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Through pollution and water scarcity, communities along the Kenyan Athi River have learnt the hard way that upstream and downstream communities are inevitably connected. In response to indiscriminate impacts on the environment and people's livelihoods, civil society organisations within the Athi River Basin formed the Athi River Community Network (ARCN).

In the Nam Ou river in Northern Laos, seven dams are built by a Chinese company. All over the world one can see the same picture when it comes to hydropower projects: it has devastating impacts on the people living in or around the area where they are being built, primarily because they are being displaced. It seems that displacement of communities is still accepted as the unavoidable collateral damage of infrastructure projects. This reveals a highly unacceptable attitude towards poor communities in whose name development is proceeding. In Laos, our Laotian partner visited communities along the river to talk with people about their life after displacement:

The water quality of East Java's largest river, the Brantas River, is increasingly deteriorating due to a combination of industrial and household waste. This environmental pollution has a disproportionate impact on women. Yet, their participation in decision-making remains lacking. ECOTON is working to improve the situation.

The European Investment Bank EIB should get rid of its gas-investments, and the Netherlands can take the lead in this. The Netherlands appears to be relying less and less on gas in its energy policy, and also seems to focus on gas-free investments at the EIB. Now it is important to maintain this position and also convince the other EU countries.

Today, more than 340 organisations from both South America and Europe, including Both ENDS, have sent a joint open letter to European Union leaders calling for the EU to cease negotiations on the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement. The organisations and their constituencies are seriously concerned about increasing violations of indigenous human rights and damage to nature and the environment in Brazil.

Last Thursday June 13, Rahmawati Retno Winarni of TUK, an Indonesian partner organisation of Both ENDS, presented a symbolic tree and an appeal to the Dutch Minister of Agriculture Carola Schouten, also on behalf of 10 NGOs. The joint NGOs are pushing the EU,  including the Dutch government, for strict EU legislation to prevent the destruction of forests and ecosystems and to protect human rights.

In 2018, we worked closely with our partners around the world to achieve more sustainable and inclusive societies. Our joint projects and activities vary from regreening drylands to protecting wetlands, from capacity development at the community level to advocacy at United Nations level, from policy to practice. Read all our stories from 2018 in the Both ENDS Annual Report!

The South American La Plata Basin is the largest freshwater wetland in the world. Monoculture, ranching, mining and infrastructure projects are among the many threats to the wetland system, its forests and rivers, and the livelihoods of the many people who depend on them. Our partners in the region work tirelessly to preserve the basin.

Due to their role as environmental leaders, women are key actors in restoring degraded ecosystems. Within the Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA), we work with local women's groups to promote the use of Analog Forestry.

The vast majority of climate finance is channelled to (and through) big institutions and large-scale projects, often without taking into account the wishes and interests of local communities. Both ENDS is working with diverse partners worldwide to address this problem, with a special focus on the Green Climate Fund (GCF).