Zachary Hurwitz Mr. Hurwitz coordinates International Rivers' efforts to strengthen and hold dam builders accountable to sustainability commitments, and to improve the risk management practices and social and environmental standards of public and private sector banks, with a special focus on emerging markets. Before joining International Rivers in 2011, he worked as a geographer, researching river basin conflicts and policies for climate change mitigation in Brazil's Amazon region. He has previously worked with the Rapoport Center for Human Rights to investigate human rights violations in the planning and construction of the Texas-Mexico border wall, and has collaborated with civil society organizations across the world. Mr. Hurwitz holds a Master of Arts in Geography and the Environment from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Wesleyan University. He tweets @ZacharyHurwitz.
February 1st, 2012 | by Zachary Hurwitz
The World Bank's Board of Directors has approved a new lending instrument called Program-For-Results (P4R). The instrument is supposed to fund programs, not provide project finance, and is meant to work within a borrower's existing regulatory framework -- what the Bank calls a country systems approach
September 23rd, 2011 | by Zachary Hurwitz
The International Hydropower Association launched its non-binding sustainability guidelines scorecard in Beijing today, hoping to attract Chinese dam builders to what is turning out to be the world's latest industry-led greenwash. Yet, the scorecard, called the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP), may do little to fill the accountability gap that exists between country regulatory systems. The HSAP makes no requirement of developers to comply with national and international legislation
June 22nd, 2011 | by Zachary Hurwitz
The International Hydropower Association (IHA) just launched the "Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol" at its bi-yearly Congress in the town of Foz do Iguaçú, Brazil, last week. The Protocol is in reality only a scorecard that rewards hydropower companies and financiers with a greenwashed stamp of approval; it does not represent a true step towards the actual practice of sustainability in the sector
