Water

Dams and Development E-Paper Contents

p. 60 of 74 BACK | NEXT Home Page of Dams and Development Foreword I. Why an e-paper on dams and development? II. Assessing options III. Participatory processes IV. Social impacts V. Environmental impacts VI. Benefit distribution VII. Dam safety and sustainability VIII. Existing projects IX. Improving governance X. What other organizations say World Commission on Dams - reactions and follow up UNEP Dams and Development Project World Bank Examples of in-country dialogues Policies in the private sector and export credit agencies Professional Associations International Organizations Non-Governmental Organizations XI. ADB, Dams, and Development XII. References Contact Us

World Commission on Dams - and how others have followed up

A number of references are made in this e-paper to the findings and recommendations of the World Commission on Dams (WCD). The following brief description of WCD points to the main elements of its work, while full details of its studies, submissions and consultations can be found on the WCD website. ADB's reaction to the WCD report and follow up actions can be found here.

The World Commission on Dams was established in 1998 as an independent time-bound process to address the central issues of controversy with respect to large dams and provide an independent review of their effectiveness in sustainable development. It emerged as the recommendation of a multi-stakeholder workshop convened in Gland, Switzerland by the World Bank and IUCN-The World Conservation Union. Read the proceedings of the workshop 'Large Dams -.Learning from the past, Looking at the Future'.

The Commission's goals were to:

• review the development effectiveness of dams and assess alternatives for water resources and energy development
• develop internationally acceptable standards, guidelines and criteria for decision making in the planning, design, construction, monitoring, operation and decommissioning of dams.

WCD was an independent body comprised of twelve Commissioners and financed by 54 organizations. It was not a UN body and its report is advisory in nature.

From 1998 to 2000 the WCD undertook a work program comprising:

• case studies and cross-check survey
• thematic reviews
• submissions
• regional consultations

The WCD Report was published in November 2000. Part 1 reviews the development effectiveness of dam projects with chapters on Technical, Financial and Economic Performance; Ecosystems and Large Dams - Environmental Performance; People and Large Dams - Social Performance; Options for Water and Energy Resources Development; Decision-Making, Planning and Institutions.

The findings are characterized by the following summary provided in the WCD Overview 'After more than two years of intense study, dialogue with those for and against large dams, and reflection, the Commission believes there can no longer be any justifiable doubt about five key points:

1. Dams have made an important and significant contribution to human development, and the benefits derived from them have been considerable
2. In too many cases an unacceptable and often unnecessary price has been paid to secure those benefits, especially in social and environmental terms, by people displaced, by communities downstream, by taxpayers and by the natural environment.
3. Lack of equity in the distribution of benefits has called into question the value of many dams in meeting water and energy development needs when compared with the alternatives
4. By bringing to the table all those whose rights are involved and who bear the risks associated with different options for water and energy resources development, the conditions for a positive resolution of competing interests and conflicts are created
5. Negotiating outcomes will greatly improve the development effectiveness of water and energy projects by eliminating unfavourable projects at an early stage, and by offering as a choice only those options that key stakeholders agree represent the best ones to meet the needs in question'.

Part 2, ' The Way Forward', of the WCD Report includes recommendations at three levels:

• five core values
• seven strategic priorities and associated policy principles
• criteria checklists for five key decision points
• 26 guidelines of good practice

The Commission completed its work with publication of its report and disbanded as planned. Its archive website is http://www.dams.org

A third meeting of the WCD Forum of stakeholders met in February 2001 to provide reactions to the report and consider follow up activities leading ultimately to formation of the UNEP Dams and Development Project.

For more information on follow-on actions and reactions, see:

• Reactions to the WCD report
• Institutional Follow-up to WCD
  • UNEP Dams and Development Project
  • Third World Water Forum
  • European Investment Bank
  • Private Sector
  • Export Credit Agencies
  • IUCN Water and Nature Initiative
  • International Hydropower Association
  • International Commission on Large Dams
  • International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage
  • WWF Dams Program
  • International Rivers Network

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