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dam-l Update on the WCD - Article written for GroundWork/LS
The following is by Liane Greeff of Environmental Monitoring Group in Cape
Town. It will appear in GroundWork magazine (out of South Africa).
November 2000 - the End of the Road for the World Commission on Dams
Will it have been worth it? This is the big question shadowing those from
civil society who have contributed so much in terms of time, energy and
resources to the World Commission on Dams process. And the answer to this
question will be clear in November 2000 upon release of the WCD's Final
Report. Will this be a strong report which gives clarity on the fundamental
development effectiveness, or lack thereof, of large dams, or will it be a
weak and neutral report which in its attempt to appease all sides of the
debate, ends up not satisfying anybody?
Much hangs upon the success or failure of the WCD, as it is being touted as
the new way of resolving international debates about controversial issues,
through dialogue and consensus between the various stakeholders. If
successful it may be replicated in trying to find solutions to other global
controversies, such as genetic engineering. Indeed, the recent success of
the WCD Forum Meeting in Cape Town in April 2000 stands in stark contrast
to the December and March protests in Seattle and Washington around the
World Trade Organisation and the World Bank and International Monetary
Fund.
However, for the millions of individuals who have been forcefully removed
from their ancestral land, or for the millions more who have lost their
livelihoods through the loss of riverine resources upon which they
depended, the World Commission on Dams means so much more. The original
call for the World Commission on Dams came from dam affected communities
from throughout the world, who gathered in Curitiba, Brazil, in March 1997
to share their common experiences with regard to both the loss of land,
forests, fisheries, as well as the same fight against vested interests,
inequalities exacerbated by large dams and exclusion from decision-making
processes.
In their vision they called for a "society where human beings and nature
are no longer reduced to the logic of the market where the only value is
that of commodities and the only goal profits. We must advance to a society
which respects diversity, and which is based on equitable and just
relations between people, regions and nations." To this end they demanded
that "an international independent commission [be] established to conduct a
comprehensive review of all large dams financed or otherwise supported by
international aid and credit agencies, and its policy conclusions
implemented". This request became reality at the World Bank Meeting in
Gland Switzerland where an internal evaluation of World Bank Dams was
slammed as being biased and methodologically flawed. Surprisingly, the
World Bank, together with the World Conservation Union (IUCN), acceded to
requests for an independent study and agreed to put up seed funding
(approximately 10% of the overall budget) for the World Commission on Dams
which was to have two overarching goals. Namely to:
? Review the development effectiveness of dams and assess alternatives for
water resources and energy development
? Develop internationally accepted standards, guidelines and criteria for
decision-making in the planning, design, construction, monitoring,
operation and decommissioning of dams.
It is now three years later. The World Commission on Dams was born,
Commissioners from all sides of the debate were selected with our South
African Cabinet Minister, Professor Kader Asmal, as Chair. Specialist staff
from all corners of the earth's surface moved to Cape Town, and under the
auspices of the Commissioners and the Secretary-General, Mr Achim Steiner,
devised and implemented a grueling work programme of 17 thematic reviews, 7
river basin studies, 2 country studies, 150 dam cross-check analysis and
four Regional Consultations, as well as the receiving of over 800
stakeholder submissions.
As an additional safety net, and as a way of broadening buy-in from
Stakeholders, a WCD Forum was established at the beginning of the process.
This has grown to include 68 member institutions from 34 countries. At the
Second Forum meeting in April 2000, Forum members approved the WCD's
progress, identified gaps in the knowledge base and participated in working
groups, which identified the following as key areas for the Commission to
address:
- How to ensure alternatives to dams are given the same weighting in the
planning process
- The debate around participation and whether communities resettled by dams
should have the right to prior informed consent
- How to improve the management of the 45 000 large dams already in existence
- How to ensure that promises such as for compensation or mitigation of
environmental and social impacts are kept through effective regulations,
compliance, incentives, standards etc.
- How to negotiate competing rights and interests
Now the World Commission on Dams has drawn to a close the "listening mode"
of its work programme, and for the first time, is actually going to put pen
to paper, fingers to keyboards and produce the outcomes for which all the
players have been poised for all these months. And the implications are
significant for Southern Africa. The Southern African Hearings for
Communities affected by Large Dams held in Cape Town in November 1999,
revealed similar experiences of broken promises, forced removals, lost
livelihoods, scattered communities, increased HIV, undemocratic
decision-making processes, vested interests and corrupt authorities. The
era of dam building is by no means over in Southern Africa - Lesotho
Highlands Phase 1B is under construction whilst Phase 2 hangs over our
heads like a specter of future livelihoods lost. Skuifraam Dam in the
Western Cape, Springrove Dam in KwaZulu-Natal, and already South Africa in
its industrial imperialism fueled by GEAR uses over 80% of Southern
Africa's water resources. The other Southern African Countries are
following suit with dams being planned in Angola, Namibia, Zambia,
Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and each time a river is dammed it is degraded that
much more. In the words of Arundhati Roy, "anyone who has loved a river
can tell you that the loss of a river is a terrible, aching thing. "
NGOs and communities affected by large dams in Southern Africa are gaining
strength through cooperation and sharing of information. Within a few
months the second meeting of the Southern African water network is due to
take place which will enlarge upon its agreed mission to "work together to
promote the meaningful participation of civil society to ensure the
sustainable and equitable management of Southern African Water Resources".
For those who are interested in reciving updated information on either the
World Commission on Dams or the regional water network, please contact the
author at the contact details given below.
The World Commission on Dams is in fact long overdue, and we wait with
bated breath to discover whether or not the it has the courage and the
foresight to question the faulty development paradigm which shadows the era
of the large dams, and to lead us into a future which places people at the
centre of development and restores the linkages between people and the
ancient things - earth, forest, water and air.
Liane Greeff
Environmental Monitoring Group
The Environmental Monitoring Group is based in Cape Town, and has been
acting as a liaison between the Secretariat of the World Commission on
Dams, and both the global and regional networks of environmental NGOs,
human rights groups and communities affected by large dams.
Tel: 021 761 0549
Fax: 021 762 2238
Email: liane@kingsley.co.za
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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