The first WCD Regional Consultation in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 10-11 December 1998.
The proceedings
The two days of the consultation were divided into eight sessions with fifteen minutes allowed for each presentation followed by 45 minutes of questions from the Commissioners. All the participants co-operated with the Chair to ensure equal opportunities were provided for everyone to make their case. The presentations were made in a positive, constructive spirit and there was clearly a real desire to provide the insight and background material necessary for the work of the Commission. Each of the eight panel sessions is briefly summarised below and full copies of the 28 papers presented to the Commission will be available through the WCD Web page in late April 1999. The views presented here are those of the presenters and not the Commission.
Note: The links below lead to abstracts of all 28 submissions. The full texts of certain submissions are available online. Links to these are provided beside the relevant abstracts.
Panel 1 - Sri Lanka I
Perspectives and Experiences related to Mahaweli Dam Legend in Sri Lanka
T Ranaviraja and S Karunaratne
The opening remarks from the Secretary of the Ministry of Mahaweli Development, Mr. Ranaviraja, set the tone for the consultation and the wider work of the Commission. He highlighted that it was often difficult to reach consensus, but there is always a possibility of bridging a gap between two perspectives. In the case of Sri Lanka, the history of dams and irrigation goes back more than two thousand years to a golden age in the 12th century that saw the construction and rehabilitation of 165 dams under the reign of King Parakrama Bahu I. The more recent Mahaweli Scheme initiated in the 1970s led to some controversy when the implementation period was reduced from its original 30 years to about 10 years. The paper describes the scale of this project that involved five large dam projects which now contributes 24% of the country's staple food production and 45% of the its power generation. Recognising that there were some negative lessons, particularly regarding the resettlement programme, the presenters pointed to the significant improvements including direct and indirect benefits to 500,000 families within the area of influence of the project, improvements in the ecosystem as a result of bringing the water to a previously arid area, and improvements in forest cover. The benefits of the project were considered to go beyond agricultural production to wider achievements in rural development. The presenters concluded with a request for the establishment of a permanent body to provide information and technology on dams.
Development Effectiveness of Dams in Water Resources Development and Management
PC Senaratne and S Selvarajah
The central theme of this paper revolved around the limited amount of rainfall in the country both in time and space, the limited groundwater storage, and therefore the need to provide surface storage - a principle that has been accepted in Sri Lanka for more than two thousand years. Echoing the views of the previous presenters, the importance of multiplier effects and wider positive impacts of irrigation to rural development were highlighted. Reservoirs have also contributed to relief from flood events and permitted the development of industry. With respect to the relationship between large and small dams, no conflict was seen - both having their own place dependant on local conditions and needs. Although reservoirs submerged forests, the presenters considered that without alternative forms of livelihood brought about through irrigation, the pressures of the natural habitat would increase through more intensive slash and burn agriculture. A better means to mitigate soil erosion was however needed. In conclusion the presenters considered that the increasing population meant there was no alternative to further dam development.
Hydropower in Sri Lanka
D C Wijeratne
Mr. Wijeratne highlighted the significance of hydropower to Sri Lanka, producing an average of 2,970 GWh per year or between 80 and 90% of the nation's power. As the country's only indigenous resource, hydropower is expected to remain a prominent source of additional power generation and to remain in the public sector. A key consideration for Sri Lanka is the difference in cost between hydro and thermal power generation based on imported fuel - a range from Rupees 0.15 to 4.50 per kilowatt was quoted. Reference was made to the planned Upper Kotmale project which is expected to generate an additional 10% of current capacity although the controversies surrounding the project have resulted in it being taken to the courts. Issues here included the loss of natural heritage in the form of major waterfalls and surrounding countryside. The problem for the developer was that no acceptable mechanism existed for valuing aesthetic beauty. Mr Wijeratne acknowledged that lessons had been learnt from past resettlement programmes and cited the cases of the recent Kukule reservoir where the relocated families were considered better off and the proposals for the Upper Kotmale reservoir which involved reclaiming low lying areas for resettlement of affected people.
Panel 2 - Sri Lanka II
Social Effects of the Victoria Dam Project
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L Mediwake
Dr. Mediwake presented the problems of the Victoria Dam Project as a dam-affected person. He considered the problems resulted from hasty implementation, lack of controls and monitoring. One suggestion to avoid this in the future would be for an independent mediator to be established to review conflicts over major dams. Compensation for the affected people was considered inadequate and he proposed that lands that were barely submerged should be returned to their former owners. Costs for the project were exceeded leading to a much lower rate of return on investment than originally expected. As an alternative, a series of smaller run of river projects were proposed and the presenter recommended a decommissioning study that includes an assessment of this alternative. Other concerns over the project include the risk of induced seismicity that were intensified by a recent earthquake in November 1998.
Upper Kotmale Hydropower Project: Another Disaster in Sri Lanka's Dams History?
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H Withenage
Mr Withenage started by commenting that there were many examples of good and bad dam projects in the world and also in Sri Lanka. The under-achievement of the Accelerated Mahaweli project in terms of delivering its stated benefits in agricultural production and electricity generation and concerns over sustainability were central to future concerns over the planned Upper Kotmale Project. The presenter questioned the adequacy of the environmental clearance procedures as they were implemented, citing that despite earlier rejections, the Upper Kotmale Project had now been given clearance without changes in design or mitigation of impacts nor with completing public consultation procedures. He maintained that the position regarding resettlement was still not clear with 600 families unsure of where they would go. The clear perception was that options to the dam were not considered seriously and that there were significant adverse affects on natural heritage that werenot given adequate weight in the decision making process. In conclusion, Mr Withenage pointed to the need for transparent and participatory planning processes in Sri Lanka and requested a moratorium on all decisions on dams until after the WCD report had been issued. In the meantime the country should concentrate on the renovation of existing irrigation tanks (reservoirs) and the use of natural gas as an alternative to hydropower.
Social Impacts of the Samanalawewa Project
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A R Karunawathie
Ms Karunawathie was resettled from Kinghigune village due to the Samanalawewa Project. She related her view that compensation provided to farmers was far lower than the value of what they lost and that problems related to provision of housing, water supply and electricity were not resolved by Government. An area of 1.5 acres was given to each family, but this was insufficient given the subdivision among future generations. As a result there had been an increase in tenancy farming, a loss of forest land and an increase in social problems. The loss of forest land had resulted in lack of traditional medicines and reliance on modern age medicines that have to be purchased. Ms Karunawathie pleaded that solutions were needed for the full range of social and environmental issues before projects such as the Samanalawewa are planned.
Panel 3 - Pakistan
Pakistan's Perspective on the Experience with Large Dams
Sardar M Tariq
Pakistan has depended on the agricultural sector for centuries. With only approximately 60 days of rainfall per year totalling 150 mm, the importance of reservoir storage was clear. Following the signing of the Indus Basin Accord with India in 1960, Pakistan embarked on an ambitious plan to construct the Mangla and Tarbela Dams together with a series of link canals to substitute for water from the southern rivers allocated to India. Plans for another dam were now being considered. Alternatives such as increased groundwater abstraction, a series of small dams and canal lining were considered but rejected as being unable to provide the increased irrigation water necessary for the rapidly growing population. Another dam would also allow for the optimisation of power generation which was currently constrained due to operating requirements of irrigation. Pakistan imported 4 million tons of the staple crop wheat two years ago. Without additional reservoir capacity the import requirement would be 26 million tons of wheat by 2010 - the feasibility of such an approach was fundamentally questioned. Heavy sedimentation has however reduced the capacity of the existing dams with a total loss estimated at 4.5 billion cubic meters. The total number of people displaced by the two dams was approximately 150,000. Difficulties in resettlement were experienced leading to court cases on the compensation awards. It was generally agreed that two aspects of dam projects needed to be better studied - social and environmental - and knowledge had increased significantly in this regard. For example, lessons had been learnt from these dams and a completely new participatory approach was now being adopted for the Ghazi Barotha project where resettlement was conceived as a development component of the Project.
The Kalabagh Controversy
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S R Khan
Mr Khan claimed that concerns over the Kalabagh Dam were intensified by an apparent entrenchment of a centralised decision making process in which social and environmental considerations were marginalised and equity considerations between provinces not addressed. Disputes also centred on the validity of hydrological figures put forward to justify the Kalabagh Dam. The basic assumption that more water was needed to increase agricultural production was questioned and the paper suggested that other approaches could be more appropriate, such as increasing existing water use efficiency, greater attention to reducing waterlogging which has been increasing in Sindh, and a move to higher value diversified crops. A power surplus currently existed in Pakistan, but future demands woul increase, therefore alternatives should be evaluated exhaustively. The major environmental concerns surrounding the proposed project include the impact on the Indus delta ecosystem and increased risk of waterlogging and salinity. Internalising of externalities was needed to assess the true economic viability of the project.
Damming the People of the Indus
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A Ercelawn, K Ali and O A Khan
This joint presentation on behalf of three non-governmental organisations from Pakistan regretted the lack of informed debate and public consultation in the planning of dam projects in Pakistan, and envisaged serious ecological and human impacts resulting from further dam building on the Indus. Furthermore, the presentation emphasised that the distribution of benefits and impacts would be highly inequitable. In particular, the paper anticipated that the problems in the downstream areas would intensify with the construction of another dam and proposed a substantive evaluation of the cumulative downstream effects. In addition to the study, Mr Ercelawn on behalf of the joint presenters requested a process that carried out a more comprehensive assessment of alternatives, involved a more participatory and integrated approach to decision making involving informed consent of affected groups, and involved prompt and adequate restoration and reparation. The presenters trusted the Commission would bring sanity to the debate based on comprehensive evidence and analysis, standards for planning and implementation, implementation of existing guidelines of aid agencies, and procedures to help protect the rights of affected people.
Panel 4 - India I
Large Dams in India: Experience and Lessons Learned
B G Verghese
As an introductory comment, Dr Verghese maintained that to consider the environment as changeless was a myth. He contended that there is a need to understand that population pressures had changed many things - it was not possible to revert back to old ways of doing things. He highlighted the maldistribution of water in India where 80% of the rainfall falls in 100 monsoon days and within this the majority falls in 5 or 6 major cloudbursts. All approaches were important and one should recognise that there are good dams and bad dams as with other infrastructure, hospitals, universities etc, and learn from past lessons. Food security was vital for countries. However, with current trends in population, he considered that even the best demand management practices would not suffice and more reservoir storage would be required. Resettlement requires compassion and understanding and better monitoring and implementation, however there was a need to recognise that the situation of many people in remote areas was impoverished and that they have moved out in search of better opportunities. Land for land should not be considered to be axiomatic as other capacity building approaches can be considered. The role of women and readily accessible water was critically important for gender equity. In summary, Dr Verghese proposed that there was a need to move forward without dogma, but with due care. Technological arrogance and NGO fundamentalism led to stagnation. A sustainable social and political system was necessary, otherwise the environment would be a casualty.
Environmental and Social Aspects of Large Dams: Problems of Planning, Implementation and Monitoring
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A Kothari
Mr Kothari maintained that India was capable of handling its own water management issues while learning from others' experiences. The thrust of his presentation was not on environmental impacts per se, but on the planning process and the problems associated with its implementation. His examination of the Indian experience with environmental impact assessment, preparation of environmental management plans and mitigation concluded that implementation was weak. Problems in the EIA system related to a lack of data and knowledge on which to base decision, lack of expertise, and lack of independence in the EIA process. Once projects had been approved, mitigation measures were violated to some extent in 90% of cases. For example, it is claimed that less than 50% of compensatory forestry has been carried out. Even where violations of the implementation plan were identified, no action was taken. For better dams to be built, Mr Kothari recommended a number of measures including improved, independent EIAs, blacklisting of consultants who had not performed in the past, greater influence for the Ministry of Environment, and a process of open participation and open scrutiny of public funds. Constraints that prevent this from happening relate to the sheer size and complexity of the projects, a poor information base and lack of resources.
Controversies about Large Dams
M G Padhye
Future trends in population growth in India with consequent increased demand for food production to some 450-600 million tons by 2050 led to three central policy directions in this paper - the need to store water, to use it judiciously and ensure that water quality is maintained. In resource poor countries, poverty becomes an environmental problem. The process of environmental impact assessment is also considered as a process of trade-offs comprising of value judgements. Mr Padhye clearly indicated his personal value call for food security. Taking up an earlier point, he maintained that most of the damage to forests was unrelated to dam projects. In conclusion, Mr Padhye drew the audience's attention to two drought prone areas that had become the bread baskets of India due to the Bhakra and Beas Dams. In the conclusion of his paper, Mr Padhye requested the Commission to come up with pragmatic methodologies for environmental impact assessment and technical and socio- economic criteria for assessing the viability of large dams.
Large Dams - destruction not development: the experience of the dams in the Narmada Valley in India (with the exception of Sardar Sarovar)
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S Dharmadhikary
The case for more food and water has been made - but no axiomatic link has been made with the need for more large dams. The contention in this paper was that dams had resulted in heavy costs, but they had not delivered their promised benefits. One of the most important of these costs is displacement. The Bargi Dam was taken as an example where no resettlement plan was produced for the 101 villages over the implementation period from 1974 to 1990 and, as a result, affected people have ended up in slums of nearby cities. At the same time, the dam achieved only 5% of its benefits due to financing constraints. The private sector Maheshwar Dam tells a similar story, with no implementation of resettlement despite the first displacement taking place in 1995. Land for land was the policy, but land was not available. Now a task force had been established to look at alternatives for the Narmada Valley - this was the first time a participatory procedure for options assessment had been initiated. In concluding Mr. Dharmadhikary proposed that 'if you can't resettle, you have no right to displace'.
Panel 5 - India II
Water Resources Development in India: the Need for Storages
M S Reddy
India is a water short country and even without the future population growth, there is water stress. Currently 145 million hectares are irrigated and there is a need to increase this figure by a further 15 million ha. - predominantly by increasing the available storage through reservoirs. In the 1950s there was hunger and drought in India with imports coming from the USA. Now, 200 million tons is produced and India is almost self sufficient - this would not have been possible without irrigation. After religion and language, Mr Reddy maintained that water was the most important issue for India - 70% of the population depend on irrigation. In addition domestic and industrial water supplies formed a major rationale for dams. In Delhi for instance, additional capacity would be needed to supplement the Bhakra dam. Madras, Bombay and Hyderabad faced similar demand increases. For Calcutta, the presenter indicated that control of saline intrusion by the Farakka Barrage was essential. Lessons from past projects were there to be learnt and problems such as those related to the environment needed to be addressed. Other approaches such as small and medium sized dams, catchment management etc should also be considered, but were complementary to large dams. The real alternative would be to reduce population growth.
Performance of Large Dams in India: the Case of Irrigation and Flood Control
H Thakkar
With an annual production of almost 200 million tons India is a food exporting country. Two thirds of this depended on irrigation - was there a need to keep expanding this area? Mr Thakkar argued that the expansion in irrigated agriculture since 1950 had come at a cost: a considerable amount of land was inundated, about 3% of land was waterlogged, and traditional water harvesting systems were lost. In addition, it was claimed that productivity of groundwater systems was some 70% higher than surface water systems. Of the 129 million tons of increased production, only 12% was attributable to large irrigation schemes. Considerations of equity are also important, both in terms of the lost opportunity to develop water supply over a larger area and as a result of inequitable distribution within surface systems. In relation to flood protection, the figures presented in the paper demonstrated that despite significant investment in flood protection infrastructure, the annual area affected by floods had increased significantly. Part of the overall problem was perceived to be a lack of political will to examine alternatives. Recent projects in Gujarat had demonstrated that alternatives can work.
Strategy for Further Growth and Environmental Sustainability of Hydro-Projects
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B S K Naidu
(Dr Naidu was not present to deliver his paper - comments on a similar subject were provided by Mr Reddy)
Hydropower is described as the highest density, inflation free resource used non-consumptively. India has developed about 15% of its 84,000 MW hydropower potential. Hydropower is clean, but gives rise to social impacts. Alternatives are not available - there has been no breakthrough in solar power, coal is poor quality and polluting and nuclear has strong opposition. The long gestation period implies that planning of future projects should proceed now.
Reassessing the Role of Large Dams in Meeting Power Demand
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G Sant, S Dixit and S. Wagle
Mr Sant, in his joint presentation, said that despite the obvious benefits of hydropower, its role for India needed to be reassessed. Although clean, it has social impacts. The target was to increase capacity by 2,000 MW per year, but only about a quarter of this target was realised. At the time of appraisal, the projects appear viable, but cost benefit analyses needed to be reworked to include externalities. Alternatives also needed to be evaluated more thoroughly. These include reducing losses from the current 35% to 15%, new planning for baseload capacity, metering consumption, and improving end use efficiency. Instead of such alternatives, there is a business as usual approach that favours large-scale projects and increasing tariffs to increase efficiency that tends to marginalise the rural consumer. Instead the low cost options should be taken first as they do not lock in large volumes of capital, providing a chance to review dam planning through a participatory and democratic process. In this scenario there should be no new dams for the next 10 years. Also Dr Sant proposed a fundamental rethink of the current development model and consequently the role of dams and electricity.
Panel 6- Nepal
Prospects for Large Dams in Nepal
K B Chand
Water was presented as the key natural strategic resource for the economic growth in Nepal, the only other resource being the beautiful landscape that is a base for tourism. Imbalance in the seasonal flows led to a requirement for storage which could be augmented 100% by reservoirs. Irrigated agriculture, electricity generation for industrial, rural and urban growth, foreign exchange earnings and increased navigation were the root of demands for increased storage. As upstream riparian on international rivers, Nepal was seeking co-operation with other countries. Lessons had been learnt from previous projects, and the 145 MW Kaligandaki project had incorporated environmental measures in a participatory manner. Displacement was minimal in many of Nepal's dam projects, but more could have been done on resettlement. Concerns remained about sedimentation of the reservoirs. Considerable changes have been made to the planning and preparation process for dam projects in Nepal including incorporation of participatory processes and gender considerations, internalisation of environmental and social aspects, an open options assessment process and legislative changes to protect the rights of displaced people. In parallel, the national capacity to implement such projects had been increased. As foreign companies demonstrate interest in supporting future projects, more would need to be done including improvements in the hydrological database, more ecological studies, and continued strengthening of national regulatory frameworks.
Large Dams and Alternatives in Nepal: Experiences and Lessons Learnt
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I R Onta
The paper started with some illustrative statistics - poverty is rampant in Nepal with 42% below the poverty line, urban population growth is 14%, life expectancy is 55, adult literacy is 74%, and 60% of the population has access to safe drinking water. The Nepalese rivers contribute 40% of the flow to the Ganges River. The presentation then reviewed details of the existing Kulekhani scheme, the Kaligandaki scheme under construction, and a number of other major proposed dams. Nepal considers its domestic energy need can be met by utilising small and medium hydropower schemes and those under construction will meet demand increases until 2005. Large projects are identified with the primary purpose of exporting power to India. Caution is necessary on these high dam projects and Mr Onta stated that 'the time had come to approach India more meaningfully to work on a mutually beneficial agreement on multipurpose projects located wholly in Nepalese territory'. Considerations should also be given in such projects to augmentation of low flows at the Farakka Barrage in India.
Dams and Civil Society in Nepal
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B Pandey
The paper proposed that the differences between two basic development models was at the root of some problems with dam projects. Nepal's experience with dam projects has identified issues related to downstream water rights, the rights of fishers, conflicts over distribution of benefits, and hydrological problems. On technical grounds, one dam has seen a loss of 75% of its expected life due to sedimentation. Then externally funded projects carry the risk of exchange rate fluctuations. Still there was a major push to develop more dams to export electricity to India. Civil society issues, resettlement and environmental problems would be more significant in these larger projects. The benefits in terms of royalties to the Government were considered unlikely to reach the people. Mr Pandey considerered that the alternatives of smaller projects should be reconsidered as they were more flexible, and offered the chance of wider distribution of benefits. Confidence in the Government process would improve if it could prove that resettlement and ecosystem management were achieveable on smaller projects before embarking on the major developments. One of the fundamental problems was a perception that natural resources were seen as a source of rent.
Environmental Monitoring of the Construction of the Upper Bhotekoshi Hydropower Project
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D Ghimire
Construction of this private sector run of the river project started in 1997 and is considered a test of the environmental protection legislation passed in 1996. IUCN carried out an independent EIA and approved the project subject to mitigation of minor environmental impacts and that some of the electricity generated would be provided to local people. Valuable lessons and experiences were gained from the involvement of IUCN, including identifying weaknesses in linking and integrating local development needs into the project. Other findings showed that planning and implementation of resettlement and of compensation needed to be further improved; the project resulted in increased indirect pressure on the forest; and dust, noise and river pollution problems associated with constriction were more problematic than expected. Clear lessons for the future were the need for an environmental monitoring authority with enforcement capacity.
Panel 7 - Bangladesh
Large Dams and their Alternatives in Bangladesh: Experiences and Lessons Learnt
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G A Choudhury
The floods in Bangladesh in 1998 reinforced the view that people have nowhere to go when faced by such calamities. Approximately 67% of the country was flooded affecting 30 million people. More than 1000 people died and the shortfall in rice production was twice the normal amount. This situation is common to Bangladesh which has experienced major floods recently in 1974, 1987 and 1988 and 1998. In the dry season, rivers are getting drier. 57 of the country's rivers are shared with other countries and Bangladesh has no control over them. The presentation maintained that there should be integrated planning of dams upstream - dam sites had already been identified in the Brahmaputra and Meghna basins. A reduction in the flood depth of 0.5m would make a significant difference in a low lying country like Bangladesh. Mr Choudhury made the case for integrated river management to provide for all sectors. Within Bangladesh there was not much scope for more dams. The Kaptai Hydropower Dam had experienced considerable problems with the resettlement approach, however, in the recent Jamuna Bridge project where 1600 families lost land, a major programme was instigated that aimed to restore and improve living standards, provide training and income generation programmes. Lessons were there to be learnt from this programme for other projects. The planning approach in Bangladesh had also significantly changed with a more participatory approach. Mr Choudhury concluded with a plea that water was getting more and more scarce and that a regional approach was necessary.
Dams made Environmental Refugees of the Ethnic Minorities of Bangladesh
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S Samad
Mr Samad reminded the participants that the major water management projects in Bangladesh were carried out under a military regime. The Kaptai multipurpose project in the Chittagong Hill Tracts where ethnic minority groups were particularly affected, resulted in 54,000 hectares of cultivable farmland getting submerged and approximately 100,000 people displaced. Many of the hill people migrated to India and Burma where they sill live, without citizens rights in any country. The project was cited to have negative impacts on agriculture and increased the frequency of slash and burn agriculture to 2-5 years which was no longer sustainable, leading to soil erosion, soil degradation and low yields. Consultation with the local people about the project was not part of the process and their resettlement needs were not met - even resettled villages were not free from flooding during impoundment.
A Note from Bangladesh on the Importance of Large Dams in the South Asia Region
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T A Khan
Many of the sentiments of Mr Choudhury's earlier presentation were reinforced - 'an overabundance of water when we don't need it and a shortage when we do'. Even though a 30-year accord with India for the Ganges was signed in 1996, too little water entered Bangladesh in the dry season - in fact demands on both sides of the border were increasing. The reduction in water in the Ganges had directly led to environmental degradation in the southwest of Bangladesh as the major distributary river, the Gorai, now dries up completely in the dry season. As water cannot be stored in Bangladesh, some additional upstream storage was required. The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna region is one of the poorest areas of the world and it is expected that water could be the engine of growth. Upstream dams in Nepal could supplement low dry season flows and reduce flood peaks. In addition to such large projects, attention should be given to other types of projects - additive not alternative - such as run of the river, water harvesting, and micro hydro. Bangladesh is a poor country but it might be able to find a cost sharing solution for water from Nepal. Mr Khan summarised by stating that 'we must not harm the environment, but also in the name of environment we should not veto development'.
Panel 8 - Regional Perspectives
The Large Dam Debate
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R R Iyer
The presentation by a former secretary of the Government of India commenced with a conceptual and analytical perspective rather than a regional one. The driving forces behind dam projects were water variations over time and space, limited rainfall, and storage of water to prevent losses to the sea and development of more productive usage. Development meant striving for an ever higher standard of living. The presenter described his growing disenchantment with such views for a number of diverse reasons which included the insatiable use of financial resources, the high capital cost, equity issues, corruption, ecological concerns and resettlement. In the majority of cases, environmental impacts were not internalised and there was a built in bias to favour the project with tremendous pressure exerted on the approval process. Application of the cost benefit analysis was often flawed with overestimation of benefits and underestimation of costs. Another criticism of the system related to the lack of comprehensive assessment of alternatives. Many examples now exist, but their assessment needs to be more thorough and they need to be replicated more widely to appreciate their potential contribution. A number of questions were raised in relation to the alternatives: were they available? why were a restricted set of alternatives considered? what were the preconditions for success and inhibiting factors? In conclusion, Mr Iyer felt that alternatives needed to be taken seriously and dams treated as the option of last resort.
North Bihar Floods and the Proposed Dams in Nepal
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D K Mishra
Dr Mishra raised a number of concerns about dam projects based on their apparent inability to deliver their objectives. The popular perception that floods are only damaging was challenged in the paper and that the immediate reaction to major floods should not be to consider only what physical measures can be instigated. Flood control dams are expensive. Embanking the rivers in Northern Bihar with an increase from 160km to nearly 3,500 km had been an expensive option, leading to considerable problems of sedimentation, erosion and still leaving a high area prone to flooding. The increase in risk was significant as the result of overtopping or breaching of an embankment was far more catastrophic than gradual rising of water levels. Once physical protection had been provided, it had to be maintained and strengthened. This leads to the development of a vicious cycle where costs are often significantly underestimated. Dr Misha also questioned the viability of the Barahkshetra Dam in terms of its power generation capacity, scope to reduce flooding downstream, net increase in irrigation area, underestimate of cost, and susceptibility to earthquake damage. He claimed 'flood control will be the plank of publicity for the dam whereas the real aim will be power generation'.
Water and Energy in South Asia: Large Dams and their Alternatives
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K R Datye
Food security and self-reliance were key elements of this presentation. The concerns of the presenter went beyond those of large dams to how large and small systems can contribute to development. In his view, the lessons from Sri Lanka were interesting, but diverted water and new systems should not destroy the old systems. He agreed that new technology should be introduced and adapted from outside, but not at the expense of destroying local ownership and resource systems. Alternatives also needed to be examined more closely with solar energy and biomass. Top down solutions for supply side options were not the answer, local initiatives were needed. Mr Datye maintained that the role of dams needed to be evaluated on the basis of their contribution to sustainable resource development and equitable distribution of benefits. Consideration should be given to local storage. Demand management and integrated development were not possible without decentralisation. The presentation also considered alternative institutional forms in the light of past experience and discussed the prospects for emergence of appropriate forms based on equal partnership of user- producer communities, development agencies of governments and financial institutions.
Water and Energy in South Asia: Large dams and their Alternatives
A McKecknie
As the only representative of an international lending institution at the consultation, Mr McKecknie provided an overview of some of the recent experiences and trends in population growth, urbanisation, poverty, energy consumption, demand and losses, and water for irrigation. Based on a case study from India, he suggested that economic growth played a more significant role in reducing poverty than policies directed at redistribution and that higher farm yields had contributed to reducing poverty in rural areas. Projections for energy consumption in developing Asia to the year 2020 were in the range of 200 to 350% of 1996 values. Two case studies were used to demonstrate new approaches to planning of hydropower projects (socio-economic screening of hydro projects in Nepal) and of the resettlement aspects of project design (from the Ghazi Barotha Project in Pakistan). In conclusion, Mr McKecknie identified a number of challenges for the future including internalising the social and environmental cost of dams, lowering the transaction costs, attracting private finance, ensuring compliance with environmental and social safeguards, and creating beneficial partnerships with NGOs.
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