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dam-l ICOLD's position '99

http://genepi.louis-jean.com/cigb/article-barrages-an.html

No mention is made of any problms which are insoluble
which runs counter to much of the peer-reviewed literature
and the current socio-economic dilemma of displaced and 
resettled peoples.  Also note the contention that the "concerns"
[read problms] are all soluble.

This may be what they teach engineers in school - that
all problmes are soluble - but it runs counter to my
experience in science and certainly in ecology.

Here is the introduction from this page by ICOLD.

X-URL: http://genepi.louis-jean.com/cigb/article-barrages-an.htm

Benefits and Concerns About Dams

     International Commission On Large Dams

                                 July 1999

                            Introduction 

Water is the vital resource to support all forms life on earth. Unfortunately, it is
not evenly distributed over the world by season or location. Some parts of the
world are prone to drought making water a scarce and precious commodity,
while in other parts of the world it appears in raging torrents causing floods
and loss of life and property. Throughout the history of the world, dams and
reservoirs have been used successfully in collecting, storing and managing
water needed to sustain civilization.

2 Even today, water remains essential for the survival of mankind and the
future development of the world’s cities, industries and agriculture. Today
there is a significant demand on the world’s water. As the world population
continues to grow at the rate of over 100 million people each year, so does
the demand for water. At the same time, there is a careless use of our natural
resources and accelerated pollution of the environment. The fact that a
significant portion of the available water in the world is too contaminated for
domestic use makes this situation very critical.

One of the most efficient ways to manage water resources for human needs is
by the construction of dams that create reservoirs for the storage and future
distribution. Currently there are about 45,000 dams higher than 15 meters
throughout the world. While some are more than 2,000 years old, about 73%
have been built in the last 50 years. The reservoirs formed by these dams store
some 3,600 km 3 of usable water. 

The primary benefit of dams and reservoirs in the world is water supply. Other
key purposes and benefits include:

· Irrigation for agriculture (food supply)

· Flood control

· Hydropower

· Inland navigation 

· Recreation

Most dams are built for several purposes. This produces a broad range of
domestic and economic benefits from a single investment. An additional local
benefit is the employment opportunities during the multiple year construction
of a reservoir project.

Effective management of the world’s water is essential to sustaining the
existing and future population of the world. As the world’s population
continues to grow so does the need for more dams, especially in developing
nations and the vast arid regions of the world. Basin-wide planning for water
management is the key element to providing optimum water supply and
other benefits. While dams provide significant benefits to our society, their
impacts on the surroundings include:

· Resettlement and relocation 

· Socioeconomic impacts

· Environmental concerns

· Sedimentation issues

· Safety aspects

However, these concerns and impacts can be reduced or eliminated by
careful planning, and the incorporation of a variety of mitigation measures.