ICOLD members - South Africa

SANCOLD POSITION ON WORLD COMMISSION ON DAMS REPORT

SANCOLD has reviewed the WCD report “Dams and Development: “a new framework for decision making" and offers the following views:

SANCOLD finds the WCD guidelines for good practice to be generally in line with principles already developed and promoted by ICOLD, and generally applied in the South African context in recent times.

SANCOLD therefore finds the guidelines to be broadly acceptable but with the following reservations:

The specific circumstances of every region or country will be different, and therefore not all of the specific guidelines can always be applied.

In water deficient regions such as South Africa, the role of dams has been an absolutely critical factor in the country’s development and will continue to be so. Even though there are sometimes alternatives for small scale or even occasionally major scale supply, dams are inevitably essential as the most viable solution for larger projects in our circumstances.

SANCOLD therefore finds that the WCD report does not give sufficient attention to the essential need for, and benefits of dams and their inevitable role in South Africa’s and the world’s future development.

As a developing country in a water deficient region, South Africa will no doubt require additional water supplies and must therefore apply the WCD guidelines in a practical manner that will produce sustainable and affordable projects in line with the guidelines.

There is a danger, that if dams are not accepted where appropriately needed, the peoples of underdeveloped areas could be condemned to a lack of development, resulting in perpetual poverty. In practice, compromise will be inevitable if development is to continue.

Unfortunately the report conveys a strong bias against dams, and we believe that this needs to be countered by other initiatives promoting the benefits and essential need for dams in the world’s future.

SANCOLD therefore embraces the WCD report with reservations, and looks forward to an ICOLD initiative giving more emphasis to the benefits and essentiality of dams in the world’s future.