Large Dams

Large dams have been a subject of growing international debate and controversy. They have played a key role in economic development, serving a variety of purposes, including electricity generation, flood control, and irrigation. Yet concern about their adverse environmental, social, and even economic impacts is growing. In 1996 the World Bank�s Operations Evaluation Department completed an internal review of 50 large dams funded by the Bank. IUCN-The World Conservation Union and...
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Large dams have been a subject of growing international debate and controversy. They have played a key role in economic development, serving a variety of purposes, including electricity generation, flood control, and irrigation. Yet concern about their adverse environmental, social, and even economic impacts is growing. In 1996 the World Bank�s Operations Evaluation Department completed an internal review of 50 large dams funded by the Bank. IUCN-The World Conservation Union and the World Bank jointly hosted a workshop in Gland, Switzerland, in April 1997 to discuss the findings of the review and the need for further study. The workshop brought together representatives from governments, the private sector, international financial institutions, and civil society organizations to address the advances needed in knowledge and practice, the methodologies and approaches required to achieve these advances, and proposals for a follow-up process involving all stakeholders. Two days of working together resulted in a pathbreaking consensus on how to move forward. It was agreed that the IUCN and the Bank would establish by November 1997 a two-year international commission, whose mandate is to review the development effectiveness of dams and to develop standards, criteria, and guidelines to advise future decisionmaking. Part I of these proceedings summarizes the workshop discussion and recommendations for future action. Part II contains a series of overview papers commissioned for the workshop on four key topics: engineering and economics; social and stakeholder issues; environmental sustainability; and future challenges facing the hydro industry. Published with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.