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Hydropower in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Tracking the human rights and environmental impacts of the hydropower industry in Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

As the climate crisis urges a shift to more sustainable resources to meet growing energy needs in Central Asia and the Caucasus, a fast and fair transition to wind, solar and hydropower is needed. But a broken hydropower industry model allows companies and projects to create significant social and environmental costs with apparent impunity.

We have tracked publicly reported allegations of environmental and human rights abuses against companies planning or operating hydropower plants (HPPs) in Armenia, Georgia, Tajikistanand Kyrgyzstan. The evidence of human misery and environmental damage demands urgent attention from the international banks and investors backing these projects. Unnecessary harm linked to the hydropower industry calls for a transformation of approach by investors and lenders in the region, as well as companies.

At a glance

265

issues linked to hydropower projects

recorded in the tracker

32

hydropower projects

across Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

98

community impacts

the most frequently-recorded issue

None

of the companies

has a publicly available human rights policy

This tracker seeks to improve the human rights policies and practices of companies planning or operating hydropower plants by shedding light on the key environmental and human rights risks in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. For more information on how the data was collected, please see our methodology.

Find a company/project

Find a hydropower company to identify whether it has a human rights policy, and whether its activity has been linked to allegations of human rights and/or environmental abuses. This tracker includes companies and allegations covered by regional research. For further details on allegations, download the full data set below.

Analysis

Drying up: Tracking the environmental and human rights harms caused by hydropower in the Caucasus and Central Asia