‘Like Fish on Land’: testimonies from people in Uganda and Laos after being displaced
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:
No other options
Before the construction of the Nam Ou dams, young women and girls used to fish and collect edible river weed, fresh river oyster, ferns and herbs to sell at local markets. The influx of construction workers as well the deterioration of natural resources that they are depending on, leaves women in a vulnerable situation. Nowadays, to be able to make a living they are often forced into sex work.
“What do you sell?” I ask the young woman because I feel hungry after a long day of travelling.
“We sell different things” one Khmu lady replies in Lao.
“Do you sell noodle soup?” I ask again.
“No, we don’t”, she responds with a shy smile.
I feel speechless. From where we sit, further in the back, I can see the entrances to 6 small rooms.
“Shs”, the daughter in law of the boatman that brought us here lowers her voice and raises her finger to point at a neon light above us. Outside the rain is pouring so we cannot leave the place.
After five minutes, a girl comes out from one of the small rooms. She looks too young to work, I would guess she is between 13 and 15 years old at max. She looks very tired for the time of the day. It is around noon. Later, another girl comes out of the next room, also looking very young. Then two girls from a bigger room; one girl a little bit older than the other. Most girls wear make-up. I start to understand that they all work at nighttime.
Raindrops continue to drop on the earth, some are only slowly absorbed by it. Those girls slowly take the time to wash their faces and then put on new make-up for the coming night.”
Large hydro power projects and local communities
Our publication ‘Like Fish on Land’ provides a snapshot in time of the situation in communities in Uganda and Laos after being displaced by the development of hydro power. It reveals a shocking account of amongst others gender based violence that endemically accompanies infrastructure development all over the world.
Same picture eveywhere
The personal testimonies in the four cases presented in this publication are illustrative for the bigger picture. They show that people’s livelihoods, food security, environment and ecological resources and gender relations are compromised by the resettlement process following the development.
For more information
Read more about this subject
-
Dossier /Large-scale infrastructure
Large-scale infrastructural projects have detrimental effects on local people and the environment, while their benefits are felt elsewhere. Both ENDS is working to ensure that local people have a greater say in decision-making and is investigating the way these projects are funded.
-
Dossier /Gas in Mozambique
In 2011 one of the world’s largest gas reserves was found in the coastal province of Cabo Delgado, in the north of Mozambique. A total of 35 billion dollars has been invested to extract the gas. Dozens of multinationals and financiers are involved in these rapid developments. It is very difficult for the people living in Cabo Delgado to exert influence on the plans and activities, while they experience the negative consequences. With the arrival of these companies, they are losing their land.
-
Dossier /Export Credit Agencies: Who pays the price?
Both ENDS calls on the government only to provide export credit insurance to sustainable projects that cause no social and/or environmental damage in the countries where they take place.
-
Press release / 2 December 2025End of Dutch involvement in controversial gas project in Mozambique in sight after TotalEnergies withdraws from Dutch insurance
THE HAGUE/CABO DELGADO, December 1, 2025 - Today, Minister of Finance Eelco Heinen announced that TotalEnergies is withdrawing from a $640 million Dutch export credit insurance policy for a controversial gas project in Mozambique. Although the Dutch government has been avoiding this decision for years, this move has finally ended part of the Dutch involvement in this disastrous project.
-
Dossier /Indigenous communities threatened by Barro Blanco dam in Panama
The Barro Blanco dam project in Panama, which has Dutch financial support, is causing indigenous lands to disappear under water. Both ENDS is working to protect the rights of indigenous communities living near the dam.
-
Blog / 1 December 2025The Long Road to Justice for the Ngäbe of Kiad
In October 2025 I travelled to Kiad, the Indigenous Ngäbe community that led the struggle against the FMO-financed Barro Blanco dam, for one last time. I went there to say my goodbyes, both personally and on behalf of Both ENDS, and to catch a first glimpse on how a community program financed by FMO and DEG – the result of a dialogue process that took several years – is giving a new impulse to the dam-affected communities. But how did we get here?
-
Environmentally Just Practice /A Negotiated Approach for Inclusive Water Governance
A Negotiated Approach envisages the meaningful and long-term participation of communities in all aspects of managing the water and other natural resources on which their lives depend. It seeks to achieve healthy ecosystems and equitable sharing of benefits among all stakeholders within a river basin. This inclusive way of working is an essential precondition for the Transformative Practices that are promoted by Both ENDS and partners.
-
Dossier /Rights for People, Rules for Corporations – Stop ISDS!
Indigenous communities in Paraguay saw their attempts to regain their ancestral lands thwarted by German investors. In Indonesia, US-based mining companies succeeded to roll back new laws that were meant to boost the country’s economic development and protect its forests. This is the level of impact that investment treaties can have on social, environmental and economic development and rights. Why? Because of the ‘Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement’ clauses that are included in many such treaties.
-
Dossier /Wetlands without Borders
With our Wetlands without Borders program, we work towards environmentally sustainable and socially responsible governance of the wetlands system of the La Plata Basin in South America.
-
Publication / 17 November 2025
-
Letter / 14 November 2025
Letter: TPAC’s report “Final Judgement Detailed Research MTCS’’
A coalition of Malaysian and international NGOs has released a memorandum in response to the recent TPAC report on the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS). The organisations express serious concerns about the independence, quality, and credibility of the assessment carried out by the Timber Procurement Assessment Committee (TPAC).
-
Press release / 13 November 2025Global Alliance Urges Dutch Government to Reconsider Endorsement of Controversial Timber Certification Scheme
A coalition of Malaysian and international NGOs has released a memorandum in response to the recent TPAC report on the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS). The organizations express serious concerns about the independence, quality, and credibility of the assessment carried out by the Timber Procurement Assessment Committee (TPAC).
-
Dossier /Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA)
GAGGA rallies the collective power of the women's rights and environmental justice movements to realize a world where women can and do access their rights to water, food security, and a clean, healthy and safe environment.
-
News / 5 November 2025Interview: Both ENDS at COP30 for Climate Justice and Systemic Change
Both ENDS is present at COP30 to advocate for genuine access to climate finance for locally led, gender-just climate solutions and the mechanisms that facilitate this, including those for farmer-led restoration. Furthermore, the organisation participates to ensure the crucial connection between the climate negotiations and the trade and investment frameworks that shape them.
Learn more about the Both ENDS team at COP30 below, and find all the activities and side-events in which Both ENDS will participate.
-
News / 5 November 2025Overview of Both ENDS events at COP30 in Belem, Brazil
Both ENDS is present at COP30 to advocate for genuine access to climate finance for locally led, gender-just climate solutions, and for the mechanisms that make these possible, including those supporting farmer-led restoration. The organisation also engages to highlight the crucial connection between climate negotiations and the trade and investment frameworks that shape them.
Below is an overview of the Both ENDS team at COP30 and a detailed look at the activities and side-events in which Both ENDS will participate.
-
News / 27 October 2025New Step in FMO’s Complaint Policy – Civil Society Organizations Call for Further Strengthening
The updated complaint mechanism of the development banks FMO, DEG, and Proparco marks an important step forward. Organizations that participated in the consultation acknowledge the efforts to improve the mechanism. At the same time, they emphasize that much still needs to be done to make the policy truly effective, transparent, and independent.
-
Publication / 16 October 2025
-
Publication / 16 October 2025
-
News / 9 October 2025Both ENDS launches new strategy: “Connecting people for an environmentally just world”
With great pride, Both ENDS launches today it’s new strategy for the coming 5 years: “Connecting people for an environmentally just world”. This strategy was developed in close collaboration with our partner network, which has always been, and still is, the foundation of our work. Together, we strive for an environmentally just world in which people and ecosystems thrive and all people can live a life of dignity.
-
Publication / 9 October 2025
