Contributions
Among its accomplishments, International Rivers counts its integral involvement with the formation of the World Commission on Dams as one of its most important contributions. The commission was a global, multi-stakeholder body initiated in 1997 by the World Bank and the World Conservation Union, formed in response to growing opposition to dams. During its two-year lifetime, the WCD conducted the most exhaustive study of dams done to date, ultimately evaluating over 1,000 dams in 79 countries. In its published final report, the WCD concluded that although “dams have made an important and significant contribution to human development, and benefits derived from them have been considerable... in too many cases an unacceptable and often unnecessary price has been paid to secure those benefits, especially in social and environmental terms, by people displaced, by communities downstream, by taxpayers and by the natural environment.”
International Rivers is further proud of the role it has played in supporting dam-affected citizens around the world. Since the organization’s inception, worldwide construction of dams has decreased by half, and universal recognition of the consequences of hydropower continues to increase.
International Rivers publishes a quarterly journal, World Rivers Review, focused on addressing the state of various dams projects, ecosystems and people. They also publish an annual report on a variety of dam-related subjects. Both are typically available for free download from the organization's official website.
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