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Dams and Development E-Paper Contents

p. -1 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 XI. ADB, Dams, and Development XII. References Contact Us

An Enabling Policy Environment

The range of available options is inevitably constrained by natural resource endowment and location, together with a host of technical, financial, environmental, social and cultural factors.

The policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks need to reflect these factors, but at the same time should be free of any unnecessary or inappropriate bias against specific technologies or alternatives. For example, the scope for demand-side options should be considered alongside supply-side solutions, and subsidies and hidden costs and impacts should be made explicit.

• Integrated Water Resources Management
• International Energy Agency Hydropower Agreement
• World Commission on Dams report
• International Hydropower Association: Sustainability Guidelines
• World Bank, Stakeholder Involvement in Options Assessment: A Sourcebook

The Global Water Partnership promotes introduction of an integrated approach to water resources management as:

'a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximise the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital eco-systems'

It has three key strategic objectives:

• efficiency to make water resources go as far as possible;
• equity, in the allocation of water across different social and economic groups;
• environmental sustainability, to protect the water resources base and associated eco-systems.

Guidance for countries in preparing IWRM plans was published by GWP and UN Cap-Net in March 2005, Integrated Water Resources Management Plans - Training Manual and Operational Guide.

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A Working Group of the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Hydropower produced recommendations on how countries can include the assessment of options in national power sector policies and regulatory frameworks.

The IEA recommendations state:

'Nations should develop energy policies that clearly set out objectives regarding the development of power generation options, including hydropower.

• National energy policies should compare electricity generation options fairly, by "internalising" or fully accounting for environmental and social costs.
• Comparison of power generation options should be based on a life-cycle analysis, by assessing impacts on the basis of the services provided by each technology.
• The social, environmental and economic trade-offs required to establish a national energy policy should be supported by public debates and be the result of a consensual approach'.

Source: IEA Hydropower Agreement, Annex III, Volume 2 - Main report, Section 7, p156.

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The second strategic priority of the World Commission on Dams on Comprehensive Options Assessment provides the following guidance for policy-level considerations:

'The range of options being examined at the outset will be broad and go beyond technical alternatives to consider relevant policy, programme and project alternatives. It should also consider:

• institutional changes and management reforms that could influence consumption patterns, reduce demand, and affect the viability of other supply options;
• the river basin context, cumulative impacts and interactive effects, including the interaction between surface and groundwater resources;
• multipurpose functions of alternatives;
• secondary local and regional development effects of alternatives;
• subsidies that can distort comparison of alternatives;
• life cycle analysis to compare electricity generation alternatives; and
• the gestation period required before benefits are delivered.

A major consideration in selecting options is assessing institutional capacity for implementation. If capacity is weak for a particular option, and strengthening measures or external support are not viable, then the option should be rejected'.

Source: WCD Report, 2000. Chapter 8, section 2.2.

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Sustainability Guidelines adopted by the International Hydropower Association (IHA) in 2004 call for national energy policies that provide clarity on a country's energy development strategy.

'IHA encourages countries to have in place national and/or regional energy policies. Each jurisdiction should clearly set out its energy development strategy so that the rules are known to all and arbitrary decisions are minimised.

National and/or regional energy policies should include a Strategic Assessment (SA) process that includes assessment of cumulative impacts, determination of land use and environmental priorities, as well as goals for poverty alleviation and economic growth. The policies should be framed in the context of the global need to reduce greenhouse emissions. They should also incorporate the three elements of sustainability -- economic, social and environmental -- in energy planning.

A Strategic Assessment process allows the high level identification of environmental, social and economic concerns and the resolution of competing needs. This process is a mechanism by which sustainable development and global trends concerning environmental goals can be reconciled with the management and conservation of natural resources. It should be a participatory, streamlined process, focused on major issues, using common sense and readily available information, and with short and definite time limits for its completion.

One important objective of an SA for energy policy would be to reduce uncertainties for developers by prioritising project options. Governments should give guidance on which social costs should be borne by developers and which should be the government's responsibility. Guidance can also be given in relation to priority areas or regions by, for example, defining river reaches which should be available for hydropower development and, conversely, those reaches protected from water resource development.

IHA also supports resolution of issues between nations where river basins cross national boundaries. This should be achieved through collaborative decision-making, under a framework of shared water management policy. Coordination of river basin research and policy development can be facilitated by multi-lateral agencies. An example of such an agency is the Mekong River Commission'.

Source: IHA Sustainability Guidelines, section 3.2.

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World Bank, Stakeholder Involvement in Options Assessment: A Sourcebook

The World Bank's Sourcebook on Stakeholder Involvement in Options Assessment points to some elements of good practice that include the following attributes to promote stakeholder participation (para 3.7):

• descriptions of the authorities for decision-making for strategic level-planning and project-level decisions, so that responsibilities are clear
• procedures for cross-sectoral coordination, including reconciling responsibilities under different legislation
• legislation or regulations requiring that a diverse set of options for water and energy provision are examined as early as possible
• disclosure policies in information used in public decision-making
• procedures for environmental and social impact assessment at both strategic and project-level decision-making
• clear descriptions of the rights and risks of project-affected people and the mechanisms for compensating for lost rights…. These rights should include recognition of customary law practices
• a general right to form organizations that represent stakeholder interests….
• procedures for submission and processing of objections, including reasonable time frames for doing so. Clear arbitration procedures for objections and complaints.

An Executive Guide to the Sourcebook can be viewed here or downloaded. The Sourcebook can be obtained by contacting the World Bank.

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