Gualcarque River

The Gualcarque River (Río Gualcarque) is a river in Intibucá, western Honduras. It is sacred to the indigenous Lenca, who depend on the river for their subsistence. It is the site of the proposed Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam, a joint Honduran-Chinese project. Since 2006, Sinohydro, the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Honduran company Desarrollos Energéticos (DESA) have made preparations for four hydroelectric dams without consulting the Lenca, including the Agua Zarca dam. Construction began in 2012, and in 2013 river access was blocked, after which the Lenca started to protest. They have been met with violence, detention and torture. In July 2013 during a peaceful protest near the dam construction site, Tomas García was shot and killed, allegedly by the Honduran Army. In March 2016, Berta Cáceres, an internationally known indigenous activist who was a leader of the opposition to the dam, was also shot and killed. In June 2017, the banks financing the project suspended and withdrew funding because of the controversy.

Flows through: Honduras.

River data from Wikidata (CC0); lengths normalised to a common unit.