Although just launched, initial reactions to the report have shown a will and determination from all sides of the debate to ensure that the guidelines become an active component of water and energy policy making in the future.
"I want to tell you, that for me, from the point of view of my professional life, I enjoyed very much my relation with WCD and your very good work. I think [the Report is] a world reference from the point of view of the participation of the different stakeholders or actors, that are related to this very complex issue."
Miguel Nucete H., Venezuela.
"Please accept my congratulations to you and your Team for a job well done. It was a mammoth undertaking requiring extensive research, analysis and reporting within a fairly tight timeframe. Perhaps at last you and your Team will be able to take time out to reflect on the events of the past year with some well deserved pride."
Peter Crighton, Director, Hydropower & Water Resources, MERITEC LTD, New Zealand.
"Based upon our world wide experience, we consider that the WCD detailed recommendations are mostly designed for and based on the experience of developed countries, which have the time and money to explore all possible alternatives to dams and can afford, if they wish... ICOLD fear that public and private developers and financial institutions will view these delays as too time consuming and costly, and will stop water and energy development entirely, thereby compounding the human suffering referred to by Mr Mandela ... Each country should consider the WCD recommendations and the ICOLD guidelines. However, each country must also consider its prevailing conditions, traditions, laws and needs."
C.V.J. Varma, President of ICOLD, USA.
"Many thanks for the WCD Report that you sent me. It will form an invaluable asset for my teaching, research and outreach programmes. The report is a clear testimony of the landmark exercise undertaken by the WCD. We wish all the best and look forward to collaborate with you in other assignments."
Dominic Mazvimavi, Dept of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Zimbabwe.
"[The WCD Report] will be very useful for everyone approaching the argument. By this point of view, I will take further advantages, because I am now working at the Ministry of Industry and Energy, and my main business are renewables."
Luciano Barra, Ministry of Industry, Rome, Italy.
"I would like, in the name of ENGEVIX, to congratulate you for the outstanding work you conducted along the last two years, and for the inestimable result of it, the Report "Dams and Development". We understand that the fruit of this effort will be the seed for better understanding between all parts involved in dam construction and operation. And ENGEVIX is proud of having participated in it."
Paulo Afonso Foes, ENGEVIX Engenharia Ltd, Brasil.
"I believe the Commission has made very valuable contributions in clearing some of the fog that has engulfed the discussions on dams. Nepal as a country rich in water resources is perennially occupied with the debate about different types of dams. There is much to learn and reports like this will hopefully prevent policy makers from making the same mistakes all over again."
Dr. Mahesh Banskota, Country Representative, IUCN - The World Conservation Union, Nepal Country Office.
"I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate you and your colleagues for the excellent work done which resulted in the impressive report! The introduction and the "implementation" of the report is now a challenging next step for all of us. In Stockholm, the report was presented and discussed in a panel consisting of myself, Swedish construction industry, World Wildlife Fund and environmental organisation. The report was in general very positively received. We will now consider how SIDA can contribute to strengthen the impact of the report in developing countries."
Anders Hagwall, Head of Infrastructure Division, SIDA, Sweden.
"I have begun reading the WCD Report and am writing to congratulate you on it. I think the report is a monumental achievement. It contains mounds of useful information and its recommendations are creative. It should help advance a process of change that will eventually lead to more socially and environmentally sustainable development."
Danny Bradlow, American University, Washington DC, USA.
"The WCD Report provides a comprehensive and independent review of domestic and international dam development ... The report offers a unique insight into dams and their benefits and associated costs. The report proposes a sound approach to the future development of a very old, yet important, water resource technology."
Ed Carter, Director & Managing Partner, Harza Engineering Company, USA.
"The Commission, and especially the Secretariat, must be congratulated. Whilst a report the size and complexity of which was presented on Thursday needs time to read and absorb, even at the outset it is clear that we have something of real value here. I have been very interested to see what line the Commission would take on the very difficult issues raised in its mandate. How would the seemingly irreconcilable extremes in the debate be addressed? How could we get beyond the dams vs no dams, the environment vs development and the people vs rivers logjam which the debate has found itself in over the past few years? The way the discussion has been framed over the past few years has lead to conflict and polarisation. What was needed was a new framework for the discussion and this is what the WCD has provided us with."
Len Abrams, African Water Page Editorial.
"On the occasion of the release of the WCD Final Report, indigenous peoples, organisations and individuals around the world have endorsed the attached call on financial institutions to immediately implement strict guidelines to prevent and address the adverse impacts of water and energy projects."
James Bay Cree Nation and the Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Canada.
"We must use the advice given in the report to ensure that the processes, implementation and effectiveness of dams are improved and that the infrastructure built in conjunction with every dam is planned effectively to ensure that it satisfies the needs of all populations. The displaced will then also substantially benefit from the project and environmental damage will be limited."
Rodney Bridle, Chairman of the British Dam Society at the Institute of Civil Engineers, United Kingdom.
"(The report) represents a major stride for sustainable development" and "can serve as a model for dealing with other types of controversial infrastructure projects."
Axel Wenblad, Vice President of Environmental Affairs at the Skanska Group, Sweden.
"The WCD report vindicates much of what dam critics have long argued. If the builders and funders of dams follow the recommendations of the WCD, the era of destructive dams should come to an end."
Patrick McCully, Campaigns Director of International Rivers Network.
"While we commend a study of this magnitude on the environmental, social and economic aspects of water resources development projects, the lack of transparency in the preparation of the final report gives us cause for concern."
C.V.J. Varma, President, ICOLD; Prof. Lafitte, President, IHA; Dr Bart Schultz, President, ICID.
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