IUCN welcomes hydropower sector no-go commitment

The new duty of care requirement for hydropower companies seeking to build new projects in legally designated Protected Areas is accompanied with an historic no-go commitment on any future development in UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites.

The new IHA commitments were made following a process of dialogue and engagement with the association’s membership – who collectively manage around a third (450 GW) of worldwide installed hydropower capacity – together with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) among other stakeholders.

“IHA’s commitment to respecting World Heritage Sites as no-go areas for hydropower projects is an important step toward improving the sector’s sustainability performance, and IUCN stands ready to help IHA and its members extend this commitment to all categories of protected areas. Protected Areas are a part of the solution to address the unprecedented environmental crisis humanity is facing – all actors of society, including the hydropower industry, share the responsibility to protect this natural heritage for future generations", said Dr James Dalton, Director of the IUCN Global Water Programme.

Under the duty of care commitment for Protected Areas, IHA’s members must implement high standards of performance and transparency when affecting protected areas, as well as candidate protected areas and corridors between protected areas. This should be demonstrated through a systematic application of the IHA Hydropower Sustainability Tools. 

The announcement was made during the session 'No Go in World Heritage sites and other protected areas: success stories in leveraging the private sector and remaining challenges' at the IUCN Congress and will be further elaborated at the upcoming World Hydropower Congress, to be hosted online with the Government of Costa Rica between 7-24 September.

For more information contact: 

Claire Warmenbol, IUCN Water Communications: email

Will Henley, Communications International Hydropower Association: email