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SALWEEN WATCH HOTMAIL OUT
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE SALWEEN MEGADAM Salween Watch Date: 17th May 1999. Vol. 2 ------------------------------------- International Committee on Dams, Rivers and People WCD UPDATE No. 2 The ICDRP WCD Update is intended to inform civil society groups about the work of the World Commission on Dams. This update is written from the perspective of the International Committee on Dams, Rivers and People, which is composed of NGOs, people's movements and indigenous groups in the Americas, Europe, South Asia and South Africa. This is not an official WCD publication.
The Work Programme has been approved by the commissioners and is available on the WCD web site at www.dams.org. The main elements of the programme are the 7-11 "Focal Dam/River Basin Studies", the 17 "Thematic Reviews" and the "Cross-Check Survey" of 150+ large dams.
According to the Work Programme, the purpose of the focal dam/river basin studies is to "review, assess and illustrate the past performance and development effectiveness of a number of large dams, and to extract lessons learned." Each study will include an "intensive study" of a single large dam while a number of other "non-focal dams" in the basin "will be examined for important interactive and cumulative effects." The studies will highlight both where there is agreement among "stakeholders" on issues relevant to the dam/basin, and where there is disagreement. Government permission has been obtained and preliminary work has begun on the following dam/basin studies. Press releases on each of these cases are available on www.dams.org. (The names are listed of WCD secretariat staff responsible for each study). Grand Coulee Dam, Columbia River, USA Tucuruí Dam, Amazon/Tocantins River, Brazil Pak Mun Dam, Mekong/Mun River, Thailand Kariba Dam, Zambezi River, Zambia/Zimbabwe Tarbela Dam, Indus River, Pakistan Raudalsvatn Dam, Glomma-Laagen basin, Norway The process for each study is: The process from scoping meeting to final report is envisaged to take six months. The scoping meetings are to take place in May and June (contact relevant staff for more details). Studies of the Danjiangkou Dam, Hanjiang/Yangtze River, China and Panchet Hill Dam, Damodar/Ganges River, India have been put on hold because of problems obtaining government permission. The fate of proposed case studies in Turkey and Russia is uncertain because of WCD funding shortages. In these cases where the WCD is unable to do detailed studies of specific dams, they may attempt overviews of the experiences with dams in the relevant countries. A study of the Gariep and Van der Kloof dams (both are operated in conjunction with one another) on the Orange River in South Africa was started in November 1998. The Orange study has been used as a "pilot" for testing and refining the focal dam/basin study methodology, but will also produce substantive results. The draft final report is supposed to be ready in May after which the second consultative meeting will take place. WCD staff contact is Jamie Skinner -jskinner@dams.org.
The 17 Thematic Reviews are listed below. Secretariat staff are currently finalizing the scoping papers and terms of reference for each of the studies. The scoping papers will be posted on www.dams.org. The secretariat is contracting individuals and teams of consultants/experts to carry out the studies and others to act as unpaid peer reviewers of the final drafts. Depending on the time and resources available, the WCD may establish task forces to analyze further the most complex and controversial issues. First drafts of the reviews are expected between July and September 1999. Final versions are expected to be completed by December/January 2000 after incorporating comments from peer reviewers and other relevant comments and information, including from the case studies. Please contact Patrick McCully - patrick@irn.org - if you have suggestions for people who may be interested in helping do a peer review of the thematic reviews, either as part of the "official" WCD process or for the ICDRP. List of WCD Thematic Reviews (and secretariat staff lead coordinators) I. Social Issues II. Environmental Issues III. Economic and Financial Issues IV. Options Assessment V. Institutional Processes
The "cross-check survey" will include desk studies of mainly quantitative indicators (eg projected and actual power production, area irrigated, people displaced) of around 150 projects. The dams will be selected to represent a diversity of different purposes, ages, functions, ownership structures, and regional locations. The cross-check survey "will have fewer parameters, and thus provide less in-depth analysis and illustration than the focal dam/basin case studies." The draft list of 150 dams should be available shortly. It will include the focal dams and around 50 non-focal dams from the basin studies. Completed dams on which submissions have been received but are not covered by the basin studies may be included in the cross-check survey.
A "WCD Forum" has been established to provide a mechanism for the WCD to consult with different stakeholders and interest groups (the WCD describes the Forum as a "sounding board . . . for maintaining a dialogue between the WCD and the respective constituencies of the Forum members). The Forum is comprised of most of the members of the old "Reference Group" which oversaw the establishment of the commission together with a number of new members. The first WCD Forum meeting was held in Prague, March 25-26, immediately before the fourth meeting of the commissioners. A list of the institutions, NGOs, companies etc. which attended is given below. Forum members in general voiced their support for the WCD concept and process, but reserved judgement on whether or not they would give their approval of the Commission's final report. Two of the main issues emphasized at the meeting were 1) the importance of the WCD process being participative and transparent, and 2) the importance of WCD highlighting the issues of human rights and indigenous rights, including the issue of whether affected communities should have the final say on whether projects should be built, and how this principle could be realised in practice. An important point stressed by WCD staff was that their studies would not try to reach false consensus on issues but would try to clearly show where different sides agreed and disagreed. Rather surprisingly the issue of community consent for projects was first raised by Jean-Etienne Klimpt of Hydro-Quebec who announced the company's new policy that they will not build or even begin studies for new projects until they have the consent of affected communities. M. Klimpt said that H-Q recognized that their policy would likely mean they would not build any more dams in the near future and that any future demand increases would be met by building gas plants. The main concern raised by hydro industry representatives at the conference were that the WCD should not ignore the problems caused by non-dam energy sources and in particular the supposed role of hydropower in mitigating global warming. Forum members were strongly encouraged by WCD staff to get involved in implementation of the workplan by making submissions and reviewing thematic papers. A second meeting of the Forum is planned for early 2000. Organizations Represented at the WCD Forum Meeting 1. Multilateral Agencies FAO, Food and Agriculture Organisation, Rome 2. Affected Peoples' Groups CODESEN, Coordination for the Senegal River Basin, Senegal 3. International Associations ICID, International Commission for Irrigation & Drainage 4. Bilateral Agencies NORAD, Norwegian Agency for International Co-operation, Norway 5. NGOs Berne Declaration, Switzerland 6. Government Agencies United States Bureau of Reclamation, United States 7. Utilities Electrobras, Brazil 8. Research Institutes/Resource Persons ISPH, Institute of Hydroelectric Studies and Design, Romania 9. Private Sector Firms Harza Engineering Firm, United States 10. River Basin Authorities Confederacion Hydrografica del Ebro, Spain 11. Export Credit Guarantee Agencies Overseas Economic Co-operation Fund, Japan
The WCD has recently sent out a Call for Submissions in English, Spanish and Portuguese for a "Regional Consultation" on "Large Dams and Their Alternatives in Latin America: Experiences and Lessons Learned" (available on www.dams.org). The public consultation (previously referred to as a "public hearing") will be held in Sao Paulo on August 12-13, 1999, immediately before the fifth meeting of Commissioners. A regional consultation/hearing for South Asia was held in Sri Lanka in December 1998. Another is planned for Africa and the Middle East in late 1999. If funding permits another may be held in South-East or East Asia in early 2000. Some NGOs have been exploring holding their own regional hearings to which WCD commissioners and staff would be invited and the results given as submissions to the WCD. Such a hearing of the experiences of dam-affected people may be held in Southern Africa around October 1999 (contact Liane Greef, Environmental Monitoring Group - liane@kingsley.co.za). NGOs in Europe are also interested in holding a hearing (contact Juraj Zamkovsky, FoE Slovakia - zamkovsky@changenet.sk). SUBMISSIONS FROM NGOS Submissions from NGOs, people's movements, concerned academics etc. on issues related to the WCD's Work Programme will be an essential part of ensuring that the WCD lives up to its potential. 1) General submissions related to the Work Programme "Guidelines for Submissions" have been posted on www.dams.org (currently only in English; it will soon be added in Spanish and French). The Guidelines appeal for the submissions to be brief and focused on the areas covered by the Work Programme with a recommended length of 5-10 single spaced pages. Background material, including photographs and videos, can be sent as attachments/annexes. Submissions should be in English if possible, and if not should be accompanied by a 2-page abstract in English. The Guidelines for Submissions includes a summary form which should be completed for each submission. The form allows people making submissions to indicate which parts of the Work Programme the submission is most relevant for (eg particular basin studies or thematic reviews) and should ensure that the submissions are circulated to the relevant staff. The titles of all the submissions received are posted on the WCD web site. The full text of most of the presentations made at the South Asia hearing/consultation has also been posted - as will presumably be the presentations made at the other hearings/consultations. The web site says that the WCD will "endeavour to supply" photocopies of submissions to those who request them (requests to info@dams.org). Because of the very short time left for the WCD to carry out its research and write its final report and recommendations, submissions should be sent within the next six months or sooner to have the most impact. Submissions may be written specifically for the WCD, or existing documents can be submitted together with the "summary form" from the WCD web site. Anyone can make submissions - affected communities, environmental networks, concerned academic experts etc. The submissions may be concerned with individual projects, regional or national overviews of past and current experience with dam building and/or water and land management, or relevant national or international policies and their implementation. The WCD should hear both the actual record of dam-building in the past (including the impacts/results of dam projects and the politics of decision-making) and suggestions for how water and energy planning should be carried out in future (including examples of good planning practices which are already being implemented). The most effective submissions will likely be those which describe the history of one or more dams or alternatives AND which suggest policy/political changes which could ensure that past problems are not repeated and/or that damage caused (including damage to communities and ecosystems) can be compensated or repaired. The issue of participation/consultation and transparency in the planning process for dams and alternatives is a key issue for the WCD. Submissions which show the problems caused by ignoring the opinions of affected people, and which suggest how affected people should be given a meaningful role in the decision-making process will be very useful. Also useful will be examples of legislation and policies which ensure affected people are involved in decision-making and cases where affected people have been listened to and where this has either stopped destructive projects being built and/or led to better alternatives being implemented. It is important to note that the WCD will not make recommendations on whether or how specific dams should be built or removed, or on compensation for environmental damage or human rights abuses from individual projects. However the WCD is mandated to make general recommendations on how reparations should be provided to past dam victims and how damaged ecosystems should be restored. Project-specific claims for reparations and restoration will thus be useful to inform the general recommendations on these issues. Suggestions on policies and practices which would help provide justice for past dam victims and restore ecosystems would similarly be very useful. It will be very useful for the ICDRP if we can follow who is interested in doing submissions on which issues so please let us know (contact: patrick@irn.org). 1a) Submissions related to the Thematic Reviews As the thematic reviews cover such a wide range of issues all submissions should probably be relevant to at least one of the reviews. People making submissions on the thematic reviews should read the scoping papers for the relevant reviews. The thematic reviews will be the main area of the Work Programme in which planned and on-going projects are analysed. 1b) Submissions related specifically to the Focal Dam/River Basin Studies Before making submissions on any of these studies it would be worthwhile checking with the relevant staff member on whether/how the issue you are interested in is being dealt with by the consultants working on the study. 1c) Submissions related to the Cross-Check Survey Submissions can be made on the record of individual dams in the review once the final list has been made available. Submissions may propose dams to be added to the list but whether or not these are accepted will depend on maintaining an acceptably representative balance of dams of different purposes, ages, sizes, regions etc. 2) Submissions associated with Regional Consultations The Call for Submissions for the Sao Paulo consultation asks for people who are interested in presenting papers at the consultation to send in two-page summaries of their presentations by June 15. Those selected to make presentations will be informed by June 30. The WCD will pay travel and accommodation costs for presenters who need financial assistance. For more information on making presentations for the Sao Paulo consultation contact Selma Barros of the Brazilian Movement of Dam-Affected People (MAB) - mnab@zaz.com.br.
Secretary General
As a result of the WCD Secretariat being based in Cape Town, South Africa, a local environmental NGO, the Environmental Monitoring Group, was contacted and asked to monitor the progress of the WCD. Liane Greeff of EMG has taken on this role, and holds regular meetings with Achim Steiner, the Secretary-General of the WCD and with the rest of the Secretariat Staff. The purpose of these meetings are to raise issues of concern, to obtain updated information, and to explore opportunities for NGOs to provide input into the process as well as make the submissions process as effective as possible. Her contact details are: Liane Greeff, A South Asia office for the ICDRP has been established in Delhi. For more information and to get on the mailing list for copies of the "South Asia Update on Dams, Rivers and People", contact Himanshu Thakkar - cwaterp@del3.vsnl.net.in. The recently formed Pakistan Network for Rivers, Dams and Peoples (PNDRP) have recently produced a report on the proposed Diamer (Basha) Dam on the Indus. For more information contact Naeem Iqbal - naeemasu@hotmail.com. A meeting of European anti-dam and pro-river activists took place in Bielsko-Biela, Poland in April. The meeting also included representatives from groups working in S. America, S.E. Asia and S. Africa who gave their experience of how Northern companies and finance can affect dam-building in their countries. Among the results of the meeting are proposals to write reports on a) campaigns against dams in Europe and b) European companies working on dams overseas. These reports could feed into a Europe-wide campaign against dam-building companies, particularly ABB and would also be submitted to the WCD. For more information on the Bielsko-Biela meeting, contact Sally Naylor at klub@gaja.most.org.pl. For more information on the reports, contact Nicholas Hildyard - nick@fifehead.demon.co.uk. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information on the ICDRP and for copies of WCD Update No. 1, please contact Susanne Wong at swong@irn.org. Please send Susanne details of any other organisations/individuals who should be on our mailing list for WCD Updates. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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