Decision-Making and Dialogue Relating to Large Dams and Hydraulic Infrastructures
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Decision-making and dialogue relating to large dams and hydraulic infrastructures Diversity of approaches; evolution of policies and practices applying to project preparation and implementation; case studies from Cameroon and Senegal December 2010 Acknowledgments and disclaimer This is the report of a study on the approaches to decision-making and dialogue on large dams and hydraulic infrastructures in developing countries and emerging markets, particularly the policies and practices applying to environmental and social aspects, and engagement of stakeholders around projects, including project-affected populations. This research project has comprised three parts:- - a ‘scoping’ at international level of perspectives of organisations participating in, or observing, the policy debate relating to large dams/hydraulic infrastructure projects; - a case study in Cameroon, of decision-making on the Lom Pangar Hydropower Project, to be constructed at the confluence of the Lom and Pangar Rivers in the Eastern Region of the country; - a case study in Senegal on decision-making and dialogue relating to the management of the River Senegal, as proposed in the Charter of the Waters of the River Senegal (la Charte des Eaux du Fleuve Sénégal), including participation of water users and civil society organisations. This study was commissioned by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature-IUCN, through the Regional Programme on Integrated Management of Natural Resources for Poverty Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in West Africa (PREMI). This research is designed to support IUCN’s steps to enhance civil society’s contribution to debate on dams and large hydraulic infrastructures, internationally, and as part of river basin dialogue in the West Africa and Central Africa regions - a decade after publication of the Report of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) in 2000. The study has included review of the status of the WCD recommendations, and comparison with four other policies, namely: the World Bank’s Safeguard Policies, the Performance Standards of the International Finance Corporation-IFC, the ‘Equator Principles’ adopted by the ‘EP’ Financing Institutions and the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol produced by the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum and published by the International Hydropower Association. Other practice, including lesser levels of performance, with or without published policies, has also been considered, in order to take stock of the diversity of approaches to decision-making. This report has been written by Peter Newborne, researcher and consultant based in London, specialising on water and environment/development policy and programmes. The scoping interviews at international level were carried out in July-September 2010 and the key informant interviews in-country took place between September 6th and 17th. The reports of the case studies set out in Sections 3 and 4 are based on the information which was available at those times. Thanks are expressed to the officials of government and of donors in Yaoundé and Dakar, as well as non- governmental actors involved in infrastructure projects in Cameroon and Senegal who took time to speak to the researcher about the evolution of policies and practices of project preparation and implementation, and who provided documentation on dam projects and river management. The author thanks the staff of the Central and West Africa Programme (PACO) of IUCN - Ousmane Diallo, Jérôme Koundouno and Oumar Ndiaye in Ouagadougou, Léonard Usongo and Camille Jepang in Yaoundé, Racine Kane and Madeleine Diouf in Dakar - for their close accompaniment of this project. The support of Jean-Marc Garreau, Coordinator of PACO, is also gratefully acknowledged, as well as the comments on a draft of this report of James Dalton of the IUCN Water and Nature Initiative (WANI). Responsibility for collection of the information gathered during this study and its presentation and interpretation in this report rests exclusively with its author and should not be attributed to the IUCN or any of the other institutions and organisations consulted. Feedback on this report would be appreciated at [email protected] Photo on front page: photo of the Manantali Dam on the Bafind River in Mali, tributary of the Senegal River (source: Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Sénégal-OMVS). Executive Summary This report considers approaches to decision-making/dialogue on large dams and hydraulic infrastructures in developing countries and emerging markets, particularly policies/practices relating to environmental and social aspects, and engagement of stakeholders, including project-affected populations. The purpose has been to take stock of the diversity of approaches set out in leading international policies, with a focus on three Strategic Priorities of the World Commission on Dams (SP 2, 3 and 5) compared with equivalents in other policies. International legal instruments, e.g. human rights declarations, were not included, although in the two case study countries conducted in Cameroon and Senegal, national laws/regulations were reviewed, relating to environmental impact assessment (EIA). Decision-making processes around infrastructure projects include varying degrees of participation by stakeholders. The ‘space for participation’ (to use the language introduced in Box 5 on page 33 of the present report) by civil society organisations (CSOs) in the two countries has been investigated. Key informants to the present study noted that the WCD report, published to a global audience in 2000, was not accepted by all actors in the dams debate. The WCD Strategic Priorities were embraced by CSOs more than governments in developing countries, banks and financing institutions, and industry. Hydropower developers and operators, for example, did not feel adequately represented in the deliberations among the twelve WCD commissioners. Banks/financing institutions, public and private, apply, first and foremost, principles and procedures set out in their own policies (as discussed below). As to the merits of the WCD, opinions are divided. Some actors consider it set the right standards. Others believe it sought to push policy too fast/too far. Whichever view is held, ‘raising the bar’ was the effect desired by the WCD and, despite disagreement as to whether the WCD represents good/best practice (essentially a value judgement), the WCD clearly constitutes the most demanding set of standards, hence the placing of it on the ‘upper floor’ of policy/practice in Figure 3 on page 32 of this report. The effect of the WCD was to polarise debate. The UN Dams and Development project provided a dialogue process for assimilation of the WCD and discussion of its implications. The project helped establish, over time, greater understanding between actors. But differences of perspective clearly remain. That is, surely, a natural function of large, complex development projects, with multiple parties. Rather than seeking to resolve all differences across the range of actors, efforts are more usefully focused on identifying areas of common agreement, as well as highlighting the mutually reinforcing roles of the leading policies - the Table on page 25 summarises characteristics of the five policies reviewed here. Three policies reviewed here - the World Bank’s Safeguard Policies, the IFC Performance Standards and the ‘Equator Principles’ - apply to their particular financing activities. Alongside ‘Level 3’ under the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol, they represent a substantial body of ‘good’ international practice’, beginning before the WCD and continuing to evolve after it - the ‘middle floor’ in Figure 3. As for the Protocol, instead of setting a standard, it provides an assessment tool. Several key informants to this study see it as a useful platform for engagement with power utilities, for promotion of more progressive working practices. Key informants commented on increasing commitment of banks/lending institutions to reduction of environmental and social risks, e.g. the fast growing group of ‘Equator banks’. The primary driver is seen as reputational. A second step will be to further articulate the business case. The WCD meanwhile continues to be a reference point, particularly for promoting assessment of a range of development options, through an open process, and in relation to its ‘rights and risks’ approach, based 2 on human rights and designed to address “imbalances in political power”. CSOs in the study countries support that goal, while recognising the evolution in political climate/process which is entailed. For infrastructure projects in Africa, non-OECD countries offer alternative funding. As far as the approach of Chinese companies to environmental and social impacts is identifiable, their activities present a range of practice, including lesser standards - the ‘lower floor’ in Figure 3. It is the role of sovereign States to determine which policies are appropriate and practices acceptable within their jurisdictions, as decided by successive governments. Without, however, a strong national regime applying to project preparation/implementation (EIAs, resettlement, and benefits-sharing), in practice the source of finance, and the extent of environmental/social safeguards accompanying that finance, is likely to be the critical factor. A key priority is strengthening of national regimes in developing countries, to arrive at greater consistency in standards of practice. Without