23 November 1998
Colombo to host the first ever regional hearing on large dams and their alternatives in Colombo

The World Commission on Dams will hold its first regional hearing in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on December 10-11, 1998. This will be the first of a series of international hearings to be held by the Commission, and will draw participants from around the South Asian region.

The purpose of these hearings is for the Commissioners to hear directly from different interest groups-including people's organisations, policy makers, academics and project developers. They will be invited to share their experiences, knowledge and views of the development effectiveness of large dams. The Colombo hearing will look specifically at the issue of "Large Dams and their alternatives in South Asia: Experiences and Lessons Learned".

Nearly 30 representatives from a wide variety of constituencies and perspectives will make presentations at the hearing to be held at the Bandaranaike International Memorial Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo. While most representatives are from within the region-Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka-some observers and participants will travel from outside the region to be part of this unique event. The hearings will take the form of short presentations, to be made by individuals or institutions who responded to the Commission's call in October for expressions of interest. The Commissioners - drawn from diverse backgrounds from public and private sectors as well as civil society and academia-will engage in consultations with participants, but will not adjudicate or mediate on any specific dam issue or dispute.

"The Commission's mandate is of an advisory nature," says Achim Steiner, the Commission's Secretary General. "It will thus not respond to petitions or calls for intervention that may be directed towards it. Its own observations and recommendations will be synthesized after the widely consultative process which begins in Colombo". Immediately after the hearing, the Commissioners will hold a two day meeting among themselves and also participate in a field visit to certain dam sites where they plan to meet with dam managers and dam affected communities.

The hearing will bring together interested parties from all over South Asia who will also use the opportunity to share their experiences and views amongst themselves. The regional and international media has shown considerable interest in this exercise.

The World Commission on Dams was born out of a workshop held in Gland, Switzerland in April 1997, hosted by the World Bank and IUCN-World Conservation Union. At this workshop, dam proponents and opponents represented by governments, the private sector and non-governmental organisations came together to address the contentious debate surrounding dams. The workshop unanimously recommended that an independent commission be established.  The commission's mandate would be to review the development effectiveness of large dams and to develop standards where applicable, criteria and guidelines to advise future decision-making.

The World Commission on Dams began its work in May 1998. It has 12 Commissioners and is headed by Prof. Kader Asmal, a distinguished professor of law and currently Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry in South Africa.  The Commission's Secretariat is based in Cape Town, South Africa.

Now fully operational, the Commission looks at both broader issues such as water and energy policy implications and the more specific ones such as resettlement, economic and environmental assessments as well as differing technology options. Its scope of activities includes analyses of selected river basins as case studies, issue-specific research, consultations/hearings to be held with project sponsors and dam-affected people and panel discussions on key issues.

At the end of the two years, in mid 2000, the Commission will formally submit a report with recommendations to the international community as well as to the President of the World Bank and the Director General of the IUCN.  The report is expected to propose internationally acceptable criteria and guidelines for planning, designing, construction, operation, monitoring and decommissioning of dams.