Project concept

Decision support for Environmental flow RELEASES FROM RESERVOIRS to Optimise

Benefits for Ecosystem - Based Livelihoods

Dam impacts and recent global level response…

Dams have brought major benefits to millions of people worldwide through provision of irrigation water, hydropower and public water supply. However, many river, wetland and coastal ecosystems downstream have been degraded by changes to the flow regime caused by dams, including loss of floodplain inundation and reduced low flows. These ecosystems provide important natural resources to rural communities. Consequently, as a result of dams, the livelihoods of many rural poor have been destroyed or disrupted, leading to increased poverty, social unrest and rural-urban migration. In response to the increasingly acrimonious debate on the negative impacts of dams, the World Commission on Dams (WCD) was established in 1998 to assess their development effectiveness. In November 2000, the WCD published a framework for options assessment, criteria and guidelines for planning, designing, managing and decommissioning dams. Several studies carried out for the WCD, including the Thematic Review on Environmental Issues, concluded that the WCD strategic outputs need to be complemented by specific tools for optimising dam design and management.

As a contribution to the work of the Commission, guidelines for managed flood releases from reservoirs as a mitigation strategy were developed. These guidelines focus especially on the negative impacts on downstream aquatic ecosystems and their dependent livelihoods caused by loss of floods. This work highlighted the trade-offs between retaining water behind the dam for “reservoir-based livelihoods” (irrigation, hydropower or public/industrial supply) and releasing it downstream for “flood-based livelihoods” (natural resources, social and cultural values). It also recommended the use of multi-criteria analytical methods to make decisions on the appropriateness of flood releases and their magnitude, frequency and timing. A key element is the inclusion of stakeholder participation and non-monetary valuation of the environmental and social factors to take decision-making beyond simple monetary cost-benefit analysis. Complementary work for the Commission recommended an approach for defining the appropriate in-stream flow requirements of rivers. Taken together these two studies provide the basis for determining the flow needs downstream of dams that is based on scientific knowledge and full stakeholder participation.

The need for development of practical tools…

Development decisions are frequently based on economic analysis of costs and benefits of options. However, these rarely include costs and benefits that are difficult to value quantitatively such as conservation of ecosystems or social and cultural aspects of natural resource dependent communities. There is a growing recognition that non-monetary values must be included in decision-making, but this is constrained by lack of appropriate tools. The development of new techniques, such as Bayesian Networks, provides an opportunity to produce a tool to meet this need. However, the technical development and application of these tools is closely linked with establishing a process of stakeholder participation. The dialogue between the users of the tool and the final beneficiaries of management decisions is of crucial importance.

The project target institutions for the decision-support tool are governments and river basin development authorities and their consultants. In addition, NGOs may wish to use such a tool for assessing potential dam impacts. The final beneficiaries would be all stakeholders in potential and existing dam sites, as it would provide a tool for facilitating stakeholder participation workshops. In addition, optimised allocation of water resources would provide a more equitable benefit across all sections of society and help alleviate poverty.

Goal

Critical flows for aquatic ecosystems and their dependent livelihoods are maintained or re-established in river basins effected by dams.

Objectives

• To establish a consultation process with key-stakeholders in various selected river basins to develop and implement an environmental flow decision and management support tool;
  
  

• To develop an environmental flow decision-support tool;
  
  

• To document the procedure of the development and implementation of the tool and make the methodology widely available through web, CDROM and the publication of a handbook.
  
  

  Outputs

• An evaluation of different decision-support tools;
  
  

• A documented process of stakeholder involvement in the design and implementation of the decision-making tool;
  
  

• A decision-support tool for the design, construction and management of dams to optimise the allocation of water in a dam between reservoir-based activities and livelihoods based on the natural resources provided by downstream aquatic ecosystems;
  
  

• A handbook for stakeholder involvement in the implementation of environmental flows in river basins, including case studies of the decision-support tool and handbook tested in Southern Africa and Southeast Asia.
  
  

  Description

  During the first 12 months the project will focus on a review of literature on decision-support tools and the choice of tool to develop. It will also select the case studies basins where stakeholder consultation will take place to develop the tool. On the basis of the first consultations and technical information, the database structure and handbook will be designed. The gathering of existing information relevant for supporting further stakeholder discussions and tool design will be started.

  From 12 – 36 months, the project will focus on the development of the decision-support tool through stakeholder workshops in two case studies: one in Southern Africa and one in Southeast Asia. Based on an interactive process, a final decision-support tool and handbook will be available at the end of this period. By that time, the decision-support tool and handbook will have gone through several iterations of design and review by the stakeholder groups.

  The last year, the exit phase of the project, will focus on disseminating the tool and handbook to appropriate communities. For this a targeted communication strategy will be developed that will include training workshops in basins where stakeholders have expressed a keen interest in using the developed material. A website and CD-ROM will be developed to make all project results available to a wide audience.

  A selection of IUCN’s potential partners

  University of Cape Town (South Africa), Centre for Ecology ad Hydrology (UK), Natural Resources Institute (UK), Mekong River Commission (Cambodia), SADC Water, GWP SATAC, World Bank. Other institutions, agencies and organisations are invited to become project partners.

  Duration

  4 years

  Budget

  US$ 520,000

  
  

  A TOOLBOX FOR SELF-ASSESSMENTS OF

  INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTALLY-SOUND DAM OPERATIONS IN BASINS

  What happened so far…

  The design, construction, management and decommissioning of dams is best carried out within the context of Integrated Water Resources Management in river or drainage basins. This allows taking into account the amount of freshwater that is required to maintain ecosystems and the management of other (natural) resources that affects the water resource. The recently published WCD report confirms this general idea. The experiences with river or drainage basin management are however still scattered and the level of success varies greatly. At local levels, much evidence for the effectiveness of wide participation of local groups in conservation practices within catchments exists throughout the world. At river or drainage basin levels, different types of institutions and organisational arrangements have been set up worldwide. The level of success of these initiatives varies greatly, especially with respect to environmental conservation and people’s empowerment.

  After adoption of river and drainage basins as the appropriate unit for water resources management in 1992 (Agenda 21), progress has been rather slow. Only in May 1999, for example, governments of 118 countries have adopted the joint guidelines on river basin management of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Dams play an important role in the management of many river basins. However, the environmental performance of their operations is hardly documented. The World Commission on Dams indicates that overall there is a lack of proper monitoring and evaluation of the environmental consequences of management decisions. This general lack of ‘a learning culture’ linking dam operations with the wider management of catchments and river basins can be seen as one of the fundamental challenges to improve the environmental management within river basins.

  Developing the toolbox…

  The developed guidelines are useful general tools to start a process of change. However, water resources managers are often faced with a serious lack of ‘hands-on’ support material that can guide them in establishing a river basin management system. This concerns both starters and advanced practitioners. Starters see themselves confronted with a lack of guiding material that provides practical help in the start-up phase. Advanced practitioners lack self-assessment tools that allow them to assess the current performance of the river basin management system and ways to overcome critical blockages for improvement.

  The project will address these needs through developing a toolbox for starters and self-assessment of a river basin management system with a special focus on those basins where dams play an important role. This toolbox will provide a water manager, a national policy maker or a community individual access to information and know-how that currently is not available at most levels. It will empower individuals and groups to contribute effectively to improved water resources management and dam operations. The toolbox will contain for example material to help starters to analyse whether river-basin management should be initiated, how it should be set-up, who should be involved, what functions can be considered appropriate and how to set targets. For advanced practitioners, the toolbox will provide guiding material on how to set-up a self-assessment, the ways to carry it out, communicating the results and making a diagnosis of the existing river basin management system. These materials are the on-the-ground means to strengthen local capacities in water resource management.

  Goal

  Wide use of tools to improve institutional and technical performance on participatory catchment management based on an ecosystem approach and related dam operation and management.

  Objectives

• To develop network of a technical core team, associated experts and current or potential practitioners of basin management;
  
  

• To set-up a preliminary toolbox on catchment management and test the draft toolbox in 8 cases around the world;
  
  

• To finalise the toolbox and make it widely available using traditional and modern communication means.
  
  

  Output

• A toolbox for starters and self-assessment of participatory, ecosystem-based catchment management and related dam operation and management;
  
  

• An operational network of organisations that work on catchment management based on an ecosystem approach.
  
  

  Description

  To develop the toolbox, the project will draw from on the ground experiences throughout the world. Experiences with both technical and organisational issues will be dealt with, including, for example, environmental conservation practices, stakeholder participation, legal frameworks, economic and financial mechanisms, and communications. During a series of four workshops a technical core-team will interact with practitioners and compile their experiences into a well-structured ‘hands-on’ draft toolbox. This draft will then be tested within several organisations that are starters or consider a self-assessment.

  The project will be carried out over a period of two years. During the first year, the technical core-team will be established that will develop a draft framework for the toolbox. A questionnaire will be prepared and sent to a large number of organisations and individuals to acquire preliminary information on existing experiences. Two workshops will further be organised that will focus on consolidating the basic information and developing key-lessons learned that will feature prominently in the toolbox.

  During the second year, a third workshop will look at the basic structure developed for the toolbox and the draft topics and material that will be used. The workshop will provide clear guidance to the technical core team on finalising a draft toolbox. After finalising the draft toolbox a minimum of 8 organisations will test the draft toolbox and provide further comments. The draft toolbox will also be reviewed by a group of experts and practitioners. During the final workshop the conclusions of the testing and review will be discussed. The technical core-team will then finalise the toolbox. Wide dissemination both in printed form and through the internet will be carried out.

  A selection of IUCN’s potential partners

  UNDP – United Nations Development Programme, IDRC – International Development Research Centre, INBO – International Network of Basin Organisations, Donor Agencies, GWP, Members of a variety of water and environmental management networks within various regions. Other institutions, agencies and organisations are invited to become project partners.

  Duration

  2 years

  Budget

  US$ 900,000

  BENCHMARKING FRESHWATER BIODIVERSITY

  FOR BETTER DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT OF DAMS AND

  SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

  Freshwater fish and amphibians forgotten…

  Despite the well-documented degradation of freshwater ecosystems in many parts of the world and the enormity of the threats they face, the conservation of freshwater biodiversity continues to remain low on the water management agenda. The relatively low investments in freshwater biodiversity management and conservation, as compared with other water investments, have serious implications for achieving the sustainable use of water resources. With a loss of species diversity in freshwater habitats, we not only threaten the survival of natural ecosystems, we also put in jeopardy the goods and services provided by these ecosystems. Dam construction and operations are an important cause of changes in natural flooding regimes, water quality and migratory pathways and as such of species loss. Through these changes they not only affect natural ecosystems but also threaten the livelihoods of the human communities that depend upon them. The rapid deterioration in the status of the overall freshwater environment is therefore of serious global concern. The world community needs to move decisively to redress the neglect of freshwater biodiversity.

  Getting the facts on the table…

  The World Commission on Dams report has recently identified the lack of environmental baseline data as one of the major causes of environmentally insufficient planning and management of dams and reservoirs. With respect to biodiversity, this lack of data exists on the current status and trends of fish, amphibians, plants and invertebrates as well as the behaviour of species related to habitat conditions. This lack of data is based on a serious lack of awareness of the issues and insufficient capacity to establish quality assessments. More consistent monitoring of freshwater biodiversity status and trends would provide a valuable indicator of ecosystem health and of the extent to which these ecosystems can continue to provide essential services to human communities. It would also provide the necessary information to improve dam design, operation and monitoring.

  For long have the species components of freshwater biodiversity in river basins been neglected, even by environmental agencies and mainstream conservation organisations. The recent increase in awareness of the severity of the degradation of freshwater - particularly riverine - ecosystems and species has resulted in a range of governmental and non-governmental initiatives to start to assess and address this issue. However, the effectiveness of all attempts to address the rapid loss of freshwater biodiversity depend on a clear understanding of its status and trends, and of the factors that are threatening it. This projects aims to put an information baseline in place, to which future assessments can be compared on the basis of which design, management and operation can be improved. A basin approach will be taken to ensure gathered data can be used, were appropriate, to improve basin wide planning and management.

  Goal

  Improved baseline information on freshwater biodiversity and increased capacities are used in water resources planning and management to halt the rapid rate of loss of its components.

  Objectives

• To build freshwater biodiversity conservation capacity and expertise through regional networks to serve as a resource for conservation and sustainable development activities;
  
  

• To assess the status of freshwater biodiversity in terms of selected priority taxonomic groups of species, important sites and threatening processes in specific river basins;
  
  

• To raise awareness of freshwater biodiversity conservation issues among professional groups, governments, donors and NGOs.
  
  

  Outputs

• A CD-ROM containing a comprehensive overview of freshwater species worldwide with specific emphasis on priority basins / catchments;
  
  

• A standard methodology to assess and monitor freshwater biodiversity;
  
  

• Strong regional volunteer networks of freshwater biodiversity experts to carry out monitoring;
  
  

• Priorities for freshwater biodiversity conservation worldwide.
  
  

  Description

  The project is designed to put in place a factual underpinning to support efforts to conserve and manage freshwater species and ecosystems through:

• identifying a set of species groups to serve as indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem integrity;
  
  

• assisting in the identification of critical sites for freshwater biodiversity conservation; and
  
  

• identifying and addressing threats.
  
  

  This will be achieved by: a) building expertise and capacity on freshwater biodiversity through the establishment of regional networks and through training; b) establishing a freshwater biodiversity information system; c) carrying out threatened status (or IUCN Red List) assessments for key groups of freshwater species in specific river basins; d) identifying critical sites for the conservation of these species groups; e) determining key threatening processes and priority conservation actions in each region; f) assessing the priority requirements for freshwater biodiversity conservation; and g) communicating the results of the project to governments, donors and NGOs in order to raise awareness and change their priorities.

  The species to be covered by this project include two vertebrate classes that have not yet been comprehensively evaluated according to the IUCN Red List Criteria – fishes and amphibians – and selected groups of plants and invertebrates. These species groups have been selected because they are effective indicators both of freshwater biodiversity richness and ecosystem health. A clearer picture of the status of these species’ groups will make it possible to monitor the status and trends of freshwater biodiversity in the future and design well targeted conservation activities on these. The project is part of a global initiative to carry out an assessment of freshwater biodiversity status and trends covering each region of the world.

  A selection of IUCN’s potential partners

  IUCN Species Survival Commission members, ICLARM – International Centre for Living Aquatic Resources Management, Conservation International. Other institutions, agencies and organisations are invited to become project partners.

  Duration

  4 years

  Budget

  US$ 3,000,000

  
  

  MITIGATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF DAMS:

  A LIVING @ e-COMPENDIUM @

  ON APPROACHES AND MEASURES

  Lack of information and knowledge hinders effective mitigation

  Dams, by their mere existence, cause changes to environmental conditions, contributing to loss of ecosystem function and composition. The basic effect of a dam is the change to the hydrologic and hydraulic conditions in a river. These changes in turn cause additional changes to the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the river and surrounding landscape. The harnessing of water resources has led to significant changes in the volume of water available for use, the quality of that water and the functioning of ecosystems through loss of water, degradation of water quality and loss of species. In the future, continued use and development of water resources will require consideration of the environmental effects of dam construction and operation and development of coherent mitigation strategies.

  The World Commission on Dams (WCD) in its recent report indicates that existing dams should recognise environmental concerns as an integral part of the options assessment: “Options assessment and decision-making around river development prioritises the avoidance of impacts, followed by the minimisation and mitigation of harm to the health and integrity of the river system.” It also recommends that the operation of existing dams is not static and they must be “transformed by changes in water use priorities, physical and land use developments, and changes in public policy expressed in environment, safety, economic and technical regulations. The WCD indicate that the environmental mitigation record related to dams shows much room for further improvement. Although the percentage of unanticipated environmental impacts was reduced from 83% to 35% between 1950s and 1990s, their cross check survey shows that mitigation measures are only undertaken for less than 25% of the anticipated impacts. Of these, 40% do not mitigate the impact.

  Sharing information and building learning systems to improve mitigation…

  Why has the mitigation of environmental impacts of dams been so difficult? First of all, there is an overall lack of attention paid to anticipating and avoiding environmental impacts. This is aggravated by a poor quality and uncertainty of predictions and insufficient data availability to design proper mitigation strategies. Also, most strategies designed are only partially implemented and those implemented seem to be only partially successful. Thus, in planning for new developments or rehabilitation of existing developments, information regarding the purposes and technical information required to design mitigation strategies is seriously absent from available sources. Consequently, many mitigation strategies proposed for a dam are developed de nouveau, without the benefit of a wider experience and without adequate understanding of the information that is needed. Most of the information that describes mitigation strategies and techniques is contained in the so-called “grey literature” and is not generally available. Various contributions to the work of the WCD have identified a wide variety of effective approaches and measures suitable for environmental impact mitigation strategies. Essential for these are: a good information base, an adequate legal framework and compliance mechanisms, a co-operative process within the design team and with stakeholders and a monitoring feedback and evaluation of mitigation effectiveness.

  To improve on the design and use of effective mitigation, a wide access to the existing mitigation approaches and measures is needed. This will require the drawing of information from a range of sources that currently are not readily accessible for a large number of stakeholders. It also needs the development of mechanisms to share the existing information with direct access to resource organisations and people. To address this issue, an internet-based e- Compendium on Environmental Impact Mitigation of Dams is proposed. Drawing from existing information in grey literature, consultant reports, environmental groups, government agencies and developers and owners, the e-Compendium will be a platform for exchange and learning on development and implementation of mitigation measures.

  Goal

  Effective mitigation of environmental impacts of existing and new dams established throughout the world.

  Objectives

• To scope the need for, nature of and ways to develop an e-Compendium on the mitigation of environmental impacts of dams;
  
  

• To develop a network of technical expert and expert organisations holding information and knowledge regarding mitigation of environmental impacts of dams;
  
  

• To produce an internet based e-Compendium on mitigation of environmental impacts of dams;
  
  

• To disseminate the e-Compendium and set up a mechanism for regular updates.
  
  

  Outputs

• An inception phase report
  
  

• An e-Compendium describing various mitigation approaches and measures.
  
  

• A network of mitigation experts and expert organisations