with communities, we would appreciate your input on how the guide relates to your work and how we can improve its content for your use.

For healthy rivers,

Lori Pottinger, Katy Yan and Dipti Vaghela