ANNEX 1

Forum Briefing Document

Third meeting – Cape Town February 2001

Introduction and Background

The World Commission on Dams has completed its work and, in keeping with the mandate given to it, it has disbanded. The WCD Report is now in the public domain. The Secretariat has shrunk to a skeleton crew, co-ordinating the dissemination activities, collecting reactions to the Report, and putting the final editing touches on the thematic papers, case studies, and other materials the Commission will leave behind. By the end of March 2001, that work comes to an end, the offices are closed, and the last of the staff departs for other things. What then?

There are many who would venture an answer to that question, and many individual processes have been initiated to review the Report’s recommendations, but neither the former Commission, nor the Secretariat, can determine the future. The only remaining component of the WCD process able to do this is the WCD Forum.

In convening to receive reactions to the Commission’s Report and to discuss what, if any, collective activities need to be undertaken to carry forward the momentum which WCD has generated, the Forum acts with considerable moral authority.

First, while the WCD Report clearly only expresses the views of the Commission, it was destined for the stakeholders in the broad debate on water and energy development. With the Report now completed, it is back to the stakeholders that the initiative has been passed. The Forum represents a balanced representation of the various stakeholder groups, and is thus the right body to initiate co-ordinated collective follow-up activities if and where these are considered necessary.

Second, the Forum has accompanied the entire WCD process. It arose out of the initial group that met in Gland in April 1997 and launched the Commission. The balance and representativeness of that initial group was one of the determinants of the Gland meeting’s success, and it has been maintained in the composition of the Forum. The Forum, through its March 1999 meeting in Prague, and its April 2000 meeting in Cape Town, and continuous interaction with the WCD through the work programme provided the Commission with an important reality check, and contributed important perspectives to the Commission’s work

Third, there is no other body than the Forum appropriate for debating how best to follow-up and reinforce the impact of the WCD Report. The initial «midwives» of the process – the World Bank and IUCN – are members of the Forum on the same standing as the others, and have no particular mandate for further involvement beyond their own specific action. So the Forum is the only vehicle, the only platform linking the WCD process and the vast public domain.

Importance of implementation and follow-up

This is not a casual matter. Many similar international efforts have foundered because the careful, considered work of several years quickly became dispersed and dissipated after the launch of the Report. Others, on the contrary, have led to a structured programme of follow-up activities that has influenced policy and practice on the ground.

The question now arises of whether the WCD Report should be permitted to drift off into an uncertain future. Its review of the development impact of large dams is valuable and provides the foundation for much future work. However, what will really make a difference to the way water and energy development projects are designed and implemented in future is the extent to which the recommendations are adapted, adopted, and incorporated into the work of the hundreds of actors involved in such projects. The publication of the WCD Report is only the conclusion of the first stage. Much of the important work lies ahead.

There will be many opinions about whether co-ordinated and collective follow-up is required, or even desirable. The point, however, is that the Forum meeting in February is at present the last opportunity currently on the calendar for the broad constituencies that followed and supported the work of the WCD, collectively:

• to develop a shared understanding of the options for maintaining and building on the momentum generated by the WCD process; and
  
  

• to consider how to take the debate forward towards practical implementation

That said, for all its efforts to represent a fair balance among the constituents concerned with large dams, the Forum nevertheless remains limited in its membership, and there are many other actors who have the potential to contribute to the implementation of the WCD recommendations. The Forum needs to consider ways to reach out to these groups and draw them into the implementation process.

The February meeting is the opportunity to debate follow-up options. It makes sense, therefore, to prepare it as well as possible and to structure it in such a way as to favour the achievement of shared outcomes, while also recognising that the meeting provides an opportunity for smaller subgroups of Forum members to form partnerships or to plan co-ordinated action among themselves, even in the absence of overall consensus. Proposals for the meeting are set out below, for consideration and reaction by Forum members. The proposals are based on the discussions at the second Forum meeting in April 2000, the results of the Questionnaire sent to all Forum members on 11 December, and direct consultations with a “focus group” of some 16 Forum members who reflect the full range of backgrounds and perspectives present in the Forum membership.

Purpose of the meeting

The principal purposes of the February Forum meeting are:

• to provide an opportunity for Forum members to share their views and responses to the Report;
  
  

• to receive, take note of, and discuss reports of action taken to disseminate, promote, adapt and apply the WCD Report and its recommendations;
  
  

• to consider and debate the range of possible steps most likely to favour the widespread adoption and implementation of the WCD recommendations;
  
  

• to identify and develop, where desirable, co-ordinated action by Forum members, as well as other organisations, networks or fora.

Expected outcomes

Having stressed above the importance of this Forum meeting, it is perhaps equally important to note that the positive nature of the two previous Forum meetings had to do with the fact that it was reacting to the work of the Commission, and directly contributing information, perspectives and proposals to it. All members appeared to share a genuine desire to see the Commission succeed, and this provided some cohesion to what might otherwise have been a more divided group.

The February Forum meeting will neither be led by the Commission, nor will the need to respond to the Commission provide the central thread of the meeting. Instead, the Forum itself will have to achieve some form of closure on a range of issues relating to the implementation of the Commission Report and the future of the debate around water and energy resources development.

The following outcomes are expected:

• an overview of responses to the WCD Report and of actions taken to disseminate and promote the implementation of the WCD recommendations;
  
  

• a first inventory of institutional actions already taken to implement the recommendations;
  
  

• a consensus on how to maintain and make available the Knowledge Base which the WCD Secretariat has accumulated and how to respond to requests for clarification or for technical assistance in interpreting, adapting or implementing the WCD recommendations;
  
  

• a sense of the meeting concerning the need to reinforce established networks, a continuing Forum, or any co-ordinating facility to provide support for WCD follow-up or to monitor and make public information on the implementation of the recommendations.
  
  

• an inventory of proposed/planned follow-up activities by different institutions and networks.

Outcomes from the meeting may therefore range from statements of intent from individual organisations that have been shared with Forum members, through co-ordinated actions planned by subgroups of Forum members, to broader co-ordinated follow-up activities that have the general support of the wider constituency.

Preparations for the February Forum

To ensure proper preparation of the February Forum meeting, the Secretariat has worked with a Forum Liaison Group comprising the representatives of the two Gland midwives (IUCN and the World Bank) and four other Forum members, two from civil society networks (Patrick McCully and Shripad Dharmadhikary) and two from the dams industry, government and operators (Refaat Abdel Malek and Reatile Mochebelele). The Forum Liaison Group will be closely associated with the organisation and conduct of the meeting, and in all matters relating to its objectives and outputs. It is further proposed that it plays a role in the meeting itself (see below). This document, and the draft agenda, has been reviewed by the Forum Liaison Group during January 2001.

The Secretariat proposes to play a largely organisational role, taking care of logistics, meeting support, preparation of documentation, and reporting, in interaction with the Forum Liaison Group.

Meeting Management

Role of Commissioners

Since the Commission no longer exists, it will not play a role in the meeting. Nevertheless, the former Commission members have been invited and may participate in the discussions. As individuals, they have earned a position of considerable moral authority, and their contribution to the debate could be very valuable. The former WCD Chairman will welcome Forum participants to Cape Town, before handing over the meeting to them.

Observers

It has frequently been noted that the positive nature of Forum meetings has a great deal to do with the sense of legitimacy that stems from its composition. Like the Commission itself, the Forum represents a careful balancing of the different currents that make up the dams debate. Further, through its involvement with the WCD process and work programme, many over a period of almost three years, the Forum has developed a knowledge of the debate that is not shared by most outsiders. At the same time, the Forum should not become an obstacle to the WCD recommendations being widely disseminated, and for the number of actors adopting and implementing them to expand as quickly as possible. A number of researchers and writers have also followed the WCD process, and may continue to attend meetings as observers.

It is proposed that, taking into account the need to maintain a balance of perspectives within the meeting, a limited number of additional observers be admitted if:

• they wish to report a significant initiative taken as a result of the WCD
  
  

• they have a specific and practical proposal for implementation of the WCD recommendations
  
  

• they are in a position to significantly influence the implementation of the WCD recommendations through appropriate institutions and networks

Thus observers admitted to the February Forum meeting should be in a position to accelerate the adoption and implementation of the WCD recommendations, and help to move beyond the limits imposed by the Forum’s restricted membership, while maintaining the cohesiveness that the Forum has built over the life of the Commission. The Forum may also choose to hold closed sessions on particular issues.

While the presence of a number of observers is desirable, there are also logistical considerations in terms of meeting dynamics, accommodation and conference rooms. Those who would like to take up one of the limited number of observer opportunities should therefore write to the WCD Secretary General as soon as possible, reflecting the criteria laid out above.

Facilitation and reporting

It is essential that the meeting be professionally and efficiently chaired. The Secretariat has therefore approached Prof Tony Dorcey to facilitate the meeting. He was extremely effective in moderating the initial Gland workshop and therefore knows the actors and is aware of the issues. He will provide a facilitator’s report documenting the meeting outcomes, assisted by the WCD Secretariat.

Rules of Engagement

In keeping with past tradition it is proposed that any shared results of the meeting should emerge in the form of sense of the meeting reporting. This means that the Forum would not be asked to take formal decisions, and that there would be no formal voting or other similar procedures to determine where the majority of Forum members stand. Informal polling of opinion undertaken by the Forum Liaison group could be used to assist the process, or different stakeholder groups represented on the Forum could also be asked to designate spokespersons.

In the past, Forum members have usually spoken in their individual capacity, rather than as representatives of organisations. However, since publication of the Report some members have put in place internal review processes to allow their representatives at the meeting to provide more formal, institutional, feedback. Members should therefore make it clear whether they are speaking as individuals or as representatives in the different sessions. In keeping with past practice it is suggested that, in any debate, the session chair or facilitator first recognise the Forum members and, only after the bulk of those wishing to speak have taken the floor, invite comment from others present.

Working groups

While sharing of reactions to the Report and information concerning planned responses will largely be done in plenary session, the meeting may also break into smaller working groups when it is necessary to debate and discuss particular issues. As in previous Forum meetings, the working groups normally include Forum members from a range of backgrounds and perspectives to ensure that a full exchange of views is possible within the group. The Secretariat will make a proposal for the composition of these groups during the meeting, once the full participation list is known.

Conclusion

The Forum meeting in February 2001 is the last, scheduled, formal event in the life of the World Commission on Dams. It comes nearly four months after the launch of the WCD Report, at a time when most of the stakeholder groups have had an opportunity to study the Report and its recommendations, and to discuss them with their peers. It is therefore an occasion to look forward and to discuss how to build on the momentum that the Report has generated towards a new approach for conceiving, planning and implementing development.

So far, the process has yielded results that – at various stages – it seemed audacious to hope for. But the real task is now beginning. The eventual success of the WCD depends to a considerable extent on what happens, or is reported, at the February Forum meeting.