World Rivers Review Volume 20, Number 3/ June 2005

Published by International Rivers Network And The Walls Came Tumbling Down Dam Safety Concerns Grow in Wake of Failures, Changing Climate by Patrick McCully

t has been a bad year for dam safety. despite known con- In February, five dams in Pakistan burst struction problems. after torrential rains swelled local So are dams rivers. The biggest of these – the 35- getting inherently Imeter Shadikor Dam – killed at least 80 peo- less safe? ple, injured many more and left 4,000 fami- Yes and no. lies homeless. The Shadikor Dam was only Certainly, dam-con- two years old. It appears that no warnings struction tech- were given to people downstream. niques have Two months later, at least 62 people died improved over the in a dam-created flash flood on the Narmada past 50 years. River in India. Again, there was no warning. According to a sur- The banks of the river were crowded with vey by the Interna- Hindu pilgrims a day ahead of the new tional Commission moon, a period when many bathe in the on Large Dams holy river to wash away their sins. The (ICOLD), around The Teton Dam fails. (1976) tragedy occurred after the gates of the Indira 2.2% of all dams Sagar Dam, about 60 miles upstream, were built before 1950 had failed by 1995, but The American Society of Civil Engineers opened without warning. The dam operator, only 0.5% of dams built between 1950 and reported in March that there are around the Narmada Hydroelectric Development 1995 failed. (The picture is less sanguine in 2,600 “unsafe” dams in US. These are dams Corporation, denied responsibility, saying China, where some 3,200 dams have failed with “deficiencies that leave them highly the releases were standard practice, and that since 1950 – 4% of the 80,000 classified susceptible to failure.” This represents a 23% state officials should have informed them dams in the country). increase since 2001. According to prelimi- about the festival. Of the 300 behemoth projects defined by nary results of a study by the Association of In March, heavy rains caused the Band-e the industry as “major” dams, almost all of State Dam Safety Officials, the total invest- Sultan Dam in southeastern Afghanistan to which have been built since 1950, only ment to bring US dams into safety compli- burst, killing an unknown number of people. Vaiont in Italy has so far caused a major dis- ance or remove those that are no longer The governor of the province said that thou- aster. A couple of known near misses, how- needed tops $30 billion. sands of hectares of land were flooded and ever, shows that major dams, some of which The lack of investment in maintaining or hundreds of shops destroyed. have the potential to kill hundreds of thou- removing unsafe dams in the US means that Last August, India had to shut down the sands, even millions, of people, can in no numerous small dams are washed away in World Bank-funded Nathpa Jhakri Dam for a way be considered as inherently safe (see floods every year. New Jersey alone lost three second time just months after it began oper- box, page 9). As author Jacques Leslie puts dams during Tropical Storm Floyd in Sep- ation. Operators feared that upstream flood- it, “Dams are loaded weapons aimed down tember 1999, four in a flood in the following ing would overtop the dam. Construction on rivers, pointed at ourselves; they're proof of August, and 12 during an unprecedented the 60-meter-high dam had been seriously the gambling nature of the societies that summer deluge in 2004. delayed by rockslides in the project area build them.” Worldwide, as in the US, there is system- before construction started, and later, by While individual dams built today are atic underfunding of dam maintenance. No flash floods. likely to be much more secure than dams figures are available for the cost of making Two months earlier, a dam break in built 50 years ago, the global stock of dams the world’s dams safe. But if securing US Brazil’s northeastern state of Paraíba killed as a whole is ageing, and as dams get old dams would cost $30 billion and the US has five people and destroyed hundreds of they become increasingly more expensive to an estimated 10% of the world’s dams, a homes. Paraíba’s current governor claimed maintain. Around the world, 5,000 large ballpark figure for the global under-invest- his predecessor had rushed the Camará proj- dams are at least 50 years old; the average ment in dam safety would be $300 billion. ect to completion for electoral reasons, US dam is in its forties. continued on page 8 World Rivers Review

It’s Extreme Volume 20, Number 3 Not to Be Green ISSN Number 0890 6211 Editor: Lori Pottinger he recently released Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a UN-sponsored analysis of the overall health of the planet, reveals the extent to which humanity’s destruction of the Design/Production: natural world is threatening our ability to thrive on the planet. The report – the largest- Jeanette Madden ever assessment of environmental changes and their impacts on human well-being – Printing: revealsT the rapid and accelerating degradation to ecosystems that are essential to life on Earth. West Coast Print Center Freshwater ecosystems are in particularly precarious shape. For example, the assessment found that wetlands provide services to humanity valued as high as $15 trillion annually, including the IRN water supply on which up to three billion people depend. Yet current human practices are degrad- ing and destroying these wetlands at a faster rate than any other type of ecosystem. And channel- Executive Director: ized rivers, the report notes, are more apt to result in extreme flood damage; more than 100,000 Patrick McCully people were killed by floods in the 1990s, with damages totaling $243 billion. Staff: Large dams have probably done more harm to freshwater ecosystems than any other human Monti Aguirre, Peter Bosshard, intervention. The Millennium Assessment notes that the amount of water impounded behind Elizabeth Brink, Anne Carey, dams has quadrupled since 1960, and that six times more water is held in reservoirs than flows in Terri Hathaway, Inanna Hazel, natural rivers. Mary Houghteling, Aviva Imhof, Not only are a degraded environment and declining water resources health issues, but they are River Lune, Lori Pottinger, also increasing the gap between rich and poor. The assessment notes that levels of poverty remain Elizabeth Sabel, Jonathan Stein, high and inequalities are growing: over one billion people survive on less than $1 a day, and up Glenn Switkes, Susanne Wong to two billion are affected by water scarcity. Some 1.8 million people die annually due to inade- quate sanitation or water supply. Interns & Volunteers: The assessment states that: “Any progress achieved in addressing the goals of poverty and Selma Barros de Oliveira, hunger eradication, improved health and environmental protection is unlikely to be sustained if Wil Dvorak most of the ecosystem services on which humanity relies continue to be degraded.” It calls for Board of Directors: “radical changes in the way nature is treated at every level of decision-making and new ways of Paul Strasburg (Chair), Martha cooperation between government, business and civil society.” Belcher,André Carothers, Angana Noteworthy efforts have been made to improve the quality of development projects – for Chatterji, Gigi Coe, Chris Desser, example, the guidelines devised by the World Commission on Dams. The WCD’s transparent and Anne Fitzgerald, Bob Hass, Milan participatory approach to decision-making would help steer investment away from large dam-and- Momirov, David Pellow, Leonard canal irrigation schemes toward approaches that help the poor be masters of their own develop- Sklar, Brian Smith, Lara Truppelli ment while reducing the environmental impacts of water and energy consumption. It would raise public awareness of the advantages of decentralized options and force developers to take responsi- Advisory Board bility for the costs of adequately assessing, mitigating and compensating for the negative impacts Dan Beard, Patricia Chang, Peter of large dams. Coyote, Chris Desser, Huey D. Yet the widely acclaimed WCD report was deemed too extreme by many in the powerful dam Johnson, Lauren Klein, Juliette lobby. Today, after a decade during which big-dam building has been in steady decline, the World Majot, Nion McEvoy, Sylvia Bank, numerous developing-country governments and the dam industry are pushing for a revital- McLaughlin, Mutombo Mpanya, ization of large dam construction, and the sidelining of the WCD report. This is truly an extreme Mayumi Oda, Drummond Pike, reaction. Returning to the bad old days of big dams (and other “business as usual” approaches to Gary Snyder human development) will worsen our ecological tailspin, the social ills of developing countries, and the gap between haves and have-nots. Contact Information: The dam industry is not alone in resisting “radical change.” Those now entrenched in promot- IRN ing a business-as-usual approach – the oil, auto, and timber industries, to name just a few – will 1847 Berkeley Way fight calls to find new ways of doing business and bringing development to poorer countries with- Berkeley, CA 94703 USA out destroying the environment. These entrenched defenders of the status quo can be expected to Tel:(510) 848-1155 keep up their fight to keep the environmental movement marginalized, “too extreme” to accom- Fax: (510) 848-1008 modate human progress. E-mail: [email protected] Most of us who toil in the “green trenches” have been labeled extreme at one time or another, often just for holding an opinion that differs from that of the powers-that-be. The efforts to label NGOs as extremist have greatly intensified in the current political climate. Printed on Re:Vision What the Millennium Assessment shows is that fighting against environmental protection and 10% tree free kenaf/ for the development status quo is the extreme position. If the international community is to 90% recycled pcw reduce both poverty and environmental degradation, we need tools to discourage business-as-usual approaches to development and to promote innovative, pro-poor and pro-environment schemes. It is time to turn the tables on what is labeled radical and what is considered mainstream. Visit IRN’s Website: Those who refuse to heed the recommendations of forward-looking bodies such as the WCD and http://www.irn.org the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment are the true extremists, and they should be sidelined. Lori Pottinger

Page 2 World Rivers Review June 2005 Nile Basin Bujagali Dam Takes a Step Forward by Lori Pottinger

he Ugandan government in an analysis by announced in April that it has independent energy selected the Aga Khan’s Industrial economists. In addi- Promotion Services (IPS) to build tion, under the BujagaliT Dam, a large hydro project proposed terms of the original for the Nile near Lake Victoria. The energy contract, Ugandan ministry said construction work could begin taxpayers could have next year, and is expected to take three to been saddled with four years. paying high fees to The Aga Khan IPS is part of a larger foun- the company even dation, based in Switzerland, which focuses when drought signif- on development projects in poorer nations. icantly reduced the It was one of the three firms short-listed by dam’s output. the government last year to bid on the proj- Local groups ect after the original developer, the US-based working on Bujagali AES Corp., pulled out in 2003. The contro- have questions versial project had been shelved since 2002, about the new when a corruption investigation of a project reduced cost, reset- Photo: McCully Patrick partner was launched. tlement, impacts on Bujagali Falls. The energy ministry now says that con- cultural resources struction of Bujagali will cost about US$400 and many other issues. They have been an NGO-sponsored public meeting on the million, down from the approximately $580 pressing the government for more trans- dam project says, “The government should million contract arranged between the parency and “equal opportunity” civil-soci- ensure that pertinent information on the World Bank and AES. The project’s costs as ety participation in the planning process. A project is availed to [civil society groups]; proposed by AES were found to be excessive public statement signed by 83 participants at this will enable them to participate from the point of knowledge … Civil society is ready to work in partnership with government to Uganda’s Rural Electrification Needs Are Great ensure that such participatory consultative meetings are successful.” Uganda has very low rates of electrification in general, but rural areas (where the majority of Ugandans live) are worse off than urban areas, and large hydro projects Better Options like Bujagali will not bring electricity to rural areas.According to the energy ministry, The civil society groups also called for the only 3% of households in rural areas have access to electricity.The Executive Direc- development of alternative energy sources tor of the Rural Electrification Agency, Godfrey Turyahikayo, recently called on the before Bujagali. “The government … should government to take stronger action to promote rural electrification to reduce pover- seriously and immediately consider develop- ty in rural areas.Turyahikayo said the government has neglected the issue and provid- ing hydroelectric power from other cost- ed inadequate financing for projects. effective sites such as Ayago and Karuma, Currently, a total of 15 rural electrification projects with a combined capacity of and should explore and invest in alternative 100 megawatts are in the pipeline in Uganda. Government recently stated that it energy sources such as geothermal, solar, would begin heavily subsidizing rural electrification projects, according to local media. biogas, as well as smaller dams,” their state- The source of the funds is a World Bank rural electrification project. ment urges. Because so few Ugandans can A 2004 report by the Kenyan group African Energy Policy Research Network actually afford grid-based electricity, they (AFREPREN) says the privatization of Uganda’s electricity sector shares at least some of the blame for the slow pace of rural electrification in Uganda.The group notes add, “Government should also take deliber- that rural electrification was a low priority in power sector reform measures under- ate steps to develop the country’s abundant taken by Uganda in recent years.“Reforms appear to have failed to link rural electrifi- but dwindling fuel wood energy resources cation to the overall objective of improving the performance of the power sector,” for the majority poor.” according to AFREPREN.“For example, the issue of licenses and concessions is not The 30-meter-high Bujagali Dam would explicitly linked to the ability of the concessionaire to increase electricity access have serious environmental impacts. The among the poor.” cumulative impacts of Bujagali along with The AFREPREN report notes that “Uganda’s rural electrification target is a paltry two existing upstream dams is expected to 10% by the year 2012.This is an extremely low target and unlikely to make a substan- be significant, but the government and proj- tial difference. Data from other African countries (notably, Ghana, South Africa and ect backers have thus far refused to do a Zimbabwe) demonstrate that for the same period of time, it is possible to achieve cumulative-impacts analysis before undertak- much higher levels of electrification.” ing the project. (The World Bank, when it was involved, said such an analysis would be The AFREPREN report is available at undertaken later, as part of the regional http://www.afrepren.org/Pubs/WorkingPapers/wpp317_sum.htm planning efforts for the Nile known as the continued on page 15

World Rivers Review June 2005 Page 3 Mekong Basin World Bank Approves Nam Theun 2 Dam Project’s Economic Viability Remains in Doubt by Aviva Imhof

n March 31, the World Bank more fish” along Board of Directors voted to the Xe Bang Fai approve up to $270 million in River, and that as a grants and guarantees for the result, people Ocontroversial Nam Theun 2 Hydropower would be better off. Project in Laos. Four days later, the Asian But today, due to Development Bank also approved a package NGO efforts, proj- of loans and guarantees for the project. The ect proponents rec- decision came as a blow to IRN and our part- ognize that Xe ners, who had been working for more than a Bang Fai communi- decade to stop the project. ties will be nega- Shannon Lawrence, of the Washington, tively affected by DC-based group Environmental Defense, the project due to said, “The approval of Nam Theun 2 sets a losses of fisheries dangerous precedent for the World Bank, and other impacts which is preparing to step up its support for and therefore high-risk dam projects. The project does not deserve compensa- comply with the World Commission on tion for their loss- Dams recommendations, nor has the Bank es. The company made any real efforts to bring it into compli- has allocated $15

ance. This is a travesty for an institution million in mitiga- Photo: Alongkot Chukaew which claims to support the core values and tion and compen- Nam Theun 2 will flood the habitat and breeding grounds for one of the last remain- strategic priorities of the WCD.” sation for affected ing populations of wild elephants in Laos. Asian elephants are globally endangered. While the dam will go forward, IRN and communities. our partners can draw some comfort from In addition, the company formerly Several of the World Bank Board members the fact that the project is significantly bet- claimed that no families living along down- insisted upon more stringent monitoring ter than if international NGOs had not been stream tributaries of the Theun River would mechanisms for the project and demanded involved. (Laos does not have a viable local be affected by the project, but the latest draft twice-yearly reports on progress in imple- civil society movement, and affected com- of the Social Development Plan acknowledges menting social and environmental manage- munities cannot speak out on controversial that at least 1,600 families living downstream ment plans. The German government asked developments.) Until a couple of years ago, will be affected due to fisheries losses, and the World Bank, Asian Development Bank for example, project developers claimed that deserve compensation for their losses. This and Lao government to address outstanding there would be “more water and therefore issue, too, was first raised by NGOs. mitigation and compensation issues from the nearby Theun-Hinboun Hydropower Project in a timely manner, and stated that resolution of the issues at Theun-Hinboun are “a precon- FAST FACTS dition for our approval for the projected Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project, Laos future Bank funding in this sector in Laos.” Theun-Hinboun, located 50 kilometers Project Description by exporting power to neighboring Thailand. downstream of Nam Theun 2, has had a The 48-meter high Nam Theun 2 Dam will severe impact on the livelihoods of more Affected people be located on the Theun River, a major tribu- than 25,000 people in 57 villages down- tary of the Mekong.Water will be stored in Around 6.200 indigenous people living on stream and upstream of the dam. These a reservoir on the Nakai Plateau and divert- the Nakai Plateau will be resettled to the impacts have included declines in fish catch- ed down a huge escarpment to a power- edge of the reservoir.The project will nega- es of between 30 and 90 percent; the house, before being released into another tively affect more than 100,000 people living destruction of vegetable gardens and dry-sea- Mekong tributary, the Xe Bang Fai.The proj- downstream of the project along the Xe son drinking water sources; loss of fishing ect is being developed by the Nam Theun 2 Bang Fai, Nam Phit and Theun Rivers. nets; and increased difficulties with trans- Power Company, which includes Electricité Schedule portation. While the company has been implementing a $5 million mitigation and de France as the lead investor, two Thai A host of international financial institutions companies and the Lao government. compensation program for the affected com- and private banks have pledged support for munities, many impacts remain unresolved. Purpose the $1.3 billion project. Construction began The US government was the only govern- The project is supposed to generate rev- in early 2005 and is supposed to be com- ment to abstain from voting for the project enue for the cash-strapped Lao government pleted by May 2009. at the World Bank Board of Directors, signal- continued opposite

Page 4 World Rivers Review June 2005 ing its disapproval. According to US Treasury spokesperson Tony Fratto, “Our abstention was based on reservations about the out- standing risks related to environmental and social issues, the Lao PDR's macroeconomic conditions, and recourse measures if the NT2 project is not implemented as planned. There are also defects in the environmental assessment process.”

The Best Chance for Laos? Nam Theun 2 has been heralded by the World Bank as Laos’ best chance for develop- ment. Upon approval of the project, World Bank President James Wolfensohn said, “To get out of [the] poverty trap, the country has few options to generate income…. We believe that a sound approach to selling hydroelectricity, supported by improved government policies, is the best way for the country to increase the amount of money it can invest in health, education and basic infrastructure for the benefit of the poor.” However, between 2009, when project rev- enues will come online, and 2020, net rev- enues for the Government of Laos will total $20 to $30 million per year, only 3% of gov- ernment revenues. Throughout the 25-year concession period ending in 2034, according to the World Bank, “revenues are expected to by Nam Theun 2. Most of these people are able in comparison with its main competitor, amount to around 5% of projected [Lao Gov- subsistence farmers dependent upon natural natural gas fired turbines. ernment] revenues.” The revenues from Nam resources for their livelihoods. Dr. Chris Greacen, one of the reviewers, Theun 2 are clearly not sufficient to bankroll said, “Our analysis identifies a number of erro- the country’s development. Cooking the Books neous assumptions that account for much of More importantly, money is useless unless Not only are the benefits to Laos from Nam Nam Theun 2’s claimed economic benefit. In it’s well spent. Repeated World Bank efforts to Theun 2 relatively small, but the project is of the most glaring example, authors of the ensure that the Lao government has an effec- questionable economic viability. The World report made a 10-fold to 12-fold increase, with tive system of budget management, adequate Bank claims that Nam Theun 2 is a good deal no explanation, in operations and mainte- administrative capacity, and transparency for Thai consumers, who will be forced to nance costs for gas turbines. The impact of have largely failed. According to a 2004 Inter- purchase over 90% of the electricity from the this change was worth $99 to $111 million of national Monetary Fund report, “expenditure dam for the next 25 years. But the economic Nam Theun 2's claimed economic benefit of management [in Laos] remains weak, under- analyses for the project, which were released $188 million. If, as it appears, the consultants mining the capacity of the government to just a week before the World Bank Board cooked the books in order to justify subsidiz- deliver effective social sector programs.” Cor- meeting, contain several unjustified assump- ing this white elephant, then it is a tragedy for ruption is another factor that is known to tions that systematically favor Nam Theun 2 the people of the Mekong region.” interfere with revenues reaching the poor. over other options. According to Dr. Greacen and colleagues, Meanwhile, the project will have serious Two Thai economists and a power-sector the World Bank economic analysis also impacts on the lives and livelihoods of tens analyst reviewed the economic analyses for severely undervalued the loss of electricity of thousands of rural Laotians. Nam Theun 2 Nam Theun 2. Their findings were startling. from the Theun-Hinboun Hydropower Proj- will displace 6,200 indigenous people living According to the reviewers, World Bank con- ect, which is located about 40 km down- on the Nakai Plateau and will negatively sultants working on the economic analyses stream from the NT2 site and which will affect another 100,000 people living down- were faced with escalating project costs, produce less power as a result of water diver- stream of the project along the Xe Bang Fai straining earlier claims of Nam Theun 2’s eco- sions for NT2. Each unit of electricity from and Theun Rivers who rely on these rivers nomic viability. As a result, the consultants Theun-Hinboun was valued at less than one- for fish, drinking water, and agriculture. fudged values of key variables in order to third the value of electricity from NT2. About one in fifty Laotians will be affected make the project appear economically favor- The World Bank also used a Power Devel- opment Plan (PDP) for Thailand that was out of date and was never adopted by the Thai What is IRN Doing? government. This “NT2 PDP” allowed the World Bank to claim that Thailand would IRN will monitor implementation of the project and will work to ensure that the need the power from Nam Theun 2 by 2010, developers, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank uphold their commitments when it is due to come on-line. They did this to the affected people. continued on page 15

World Rivers Review June 2005 Page 5 Biodiversity A World of Hurt New Research Reveals Massive Impacts of Damming on World’s Large Rivers

The extent to which dams affect the world’s large river systems is the focus of a major new study by a research team from the Landscape Ecology Group at Umeå University, Sweden. The rivers studied drain 54% of the world's land area and carry 60% of the planet's river-water. The researchers found that of 292 large river systems, 172 are affected by dams. WRR inter- viewed the researchers – Mats Dynesius and Christer Nilsson and Cathy Reidy – to discuss the significance of their findings.

Q: Your research reveals that more than half of the world's large rivers are fragmented and regulated by dams. Can you sum up the significance of these findings?

A: The damming of great rivers is among the most dramatic, deliberate impacts that humans have had on the natural environ- ment. Most big river systems, including the 20 largest and eight of the most biologically diverse, now have dams on them. Damming has been particularly hard on specific bio- mes*: for example, most large river basins in deserts (82%) and in Mediterranean-type ecosystems (99%) are impacted by dams. If you consider that 83% of the discharge of the 292 large rivers studied is impacted, and Photo: Roland Jansson Extensive damming of the world's rivers makes free-flowing rivers like Sweden’s Pite even more precious. that only minor portions of some biomes A 1987 law prevents hydropower projects on Sweden's last four free-flowing rivers, including the Pite. include hydrologically untouched river sys- tems, our findings are a call for action. If we want to sustain the world’s biodiversity and Q: You found that dams now hold back A: The experiments in artificial flooding riverine goods and services, then we need to 15% of the world’s annual freshwater made so far – for example, in the US’s Grand replace large dam building with alternate runoff. Many rivers have “staircases” Canyon – suggest that some ecological solutions. Substitute energy sources include of dams that can hold more than their processes might be restored to varying solar and wind, and regional energy needs whole annual flow – or more than four degrees. For example, sediment redistribution can be met with smaller reservoirs or run-of- years' worth, in the case of Akosombo and fish migration will recover partly, and the-river dams. Further action should on the Volta River in West Africa. Sedi- the downstream invasion of exotic species include removing some of the existing dams ment, too, is held back behind reser- can be held back. However, the effects will in the more heavily impacted parts of the voirs, affecting coastlines around the vary by flow prescription. There needs to be world, and an international attempt to save world. To what extent can “environ- some regularity of flooding, and some (infre- some of the last wild rivers. mental flows” (more natural flows) quent) floods need to be larger than the oth- from existing dams and “artificial ers. Single floods will have only short-term floods” help reverse some of the envi- importance. Full recovery (or close to) cannot *A biome is a major ecological community type ronmental damage done by these two be achieved unless dams are removed, espe- (such as tropical rain forest, grassland or desert) phenomena? continued opposite

Page 6 World Rivers Review June 2005 cially in cases where rapids are permanently regional and even global impounded or when most of the water passes ecosystems are declining from underground and only a “minimum flow” is the preponderance of dammed directed through the old river channel. rivers. If every individual proj- ect would be evaluated at a Q: There are clear “cumulative impacts” larger scale where factors such of various kinds of environmental as number of nearby dams, degradation – for example, climate total effects on the actual change and air pollution may start biome, etc., were included, bet- small, through individual acts, but the ter decisions could hopefully effect has become global. Is there a simi- be made. lar cumulative effect on global environ- mental health from the 45,000 dams Q: Your research shows now blocking the Earth’s rivers? that the biodiversity sup-

ported by free-flowing Photo: Salween Watch A: There are surely cumulative effects, but rivers has a better chance China wants to dam the now wild Nu (Salween) River. we do not have quantitative data on this. of adapting to climate However, a general example can be seen in change than that associated with water from one region to another. the hydrologic alteration of biomes and sub- dammed rivers. Can you explain this? What do you think it will take to sequent disruption of global processes. As a What should this mean for policy change this picture? What are some biome’s hydrology becomes totally altered makers and water managers in dry next steps that could help decision- by dams (there are several approaching this countries? makers in developing countries balance state, including temperate forests and savan- the political and economic pressures nahs), inducing dramatic changes in land A: Every species has a climatic optimum, so that lead them to over-develop rivers cover and flora and fauna, that biome’s bio- when climate changes, populations will have and instead help preserve healthy logical and physical role in the planet will to redistribute to accommodate to the new rivers as a public good? change and affect global environmental conditions. Rivers and riparian corridors are health. Also, the overall reduction in fresh- major conduits for dispersal of both aquatic A: We are not socio-economists, and even water and sediment input to the seas may and terrestrial organisms, but when these are researchers in that field are having a tough have unexpected consequences. The fact blocked by large dams, opportunities for redis- time helping developing nations meet their that floods that cause upwelling in seas are tribution will be obstructed. For dry countries, populations’ needs with minimal human heavily restricted by dams is another impact the focus needs to be shifted to alternative and environmental costs. Human popula- which might have cumulative effects, for water harvesting and irrigation methods. For tions tend to only consider environmental example on the nutrient balance of seas. example, two types of water efficiency come needs once their own needs are met, and immediately to mind that could be replicated: then it might be too late. That said, reducing Q: Do you think the common practice of India’s recent successes with small-scale rain- global population growth – e.g., by means of having a project environmental assess- water harvesting, and Israel’s incredibly effi- fighting poverty and improving the status of ment for large dams is an effective way cient drip irrigation methods. Integrating women – would be the most important step. to assess whether or not a project these sorts of water management practices at This would increase the possibilities of shar- should be built, based on environmen- the national level could have dramatic ing resources between humans and nature in tal concerns? improvements on watershed sustainability. a more sustainable way. Another very impor- tant step would be to make national efforts A: It is better than nothing, but not very Q: As your report notes, two of the to use water resources more efficiently. In effective because environmental concerns most-dammed countries in the world – dry regions, much could be improved by are difficult to value properly. A big problem China and India – are planning many better balancing irrigation and crop choices is that dams are treated individually, which more dams for some of their most frag- (as mentioned above). In regions using rivers means that decisions are based on estab- mented rivers. For example, China mainly for power generation, more efficient lished practice (“we have built similar dams wants to build 49 more dams on the use of electricity is critical. before”) rather than on the fact that very Yangtze alone, and India hopes to link few free-flowing rivers remain, or that 37 of its rivers in a vast scheme to move Q: What motivated your team to undertake this study? A: In the 1980s, there was a very heated For More Information debate in Sweden about the last free-flowing rivers. We (Christer Nilsson and Mats Dyne- The team’s report on their findings,“Fragmentation and Flow Regulation of the World's sius) got involved as researchers because we Large River Systems,” appears in the April 15, 2005 edition of the journal Science. had information about the natural qualities The team says its next step is to investigate how the world’s dams have affected the of these rivers. We were once told by a vulnerability of freshwater fish. For this project, the scientists will investigate extinc- spokesman for the power industry that we tions caused by habitat losses.The upcoming research will predict the global distribu- should not be concerned if the last free-flow- tion of freshwater fish that are threatened by extinction. In addition, the team will ing rivers in Sweden got impounded, because attempt to determine the global distribution of river systems that are affected by “in the rest of the world, most rivers are free- habitat loss because of dams. flowing.” The skepticism we felt toward this argument triggered the start of the study.

World Rivers Review June 2005 Page 7 Dam Safety Continued from page 1 consider that we cannot know with any says that dams “require defensive engineer- degree of precision the likely magnitude of ing, which means listing every imaginable The above calculation begs the question of future extreme floods. And so we cannot force that might be imposed, examination of what is a “safe” dam. This question is now know with any degree of precision what every possible set of circumstances, and virtually impossible to answer because of a should be the capacity of spillways for incorporation of protective elements to cope new variable in the dam-safety equation: new dams. with each and every condition.” This is climate change. Engineers design dams and clearly an unattainable target. In the real their spillways to cope with the extreme world, the degree of “defensive engineering” floods that they predict using past records applied to the design of a dam will be decid- of streamflow and precipitation. It is vital The world’s more than ed by economics. The safer a dam – the that spillways are adequately sized – if a 45,000 existing large dams greater the capacity of its spillways to cope spillway is overwhelmed there is a high risk have not been built to allow with floods, the better the quality of its con- of a dam break. struction materials, the more extensive the But the assumption that we live in a sta- for a rapidly intensifying exploration of the local geology – the more ble climate no longer holds. Streamflow hydrological cycle. In this it will cost. ICOLD itself recognizes the con- patterns are changing and are almost cer- flict, stating in its 1987 guidelines on dam tain to continue to change, and at an accel- sense, all dams should now safety that: “For every dam project, a bal- erating rate, over the lifetime of the world’s be considered unsafe. ance has to be found between dam safety dams. As noted in a World Commission on and economy.” Dams’ background paper: “The major There will always therefore be pressure implications of climate change for dams for dam builders to cut corners on safety. A and reservoirs are firstly that the future can There is no indication that governments confidential 1991 World Bank report notes no longer be assumed to be like the past, and dam operators are willing to invest in that because of “financial factors and local and secondly that the future is uncertain.” bringing existing dams to what might be pressure to take shortcuts or ignore poor While the climatic future is indeed filled considered safe under the obsolete assump- quality work,” construction quality in India with uncertainties, one trend upon which tion of a stable climate. IRN is unaware of is “deficient for a number of dams, posing climatologists almost universally agree is any examples of dams currently planned or serious potential risk to downstream popula- that we will see (and indeed are already under construction that are designed to tions.” The report explains how during con- seeing) more extreme storms and floods. take account of the fact that future struction “large illicit profits can be made by And yet, alarmingly, the vast majority of hydrologies will not be like the past. (This using substandard materials.” There are more dam proponents and operators deny that is ironically true even for hydro projects than 4,000 large dams in India, with hun- climate change is even relevant for dam that are claiming subsidies through carbon dreds more under construction. safety. The president of a major dam engi- credits: their developers are benefiting from Even the most high-profile projects can neering firm told this author last year that the need to address global warming while suffer from “cut corners,” which can lead to climate change is “a problem for dams in they pretend that global warming is not safety issues later on. In 1998, top Chinese 20 or 30 years, but not now.” actually happening.) officials criticized shoddy construction on Another “natural” phenomenon that is the massive Three Gorges Dam, saying that expected to pose an increasingly severe risk Things Fall Apart corruption and technical shortcuts led to the to dams in high mountain areas is Glacial A huge number of things can go wrong with use of concrete with the strength of “mashed Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). Glacial lakes a dam. The two main reasons for dam fail- tofu” on the 185-meter-high dam. are formed when rivers are blocked by natur- ures are “overtopping” (responsible for al ice dams. Catastrophic flash floods can be around 40% of failures) and foundation Safety Precautions Missing caused if these ice dams melt. Global warm- problems (around 30%). Embankment dams, Despite the massive risk to human life and ing is causing a rapid melting of the world’s which make up about four-fifths of the property posed by large dams, few countries glaciers and seems to be increasing the num- world's dams, are most vulnerable to being have comprehensive dam safety legislation. ber of GLOFs. Dams in Nepal and elsewhere washed away when water flows over their Such laws should cover the engineering cri- in the Himalayas are at particular risk. crest. There are usually a number of interre- teria that new dams must meet; the regular The world’s more than 45,000 existing lated reasons why any particular dam collaps- inspection and repair of old dams; and the large dams have not been built to allow for a es. A dam may be overtopped, for example, preparation of emergency evacuation plans. rapidly intensifying hydrological cycle. In because of the inadequate capacity of its Studies in the US have shown that this sense, all dams should now be consid- spillways to discharge floodwaters, because of where early warning systems and evacua- ered unsafe. The several hundreds of billions a spillway blockage with flood-borne debris, tion plans are in place, the fatalities caused of dollars that may be necessary to make or due to mechanical or electrical problems by dam bursts are on average reduced by a existing dams “safe” under our existing cli- which prevent the spillway gates being factor of more than 100. However, such mate would likely be dwarfed by the expen- opened in time. The spillway gates may also plans have been made for only a handful of diture needed to upgrade the world’s stock of be opened late because of poor operator judg- the world's dams, mostly in the US, Canada dams to allow for floods far bigger than pre- ment or incorrect predictions of the size of and Australia. The first step in an emer- dicted by hydrological history. flood entering the reservoir. Internal erosion gency plan should be to draw up and make New dams could allow for larger floods caused by leaks through the core of a dam public a detailed “inundation map” of areas than predicted from the historical record. can also cause it to slump and be overtopped. at risk if a dam should burst. Yet of the few But there are so many societal, technologi- Building a totally safe dam is simply not countries that have produced adequate cal, ecological and climatological variables to possible. US dam-safety expert Robert Jansen inundation maps, some regard them as so

Page 8 World Rivers Review June 2005 confidential that they do not allow even Governments should put in place dam logical uncertainties due to climate change the emergency services to see them. This safety legislation; into the dam-design process. Dam funders, obsessive secrecy is sometimes due to con- Financial institutions should support dam in particular the World Bank, need to make cerns over the maps being used by the safety programs in developing countries. much greater efforts to help borrowers imple- enemy in times of war; in other cases the Initial project cost estimates should ment dam safety legislation and to make authorities simply do not want to admit include the cost of dam safety programs, existing dams safer. They also must ensure that all dams are potential threats to people to be paid out of future revenues. that any new dams they support allow for living below them. Emergency preparedness and evacuation the new hydrological uncertainties and that Clearly, there is an urgent need world- plans should be put in place for every feasibility studies should include funds for wide for dam safety legislation to be intro- dam involving risk to downstream popu- ongoing monitoring and maintenance, and duced, improved, and acted upon. In devel- lations. eventual decommissioning. Untold thou- oping countries, in particular, lack of funds Local communities should be involved in sands of lives depend on the industry and is a major constraint to making existing drafting disaster management and evacu- its funders taking these actions. dams safer. Such funds should be provided ation plans and should be provided with under the climate adaptation programs that relevant information on dam-break risks. developed countries are obligated to finance The impacts of climate change should be under the UN’s climate convention. Dam considered in dam safety assessments and operators should also have to set aside part dam safety should be considered in cli- of their operating revenues to create a fund mate change adaptation planning. to be used for dam maintenance and, even- An international study is needed on the tually, decommissioning. impacts of climate change on dam safety. These suggestions were discussed at a workshop on “Addressing Existing Dams” in Unsafe dams kill. The dam industry must Nairobi in 2004 sponsored by the UN Envi- take seriously its responsibilities on the issue ronment Programme’s Dams and Develop- of dam safety, and it must stop denying the ment Project. Representatives from the dam reality of a warming planet as regards to dam industry, NGOs, governments and interna- safety. Dam industry associations, and in par- tional agencies agreed on a set of recommen- ticular ICOLD should issue recommendations dations, including: on how to incorporate the increased hydro-

A Brief History of Dam Failures There have been 48 dam failures that killed more than Tarbela Dam, 10 people outside of China in the past 100 years. (Inside Pakistan (near-miss): Dam-induced earthquakes led to a deadly over- China, an estimated 3,200 dams have failed since 1950.) This 143-meter-high topping of the 261-meter Vaoint Dam in Italy in The following is a brief history of some of the world’s embankment of earth 1963. Nearly 2,000 people died. worst dam failures, and a couple of near-misses. and rock is perhaps the world's most problem-stricken major dam. Only an expensive pro- Teton Dam,US (1976): A 20-story-high wall of water poured out gram of emergency repairs and continual monitoring and mainte- of the failed dam, destroying 4,000 homes and 350 businesses in three nance have prevented its reservoir from bursting through the small towns, and damaging thousands of acres of farmland. Killed 11-14 embankment and devastating the densely populated Vale of Peshawar people. Death toll would have been much higher but for the timely below.The full story of how close the mammoth dam came to being evacuation of 12,000 people the morning before the dam broke. breached has never been fully revealed, but a leaked document Vaoint Dam, Italy (1963): A reservoir-induced earthquake con- reveals a catalogue of mishaps, beginning with the first reservoir tributed to this deadly dam disaster.The 261-meter dam set off earth- impoundment.The hugely expensive operation to stabilize the dam quakes as soon as its reservoir began to fill. One tremor set off land- almost doubled the cost of the project. slides that plunged into the reservoir, creating a huge wave that over- Glen Canyon Dam, US (near-miss): Heavy floods caused the topped the dam by 110 meters.About two minutes later, the town of rock sides of one of the dam's two spillway tunnels to partially col- Longarone was leveled and almost all its 2,000 inhabitants killed. lapse in 1983. Operators had to close the spillways fearing that ero- Henan Province dams, China (1975): As many as 230,000 sion of the tunnel sides could weaken the rock holding the dam in people died in this domino-effect collapse of dams on the Huai River, place.The reservoir would have overtopped the gates of the spill- some 85,000 in the flood waves and the rest from resulting epi- ways had not plywood boards obtained from a local lumberyard demics and famine.The disaster began with the failure of the large been fastened to the top of the gates, holding back the reservoir for Banqiao Dam in a typhoon, which resulted in the collapse of as many a few more nerve-wracking days. Government engineers predicted as 62 dams downstream.The Chinese government kept the incident overtopping if the reservoir reached 3,708.40.The reservoir finally secret for about 20 years, but information on the disaster was even- peaked at 3,708.34 feet. Less than an inch saved the lower Colorado tually leaked to the outside world. from probably the most massive flood in human history.

World Rivers Review June 2005 Page 9 Getting Personal: New Book on Dams Gets to Heart of the Matter

Deep Water:The Epic Struggle Over tightrope between thirsty farmers and entire adult life to trying to stop the SSP Dams, Displaced People, and the Envi- ecosystems in need of a healthy river. He (and at times risking her life to do so). He is ronment, by Jacques Leslie. Farrar, Straus & travels through the Narmada valley with respectful, curious, sometimes baffled, and Giroux (New York),August 2005 (can be Medha and other col- always humbled by the experience.“Promi- pre-ordered). leagues from the “Save nence was never Medha’s goal. If it had the Narmada Move- been, she surely would have found an easier This excellent new book ment”; across the Oka- way to attain it than fighting for dislocated takes a refreshingly personal vango Delta, along the tribal people. … Indian dams alone have dis- approach to the story of big Zambezi River, and placed between 21-55 million people. In dams and the people affected into the remote river response, hundreds of tiny rights groups by them.Author Jacques valleys of mountain- manned by earnest social activists much like Leslie, impressed with the ous Lesotho with Medha have arisen throughout India.They work of the World Commis- Scudder; and fight disheartening and usually futile battles sion on Dams and drawn to throughout Aus- against government-sanctioned injustice; for the issue of water, decided to tralia’s Murray this, their typical rewards are police beat- hit the road with three former River basin – ings and poverty wages.” WCD commissioners. His whose entire He registers surprise that the Indian account of his immersion in the annual flow is less dam-fighters believed a distant body such as world of dams – often gripping, than one day of the WCD could actually effect change in always thought-provoking, and the Amazon’s – places like the remote villages of the Nar- generous with the kind of detail with Blackmore. mada valley.These activists are not urging one must have to fully comprehend The travels with “revenge or revolution,” he notes,“but the controversies – brings a fresh the Gandhi-like merely that their country abide by the rec- perspective to this “epic struggle.” Medha are the most ommendations of an international commis- Using lively language and strong exhausting, the most heart-wrenching, sion.” Instead, the Indian government angrily story-telling, Leslie engages the reader in and the most inspiring; the days with Scud- turned the WCD away when it proposed an the intricacies of the debate, from the sad der (a quirky, sometime-supporter of large India-based meeting, after it became clear sagas of the legions of dam-displaced people dams who’s yet to meet one that met his the commissioners were intending to visit to the hubris of the dam-builders.While careful standards for resettlement), the the Narmada valley. acknowledging the benefits dams have most eclectic; and the time with Blackmore As for most of us working in the dam brought, he clearly spells out the great perhaps the most hopeful, as water-manage- field, Leslie is especially appalled by the cal- human and environmental costs of the past ment compromises are made to help lous treatment of people to be resettled by century’s era of big-dam building.“If Hoover restore a much-used river to health. dams. In Lesotho, he meets a woman who Dam evokes glory,” he writes,“Las Vegas, Deep Water is rich with the kind of star- looks stunned by her new life in a resettle- only 30 miles away, is its malignant twin. tling, frustrating facts that dam activists have ment area.“Maybe the nation has benefit- Even now, Hoover provides 90% of Las come to expect in their campaign work. On ed,” she said,“But my family hasn’t.” He Vegas’ water, turning a desert outpost into India’s Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), Leslie describes the cumulative human impacts of the fastest-growing metropolis in the coun- notes,“The money paid for the engineers’ the disruption of well-established communi- try.” He sets out to weigh the costs – quarters was more than the project’s entire ties and lifestyles by large dams:“By splin- social, environmental and economic – allocation for resettlement.” Leslie comes tering tribal communities and forcing their against the benefits of trying to engineer away offended by the SSP’s inhumanity, the demoralized members to take residence in our way out of looming water crisis, and “happily corrupt” officials pushing it, and the nearby cities, dams have reduced human comes away convinced that we can (and massive missteps in judgment by key players diversity as clearly as they have depleted must) do much better. such as the World Bank and Indian Supreme biodiversity.” Leslie travels to parts of the world Court.The SSP,he writes, is a “complete The book’s epilogue is a post-mortem where water shortages are already a seri- embodiment of the international battle over for the world’s big dams. Noting that dams ous problem – Southern Africa, India and dams.The displacement of indigenous peo- are not built with their own decommission- Australia – and finds that while each dam ple, environmental impact, resettlement, ing in mind, despite their limited lifespans project may be different, the negative water scarcity, energy production, spirituality, and the dangers of ageing dams, Leslie impacts are depressingly similar. But it’s who political and corporate corruption, human writes,“Dams are loaded weapons aimed he travels with that makes this book so rights – the Narmada project encompasses down rivers, pointed at ourselves; they're rich: India’s Medha Patkar, a leader of the them all … The valley is where the evidence proof of the gambling nature of the soci- people’s movement opposing dams on the of dams’ destructiveness that has accumulat- eties that build them.” He paints a none- Narmada River;Thayer (Ted) Scudder, an ed over decades finally collided with the too-comforting scenario of poorly main- American anthropologist and dam-resettle- optimism of engineers.” tained dams with ambiguous or non-exis- ment expert; and Don Blackmore, an Aus- Leslie trails Medha for weeks, trying to tent plans for their upkeep and eventual tralian water manager who walks a get at why she has devoted virtually her continued opposite

Page 10 World Rivers Review June 2005 removal, sitting on earthquake faults or creatively edited Switch-off is rich in imagery besieged by higher flows from climate and texture, and has attracted the attention Solutions for a change.“Take your pick of mortal scenario: of major international film festivals, such as cumulatively, they’re more plausible than the the Munich and the Toronto Hotdocs festi- Thirsty World assumption that megadams will be success- vals, and undoubtedly will be showing in fully financed, adroitly managed, and proper- many more.With a slower pace than televi- Drought and Water Crisis: Science, ly maintained into perpetuity.” Their crum- sion documentaries, the film lingers on land- Technology and Management Issues, bling edifices will be “relics of the 20th cen- scapes vanishing under the waters of Ralco’s edited by Donald Wilhite.Taylor & Francis/ tury, like Stalinism or gasoline-powered cars, reservoir, and permits its characters to CRC Press (London, Boca Raton), 2005. symbols of the allure of technology and its explain in detail how their lives were transience … of the delusion that humans destroyed by the dam. This collection of essays is brim-full of are exempt from nature’s dominion.” The Pehuenche were let down at every good ideas, encouraging case studies, and In Leslie’s somewhat apocalyptic vision, turn: by Chilean government agencies, where scary scenarios about what will happen the dams are the ephemeral things, not the critical voices are simply removed from if we do not improve our approach to rivers – and therein lies the hope. office; and by Chilean courts, which accepted drought and water management. Drought – Lori Pottinger non-challengeable testimony by hooded wit- exacerbates all the water issues facing us nesses with electronically distorted voices, today, including water scarcity, transbound- under the justification that Pehuenche ary water conflicts, environmental degrada- New Film opposing the dam are “terrorists.” Despite tion and protection, and climate change. the fact that not a single Pehuenche has The book’s purpose is to move society on Biobío Dam been found in possession of a firearm, sever- from dealing with drought as a crisis to al Pehuenche leaders have been forced into planning for drought in ways that will Switch-off (85 minutes, Spanish with hiding, or have left Chile in exile. minimize its damaging effects. English subtitles. Directed by Manel Mayol, In a revealing sequence that unfolds Topics covered include using demand- 2005). For more information, visit throughout the film, Mayol records his side management techniques as a “drought- www.switchoffthemovie.com phone conversations with Endesa’s public mitigation tool”; the role of water harvest- relations specialist, in attempting to sched- ing in mitigating drought, and the risks of Flowing from the Andes to the Pacific, the ule an interview with Endesa’s president. climate change. Biobío is Chile’s longest river, symbolic After getting the runaround, Mayol asks in The editor’s preface states,“To make because it represented the last line of resis- desperation if the company is willing to go progress, we must first recognize that tance for the Pehuenche-Mapuche indige- on record in any way at all.The PR person drought has both a natural and a social nous people in their battle against the Span- finally admits that the company’s attitude is, dimension. Second, we must involve natural, ish invaders. Manel Mayol’s new film, Switch- the less publicly said about Ralco, the better. biological, and social scientists in the formu- off, shows the modern-day revolt of the Poignant scenes with traditional lation and implementation of drought-pre- Pehuenche against the plans by Spanish Pehuenche and younger indigenous political paredness plans and policies.” transnational Endesa to build Ralco Dam on leaders demonstrate the web of misinfor- The 37 contributors are experts in the Biobío.The film hits hard in telling the mation, deceit and cynicism by which Ende- water management and conservation, engi- story of political repression in Chile, by the sa manipulated the Pehuenche into accept- neering, emergency preparedness, public country’s former president, electricity sec- ing relocation from lands along the Biobío policy, environmental sciences and other tor, and judiciary in running roughshod over to infertile terrain higher up in the Andes. relevant topics.They describe a range of indigenous peoples’ rights. Switch-off is also an important film on the complexities facing an increasingly water- As part of a vanishing breed of docu- impacts of globalization, especially in light of scarce world – for example, the Southern mentaries produced in 35 mm film, rather Endesa’s future plans to dam the major African drought of 2002-2003 was less than video, the artfully photographed and rivers of Patagonian Chile.The film includes meteorologically extreme than a drought a chilling revelations regarding Endesa’s enor- decade earlier, but its impacts were more mous political power in Spain and Chile, devastating because “the population was including its lobbying the Spanish govern- poorer and more vulnerable than it had ment to drop charges against former been 10 years earlier.” Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, and its Another describes the benefits of water near-monopoly on water rights in Chile. harvesting techniques for reducing water The filmmakers were also willing to take poverty and drought-vulnerability, and chances in filmic terms, and define their explains the barriers to adopting these own style with line-drawing animation, punk techniques where they are needed most: rock and electronic music. “The main reason has been lack of commu- Switch-off should be seen on the big nity participation in developing and imple- screen if possible, and likely will be shown menting improved technologies.” in the US, Europe and Chile in the light of While this book is intended for water its festival successes.The film is available on managers and policy makers, it deserves a Photo: Switch-off DVD, as well, and those interested should wider audience.As the editor notes,“The This Pehuenche family was resettled for Ralco Dam. Free electricity promised them by the dam builders contact the filmmakers via their web site key to invoking a new paradigm for drought never came, and now they have to sell livestock to (listed above) management is educating the public.” pay their electric bill. – Glenn Switkes – Lori Pottinger

World Rivers Review June 2005 Page 11 Last year, 15 officials from Hua County in Shaanxi Province joined in the calls for the suspension of the Sanmenxia project. The NEWS BRIEFS county is one of the primary victims of the dam, and has experienced serious floods as a result of accumulating sediment. “The main issue lies with the distribution Elsewhere in Brazil, 10 MAB leaders in of benefits, since the main province being UPDATES the communities affected by Campos Novos flooded is Shaanxi, while the main beneficia- BRAZIL: The 690 MW Barra Grande Dam in Dam in Santa Catarina state appeared in ries [of flood control] are Henan and Shan- southern Brazil continued to be the object of court to contest charges that they had plot- dong,” said Liu. legal challenges, as a federal judge suspended ted to occupy that dam on March 14. the licensing process pending an indepen- Human rights organizations had protested a dent review of the project's impacts, only to judge’s ordering preventative detention of WATERY PLANET see his decision overturned by a higher court. the farmers to prevent the dam takeover. The US$500 million Barra Grande, whose Based on the order, officials rounded up six US: With little fanfare, counties, states, and principal owner is Alcoa Aluminum, had suf- of the MAB leaders in their homes, and the federal government have collectively fered previous judicial barriers after its envi- jailed them for 23 days. spent an estimated $14 billion or more – at ronmental impact assessment (EIA) was least $1 billion a year since 1990 – to restore shown to omit crucial information regarding CHINA: One of this heavily dammed rivers and streams to their natural condition, primary forests in the reservoir area. nation’s most contentious dam projects, not including money spent on huge restora- Brazilian environmental protection Sanmenxia (“Three Gate Gorge”) in central tion projects like the Everglades. agency Ibama, responsible for the licensing China, has been called a “complete mis- High-profile restoration efforts include of the nation’s hydroelectric dams, was wide- take” by one expert, Zhang Guangdou, ongoing clean-up of rivers flowing into ly criticized for extending an environmental according to an April 29 report on the dam Chesapeake Bay and proposed dam decom- license to the controversial project. Ibama by Interfax China. Sanmenxia has been missioning to restore Pacific salmon runs. has since fined the engineering and environ- blamed for drying up the Yellow River and But the bulk of the 37,000 projects since mental consulting firm Engevix $3.8 million causing major floods. More than four 1990 have involved smaller rivers that have for using false data in its EIA for Barra decades after the reservoir was filled, plans had an outsized impact on the environment, Grande. The EIA omitted the existence of are still being formulated to improve the according to the National River Restoration 2,000 hectares of primary araucaria pine dam’s operations, while a number of Science Synthesis, a two-year study by forests and more than 2,000 hectares of experts have called for its closure. researchers at 11 universities. The study forests in an advanced state of regeneration. Liu Hongbin, vice chief of the Sanmenxia results were reported on in the journal Engevix, which has carried out EIAs for Yellow River Hub Management Bureau, was Science in April. dozens of Brazilian dams, will also be dis- frank about the flaws in the project. “They “When I started the project, I thought we qualified from preparing future EIAs for fed- didn’t think enough about the silt problem might find several thousand of these proj- eral license approval. during the process of construction,” he told ects,” says Emily Bernhardt, professor of biol- Interfax. The river is yellow from a high vol- ogy at Duke University, who participated in BRAZIL: Tensions heightened at Tucuruí ume of silt, which has caused problems for the study. “The scale of what we found was dam in early May, following state electric the dam from the start. Against the advice of amazing. There’s been exponential growth.” company Eletronorte’s cancellation of a various experts, the Sanmenxia reservoir was That finding is tempered by growing signs planned meeting with affected populations originally designed to collect silt in order to that the nation’s rivers are experiencing more occupying part of the work site area, and the leave the lower reaches silt-free. The original pollution overall – after decades of getting burning of two construction trucks by the design did not include sluice gates. cleaner, the same study notes. From about angry families. Some 300 members of Brazil’s Silt build-up has caused problems serious 1973 to 1998, rivers and lakes in the United Dam-Affected Movement (MAB) have enough to warrant emergency replacement States were getting cleaner, but that has now camped for four weeks at the site, despite of the generating units, the addition of silt- been reversed, according to American Rivers, the deployment of the Brazilian military to discharging channels, and other costly reha- which helped organize the new study. protect the dam. MAB is calling for immedi- bilitation efforts. Still, a water resources More than a third of US rivers are now ate support for the 5,700 families they say expert involved in the construction of San- listed as polluted or impaired. Extinction never received fair compensation for impacts menxia told China Central Television last rates of freshwater fish are about five times incurred, an agricultural credit line of $2,000 year that these drastic efforts have still failed the level of land animals. Withdrawals of per family, and access to electricity. MAB to solve the problems in any fundamental freshwater from rivers for agricultural and regional coordinator Rogério Hohn said, way, despite a significant reduction in other uses is so extreme in some regions that “If we don’t mobilize, Eletronorte and [con- planned output capacity and in the height the rivers no longer reach the ocean all year struction company] Camargo Corrêa will of the dam. long, the study says. Aging sewage-treatment deny any responsibility for the impacts facilities could in the next decade return US we’ve suffered due to the dam. They’ve been rivers to historic pollution levels, according fooling us for 20 years, and now we won’t to a 2002 report from the Environmental return home until they offer us a solution.” Protection Agency.

Page 12 World Rivers Review June 2005 Water quality is now beginning to decline Wave energy is also more predictable for several reasons, American Rivers’ Andrew A BETTER WAY than solar and wind energy, offering a better Fahlund says. The Clean Water Act did a possibility of being dispatchable by an elec- good job initially of cutting pollution from SOLAR: A plan to build the world’s biggest trical grid systems operator. Another advan- “point sources,” the big reason for improve- solar energy power station, covering about tage is that water currents are more energy- ments over 30 years. But at the same time, 250 hectares and capable of powering dense than wind currents – about 1,000 nonpoint sources – runoff from parking lots, 130,000 households, has been unveiled in times more. streets, agriculture – were getting worse. Portugal. The UK Guardian reported in May Wave power was delivered to the electri- Today, nonpoint pollution has in many that the plant would be visible from space. cal grid for first time in August 2004 in Scot- places surpassed those earlier gains. The site is an abandoned pyrite mine in the land. That pilot project provided enough southern Alentejo region. With 1,890 kilo- power for 500 homes. IRAQ: Extensive wetlands that were once watt hours of sunshine per square meter home to Marsh Arabs and a host of wildlife each year, the Alentejo is one of Europe’s are being partly restored, an international most promising areas for solar power. WARMING WORLD team of scientists reports. Saddam Hussein At 116 megawatts, the new station will be drained more than 90% of the 15,000 sq several times the size of the world’s current CHINA: The thawing of glaciers on the km of marshes, in part to punish the Shi’ite largest solar plant. The plant’s electricity will Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is threatening to Marsh Arabs who opposed him, and to feed the national electricity grid and be sold undermine the performance of the main- divert water for cities upstream. For eight at a government-set price. The project is land’s hydroelectric dams, according to Chi- years, virtually all of Iraq’s earth-moving awaiting government approval. It is expected nese scientists. The South China Morning Post machinery was used in a massive project of to take 4-5 years to build. reported in March that although retreating dam-building to drain the marshes and A consortium of mainly German compa- glaciers will initially lead to mass flooding, uproot the people who lived there. The nies will install the solar panels. A German in the longer term this will lead to water result was desertification that led to manufacturer of solar panels has said it also shortages. River beds will become more immense dust storms. “Some cities had to plans to build a factory at the site, bringing porous as the normally frozen tundra under- plow the dust like snow,” said ecology pro- 250 permanent jobs to one of the poorest neath them melts, and more water will leach fessor Curtis Richardson, a member of a regions of Europe. The project will create through the soil. UN-funded team of wetlands experts study- three jobs for every employee working direct- The Longyang Gorge Dam is just one of ing the area. The group released a major ly on the solar power plant or in the factory. China’s dams already experiencing the report in February, which likened the drain- effects of climate change, according to Pro- ing of the marshes to the drying up of the WAVE POWER: The Electric Power Research fessor Shen Yongping of the Chinese Acade- Aral Sea in Central Asia and the deforesta- Institute (EPRI) reported in February that my of Sciences. Shen is the author of a new tion of the Amazon. generation of electricity from wave energy report on the impact of retreating glaciers. Local people have since removed numer- may be economically feasible in the near The Longyang Gorge Dam – the largest on ous dams and dikes that diverted water from future. The study was carried out by EPRI in the upper reaches of the once mighty Yellow the area, restoring about 20% of the historic collaboration with the Department of Ener- River – struggled to generate electricity dur- marshland. Water coming into the area from gy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory ing 2003-04 because of very low river flows. the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is surprisingly (NREL) and energy agencies and utilities The Yangtze is also starting to experience clean, the team reports, washing away toxic from six states. Conceptual designs were per- lower flows, Shen said; during the past 15 salts that built up when the area was formed for sites in Hawaii, Maine, Massachu- years, lakes at the source of the Yangtze have drained. The marsh was important habitat setts, Oregon and California. decreased by more than 10%. for hundreds of bird species, which had EPRI’s Roger Bedard said the amount of After the report was released, China’s almost disappeared. A number of species are wave energy available off the US coasts is State Council approved a five-year environ- now starting to return, including pelicans, 9-10 times the energy currently generated by mental protection plan for the headwaters cormorants and wading species. Displaced the country’s hydroelectric dams. of the nation’s most crucial waterways – people are also moving back to the area. The forecast results will hopefully lead to the Yellow, Yangtze and Lancang rivers. The The scientists acknowledge that the increased public funding for investment in plan will relocate more than 55,000 farmers marsh will never be completely restored; wave energy research and development, and restore 6.4 million hectares of pasture they estimate 30% can be restored to health. including more demonstration projects. to grassland. But the restoration is threatened by With proper siting, conversion of ocean upstream countries. Turkey’s massive wave energy to electricity is believed to be Ataturk Dam (completed in 1990) has the one of the most environmentally benign capacity to hold five times the annual flow ways to generate electricity. Offshore wave of the Euphrates, which is the major source energy is also expected to minimize public of water for the marshes. Another threat dissent; wave energy devices have a very comes from a new dike being built by Iran, low profile and are located far enough away apparently for the purpose of selling water from the shore that they are generally not to Kuwait. visible. Wave power can be captured by big buoys bobbing on sea swells, or by sub- merged turbines spinning with the ebb and flow of the tides.

World Rivers Review June 2005 Page 13 A Better Way Making Energy Use More Efficient in India by Rangan Banerjee

ndia is home to 16% of the world’s (for example, in the Indian power system, 1 demand and help control losses. Segregation population but consumes only 4% of unit of electricity savings at the end-use of agricultural feeders and sub-station level the world’s total electricity. India would result in about 4 units of primary energy audits would help improve power sys- presently consumes only about 400 energy savings of input coal). There is a sig- tem operation. Ikilowatt-hours per person per year as com- nificant potential for savings by using ener- There are several barriers to the adoption pared to the world average of 2,300 gy-efficient equipment at the end-user end of efficiency and DSM. Often the measures kWh/person/year. About half the households and for generation and transmission. require initial investments by customers. For in India do not have access to electricity. Demand-Side Management (DSM) is a set example, a compact fluorescent lamp costs The development goal of improving the of practices that involves managing the about $3 (Rs 120) as compared to $0.25 for quality of life of the population requires pro- demand for power among some or all cus- an incandescent bulb (Rs10). The higher ini- vision of access to electricity to all house- tomers to meet the overall needs for electric- tial cost is a barrier for customers, even holds. The conventional approach of power ity. It can involve using energy more effi- though the savings justify the investment. planners has been to build additional power ciently, as well as reducing the peak-demand The electricity supply company is also com- plants to meet future projected demands. for electricity. This provides benefits to the fortable building large power plants for the According to official estimates, the targeted customer, utility and society. DSM programs centralized grid, but has been reluctant to additional generation capacity is 100,000 might include efficient lighting in the resi- invest in energy efficiency programs. This MW by 2012 (corresponding to a doubling dential and commercial sector, time-of-use reluctance is often due to a perceived uncer- of the existing capacity of 100,000 MW). pricing for large industrial consumers, effi- tainty in the transaction costs and the cient motors programs for the industrial sec- impacts. For instance, to get a peak saving What are the problems associated tor, solar water heaters for residential and of 100 MW through an efficient lighting with this approach? commercial users, efficient water pumping program in the residential sector would The investments required for this are stag- for the agricultural and municipal sectors, require a replacement of about 2 million gering – at present prices about US$100 bil- and industrial cogeneration. incandescent lamps. This requires customer lion (Rs5000 billion), and there just isn’t acceptance. enough money to meet these needs. The Can DSM help address the problems The key to this is innovative program result is energy shortages and poor-quality of the Indian power sector? design. There are many international exam- energy services. Direct and indirect econom- The Indian power sector is facing a payment ples of successful DSM programs. An Indian ic impacts of outages resulting from capacity crisis. There are high transmission and distri- utility in Bangalore, BESCOM, has launched shortages are enormous. There are also issues bution losses and significant commercial loss- an efficient lighting program recently. In this of sustainability associated with the contin- es (theft). In many sub-stations more than scheme the utility has entered into agree- ued use of fossil fuels and large hydro. half the electricity supplied is not metered. ments with suppliers of compact flourescents Agricultural water pumping is a major cause for supply through retail outlets to BESCOM What are the alternatives? for concern. Since electricity is available at customers. Payments are to be recovered One alternative that has significant potential subsidized rates (often based on a flat horse- from the electricity bill. Another example, and is cost-effective is energy efficiency and power tariff), agricultural consumers have no the Efficient Lighting Initiative (www.effi- demand-side management. It is important to incentive to improve pumping system effi- cientlighting.net), was a GEF funded pro- understand that we do not have a need for ciency. This has adverse impacts on the water gram for lighting efficiency in Argentina, electricity per se. We require the energy ser- table as well as using excessive energy. A Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Peru, vices provided by electricity – e.g., illumina- DSM program for efficient agricultural pump- Philippines and South Africa. tion, heating, cooling and power. For the ing could help utilities manage agricultural continued opposite user, the amount of electricity used is not important as long as the same energy service is provided. Fast Facts on India’s Energy Use Consider the example of illumination with an incandescent lamp using 60 watts. India is the world's sixth largest energy consumer. The light output is 700 lumens. The same India is the second most populous country in the world, behind China. Its popula- light output can be provided by a compact tion is expected to reach 1.16 billion by 2010. fluorescent lamp with a total power con- India's annual electricity generation and consumption have nearly doubled since sumption of 14 watts. This results in a saving 1990.The country's projected increase in electricity consumption (expected to be of more than 75% of the input electricity. between 2.6-4.5% to 2020) is the highest for any major country. Providing energy services to end-users Of the half a million or so villages in India, about 80,000 remain completely un- involves a number of energy conversion electrified, and many of the rest do not have reliable or adequate power. steps. At each step there are associated loss- Of all the electricity generated in India, only about 55% is billed and slightly more es. This implies that for every unit of energy than 40% is regularly paid for. that is saved at the end-use, the actual pri- From Decentralised Energy Systems India (DESI Power) mary energy saved is more than one unit

Page 14 World Rivers Review June 2005 Bujagali continued from page 3 Nile Basin Initiative.) Bujagali’s reservoir will presumably to make Bujagali look more deliver the promised electricity, and publicly also inundate high-productivity agricultural cost-competitive. This “Bujagali bias” has accept total responsibility and provide com- lands, and the culturally important Bujagali pervaded the process for choosing the next pensation for the failure and the consequent Falls (which is also a big tourist draw for energy project for Uganda. decline in the water levels of Lake Victoria whitewater rafting businesses). Endemic fish Civil society groups have also raised a following the commissioning of that dam,” species could be threatened, as well as nest- technical concern about the river’s ability to says the NGO statement. ing areas for bats and birds. The project’s 70 support so many dams. The concern follows The World Bank’s private investment km of transmission lines will cut through the failure of the upstream Owen Falls dam arm, the IFC, was to be the major lender protected forest reserves and farmland. complex to produce as much electricity as it for the project, but pulled out after AES The proposed Karuma hydro project was designed to do. The Ugandan media withdrew. The Bank has not indicated would, according to the 2001 environmen- have reported that the two hydro projects whether or not it will get involved this tal assessment for Bujagali, have fewer social are underperforming by 50-80 megawatts; time. Since the World Bank backed off and environmental impacts than Bujagali, the energy minister has blamed the shortfall from the project, the Ugandan government and fewer cumulative impacts on the Nile on drought, while a local hydrologist says has proposed various funding mechanisms, River. The Karuma project is being promot- the project design was based on excessively from an infrastructure development bond ed by a Norwegian team, but has been side- optimistic hydrological data, and that the to raiding the national social-security fund lined as the government aggressively pur- dams could even be contributing to a per- to pay for the dam. sues Bujagali. An official “options assess- manent lowering of Lake Victoria’s levels. ment” for Bujagali even went so far as to “Government, World Bank and Acres Inter- The civil society statement is available at give Karuma a significantly higher price national must give a proper account of the www.irn.org. For more information, contact than the developers’ own cost estimates, failure of the Owen Falls Extension dam to NAPE ([email protected]).

Nam Theun 2 continued from page 5 by omitting thousands of megawatts of new All of these omissions and changes con- ments and World Bank officials in advance power plants that EGAT, the Thai electricity spired to make Nam Theun 2 look more of their decision on NT2, but was ignored. utility, has included in its latest power devel- favorable than alternatives. In fact, the price Witoon Permpongsacharoen, a member opment plans, and also by claiming that over the Electricity Generating Authority of Thai- of Thailand’s National Economic and Social 2,500 MW of current power plants would be land (EGAT) has agreed to pay for NT2 elec- Advisory Council, and author of the alterna- retired in the period to 2009. tricity is more than EGAT’s available alterna- tive PDP, said “The World Bank’s question- The World Bank’s analysis of Thailand’s tives. Power from gas-fired, combined cycle able economic calculations strongly suggest energy needs also failed to incorporate find- plants will cost EGAT 14% less than NT2. that Nam Theun 2 is not a ‘least cost’ ings from a Bank-commissioned study that Implementing energy conservation measures option and is a burden rather than a benefit found that Thailand’s “realistically achiev- would be much cheaper, costing a quarter of to Thai consumers. They also suggest that able potential” for renewable energy proj- the NT2 power. the bank is willing to go to great lengths, ects, as well as demand-side management A comprehensive alternative Power including violating its own operational and energy efficiency potential, exceeded the Development Plan for Thailand, incorporat- guidelines regarding economic evaluation expected output of Nam Theun 2, and could ing realistic potential for demand side man- and disclosure of information, to justify a provide Thai customers with power that is agement, renewable energy and co-genera- project that, in turn, justifies the World 25% cheaper. tion, was presented to key donor govern- Bank's existence.”

DSM in India continued from page 14 Another successful international model building codes, professional certification pro- demand in coming decades will be built up that is likely to be replicable is the Super grams, manuals and codes, energy efficiency from new installations, new buildings, new Efficient Refrigerator program that provided policy research and school education. appliances. If we can ensure that we incorpo- a prize of $30 million to design and manu- rate efficiency beginning with the design facture refrigerators that are more energy What needs to be done? stage itself for all new projects, it is likely that efficient than the existing refrigerator stan- If power planners adopted least-cost planning we will reduce the additional electricity dards. This resulted in a refrigerator that had techniques to meet future requirements, ener- requirement by 20-30%. The current drive to a 29% savings over the existing standards. gy efficiency and DSM would be included build more fossil-fuel plants and large hydro The Indian parliament passed the Energy before new generation. This would reduce the projects is unsustainable. As we plan for a Conservation act in 2003. This resulted in need for new power plants and result in cost- transition to the sustainable renewable-energy the formation of the Bureau of Energy Effi- effective efficient power systems. This would based systems in the future, we have to ciency (BEE) with the mandate of promoting need to be mandated by regulators and aggressively pursue energy efficiency and energy efficiency in India (www.bee- included in the power planning process. Utili- demand side management. india.com). BEE has chalked up an action ties should set aside a fund for efficiency and plan with several thrust areas – industrial DSM. In developing countries like India The author is a Professor of Energy Systems energy conservation, demand side manage- where the demand for electricity is growing at Engineering at IIT Bombay, India. His research ment, standards and labelling, energy effi- 7% per year (or more) and the existing level interests include energy efficiency, DSM, renew- ciency in buildings, energy conservation in of consumption is low, the bulk of future able energy, energy planning and policy.

World Rivers Review June 2005 Page 15 Non-Profit Org. US POSTAGE PAID Berkeley, CA 94703 1847 Berkeley Way Permit No. 126 Berkeley, CA 94703, U.S.A.

Change Service Requested

IN THIS ISSUE Dam Safety: Increasing much worse without the floods have led to a rash of efforts of NGOs. Page 4 dam failures in recent months. The World: An interview Are dams getting less safe? A with a team of scientists who primer about dam safety, and have documented the huge what should be done to scale of damming on the improve the situation. Page 1 world’s major rivers. Page 6 Commentary: It’s extreme In Print: A major new book not to be green: the implica- on dams and the WCD, and a tions of a new UN report on new film on the Biobio dams biodiversity and ecosystem in Chile. Page 10 health. Page 2 News Briefs: News and Uganda: The government has notes from around the world. chosen a developer for Buja- Page 12 gali Dam. Page 3 India: Energy efficiency offers Laos: The World Bank great promise for a nation approves Nam Theun 2, but with a rapidly growing need

the project would have been for energy services. Page 14

Achí, IRN, Reform the World Bank – Italy, – Bank World the Reform IRN, Achí, Renewed commitment to providing free providing to commitment Renewed [email protected]

Association Río Negro 13 of March Maya March of 13 Negro Río Association lost lands and other property. property. other and lands lost For more information contact Monti Aguirre: Monti contact information more For

The report, commissioned by the Peasant the by commissioned report, The Restored access to or full replacement of replacement full or to access Restored The study is available at www.irn.org. www.irn.org. at available is study The

flooding of land, homes and sacred sites. sacred and homes land, of flooding loss of life. life. of loss

in surrounding communities who faced who communities surrounding in Compensation for personal injury and injury personal for Compensation development.

safeguard measures for the 6,000 households 6,000 the for measures safeguard The study’s recommendations include: recommendations study’s The informed consent requirement in in requirement consent informed

ment of losses where made, nor were there were nor made, where losses of ment ously self-sufficient communities.” self-sufficient ously rights, and establishes a free and prior and free a establishes and rights,

Johnston, author of the report. No assess- No report. the of author Johnston,

the dignity, identity, and integrity of previ- of integrity and identity, dignity, the Legislation that strengthens indigenous strengthens that Legislation

placed,” said anthropologist Dr. Barbara Dr. anthropologist said placed,” a “reparations process that seeks to restore to seeks that process “reparations a benefit the dam-affected communities. communities. dam-affected the benefit

mostly Mayan residents who would be dis- be would who residents Mayan mostly of government and financing institutions in institutions financing and government of perpetuity, used to finance projects that projects finance to used perpetuity,

ment and alternative livelihoods for the for livelihoods alternative and ment include formal and meaningful involvement meaningful and formal include cultural development trust fund, held in held fund, trust development cultural

a plan to address compensation, resettle- compensation, address to plan a

mendations put forth by Dr. Johnston Dr. by forth put mendations The establishment of a social/economic/ a of establishment The

local population, legal acquisition of land, or land, of acquisition legal population, local national and international laws. The recom- The laws. international and national restoring the degraded environment. environment. degraded the restoring

construction began without notifying the notifying without began construction of land, lives, and livelihood in violation of violation in livelihood and lives, land, of and revitalizes Mayan traditions, while traditions, Mayan revitalizes and

“The project was approved, financed, and financed, approved, was project “The study is that the project came at the expense the at came project the that is study ment of the region in ways that enhances that ways in region the of ment

massacred after resisting forced resettlement. forced resisting after massacred

The major conclusion from the Chixoy the from conclusion major The Infrastructure and economic develop- economic and Infrastructure

people were affected, and 444 people were people 444 and affected, were people the history of the project. the of history the was disrupted by the reservoir. reservoir. the by disrupted was

Development Bank support. More than 4,000 than More support. Bank Development recounted. An annotated timeline describes timeline annotated An recounted. between communities whose social fabric social whose communities between

time with World Bank and Inter-American and Bank World with time helping to restore their way of life are also are life of way their restore to helping reestablish the socioeconomic linkages socioeconomic the reestablish

was built by the military government of the of government military the by built was

and living conditions today. Their ideas for ideas Their today. conditions living and Infrastructure and development to development and Infrastructure

harmed by the 22-year-old dam. The dam The dam. 22-year-old the by harmed project construction, their old way of life of way old their construction, project Access to health and education programs. programs. education and health to Access

mends legally binding reparations for those for reparations binding legally mends A

munity, who describe what happened during happened what describe who munity, Improved housing conditions. conditions. housing Improved

from the project, and recom- and project, the from The report includes voices from the com- the from voices includes report The Chixoy facility. facility. Chixoy

extent of social injustices resulting injustices social of extent guidelines for a plan for reparations. for plan a for guidelines subsidized the construction of the of construction the subsidized

Chixoy Dam reveals the full the reveals Dam Chixoy document the losses suffered and to provide to and suffered losses the document to communities whose lives and lands and lives whose communities to

new report on Guatemala's on report new and Rights Action – Guatemala, attempts to attempts Guatemala, – Action Rights and household access to water and electricity and water to access household

by Monti Aguirre Monti by

New Report Details the Legacy of Chixoy Dam Chixoy of Legacy the Details Report New Just Published Just