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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

Examples of in-country dialogues on dams and development
Viet Nam

The Viet Namese translation of the WCD Report was circulated to government agencies, water professionals, academics and other organizations working on environment and social issues in Viet Nam with an invitation to a multi-stakeholder consultation on the report. As the responsible agency under the National Water Act, MARD organized an initial workshop on the World Commission on Dams Report in Hanoi on 11 October 2002 with financial support from ADB.

Drawing together about 100 people from across the country, the purpose of the meeting was

• to obtain feedback and reactions to the WCD report from Viet Namese agencies and NGOs;
• to examine the implications for ADB policies and procedures, and
• to consider the need and possible type of follow-on activities in the context of Viet Nam.

Some of the key points raised in the working group sessions included:

• the positive contribution of existing dams to Viet Nam's development and the role of dams in meeting future demands
• the outstanding aspects of resettlement on some existing projects, with recent projects showing improvements and commitment to providing sustainable livelihoods
• the need to consider mechanisms for benefit sharing with affected communities upstream and downstream of projects
• the need to consider more direct consultation with communities in project planning and implementation. Public acceptance is needed but how to obtain it in a transparent way?
• greater attention to be given to the needs of ethnic communities
• protection of biodiversity requires more study including recognition of the value of ecosystems
• the need for regular review of operational rules for existing dams from technical, social and environmental perspectives including consultations with local people
• the need to disseminate the Viet Namese translation of the WCD report more widely

A two-phase follow-on process was agreed

Phase 1: A Scoping Report was prepared to identify key areas in relation to the WCDs seven strategic priorities for further analysis.

Phase 2: A second multi-stakeholder meeting is planned under the auspices of the newly formed Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment to review the Scoping paper and identify priority tasks and an institutional mechanisms within which to develop detailed recommendations on policy and procedural reforms.

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