Projects 2025
For 2025 we’ve received 350+ applications, thereof more than 100 fitting our funding criteria. This year’s selection process was wild – but we have chosen 12 amazing projects & determined activists working hard to fight for their rivers. It shows once again a remarkable need for this kind of funding – and it motivates us to work hard in 2025 on acquiring more partners to grow the fund and to be able to support more projects in the future. For 2025 we have chosen 12 projects from all over the world – from Greece to Guatemala, from New Zealand to Nepal – 7 brand new projects and 5 continued grants:
New Projects 2025
Save the Kaituna, WhitewaterNZ, New Zealand: We were devastated to hear the world famous and simply-put magnificent Kaituna River in New Zealand is threatened by hydropower development. The proposed Taheke 8C Hydro Development Project would affect three amazing sections of whitewater with important recreational, ecological & cultural value that would be lost to either flooding or insufficient flow. WhitewaterNZ is campaigning against the Hydro Scheme and may have the opportunity to participate in the legal proceedings as an affected party.
Save the Karnali Campaign, Nepal River Conservation Trust (NRCT), Nepal: In a land of hundreds of majestic rivers – the Karnali River is the last free-flowing river in Nepal. Yet there are multiple, huge hydropower projects proposed, dams that would not only disrupt ecosystems but also displace communities, destroy cultural heritage, and harm the livelihoods of the locals dependent on the river for fishing, farming, and water access – locals that are rarely reached by the promised benefits of hydropower. The NRCT has been advocating for Nepal’s Rivers and the Karnali for years, through awareness programs and engaging, educating and empowering local communities as well as legal actions to protect the Karnali River.
Keep Santa Cruz River free to the sea, Argentina: The Santa Cruz River in Southern Patagonia is Argentina’s fourth-largest river basin, flowing from the Andes to the Atlantic, fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field – and is threatened by two mega-dams, part of a geostrategic agreement between China and Argentina. Scientist-turned-Activist Guillermo Tamburini Beliveau is generating scientific arguments that are used in the legal cases to defend the river, working together closely with the lawyers defending the case; doing field work and academic studies as well as informing the population and the authorities and establishing a debate around the topic in the media.
No to the Rucalhue Power Plant, Malen Leubü, Rio Biobio, Chile: The Biobío River runs through Mapuche ancestral territories, and for decades has been affected by the construction of 3 existing hydropower projects, interrupting of the flow, harming the Mapuche people and their environment, generated a loss of cultural identity and a significant detachment from nature and the river. The activists from Malen Leubü campaign to stop the fourth hydro power plant on the Bíobio River, which would cause the relocation of 4 Mapuche communities that had already been relocated decades ago for the construction of the Ralco hydroelectric dam. Malen Leubü is a Mapuche women’s collective, rafting team, and activists for the defense of the Biobío river. They campaign using legal action, communication and engaging the local communities – and have been doing so since 2019.
Save the Rappenalpbach, Germany: Yannik Bavendiek is an individual local activist from Bavaria starting a campaign for the Rappenalpbach, a strictly protected river in the Allgäu Alps. A hydropower plant is proposed to be built here, located in a nature reserve. He is trying to raise awareness and foster resistance in the local communities through presentations to the local authorities and lectures in schools & institutions.
Life of the Usumacinta River, Alianza Ríos Mayas, México / Guatemala: The Usumacinta River, flowing from Guatemala to Mexico and for a considerable distance marking the border between those two, flows through a highly complex territory and is one of the last rivers of its size in the region that is still free flowing. It is facing many threats – especially the Usumacinta Hydroelectric System Plan, a mega project of attempting to construct 5 hydroelectric dams. The Ríos Mayas Alliance is campaigning to protect the biocultural territory of the river basin and keep the river flowing free, and is working to declare the Usumacinta River subject of legal rights to achieve that.
Protection of the Seta River, Cidhna dhe Kastriotet, Albania: The SETA 4 dam proposal would affect the Seta River and Gorge and divert the Sopanika spring and waterfalls in Albania. A group of local residents has been fighting for their river for over a decade now, and have financed and won a 7 year-long court case. Now the construction company is lodging an appeal to a higher court and the local activists need help financing their lawyers as by now most of them are pensioners.
Continued Grants
We will continue the support of the campaign Stop Skavica – Save the Drin River by the local collective Dibra Activists from Albania (Emergency Grant 2022, Grantee 2023). The proposed Skavica Dam project on the Drin river in Albania would flood 35 villages and displace approximately 20.000 residents. The activists have been and continue to work hard to campaign against the project through legal actions, media coverage, community work and have been able to garner a considerable amount of international attention and support of bigger environmental organisations.
We also resume the support of Călin Dejeu (Grantee 2023) – a local hero fighting a multitude of hydro projects on several rivers in Romania, Save Western Jiu River just one of the campaigns he is leading.
We continue to support Nicoleta Nour (Grantee 2024), an individual activist from Slovenia campaigning for the protection of the Sava River and in particular against the Mokrice Hydro Power Plant. The Sava River is connecting four countries and represents one of Europe´s ecologically and culturally most interesting river networks, with large sections still free flowing and extensive floodplains and alluvial forests preserved until the present day. The Mokrice HPP is one of nineteen hydropower dams projected along the Sava alone and in addition to those almost all tributaries are subject to further development plans. The decision about the Mokrice HPP is crucial for all the other planned developments on the Sava and therefore is the main objective in the fight to protect the Sava. Her campaign heavily aims at and includes the local communities that will be affected by the Hydro Power development: with workshops and events, promo materials, community actions, group discussions and a media campaign.
Further, we continue the support of Varig vern av Raundalselva – a local volunteer team in Voss (Norway) campaigning against a combined hydropower / flood prevention scheme proposed for the Raundalselva River. They have been Grantee in 2023 & 2024 and we were impressed with all they got done and excited that we were able to facilitate a partnership between this project and our Partner Palm Equipment that made an awesome film about the Raundalselva possible. Since Norway just abolished environmental protection for rivers and opened up even formerly protected rivers to hydropower development, their work is more important than ever before.
We also continue our support of the Aetomilitsa Residents Initiative from Greece (Grantee 2024) and their campaign against dozens of small hydropower plants planned in the Sarantaporos River – a tributary to the Vjosa River network. The area is a NATURA 2000 site and the Vjosa is Europe’s first River National Park – and yet its tributaries and wider river network are still under threat. The Citizen’s Initiative is doing community work, informing the public, organizing protests and fighting with all available legal tools to defend their river.In 2024 they were able to have two licenses for the construction of SHPs in the Sarantaporos River Basin canceled – but still have 20 remaining licenses to go. In 2025 they plan to establish an Environmental Association with the main purpose the maintenance of the free flow of Sarantaporos River to be better able to continue their legal battle.
