WCD+10

A new industry effort threatens to undermine the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams (WCD). The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP) is a voluntary, non-binding scoring system to assess the social, environmental, and economic sustainability of dams. This fact sheet examines how the HSAP works, some of its shortcomings, and why it could end up greenwashing destructive dams.

Participation in creating the HSAP was limited to a self-selected group of industry representatives, government agencies, financiers, and large non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Meanwhile, Southern civil society organizations and dam-affected people were largely excluded.

Originally published in Pambazuka News

Across the globe, from the floodplains of the Amazon to the foothills of the Himalayas, from Burmese forests to Ethiopia's Omo Valley, peasant and indigenous communities are fighting against destructive dams. Dams have deprived hundreds of millions of people of their homes, farmlands, fisheries and forests. Millions more are threatened by projects that are planned or under construction, writes Peter Bosshard.

Ten years after the World Commission on Dams (WCD) report, the WCD is still our best roadmap towards ensuring that future dams minimize social and environmental impacts, the legacy of existing dams are addressed, and affected people directly benefit from the projects.

Estamos empenhados em atender as necessidades mundiais de água e energia de forma equitativa, preservando também a saúde dos rios e os meios de subsistência que dependem destes. Temos preocupações constantes relacionadas com as grandes barragens e com a sua forma de planeamento, implementação e funcionamento.

Tenemos la responsabilidad de satisfacer las necesidades de agua y energía del mundo de manera equitativa, manteniendo los ríos saludables y los medios de subsistencia que de ellos dependen. Nos preocupan las grandes represas, su planificación, implementación y funcionamiento.

We are committed to meeting the world's water and energy needs in an equitable way while preserving healthy rivers and the livelihoods that depend on them. We have ongoing concerns about large dams and the ways in which they are being planned, implemented and operated.