Trip Jennings, founder of the Rivers in Demand organization, spoke at UT on March 11 about rivers in danger all around the world. Rivers in Demand is an organization aimed at preserving what is left of river ecosystems. To do this, he and his group kayak previously un-run rivers in their most pristine state before they fall victim to industrialization.

Jennings began kayaking in Richmond, Va. and has kayaked Metlako Falls in Oregon, tied for the biggest waterfall ever run at 101 feet. Through kayaking, Jennings realized that he was getting to see parts of the world that most people cannot even imagine, parts of the world that were being destroyed before they were even understood. 

This realization spurred Jennings to create his organization, which so far has paddled such remote rivers as the Congo near Kinshasa, the Last Bend in China, and the Pandi River in Papua New Guinea. 

The Pandi River in Papua New Guinea is under major threat from palm plantations, the trees used to make the very common household staple, palm oil. Jennings and his group took photos of the remote forests and rivers-along with the much-neglected indigenous people-that thrive there. Further downstream, the group took pictures of the devastation wrought by the plantations. Jennings and his group sent these pictures to the Papua New Guinea and New Britain governments. Now the government is working to preserve those areas as national parks. 

After the organization was done in Papua New Guinea, they traveled to undergo the last descent of the Last Bend in the Yangste River in China. The Yangste River is home to the Three Gorges Dam, one of the biggest dams in the entire world. The Chinese government is currently working on adding an astounding 12 more dams to the river, which could cause enough water build up to shift the earth's rotation, said Jennings.

Rivers in Demand teamed up with the Last Descents River Expeditions, an organization that is trying to start a river protection project in China. The two groups joined up to take a group of Asian political figures and other tourists down the river for one last chance to show the Chinese population the worth of the river to the country's culture and natural beauty, said Jennings. 

Though some of the dams are still underway, construction of the other proposed twelve has been put on hold, thanks to the collaboration of two very dedicated organizations. 

Only two percent of the world has what are called hot spots-huge spots of biodiversity-and these hotspots contain almost 70% of the world's flora and fauna. Already, about 60% of them have disappeared due to industrialization.

Through a love of kayaking that nurtured a love for nature, Jennings and his crew have worked endlessly to preserve the rest of the pristine wilderness so that one day, others can enjoy the same beauty he has gotten to see in his lifetime.