Response to the Final Report:

National Hydropower Association (USA)

NHA comment on world dam report
NHA press release, 20 November 2000

WASHINGTON, D.C.-"The commission's report serves more as an indictment of the legal, political and institutional structures that control the decision-making that leads to the development of large dams, than the creation of the physical structures themselves," said Linda Church Ciocci, executive director of the National Hydropower Association. "Where greater political and individual freedoms exist, governments are accountable, and market forces are allowed to work, development decisions of all kinds are likely to be more equitable, inclusive and fair."

The report, Dams and Development: A New Framework for Decision-Making, released last week in London and the subject of a briefing today by the World Commission on Dams (WCD), recognizes that the benefit of dams are "considerable." Yet, the report highlights the need to rethink the management of freshwater resources in the context of developmental objectives. It calls for "cooperation in reconciling competing needs," and urges dam developers, governments, non-governmental organizations, and affected people to find ways of sharing water resources equitably and sustainably -- ways that meet the needs of all people as well as the environment and economic development.

According to Ciocci, these are the challenges that the U.S. has wrestled with for over a century-passing nearly 50 laws that affect hydropower since 1899. "When it comes to the small percent of dam projects that generate electricity, the United States continues to struggle with water resource management questions. While by no means perfect, our federal licensing system has evolved significantly to more fairly assess the costs and benefits of hydropower, while attempting to balance all the benefits of freshwater resources. However, more work remains to ensure that our electric system has a diverse generation mix that includes a sufficient supply clean, renewable and reliable hydropower.

"The U.S. hydro industry has worked diligently over the past decade to reach out to water resource stakeholders to engage them in collaborative decision-making processes regarding optimal use of water resources. We've demonstrated that collaboration helps facilitate sound planning for future energy production while providing an effective means for early implementation of environmental protection, mitigation, and enhancement," Ciocci explained.

Ciocci also credited the U.S. with being further along on creating opportunities to optimize benefits from existing dams and strengthen environmental mitigation and restoration measures, as is called for in the WCD report. "There are numerous examples of hydropower owners and operators who have taken steps to enhance biodiversity, restore habitat, improve water quality, protect threatened species, and preserve undeveloped land," explained Ciocci. (For details, see "Outstanding Stewardship of America's Rivers report" at NHA's internet site: )

Hydroelectricity provides for 80 percent of all the renewable power generated in the U.S., and provides about on-fifth of the world's electricity. Of the 75,000 dams in the U.S., less than 3 percent have hydroelectric generating stations. The National Hydropower Association (NHA) is a nonprofit national association representing 61% of domestic, non-federal hydroelectric capacity and nearly 80,000 megawatts overall.

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