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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

Managed floods as part of an ecosystem approach to basin management

The complex and often conflicting requirements related to dam releases for managed floods are outlined in a paper prepared for the World Commission on Dams: Managed Flood Releases from Reservoirs: Issues and Guidance by M. Acreman.

'Large populations living on floodplains throughout the world and particularly in developing tropical countries rely heavily on natural resources. The local economy is often based on flood recession agriculture, fishing, animal husbandry and collecting wild resources such as timber, honey, fruit, thatching materials and medicines. Such communities often have limited alternative livelihood options and this makes them particularly vulnerable to changes in the condition of the natural resources on which they depend. These people require the maintenance of flooding for their livelihoods and often fail to benefit from dams. It is vitally important that these stakeholders participate fully in the process of deciding on development options'. (Executive Summary, pii)

'The guidelines contained in this report are distilled into 10 steps that need to be undertaken to achieve effective managed flood releases from reservoirs:

1. define objectives for flood releases
2. assess overall financial feasibility
3. develop stakeholder participation and technical expertise
4. define links between floods and the ecosystem
5. define flood release options
6. assess impacts of flood options
7. select the best flood option
8. design and build engineering structures
9. make releases
10. monitor, evaluate and adapt release programme

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