Decommissioning the Commission
WCD Pulls the Plug on Itself

In departing from the US Army, General Douglas MacArthur once famously remarked of his discharge from military service, "Old soldiers never die. They just fade away." That's not always the case with public, civil or even private service.

Often local, national or international commissions, NGO's, and agencies - which were created for the best of reasons - seem rarely to die or fade away once they have failed, succeeded, or outlived their function.

They simply live on in limbo. Take another shape. Pick up the loose ends of a closely related cause. Mutate into the same thing, different name. Merge interests. Diversify. Start fundraising all over again.

In NGO circles it is criticised as "mission creep." At government agencies it is challenged as "bureaucratic bloat." In the private sector it's called "mergers and acquisitions" or filing for "bankruptcy." And at the World Commission on Dams it simply won't happen.

Even before the launch in London, half the staff of the Secretariat had cleaned out their desks. And in case there were any lingering doubts or speculation over what would happen to the WCD after 16 November, Chairperson Kader Asmal took pains to remove them.

"Today is a wake," he said bluntly in reference to an Irish funeral. "For as I conclude my remarks, in a few moments, the Commission as we know it shall cease to exist. Every river comes to an end, whether into field, faucet, or delta into the sea. And so does our river, our "Grand Confluence" of a thousand tributaries."

"Though the Commission has grown close over the past two years, let no one mourn the parting. Let me, for the last time, exercise my prerogative as the chair, and declare this, the tenth and last meeting of the World Commission on Dams, now at an end. Let us hereby proclaim ourselves "decommissioned." And let your own translation into action ... commence."

The WCD Secretariat will maintain a core staff until 31 March 2001 to assist with the dissemination of the Report. On that day the lights of the WCD offices will be turned on, and off, for the last time.