World Commission on Dams

The World Commission on Dams and Epupa Dam

Epupa has been under consideration by the government since the early 1990s. The government has hired consultants to prepare feasibility studies on the dam, and has held some public hearings on the project. But the process thus far has been flawed, and does not measure up to the WCD's recommendations. Following are some ways in which the planning process for Epupa thus far falls short: Rights and Risks: The WCD guidelines are based on a "rights and risks" approach to development. This means that all stakeholders whose rights might be affected, and all stakeholders who have

Dams and Development: A New Framework for Decision-Makers

Monday, March 1, 2004
Based on the WCD Report and the South African Initiative on the WCD

Turning the WCD into Action in South Africa

Participants in a Meeting to Launch a National WCD Process in Uganda
Wednesday, December 1, 2004
Four years ago, the 12 commissioners of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) concluded their three–year effort to analyze the world’s record of dams and development by stating: "We have told our story. What happens now is up to you." A group of dedicated South Africans boldly accepted this challenge. Representing varied interests on dams, they have been working together for nearly four years to incorporate the WCD’s findings into South African national policies and laws. Nearly 100 delegates representing government, the private sector, NGOs, affected communities, utilities and others came

Sharing the South African Experience - WCD Launch in Uganda

Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Thank you. I would like to thank NAPE for inviting me to attend today’s meeting. I work with International Rivers, and was invited today to observe this gathering here in Uganda. International Rivers has been working for 20 years with NGOs and dam affected communities in the South to amplify the voices of those who bear the true cost of dams. International Rivers is not out to stop development. Rather, we work with local groups to ensure that development planning includes the voices of civil society and affected communities, which results in more sustainable, better–planned projects that s

Evaluating the LHWP Against WCD Guidelines

Africa’s largest infrastructure project the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) is a massive, multi–dam scheme built to divert water from Lesotho’s Maloti Mountains to South Africa’s industrial Gauteng Province. The first phases of the World Bank–supported project involve the construction of three large dams which, when completed will dispossess more than 30,000 rural farmers of assets (including homes, fields, and grazing lands) and deprive many of their livelihoods. In an effort to prevent the permanent impoverishment of these people, the governments of South Africa and Lesotho

Lower Kihansi Hydropower Project: An Evaluation of the Project Against World Commission on Dams Guidelines

Thursday, May 10, 2001
In July 1995, the Government of Tanzania began construction of the 180–megawatt Lower Kihansi Hydropower Project (LKHP) in order to meet the growing electricity demands of its mining and tourism industries. The World Bank jointly funded the $275 million project along with the European Investment Bank and development agencies from Norway (NORAD), Sweden (SIDA), and Germany (KfW). Formally commissioned in July 2000, the project has been supplying electricity to the Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (TANESCO), the parastatal that owns and operates the project, since December 1999. With its 25

Bujagali Dam and the WCD

Uganda is one of the world’s poorest countries. About 95% of the population does not have access to electricity, and most could not afford it even if they were offered free connections to the national grid. The US–based AES corporation, the world’s largest independent power producer, proposes to construct a US$530–million hydroelectric dam that would drown Bujagali Falls on the Nile River, a culturally significant site that also supports a growing whitewater tourism industry. The project is now being considered for funding from the IFC, the World Bank, the US agency OPIC, and a number

Would You Like a Dam With That Dam?

Friday, September 19, 2003
Bujagali Project Torpedoes Options Assessment for Uganda Local and international groups have been lobbying for a full and fair review of the various energy options available to Uganda ever since the Bujagali Dam site was first granted to the US–based AES Corporation in the mid–1990s. However, extensive efforts by NGOs to promote further analysis of energy alternatives have for years fallen on deaf ears at the World Bank Group, the project’s main backer. In fact, the Bank has actually subverted efforts to analyze non–hydropower options: it manipulated data to justify Bujagali as the "le

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