Outline of the WCD
Project Output & Dissemination

The Work Programme in brief [Feb. 1999]

The WCD work programme starts with four activities: three different but complementary types of study, plus wide-ranging public consultations with interest groups involved in the dams debate. These activities will yield a knowledge base for use in the next phase, consisting of three outputs. The first of these will be a review of the past global experience with dams, while the other two will provide policies and tools (e.g. criteria, guidelines, standards, methodological approaches) that will bring water resource management into the new era of sustainable development. The Commission Members will draw on those three outputs in developing their overarching policy recommendations for the final report.

Four major Activities

The Case Studies: The WCD has approached several countries to secure their support for case studies of focal dams and river basins within their borders. These countries include Pakistan, the United States, Thailand, Brazil, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China, Norway and Russia. A pilot study to establish case study methodology is underway in South Africa.

The focal dams/river basins were chosen to ensure a suitable mix on the basis of geographic location; the dams’ age, function, reservoir size and magnitude of its impacts; the lessons each dam offers in terms of development effectiveness; and the level of availability/accessibility of information.

These studies will provide quantitative and qualitative data for use in analysing the development effectiveness of existing dams, particularly with regard to the decision-making process in approving those dams. They also will furnish the Commission with "lessons learned" over the past several decades of dam construction.

The 150+ Dams Cross-check Analysis: In addition to the 8-10 case studies, the Secretariat will also undertake a more limited analysis of an additional 150 dams, primarily using existing data available from a wide variety of sources. This analysis is a cost-effective way of expanding the scope of the Commission’s knowledge base beyond the very specific examples of the case studies. It will yield conclusions on frequencies (e.g. the percentage of dams that achieved their project objectives) and trends over time (e.g. the percentage of projects that included environmental impact assessments).

Thematic Reviews: The 17 thematic reviews will provide analysis of five major themes in the dams debate:

a. economic/financial issues (cost/benefit)
b. environmental impacts
c. social impacts
d. assessment of the options available in delivering services usually provided by dams
e. institutional capacity and decision-making processes.

Submissions and Consultations: The greater the involvement of interest groups in the WCD process, the greater the value of the WCD report and the likelier its acceptance by the international community. Hence, the Commission gives priority to eliciting input from such groups and institutions.

To ensure such participation, the Commission will hold at least three regional consultations (the South Asia consultation was in Sri Lanka in December, and others are in the planning stages for Latin America and the African/Middle Eastern region). In-country consultations also will form part of the focal dam/basin case studies. Recognised authorities will be invited to participate in the development of the thematic reviews. The Commission also will utilise as a sounding board the 55-member WCD Forum, which evolved from the original Gland ‘Reference Group’. In addition, the WCD is soliciting written submissions from concerned parties.

The WCD Report

The final report, due in November 2000, will be a policy document built on three outputs:

1. Global review of the development effectiveness of dams: The aim is to review and assess, with hindsight, the global experience with existing dams and to identify the key ‘lessons learned’ in terms of dams’ development effectiveness. The Global Review will be based on the case studies, the cross-check survey, the thematic reviews and inputs to the Commission through consultations and submissions.

2. Options assessment and decision-making processes: The aim is to provide tools for the assessment of options for water and energy services, and contribute towards a more integrated decision-support system. The ‘options assessment’ will be based on a review of major options for power, irrigation, water supply and flood management, thematic reviews on social, environmental, economic and institutional issues, and ‘Lessons Learned’ from the Global Review. It will include good practices in addressing social issues, in particular displacement, resettlement and impacts on downstream communities, and approaches to negotiation and conflict resolution, in particular consultation processes and participatory planning.

3. Internationally-acceptable criteria and guidelines for decision-making in all aspects of dam building and utilisation. The aim is to propose a policy framework to guide, assess, review and benchmark dams-related decisions throughout the full project cycle. This section will provide guidance on the complex trade-offs between choices, conflicting values and competing priorities. This section will be based on the thematic reviews, case studies, and cross-check survey, plus submissions from interested parties. It also will consider existing guidelines and analyses of the effectiveness of existing regulatory and institutional frameworks, planning approaches and mechanisms for compliance.

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