Extending the Argument on Dams.......to Water, Land, People & Rights! - Anna Burch

Dams have long been a controversial issue.

Most people have heard of the infamous Aswan High Dam in Egypt, or the Narmada dam in India, and perhaps caught glimpses of images of people chained to their homes as the flood waters rise.

On returning to Nepal recently, I was fortunate enough to attend the South Asian Consultation on Dams and the Report on the World Commission on Dams (WCD), Dec 2002. In this article I will relate some of what I learnt from the participants, about issues surrounding dam projects and how, with the WCD report, the fight is moving on.

The World Commission on Dams

This came about at a time of increasing development need and increasing conflict over dams. It was formed out of a multi-stakeholder meeting in 1997. All the representatives agreed that an independent evaluation on the effects of dams, especially large dams, and possible alternatives, was necessary. The Commission also had the task of drawing up guidelines for best practice for possible future dam projects. Since the publication of the WCD Report in 2000, there has been much debate over the findings and the guidelines. Dams have made considerable benefits for development. However, sometimes these benefits have been at a huge cost to tax payers, people down stream, and the environment; usually against the original promoted benefits. Large dams have under performed, benefits have not been realised or distributed equitably,displaced people have often been inappropriately resettled and there has been a lack of commitment to resettle displaced people. It is not possible to mitigate environmental impacts. In some instances, dams are necessary for water storage, irrigation, and electricity production etc.

However, there has been a lack of search for alternatives/ the best option. Decisions on dams have been made by government officials and companies, and the effected people have been largely excluded from the decision-making process.

The conference illustrated some of the WCD findings

The WCD report, based on these findings and on International decrees, suggests guidelines and processes to be considered when planning, building and implementing large dams. They are based on 5 Core values, and 7 Strategic Priorities, which are stated below:

Core Values:
Equity
Efficiency
Participatory decision making
Sustainability
Accountability

Strategic Priorities
Gain public acceptance
Comprehensive options assessment
addressing existing dams
Sustaining rivers and livelihoods
Recognizing entitlements and sharing benefits
Ensuring compliance
Sharing rivers for peace, development and security.

The Consultation Findings

According to those at the Consultation, there has been widespread acceptance of the WCD report, but perhaps some of this is reluctant cceptance out of a fear of rejecting it. The core values and strategies have beengenerally accepted and many institutions are considering how to incorporate them into their practices. However, there has been concern over the more specific guidelines. Mr. Shripad Dharmidhikary, a contributor to the WCD report, suggested that those criticizing the report could be placed into two groups:

1. Those who see the conditions as unrealistic. They think the guidelines would be too expensive and take too long to implement, therefore they would not meet the urgent development needs.

2. Those who do not favour the suggested participatory decision making process, because it would necessitate a loss of their power/control. It is probable that the second group belong mostly to the government and corporate sectors. As I heard many times throughout the Consultation, water is an issue of government elections, and multinational companies are interested in profit making.

Increasingly, governments are privatizing water resources and water related dam and hydro projects, and large private companies are getting involved because they think it is a ‘good investment’. These priorities seem to come before the people. Yet those at the Consultation would argue that water is a human right, not a government right. Ms. Medha Patkar, the renowned Narmada dam activist and member of the Commission, argued that;

“ Water should be popularised not privatised; priority should be given to those in the locality because it is a matter of life; use of community resources by others should only occur with the communities’ consent; projects should advise/ consult the local people; appropriate planning must include the peoples choice; proper, negotiated and arranged at the beginning of a project; use of local technology and employment must be given high priority; alternatives must be explored and the best option out of various possible options be chosen; and the right of the resource to sustainability must also be considered.”

Many ideas came out in the consultation, I will just mention a few here.

How can we ensure that the people come first?

It is the responsibility of the governments, companies and donors to ensure that there is;

Correct, appropriate and timely information dissemination to the effected people so they are aware of the social and environmental impacts and the proposed benefits.

Provision for people’s opinions to be considered, and paths for opposing proposals to be made available.

Equitable distribution of benefits and that there are ways to enforce compliance with the proposed benefits.

How can we ensure that governments, companies and donors do this?

Primarily, we can put pressure on our governments, development institutions and corporations to adopt the WCD core values and strategies, and use the guidelines as a starting point for collective discussion. We can also raise awareness and engage in discussion on water resources and the WCD report in our own countries and localities. (Some e-mail addresses and websites are below if you are interested) I hope I have managed to highlight some of the issues, introduce the WCD report and its implications, as well as given you ideas about how you can contribute, in this short space. To conclude, the struggle is not just about water resources, it is about political processes. It is no longer about whether or not large dams are necessary, or about projects versus. people, it is about how best to use water resources, how to decide this and most importantly who decides this. In addition, the WCD report is not just about dams, it is about water resources, energy and human rights (see case studies).

As Medha Patkar said, “It offers an approach that is applicable to any field of development planning, that is a decentralised, equitable, and sustainable type of decision – making process.”

Sources

The WCD report overview can be downloaded from;

http://www.dams.org/report/wcd_overview.htm

For info on UNEP’s Dams and Development Project go to; http://www.unep-dams.org

www.unep-dams.org