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ADB's Dams and Development E-paper:
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Dams have been around for thousands of years—storing water, preventing floods, irrigating agricultural lands, and generating huge amounts of hydroelectricity. Yet, dam constructions often invite social and environmental debates. ADB's Dams and Development e-paper is here to shed some light on development issues surrounding dams. |
DAMS AND DEVELOPMENT E-PAPER
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The debate over dams offers two opposing views, with a wide range of arguments in between.
One side perceives dams as necessary for development in the way that dams provide water, electricity, irrigation, and flood protection to ever-increasing populations.
The other side sees dams as disrupting the natural environment and creating ecological imbalance—dams disturb a river's sediment flow, obstruct fish from migrating and spawning, and affect water quality. It also highlights the displacement and dispersal of people and communities—those living in areas where the dams will be built and those dependent on rivers—thereby altering lives and livelihoods.
While the negative effects can be and are often prevented, dam projects are still criticized for requiring huge amounts of money, not meeting the expectations of project beneficiaries, or dispensing unequal benefits among the stakeholders.
The global debate is not as simple as taking one side or the other. Each choice must involve making informed decisions on the wise use of a country's natural resources, and assessing the potential social, economic, political, and environmental impacts of each dam project.
International concerns about dams escalated in the 1990s when the World Bank and The World Conservation Union (IUCN) brought both sides of the dams debate together in a workshop on large dams and environmental sustainability in 1997. From this initiative came the World Commission on Dams (WCD) that undertook an independent review of past experiences and developed new approaches for the planning, designing, appraisal, construction, operation, monitoring, and decommissioning of dams.
Composed of 12 members that represent a broad cross-section of dam stakeholders, the WCD produced the report "Dams and Development: A New Framework for Decision Making" that today serves as guide to planning and implementing dam projects, while taking into account the rights and risks to all stakeholders, as well as the inherent social and environmental consequences.
The WCD report reviewed the development effectiveness of previous dam projects and instituted core values, strategic priorities, and guidelines of good practice. Almost 6 years after the publication of the report, new ideas have been introduced, but significant challenges remain for governments, the public and private sector financing agencies, industry, and civil society.
Dams have significantly figured in ADB's development work, with 65 dam projects from 1970 until mid-2005 at an average of 1-2 dam projects annually. ADB's Water for All policy adopts a cautious approach to large water resource projects, especially those that involve dams.
ADB has also engaged in a number of dam-related reviews and discussions such as providing support for the WCD Regional Consultation for East and Southeast Asia in Viet Nam in February 2000 and hosting a Regional Workshop on Dams and Development in the Philippines in February 2001, among others.
Recognizing the complex issues, opportunities, and risks surrounding dam projects, ADB offers the Dams and Development e-paper as a knowledge reservoir for use by governments, the private sector, civil society, and development agencies.
What does this product contribute to the body of knowledge on dams?
ADB's Dams and Development e-paper demonstrates that there is a middle ground to the pro- and anti- positions of the dams debate. Solutions to meet development needs in a socially and environmentally acceptable way are always sought after. The e-paper promotes the following principles that ask the fundamental questions in planning and implementing dam projects:
The e-paper calls for improving governance in the water sector through
It also advances the development opportunities provided by existing dams. The 45,000 large dams worldwide, whose performance may still be improved through technological upgrades, can be studied to find solutions for current dam-related social and environmental problems.
The e-paper provides web links to international policies, frameworks, principles, strategies, and case studies on dams. It features measures and advice on how to assess a dam's feasibility, how to plan and implement dam projects safely and effectively, and how to avoid, reduce, or mitigate the social and environmental impacts that accompany dam constructions and operations.
This product is not meant to be a comprehensive reference material on dam design or on dam-related social and environmental issues. Rather, its aim is to generate more discussions on the future of dam projects by making available to project planners and decisionmakers materials on emerging issues and recent trends, information that may be on the Internet but are often difficult to locate.
Another feature of the e-paper is its continued updating of contents. Users are invited to share their experiences and thoughts on dam projects.
A part of ADB's Water for All publication series, the Dams and Development e-paper is accompanied by a brochure and CD-ROM for easy access to large documents that may be difficult and frustrating to download from the Internet.
ADB Director General for Regional and Sustainable Development Bindu Lohani says, "We trust that the Dams and Development e-paper will assist in the process of making choices about dam projects in a spirit of constructive and informed engagement."
Jeremy Bird
ADB Consultant
Email: jeremy.bird@tiscali.co.uk
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