Source of Life? Rivers, Hydropower and the Climate Crisis

Online seminar by GegenStrömung, Living Rivers Foundation and the Water Working Group of the Forum on Environment and Development in cooperation with RíosToRivers, Klima*Kollektiv the Waterkeepers Alliance, Rivers for Climate and other partners with a view on the Climate COP 30 in Belém/Brasil.

Wednesday, 15 October 2025 from 5:00 to 6:45 pm CEST, 8.00 to 9.45 a.m. Pacific time.

Rivers are the lifelines of our planet. With their floodplains, they provide diverse natural habitats for migratory fish, small animals and many semi-aquatic species. At the same time, they provide crystallisation spaces for human use and settlement, are diked, channelled and dammed with transverse structures to enable agricultural irrigation, generate hydroelectric power, protect against flooding and also provide drinking water.

While large dams generate significant amounts of electrical energy, they block fish migration routes, threaten the traditional ways of life of indigenous peoples and release large amounts of climate-damaging methane. Thousands of planned dam projects are threatening the world’s last free-flowing rivers. While new dam projects are pushed forward in South America and many other places around the world, there are also efforts to specifically restore particularly valuable salmon and trout rivers by dismantling dams. Awareness of the importance of rivers is growing in climate negotiations.

At our seminar, we will hear about the successful dismantling of four dams on the Klamath River. With the Klamath River Accord, the dam-critical movement is directly addressing COP 30 in Belém, Brazil. The Brazilian anti-dam movement will present its situation and its alternative projects. Together with activists from the Brazilian MAB movement, we are planning activities for the COP. We will also establish links to the climate movement in Germany. The Klima*Kollektiv will report on the days of action on the Weser River and present its river camps planned for 2026.

The online seminar will be a combination of short presentations and small discussion groups. We aim to provide translation into German, English and Spanish.

Registration is possible until 13^th October 2025 with email to: Nina Hrkalovic: hrkalovic@forumue.de

The Online-Seminar will be conducted via Zoom. The link will be provided one day prior to the event. The main part of the seminar will be recorded. With your registration you agree to the recording and online-publishing in the internet as well as the collection of your data for proceeding your participation.

Source of Life? Rivers, Hydropower and the Climate Crisis has been registered as our contribution for the Dam Removal Day.

Programme Time in CEST (Pacific Time a.m.)

5:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m.) Welcome and Introduction

5:10 p.m. (8:10 a.m.) Klamath River – the Largest Dam Removal in US History

Klamath River – First Descent, Brook Thompson, Yurok & Karuk Native

Klamath River Accord, Hayley Stuart, Ríos to Rivers

(Presentations in English)

5:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m.) Anti-dam Movement in Brasil + local projects

Moisés Borges, MAB, Brasilien (Presentation in Spanish)

5:45 p.m. (8:45 a.m.) Feed Production and Climate Impacts– Days of Action and Rivercamps

Alex Wernke, Klima*Kollektiv (Presentation in German)

6:00 p.m. (9:00 a.m.)Discussion groups / Breakout – Rooms

Actions and Contributions to Climate COP 30 in Belém/Brasil (En/Esp)
Moderator: Heike Drillisch, GegenStrömung/CounterCurrent
Protection and Restoration of Rivers, Dam Removal, International Networks and Cooperation. (En only)
Moderator: Michael Bender (Living Rivers Foundation)
German Responcibility. Actions and Campaigns in Germany (in German)
Moderator: Alex Wernke, Klima*Kollektiv

6:30 p.m. (9:30 a.m.)Reporting back from the Discussion Groups / Breakout-Rooms

6:40 p.m. (9:40 a.m.) Conclusion and Outlook

Moderator: Michael Bender (Living Rivers Foundation / GRÜNE LIGA)

You can find the agenda here: GgStr-LR-FUE_R4C_Workshop_Dams_Climate_COP30_15Okt2025_Programme_English