22 June 1999
World Commission On Dams Meeting at Tarbela, Pakistan

Tarbela, NWFP, Pakistan: About sixty people representing diverse interests in the Indus Basin gathered at Tarbela Dam on Tuesday to participate in the first phase of a study that focuses on the development effectiveness of the Tarbela project. The World Commission on Dams (WCD) study, one of ten being conducted world wide, is an important element of the WCD's global program to develop new recommendations on the planning, design, implementation and operation of large dams. Representatives of downstream and upstream communities, federal and provincial government agencies, and environmental and social interest groups, came together to help prioritise issues for the study.

Advisors to the WCD Secretariat, Jeremy Bird and Madiodio Niasse, clarified the role of the Commission to the participants, "The mandate of the Commission involves listening to interested parties, learning lessons from existing dam projects around the world and making this experience widely available. On the basis of these studies, the Commission will develop generic criteria and guidelines for the future". They further clarified that "in fulfilling this mandate the Commission is precluded from adjudicating on disputes or becoming involved in local decision making, that is the domain of sovereign states."

The Ministry of Water and Power and WAPDA have been supportive of the Commission's work. Tarbela Project Director, Dr Izharul Haq, noted that the Project is in the year of its silver jubilee adding "we are thankful to the WCD who have chosen Tarbela Dam as one of its case studies".

The study, to be completed by the end of this year, will focus on the development effectiveness of the dam, assess how key decisions were made and implemented, and on the effects those decisions have had on different interest groups. An important component of the study will be an assessment of the distribution of costs, benefits and impacts for upstream and downstream interests. Study questions also include: What did the planners predict, and what was the outcome? How have the different agencies dealt with the unexpected events and changing values of the society?

Working in small groups, the participants pin-pointed the focus and approach for the study in assessing the performance of irrigation, power generation, and flood protection functions of the dam, and the role of the dam in fulfilling the provisions of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. The integrated nature of water management was highlighted and emphasis given in the meeting to environmental and social issues. These include the consequences of reduced dry season flows on the ecology of the river and its delta.

National NGOs were well represented at the meeting. Representatives of the Pakistan Network for Rivers, Dams and People commented, "We are cautiously optimistic about the Tarbela study and welcome the opportunity it provides. We would like to assist in this enterprise by sharing the resources which PNRDP has at its disposal. An issue which remains of primary interest to us is the methodology which will be followed in executing this study".

Commenting on the origins of the Commission, its Chair, Professor Kader Asmal, said in a recent interview "When opponents and proponents of dams agreed jointly in April 1997 to establish the WCD, they did so because both realised that an independent review was required. The WCD process was painstakingly designed around two concepts - independence from vested interest and balance in terms of perspectives represented". In addition to Professor Asmal, eleven Commissioners were chosen with wide ranging experience in dams-related issues from around the world.

The WCD stressed their commitment to a fully transparent process of consultation throughout this study and indicated that a series of local meetings on specific aspects of the study will be held in the river basin over the coming months. Anyone wishing to contribute or submit opinions and perspectives is welcome to join this endeavour. To submit comments and receive information, the Commission's web site can be found at http://www.dams.org.

The Commission will draw on the issues raised by participants at Tuesday's meeting to guide their investigation over the forthcoming months. In early December, the Commission and study team will meet again with interested parties to report their findings and receive feedback prior to incorporating the study's output into WCDs wider global report due in June 2000.