Water

Dams and Development E-Paper Contents

p. 25 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 Resettlement - compensation or development? Upstream and downstream impacts Gender design - ADB case studies What do ADB Policies and strategies say 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

How can upstream and downstream impacts be addressed?

Those physically displaced are only one category, and resettlement components also need to address the impacts of a potentially far greater number of people upstream and downstream whose livelihoods are affected by changes in the hydrological regime.

For example, in the Nam Theun 2 project in Lao PDR, mitigation measures are included for households downstream of the project to compensate for loss of fisheries, loss of agricultural and household land, changes in water quality and increased flooding. The full Social Development Plan can be accessed through the NT2 website.

The WCD recommendations provide for mitigation and development measures for all those adversely affected based on the extent that their livelihoods are threatened:

'Besides those whose land and homes were inundated, the adversely affected people included natural resource dependent riverine communities living upstream and downstream of the dam and in other affected areas. Because some groups were not recognised as affected, the number of adversely affected people has been underestimated. Nonrecognition, or partial recognition, of the entitlements of those identified as affected has resulted in inadequate restitution for losses. As a result dam projects have often impoverished adversely affected people'. (WCD Rationale for Strategic Priority 5, p240)

This leads on to WCD's policy principle 5.1 that uses the rights and risks approach as a basis for determining livelihood impacts and associated mitigation and development measures:

'Recognition of rights and assessment of risks is the basis for identification and inclusion of adversely affected stakeholders in joint negotiations on mitigation, resettlement and development related decision-making'.

Livelihood assessment for communities depending on the river's ecosystem resources require a detailed understanding of the linkage between river flows, sediment, water quality and the ecosystem that it supports (environmental flows). In such cases of shared resources, consideration should be given to community-based mitigation and development plans.

Direct or indirectly affected? People to be physically relocated are often categorised as 'directly' affected or 'primary' stakeholders. However, impacts resulting from changes in river flows and aquatic ecosystems can also have impacts on livelihoods that are just as significant - particularly if a river diversion is involved. The negotiation of mitigation measures based on a fuller understanding of the rights and risks involved offers a more objective approach than arbitrary characterisation as directly or indirectly affected, or primary and secondary stakeholders.

Social impact assessments are required at various levels of intensity depending on the level of study - strategic level, feasibility study or project design. See WCD Guideline #17 Baseline Social Conditions.

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