United Nations Environment Programme

Many organisations and governments have reacted to the World Commission on Dams report following its release in November, 2000. For most, the report does not offer a final verdict on dams, but provides a new framework for improved decision making for water and energy development instead.

Any follow-up to the work of the Commission must use the successful WCD approach: to invite the participation of all relevant stakeholders and bring together opposed parties from governments, advocacy groups, affected people, scientific networks and the private sector.

A representative group of stakeholders decided to work together to improve dissemination of the report's recommendations at the 3rd meeting of the WCD Forum held in Spier (South Africa, February 2001). To achieve this, a Dams and Development Project (DDP) hosted by UNEP will be established in Cape Town to:

• support widespread dissemination of the WCD report and related products;
• support country-level, regional and global dialogues on the report and on the issues it addresses;
• strengthen interaction and networking among participants in the dams debate; and,
• facilitate the flow of information and advice concerning initiatives taken by individual stakeholders or stakeholder groups pursuant to the WCD report.

The DDP will operate for two years with funds from bilateral and multilateral sources, the private sector and NGOs. IUCN is committed to supporting this unit in those areas of work where IUCN offers a comparative advantage.

For example, interested parties are increasingly taking action at the regional and national level. In Central America, a regional meeting convened in March 2001 by IUCN, the Global Water Partnership and the Consejo de Electrificación para América Central raised the interest of many stakeholders in a constructive dialogue on the content of the WCD report. In South Africa, a similar meeting of stakeholders took place in July 2001 to review the recommendations put forward by WCD. In both cases, participants agreed to work together on a number of follow-up activities at the national and regional level, with assistance from the IUCN secretariat. The secretariat has already received several more requests to assist in similar processes in other regions and countries.

IUCN STRATEGY AND WORK PROGRAMME ON DAMS

The current IUCN Programme provides a good basis for acting proactively in support of the WCD recommendations. The IUCN Programme provides a clear mandate to make full use of the WCD report through KRA 1 (Effective management and restoration of ecosystems), KRA 2 (Institutions, agreements, processes and policies), KRA 4 (Equitable sharing of the costs and benefits), KRA 5 (Assessment of biodiversity and of related social and economic factors), and KRA 6 (Information management and communication systems). IUCN has many years of experience in ecosystem rehabilitation and participatory management and more specifically in field level activities, policy interventions, tools for equitable sharing, and species data collection and dissemination. Thus, the required expertise is available in the IUCN secretariat, especially from the global and regional Wetlands and Water Resources Programmes and within some IUCN Commissions and IUCN members.

Furthermore, the new IUCN Water and Nature Initiative provides a good framework for further work on dam issues. This Initiative aims to demonstrate how the ecosystem approach to water management should be implemented through a new portfolio of 30 projects around the world. Existing (or planned) dams (will) play a major role in the management of downstream ecosystems at many of the current and future project sites selected for the Initiative. At these sites, IUCN will play an important role in fostering implementation, adaptation and testing of the WCD recommendations by working with the main dam stakeholders, several IUCN Commissions, a large diversity of members and the secretariat.

1. REGIONAL STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGEMENT AND ACTION

1.1 Advocacy of WCD report and findings

Outcome 1.1: The WCD report and its main findings are disseminated at regional, national and provincial levels to secure commitments for follow-up actions from key constituencies.

Suggestions for action:

• Increase information exchange on IUCN activities in support of WCD recommendations, within the IUCN Secretariat, and between IUCN members and Commissions;
• Support the organisation and ensure facilitation of national and regional multi-stakeholder dialogues on the WCD report and its recommendations;
• Promote designation of specific rivers as "Protected Rivers", based on national river "set-aside" strategies;
• Support the organisation and ensure facilitation of meetings between former WCD Commissioners, Heads of States or CEOs from major industry groups, to secure their commitments in supporting implementation of the WCD recommendations.

1.2 Use and dissemination of the WCD report

Outcome 1.2: The information included in the WCD report is used to support analysis of options for energy and water resources development with the view to change current practices for dam planning, development and operations.

Suggestions for action:

• Assist the Dams and Development Project in disseminating the WCD report to key target audiences (governments, NGOs, technical institutions, companies, donors, financiers);
• Disseminate communications materials (WCD report, Executive Summary, CD ROMs, Spier report) targeted at governments, NGOs, the private sector, local and indigenous communities, and the media.

1.3 Catalysing and supporting multi-stakeholder processes

Outcome 1.3: Civil society is involved effectively in the planning, development and operation of future large dams projects.

Suggestions for action:

• Assist stakeholders (governments, river basin authorities, donor agencies, the private sector) to implement the WCD recommendations in specific river basins or countries, through adapting the decision-making process, and using the criteria, guidelines and standards proposed by WCD. Specific river basins would include, for example: Senegal, Niger, and Volta (West Africa), Rufiji and Pangani (Eastern Africa), Indus (Pakistan), Huong and Mekong (South-East Asia), Terraba and Panama (Central America) and Zambezi (Southern Africa).

1.4 Interventions for mitigation of environmental impacts of existing dams

Outcome 1.4: Governments and the civil society at large have reduced the negative environmental and social impacts of specific dams, and rehabilitated previously damaged ecosystems.

Suggestions for action:

• Implement ecological rehabilitation programmes in downstream areas affected by dams (such as in the Zambezi delta);
• Continue the ecological rehabilitation programmes in the Logone river basin (Cameroon) and the Senegal river basin (Mauritania);
• Develop and implement ecological rehabilitation programmes in selected river basins. Specific river basins would include, for example: Tempisque (Costa Rica), Zambezi (Southern Africa), Perfume (Vietnam), Mekong (SE Asia).

2. GLOBAL POLICIES ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

2.1 Global (inter-)governmental processes

Outcome 2.1: (Inter-)governmental processes have recognised the work of WCD and committed themselves to support specific implementation strategies.

Suggestions for action:

• Include WCD findings into the IUCN policy paper on "The Ecosystem Approach to Water Resources Management";
• Devise strategies targeted at global sustainable development processes (e.g. WSSD, CBD, Ramsar, 3rd World Water Forum) to foster implementation of WCD recommendations;
• Supports export credit agencies to incorporate WCD recommendations into their policies.

2.2 Private sector policies and guidance

Outcome 2.2: Private sector organisations and companies have developed activities to implement WCD recommendations.

Suggestions for action:

• Promote compliance with mitigation and enhancement strategies, in cooperation with financing institutions and governments;
• Support the development of certification or ISO standards;
• Develop partnership strategies, based on WCD recommendations, with key private sector groups and professional organisations (e.g. International Commission on Large Dams, International Hydropower Association).

3. STRATEGIC ANALYSIS AND TOOLS SUPPORTING INNOVATION

3.1 Production of critical analysis

Outcome 3.1: Multi-stakeholder groups and decision-makers have used critically-important analysis for improved decision making.

Suggestions for action:

• Contribute to supplementing WCD findings through establishment of (small) think tanks and/or (multi-)regional centres of expertise on:
• Alternative options and financing opportunities in different social, economic and political settings;
• Integration of environmental assessments into water resources and energy planning processes;
• Avoidance, minimisation, or mitigation of impacts;
• Environmental flow setting experiences;
• Legal frameworks for conserving water courses;
• Tools for public participation and decision making processes;
• Assessment of the effectiveness of multipurpose versus single purpose dams;
• Freshwater biodiversity baseline assessments in critical basins;
• Methodologies and indicators to facilitate baseline social, economic and environmental studies.

3.2 Development of tools

Outcome 3.2: The private sector, governments and river basin authorities have improved dam planning, development, operations and decommissioning by using newly-developed tools.

Suggestions for action:

• Support the development of normative standards and tools for:
• Environmental flow maintenance;
• Effective public participation in basin and water resources planning and decision making;
• Environmental economics related to dam planning, development and operations;
• Monitoring and evaluation procedures acceptable to all parties involved, including for example permanent monitoring and compliance of EIA/SIA standards.