INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST DAMS and for Rivers, Water and Life MARCH 14th, 2006 CALL TO ACTION!

March 14, 2006 is the 9th annual International Day of Action Against Dams and for Rivers, Water and Life! This is a time to join together in solidarity to protest destructive river development and celebrate successes over the last year. It is also a time to fight for social justice and the rights of communities to have a say in decisions affecting their lives and livelihoods. We invite you to participate in this year's Day of Action by planning an action or event to celebrate rivers, water and life.

Last year on March 14, more than 90 actions mobilized and inspired people to take action. Across the globe, in places where rivers and communities are threatened by destructive river-development schemes, thousands of people from at least 30 countries united on March 14 to celebrate the International Day of Action for Against Dams and for Rivers, Water and Life. As always, creative approaches were the norm, and actions ranged from hunger strikes to sit-ins; dam-site blockades to urban protest marches; children's events to public seminars; spiritual ceremonies to boat trips down threatened rivers. Take a stand this March 14th for healthy rivers and thriving communities!

SOME OF LAST YEAR'S ACTIONS

Thailand: Protesting Nam Theun 2 More than 150 Thai villagers gathered in front of the World Bank's Bangkok headquarters to protest the Nam Theun 2 Dam in Lao PDR. They burnt an effigy of World Bank President James Wolfensohn and called on the Bank to refuse support for the project. The majority of protesters were harmed by the World Bank-financed Pak Mun dam, which 12 years ago destroyed the fisheries of the Mun River. Unfortunately, the World Bank decided to give support to the Nam Theun 2 Dam on March 31, 2005 and the project is now under construction. The project will displace more than 6,000 villagers and affect the livelihoods of another 100,000 people living downstream along the Xe Bang Fai, a large Mekong tributary.

Lesotho: Celebration of Rivers, Water and Life Affected peoples in Lesotho, where dams have harmed the livelihoods of tens of thousands of small farmers, came together with those who would be affected by a new dam. Some 2,000 people (a huge turnout for the small country) held an action at the site of the proposed Metalong Dam on the Phuthiatsana River, southeast of the capital city of Maseru. The Transformation Resource Centre and community members who have been affected by the multi-dam Lesotho Highlands Water Project joined those who will be affected by the Metolong Dam. Participants in the event voiced concerns about the nation's dam-building, and sang, danced, and celebrated rivers, water and life.

Argentina: Mobilizations to Stop Dam Construction The Earth Soldiers in Argentina united under the slogan "By the Earth, Water and Life." Mobilizations in the cities of Esquel and Buenos Aires focused on stopping the construction of six dams in the Corcovado River basin. These dams would flood 27,000 acres of productive lands and forests and displace local communities. Mapuche indigenous people and local farmers sent this message to the world: "In name of the development, they evacuate us, they contaminate us and they flood us. We say: No to the dams in River Carrenleufúu. No to the mines; no to the privatization of the territory and its resources; no to the closing of the Patagonia; no to the continuing genocide of the people of the Earth."

Australia: River Blessing and Protection Children in Australia commemorated the Nepean River with a day on the beach. The celebrations included a river fairy, women drummers, singing, and cake. The children wore shirts that read "We Love Our Rivers," and threw flowers into the river to bless and protect it. The upper Nepean River is under threat from coal mining by the world's biggest mining company, BHP Billiton.

http://www.irn.org/dayofaction/