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Sectors and Themes Water Dams and Development E-paper
Reactions to the WCD reportGiven the sensitivity and complexity of the subject matter, and intensity of debate over proposals for new dams, it is not surprising that there has been a similar diversity in the range of responses to the WCD report. Reactions are also influenced by whether the report is viewed as a basis for discussion or as a blueprint. In their Call to Action, the Commissioners stated 'We recommend that all parties begin by using the report as the starting point for discussions, debates, internal reviews, and reassessments of existing procedures, and for an assessment of how they can address a changed reality'. (p311) A wide range of responses from Governments, Industry, NGOs, Professional Associations and International Organizations expressed at the Third WCD Forum Meeting held in February 2001 can be viewed in Annex 5 to the proceedings. Responses and reactions have been analyzed by the UNEP Dams and Development Project website together with an Analysis Report covering 117 reactions. The nature of responses can be characterized as:
The ADB President wrote a letter to the WCD Chair in December 2002 welcoming the report. An initial response was presented to the Third WCD Forum following a regional workshop held in Manila at which stakeholders from 14 countries provided feedback on the report and the way it should be used. In January 2002 a planned response was posted on the ADB website. The effect of the WCD Report will ultimately be judged not so much by whether one group or another fully endorses or rejects it, but rather the extent to which its recommendations have entered into practice.
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