ICOLD members - Cyprus

Introduction

The report examines the issue of large dams by looking at familiar issues from a different perspective and by bringing all significant players of the water game into the debate.

It is the first comprehensive and global review of the performance of dams and their contribution to development and it highlights areas where more attention must be paid, both in existing and new dam schemes.

Based in the fundamental criterion that the aim of every dam project must be to achieve sustainable improvement of human welfare, the report makes specific recommendations for the development of water and energy resources. The framework for decision making is based on the values of

• equity
• sustainability
• efficiency
• participatory decision – making and
• accountability
• The recommendations aim to ensure that decision making on water and energy development:
• reflects a comprehensive approach to integrating social, environmental and economic dimensions of development
• creates greater levels of transparency and certainty for all involved; and
• increases levels of confidence in the ability of nations and communities to meet their future water and energy needs

The commission points out that one of the greatest challenges that the world will face in the new century is the rethinking and management of freshwater resources.

In arriving at recommendations the commission examines the arguments by the proponents of dams who point to the social and economic development demands that dams are intended to meet, such as irrigation, electricity, flood control and water supply and by the opponents who point to the adverse impact of dams, such as dept burden, cost overruns, displacement and impoverishment of people, destruction of important ecosystems and fishery resources and the inequitable sharing of costs and benefits.

After an intensive study of the issue and dialogue with those for and those against dams the commission arrived at the conclusion that there can be no justifiable doubt about five key points.

1. Dams have made an important and significant contribution to human development, and the benefits derived from them have been considerable.

2. In too many cases an unacceptable and often unnecessary price has been paid to secure those benefits, especially in social and environmental terms, by people displaced, by communities downstream, by taxpayers and by the natural environment.

3. Lack of equity in the distribution of benefits has called into question the value of many dams in meeting water and energy development needs, when compared with the alternatives.

4. By bringing to the table all those whose rights are involved and who bear the risks associated with different options for water and energy resources development, the conditions for a positive resolution of competing interests and conflicts are created.

5. Negotiating outcomes will greatly improve the development effectiveness of water and energy projects by eliminating unfavourable projects at an early stage, and by offering as a choice only those options that key stakeholders agree represent the best ones to meet the needs in question.

Technical Financial and Economic Performance of dams

The findings of the study show that although benefits from dams vary substantially from project to project a considerable portion of projects (especially those intended for irrigation) is falling short of physical and economic targets. This is also true for Cyprus and this maybe attributed to two reasons.

a) A change in climate has reduced water for irrigation of the order of 40%.

b) Even in years of ample supplies, actual demand in irrigation has been well below that planned for. There are many reasons for this, the main one being that other occupations are more profitable to irrigated farming (e.g. tourism), and also shortage of labour at the areas of irrigation development.

Dams have been looked at as almost a unique way to promote rural development. As it turned out, dams have failed in most projects to sustain rural population from migrating to the towns. Different options must be examined for rural development as suggested in the report. Even where irrigation is considered the best alternative, softer solution to dams like recharging of aquifers may be a preferable solution.

Similarly dams built for municipal supply have also fallen short of intended targets because of climate change, but also because of the disregard of long drought periods of the historical records in the planning stage.

This failure had severe consequences in the opposite direction. It has triggered a massive desalination program to cover the municipal needs of the large towns of the island thereby leaving most of the surface water for agriculture only. Thus the cost to be paid for providing safety in water supply is enormous and promotes water mismanagement as surface water is utilized far from its most economic potential.

The report refers to schedule delays and significant cost overruns which are minor in the case of Cyprus. The issues of sedimentation in the reservoirs and waterlogging (and salinity) are also insignificant in Cyprus.

Particularly important for Cyprus is the point made by the Commission that ensuring the safety of dams will require increasing attention and investment as the stock of dams ages.

In the report the commission states that large dams let to:

(i) loss of forests and wildlife habitat

(ii) loss of aquatic biodiversity of upstream and downstream fisheries

(iii) impact on water quality

(iv) emissions of greenhouse gases

In Cyprus impact of dams on ecosystems have not been studied in detail but points (ii), (iii) and (iv) may be considered insignificant.

Regarding point (i) it is important to note that Environmental Impact Assessments have been carried out for only some of the dams. It will be very interesting to carry out studies for the actual effects these dams had on the ecosystem, and on society to verify if the impacts have been correctly predicted, which will be very useful both for mitigating measures and for studies of future dam projects.

People and Large Dams

The commission refers to substantial impacts on the lives, livelihoods and health of affected communities. More specifically it refers to displaced people, harm to livelihoods, inadequate compensation, disproportionate share of impact etc. This problem is of a very small scale in Cyprus with people affected receiving a disproportionate share of benefits rather than costs.

Options for Water and Energy Resources Development

The Commission examines different options for meeting energy, water and food needs such as demand – side management, supply efficiency and new supply options. There is considerable scope for improvement in Cyprus especially with regards to reducing consumption, recycling etc. Referring specifically to the issue of reducing consumption it is important to note that despite the use of improved irrigation systems water consumption for irrigation is high due to the type of crops and the climate. Also domestic supply may be reduced further with the adoption of technological and policy options. The proposal by experts that, 50 litres of water per day per person may be sufficient to cover basic human requirements, although not realistic for the present Cyprus conditions, it clearly stresses the importance to adopt demand-side management for water conservation.

Decision Making, Planning and Compliance

The report emphasizes the responsibility to:

• increase the efficiency of existing assets;
• avoid and minimize ecosystem impacts
• engage in participatory, multi-criteria analysis of development needs and options;
• ensure that displaced and project-affected peoples´ livelihoods are improved resolve past inequities and injustices, and transform project – affected people into beneficiaries
• conduct regular monitoring and periodic review; and
• develop, apply and enforce incentives, sanctions and recourse mechanisms – especially in the area of environmental and social performance

In order to improve planning, decision making and compliance and provide economically efficient, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable solutions to meet future and energy resources.

This is an area where a lot need to be done in Cyprus.

Of prime importance is the improvement of efficiency of existing assets as conventional water resources in Cyprus have been developed to a large extent. Particularly important is also to study ecosystem impact, especially on existing dam projects and make every effort to minimize these impacts. The suggestion by the report that regular monitoring and periodic reviews of dam projects are conducted is also very important for future decision making and planning.

Achieving better outcomes

The report suggests that in order to resolve underlying conflicts about the effectiveness of dams and their alternatives a broad consensus is needed on the norms that guide development choices and the criteria that should define the process of negotiation and decision making.

The recognition of rights and assessment of risks lead to the identification of stakeholders which need to participate in the decision making.

The report suggests that a negotiated agreement with the stakeholders must be reached for the implementation of the project. An integral part of the procedure for reaching agreement is the needs and options assessment.

Although generally in many other parts of the world alternatives to dams often do exist, in Cyprus where dams are built for domestic supply and irrigation, such alternatives are not really available.

Existing Dams

The commission stresses the importance to optimize the use of existing dams. To achieve this a comprehensive post-project monitoring and evaluation is needed. To optimize benefits, options to be considered may include changes in water use prioritiesand this is a point to be given special attention in Cyprus.

Conclusions

The report looks at the issue of dams from a different angle, taking into consideration not only economic but also social and environmental factors. It is an objective report but it probably places a bit more emphasis on the negative issues related to dams. The environmental and social issues raised in the report are not as severe in Cyprus and no one can deny the contribution of the dams to the present prosperity of the island. The procedures proposed for the implementation of new project seem to be very difficult to apply in Cyprus.

It is important to refer to two points made in the report regarding the need to apply demand side management to reduce consumption and the optimization of use of existing dams even with the change of use of water. Generally the Commissions recommendations give the principles for a revision of dam management policy in Cyprus.