Regional Consultation of the World Commission on Dams

Introduction
This is a call for presentation proposals and submissions in connection with an upcoming public consultation on the experiences and lessons learnt with water and energy development across Latin America, with a specific focus on large dams. The regional consultation is being organized by the World Commission on Dams, and will be held on August 12 and 13, 1999 (venue to be announced).

The World Commission on Dams
The World Commission on Dams (WCD) is an independent international commission constituted under the auspices of a wide array of representatives from governments, civil society, the private sector and international organizations.

Professor Kader Asmal, Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry for the Republic of South Africa, is the appointed chair of the WCD. Eleven other distinguished individuals, including an eminent Brazilian -- Professor Jose Goldemberg of the University of Sao Paolo, join him.

The WCD’s key objectives are to conduct a global review of the development effectiveness of large dams; formulate an options assessments and decision making framework for the sustainable management of water and energy resources; and propose a set of internationally acceptable criteria and guidelines for the planning, appraisal, design, construction, operation, monitoring and decommissioning of large dams. The guiding principles of the WCD are openness, transparency, inclusiveness and accessibility.

The Regional Consultation
A Regional Consultation for Latin America is being convened to assist the Commission in fulfilling its mandate by achieving the following goals:

• inviting a broad range of interested parties to participate in and inform the WCD’s work
• facilitating the public exchange of ideas and views among various constituencies in the region
• providing the Commissioners with an opportunity to develop a shared knowledge base.

The format of the consultation will be one of panels composed of three to four presentations each. The panels will run approximately one and one-half hours long with each presenter being allocated between fifteen and twenty minutes. This will leave about thirty minutes for a questions and answers session at the end of every panel.

The distribution of panels and presentations at the consultation will ensure adequate representation from the countries in the Latin American region as well as from the various interested groups involved in the debate over large dams and sustainable water and energy management. The WCD will ensure that there are presentations from government, private sector and civil society perspectives.

Invitations for Presentations
The WCD invites all interested persons to submit proposals (if possible in English) for presentations related to the key objectives outlined above, focusing on the experiences and lessons learnt locally, nationally, or regionally across Latin America. Possible topics could include:

• Participation and Conflict Resolution
• Social Impacts of Resettlement and Affected People
• The Economics of Large Dams or A Cost/Benefit Analysis of Large Dams
• Energy and Large Dams
• Food Security and Large Dams
• Environmental Impacts and Large Dams

For those interested in presenting submissions on subjects other than those listed here, we would welcome these, provided these are relevant to the Latin American experience.

A two-page summary of the proposed presentation, preferably in English, is requested for no later than June 30, 1999. Selection for presentations will be based on the relevance of the topic, quality of submission and experience/expertise of presenter. Those selected to present will be informed by July 15, 1998.

Invitation for General Submissions
In addition to proposals for presentation at the consultation, submissions (not for presentation at the consultation) of materials documenting the experiences and lessons learnt with large dams and the sustainable development of water and energy resources in Latin America are encouraged. These submissions can be prepared in written, audio, video or other format.

In May 1999 the WCD issued a call for submissions for the Latin America Regional Consultation: 77 submissions were received. A task force was established within the Commission Secretariat to review and select submissions for presentation at the two-day Consultation. The largest number of submissions were received from Brazil, forming approximately 50% of the total. 32 submissions were selected and will be presented in 7 panels. In terms of regional spread 10 countries from Latin America will be represented at the meeting.

The complete panel structure can be seen within the two-day programme of the Consultation. There is a country panel on Brazil and six thematic panels.The panels have tried to provide as much of the opposing sides of the debate on issues as possible, a balance of perspectives, regional representation and thematic coherence. A total of 32 papers will be presented with time provided for discussion.

The venue for the Consultation is the Rebouças Convention Centre in São Paulo. The address is:

Rebouças Convention Centre
Av. Rebouças,
600 05402-000 São Paulo
BRAZIL
Tel: 55 11 881 1344
Fax: 55 11 881 1125

The Consultation will be held in the Grande Salle. Interpretation facilities will be available in Portuguese, Spanish and English. The registration desk will be located in the entrance foyer. Registration will start at 0800 sharp on August 12.

The Commmission welcomes participation from anyone with an interest in the Consultation proceedings. WCD's regional consultations are open to all those who represent its stakeholder constituencies: government ministries and agencies in the energy, environment and water resources sectors, funding agencies, private and public sector power utilities, members of the dams industry and associations, civil society organisations, dams affected people, academic and research institutes and private consultants from across the dams arena. Representatives of the local and foreign media in Brazil and from abroad, are especially encouraged to attend the regional consultation.

Registration forms have been mailed out to some of the observers who have been invited, and will be also available at the registration desk at the convention centre. They can be also acquired from the WCD Secretariat in Cape Town.

In view of some of the events related to a previously scheduled consultation, the Commission would like to emphasise the following. The WCD is an independent Commission. Its mandate is neither to adjudicate nor to mediate on specific dams or disputes. The WCD objectives are to undertake a global review of development effectiveness of large dams and to develop internationally acceptable criteria and guidelines for future decision making. As such it will seek information and inputs through many channels and from a wide range of perspectives.

The Commissioners would be grateful if the presenters and observers recognise the mandate of the WCD. Please note that observers at the Consultation will not be able to intervene in the proceedings.