dams
A Small Victory for the Semai
The Perak High Court in Ipoh, Malaysia, recently extended a temporary restraining order that prevents two companies from proceeding with the construction of a hydroelectric dam on a river that is part of the ancestral territory of the local Semai people. A news story last year on November 13, as well as a more recent […]
The Kadar Confront Another Hydropower Dam
Inspired by their success over the years in stopping the construction of a big hydroelectric project in Kerala, the Kadar have decided to contest the construction of another dam on a different river in the state. A post on an Indian environmental blog on October 20 provided some details of the latest attack by the […]
Semai Strategies for Protecting their Lands
A group of Semai residents in Malaysia’s Perak State are continuing a legal struggle against two developers who are seeking to construct a hydroelectric dam on a river in their ancestral territory. A Malaysian news report of November 3 brought the controversy, which has been covered in the news over the last several years, up […]
The Kadar Defend Their Rights
A nightmare for the Kadar is returning. Kerala announced last week that the State Electricity Board has been granted permission to resume planning a large power dam on the Chalakudy River. The proposed dam, which has generated extensive news coverage over the years, would harm or destroy a couple Kadar villages and inundate the habitat […]
Kadar Village Threatened by Landslides
The Kadar living in the Anakkayam Colony had to flee for their lives last August 16 when a huge landslide swept everything away right next to their homes. They’ve been homeless ever since, according to a news report published in the New Indian Express last week. A good review of the background was provided by […]
A Film about the Teesta
Minket Lepcha, a woman from Darjeeling, has devoted several years to promoting and protecting the Teesta River through her skills as a filmmaker. A news story published on May 10 in EastMojo, an online news platform from northeastern India, provided details about the film she has produced and the effects it is having on audiences. […]
Dam Builders May Triumph After All
Malaysia’s Perak state has decided to go ahead with the construction of a hydropower dam on the Geruntum River, despite the fact that it will harm the lands of a group of Semai villages. The Semai in the town of Gopeng have expressed their opposition to the dam-building project since it was first announced by […]
Nubians Protest Big Dams in Sudan
The Nubian people living in the Nile Valley of northern Sudan are as determined as ever to prevent the construction of two huge hydroelectric dams across the river that would destroy their homes. They don’t want to make the mistake the Nubians in the Aswan area of southern Egypt made in the 1960s by giving […]
The Traditions of the Kadar
Ms. Geetha, the leader of the Kadar community at Vazhachal, never seems to be at a loss for words. In an interview with The New Indian Express two weeks ago, she says, “We used to preserve the forests. That was how we lived. Now the government owns the forests.” She goes on to lament that […]
Semai May Have Achieved their Goals
Peaceful Semai protests about a dam construction project that has caused destruction in their communities appear to be helping their cause. The Orang Asli people living along the Geruntum River in the town of Gopeng, in Malaysia’s Perak State, received a lot of news coverage when the contractors destroyed their crops plus some of their […]
