KLAMATH RIVER ACCORD
Protecting Free-Flowing Rivers and Recognizing Dam Removal as a Climate and Justice Imperative
Preamble We, the undersigned individuals, Tribes, Indigenous groups/peoples, organizations, municipal governments, and allied entities, bear witness to the historic removal of the Klamath River Dams, an unprecedented step toward restoring the health of the river, revitalizing salmon populations, and upholding the rights and sovereignty of Tribes and Indigenous Peoples. This Accord was conceived, written, and led by a coalition of Tribal and Indigenous youth with support from river protectors around the world, and recognizes that the removal of these dams should serve as a model for future climate resilience efforts and a testament to the power of collective action. Furthermore, we acknowledge the urgent need to protect the world’s remaining free-flowing rivers, ensuring that the mistakes made on dammed rivers are not repeated elsewhere.
Many dams have long been recognized as destructive forces to river ecosystems, Indigenous peoples and river-dependent communities, as well as the global climate. They disrupt the hydrological and nutrient cycles essential to biodiversity, impeding sediment transport and altering natural stream flows critical for aquatic and terrestrial life. Dams contribute to the collapse of fish populations, particularly migratory species like salmon, devastating food security and cultural traditions for Indigenous Peoples and river-dependent communities. They fragment habitats, impede species movement, and fundamentally alter entire ecosystems. Additionally, dams emit significant amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, exacerbating climate change, potentially cancelling any purported clean energy benefits. They have even been linked to increased seismic activity due to the immense pressure of dam reservoirs on tectonic plates.
Beyond freshwater systems, the negative impacts of dams extend to ocean health, where diminished freshwater flow and sediment transportation disrupt nutrient distribution, nearshore habitat, and marine ecosystems. Dams can reduce the natural transport of sediments that are crucial for maintaining deltas, estuaries, and coastal resilience against rising sea levels. The disruption of these ecological processes has far-reaching consequences, affecting biodiversity, food security and integral food systems, and the well-being of communities reliant on healthy river systems.
Recognizing these widespread harms, we affirm the need for a global shift toward river protection and the removal of obsolete and destructive dams. At a time of intensifying climate crisis, the removal of the Klamath River dams signals a pivotal shift in how we value rivers. This historic act not only restores an ancestral waterway but also demonstrates that dam removal is a powerful, underutilized climate solution. Free-flowing rivers act as ecological corridors, biodiversity refugia, carbon sinks, climate stabilizers, and sources of clean water and food. They nourish fisheries, recharge aquifers, transport nutrients, and sustain Tribal, Indigenous and local river-dependent communities around the world. A just energy transition must prioritize these intact river systems, directing funds away from new dam construction and toward regional, community-led solutions that safeguard both people and ecosystems. The Klamath’s restoration shows us a better path forward—one rooted in justice, sovereignty, mindful consumption, and ecological integrity.
Early data since the removal of the first Klamath River dams in 2024 shows migratory salmon returning to stretches of the river not accessed for over a century. This recovery revives a food source and honors a sacred relationship for local Tribes and Indigenous peoples, while supporting ecosystem balance and economic livelihoods. The river’s rewilding is restoring oxygen levels, sediment flows, and native species in real time, serving as living proof that river restoration can heal both nature and culture. The removal of the Klamath Dams marks the beginning of a new era for rivers, where resilience replaces concrete, and the knowledge of Indigenous leadership guides our collective future.
From this process, we carry essential lessons— about what went wrong, what it took to make dam removal possible, and what we must do differently moving forward. These include:
● Prioritizing the importance of, investment in, and collaboration with, sustained civil society and Indigenous leadership over decades
● Elevating the power of intergenerational advocacy to shape national decisions
● Anticipating and managing the challenges of restoration after long-term ecological disruption
● Successfully securing the necessary funding mechanisms dedicated to dam removal and long-term restoration
We therefore adopt the following principles and commitments, and call on all climate planners, funders, and decision makers to similarly commit to protecting free-flowing rivers worldwide
Principles and Commitments
WHEREAS the undersigned organizations, parties, rights-holders and stakeholders uphold, affirm and commit to:
1. Protecting Free-Flowing Rivers – We commit to safeguarding the world’s rivers from dams and other harmful infrastructure projects that negatively impact ecosystems and river-dependent communities. We recognize that rivers are vital for ecological integrity, cultural heritage, human health, and climate resilience.
2. Opposing New Dams – We acknowledge that the construction of new dams on free-flowing rivers and river segments is an outdated and ecologically destructive practice that trades ecosystem function, climate resilience, and community health for limited societal benefits. We affirm that future infrastructure projects must prioritize river health, Indigenous sovereignty, and sustainable energy alternatives.
3. Supporting Dam Removal as a Climate Solution – We recognize that the removal of harmful dams is a viable and necessary strategy to build climate resilience and improve climate adaptation and mitigation, helping to restore ecosystems, bolster biodiversity, and revitalize fisheries essential to Tribes, Indigenous communities, river-dependent communities and regional economies.
4. Learning from the Past – We commit to using the knowledge gained from the harmful legacy of destructive dam projects, and the benefits of dam removals, including on the Klamath River, to inform policies and decisions that prevent further river destruction. We affirm that scientific, cultural, and ecological lessons must be integrated into global river management and climate strategies.
5. Supporting River Restoration and Stewardship – We pledge to support long-term river restoration efforts, ecological recovery monitoring, and other work to ensure the health of rivers for future generations.
6. Upholding Tribal Leadership and Rights – We affirm that Indigenous Nations, as original stewards of the Klamath River and other watersheds, must be at the forefront of decision-making in water governance, conservation, and restoration efforts.
7. Establishing Global Precedent for River Restoration and Protection – We acknowledge that the lessons learned from the Klamath River dam removal should inform global efforts to remove dams as obsolete systems and restore free-flowing river systems worldwide.
Demands
In light of these Principles and Commitments, we THEREFORE DEMAND action from global leaders to:
1. Prevent the permitting, financing and approval of new or expanded hydropower dams and/or other infrastructure that jeopardize river flows, water quality, fish passage, sediment transport, sustainable fisheries, climate, community and ecosystem resilience, and/or Tribal and Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
2. Exclude hydroelectric dams from all carbon offset schemes, including those in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and all “net zero” pledges, tracking and reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
3. Require that UNFCCC member countries fully account for methane emissions from dams and reservoirs when calculating Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
4. Exclude from NDCs all hydroelectric dam projects that violate the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and commit to uphold free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in consultation with affected Tribal, Indigenous, Native, and river-dependent rural governments and communities.
5. Integrate dam removal into climate and water management strategies, while strengthening protections for existing free-flowing rivers.
6. Implement and expand policies that protect the ecological function of rivers and other natural water systems, including protecting river habitat, ecological flows, fish passage and water quality.
7. Respect for Prior Consultation – Ensure that prior consultation is conducted with Tribes, Indigenous governments, as well as affected communities. This process must be more than symbolic; it must serve as a mechanism to reject projects that pose harm. The decisions of consulted communities must be respected and upheld.
Call to Action
We, the undersigned, invite additional organizations, Tribes, policymakers, governments and international bodies to sign onto this Accord, to reinforce a shared commitment to a future where free-flowing rivers thrive and no more destructive dams are built. We elevate this Accord to serve as a stepping stone for future policy reforms, conservation initiatives, and legal protections for rivers around the world. The signatories aim to work individually and collectively to advocate for legislative, regulatory, and funding mechanisms that support the Accord’s commitments.
Definitions
● Dams – For the purposes of this document, the term “dam” refers to an artificial structure blocking the flow of a river or stream for the purpose(s) of generating hydropower, significantly altering seasonal flows, diverting river water for other purposes, or otherwise impeding the natural functions of a river.
● Indigenous peoples – In the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the term „Indigenous peoples“ is used as an umbrella term to encompass various groups with a shared historical continuity in a region prior to colonization, and who maintain distinct social, economic, and political systems. This term is used in international contexts and within the UN system to refer to groups that identify as indigenous, regardless of whether they also identify as Tribes or nations.
List of signatures:
