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DAMS
IN THE IUCN PROGRAMME
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BACKGROUND
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.
Approved at the 55th Meeting of IUCN
Council, 28 - 30 October in Gland, Switzerland.
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