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LAHORE, Nov 3: Large dams have failed to achieve their intended targets and created more problems than benefits for the nations constructing them.
This inference was drawn after a study by the World Commission on Dams which was sponsored by the World Bank. Though not legally binding, many in the Third World fear that it may become a policy document and a way to block international financing for large dams in the less-developed countries.
A report based on the study revealed that though large dams have displayed a high degree of variability in delivering a predictable water and electricity supplies, they have suffered a tendency for schedule delays, falling short of physical and economic targets and failure to recover the cost, the report said.
Large dams generally have a range of extensive impact on rivers, watersheds and aquatic ecosystem that are more negative and have led to irreversible loss of species and ecosystem. Efforts to counter these negative effects have met with limited success owing to the lack of attention to anticipate and avoiding impacts, the poor quality and uncertainty of prediction, the difficulty in coping with all shades of impacts and only partial implementation and success of mitigation measures, the report added.
Systematic failure to assess the magnitude of potential negative impacts and implement adequate mitigation, resettlement and development programmes for displaced and to account for consequences for downstream livelihood have caused miseries to millions, it says and adds that since the environmental and social cost of large dams have been poorly accounted for in economic terms, the true profitability of these schemes remains elusive.
The most significant fact is that groups bearing the social and economic cost and risks of large dams, specially the poor, vulnerable and future generations, are often not the same group that receives the water and electricity services nor the social and economic benefits from these.
OPTIONS: The report suggests that many non-dam options are available, including supply efficiency and new supply options, that can improve or expand water and energy services and meet evolving development needs. Demand management, reducing consumption, recycling and supply and end-use efficiency measures all have significant potential to reduce pressure on water resources in the world, it says.
Decentralized, small-scale options (micro hydro, home-scale solar electric system, wind, and biomass systems) based on local renewable source offer an important near-term, and possibly long-term, potential particularly in rural areas far away from centralized supply network.
Obstacles to the adoption of these options range from market barrier to institutional, intellectual and financial ones. A range of incentives that favour conventional options limit the adoption of alternatives, the report maintains.
DECISION-MAKING: The report says that the decision to build new large dams is influenced by many variables beyond immediate technical considerations. As a development choice, the selection of large dams often served as a focal point for the interests of politicians, centralized government agencies, international aid donors and the dam building industry, and did not provide for a comprehensive evaluation of available alternatives, it said.
Conflict over dams has heightened in the last two decades due largely to the high social and environmental costs. Any decision about dam, the report says, must be based on five “core values.” These include equity, efficiency, participatory decision-making, sustainability and accountability. Future strategies require a substantially expanded basis for deciding on proposed water and energy development projects — a basis that reflect a full knowledge and understanding of the benefits, impacts and risks of large dams. It also require introducing new voices, perspectives and criteria, as well as a process that will build consensus on the decision reached.
POLICY FRAMEWORK: The report lists seven strategic priorities that it says must form basis for any policy decision. These points, if adopted, can help the world move from traditional, top-down, technology-focused approach to advocate significant innovations in assessing options. The seven strategic priorities, each supported by a set of policy principles, provide a practical way forward. These priorities are: gaining public acceptance, comprehensive option assessment, addressing existing dams, sustaining rivers and livelihood, recognizing entitlement and sharing benefits, ensuring compliance, sharing rivers for peace, development and security.
The recommendations, the report says, can be best implemented by focusing on the key stages in decision-making that influence the final outcome. Among the multitude of decisions to be taken, the report has also identified five key points. The assessment needs should be met by validating the needs for water and energy services and selecting alternatives by identifying the preferred development plan from among the full range of options. Project preparation to ensure that agreements are in place before tendering the construction contract. Project should only be implemented after confirming compliance before commissioning and project operations must remain adaptable to any changing context.
In order to ensure above-mentioned five points, the report further says, planners should identify stakeholders through a process that recognizes rights and assesses risks. The states should invest more at the earlier stage to screen out inappropriate projects and facilitate integration across sectors within the context of river basin.
Consultants and agencies must ensure that outcome is socially and environmentally acceptable. The government must ensure open and meaningful participation at all stages of planning and implementation, leading to negotiated outcomes. Developers must be made accountable for, through contractual commitments, effectively mitigating social and environmental impact. Dam owners must apply lessons learnt from the past and the projects be reviewed constantly.
The report also recommends involving civil society, the private sector, bilateral aid agencies and multilateral development banks, export credit agencies, inter-government agencies, professional associations and academic and research bodies. Engaging them will initiate permanent changes to advance the principles, criteria and guidelines set by the commission, the report concludes.
