Dams: An Essential Component of Development
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 20, Issue 1
Abstract
Dams have become an integral part of basic infrastructure by offering indispensable benefits like irrigation, hydropower, domestic and industrial water supply, flood control, drought mitigation, navigation, fish farming, and recreation. As controversial as they have been during the last decades due to negative social and environmental impacts, the limited and uneven distribution of water at the global level has made the world realize that more dams, mostly large dams, are needed if development is to be promoted and if basic human needs are to be covered. Overall, it has been global dynamics in terms of water, energy (including trade aspects), food, and climate securities that has recasted the role of dams triggering massive investment on construction and modernization of multiple projects all over the world. It is thus fundamental to continue improving project planning and implementation to avoid unnecessary social and environmental costs. This paper discusses the role of dams on development, hydropower as the main source of renewable energy, the potential it holds to promote regional development, resettlement as the most critical factor still facing construction of large dams, and the role an entirely new group of actors are having in investment of dam projects at the national, regional, and global levels.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Aditjondro, G., and Kowalewski, D. (1994). “Damning the dams in Indonesia: A test of competing perspectives.” Asian Surv., 34(4), 381–395.
Asmal, K. (2001). “Introduction: World commission on dams report, dams and development.” Am. Univ. Int. Law Rev., 16(6), 1411–1433.
Balon, E. (1978). “The dubious benefits of large dams.” Ambio, 7(2), 40–48.
Bandyopadhyay, J. (1995). “Sustainability of big dams in Himalayas.” Econ. Polit. Weekly, 30(38), 2367–2370.
Barber, N. L. (2009). “Summary of estimated water use in the United States in 2005.” U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2009-3098, U.S. Dept. of Interior and U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, DC.
Berga, L., et al. (2006). Dams and reservoirs, societies and environment in the 21st century, Taylor & Francis, London.
Bhalla, S. S., and Mookerjee, A. (2001). “Big dams development: Facts, figures and pending issues.” Int. J. Water Resour. Dev., 17(1), 89–98.
Bharti, I. (1991). “Bihar’s dams, tribals’ woes.” Econ. Polit. Weekly, 26(22–23), 1385–1388.
Bird, J., and Wallace, P. (2001). “Dams and development—An insight to the report of the World Commission on Dams.” Irrig. Drain., 50(1), 53–64.
Biswas, A. K. (1970). History of hydrology, North-Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Biswas, A. K. (2004). “Water and regional development.” Water as a focus for regional development, A. K. Biswas, O. Unver, and C. Tortajada, eds., Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1–13.
Biswas, A. K. (2012). “Impacts of large dams: Issues, opportunities and constraints.” Impacts of large dams: A global assessment, C. Tortajada, D. Altinbilek, and A. K. Biswas, eds., Springer, Berlin, 1–18.
Biswas, A. K., and Tortajada, C. (2009). “Changing global water management landscape.” Water management in 2020 and beyond, A. K. Biswas, C. Tortajada, and R. Izquierdo, eds., Springer, Berlin, 1–34.
Biswas, A. K., Unver, O., and Tortajada, C. (2004). Water as a focus for regional development, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
British Petroleum (BP). (2013). “BP energy outlook 2030.” Statistical review, 〈http://www.bp.com/multipleimagesection.do?categoryId=6840&contentId=7021557〉 (Mar. 3, 2012).
Carter, L. J. (1966). “Colorado dams debated.” Science, 152(3729), 1600–1605.
De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek. (2008). “Emission trading: Proposed EU harmonisation of large hydro criteria.” De Brauw Legal Alert, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Dingwerth, K. (2005). “The democratic legitimacy of public-private rule making: What can we learn from the World Commission on Dams?” Glob. Gov., 11(1), 65–83.
D’Souza, D. (2002). Narmada dammed: An enquiry into the politics of development, Penguin Books India, New Delhi.
Duflo, E., and Pande, R. (2007). “Dams.” Q. J. Econ., 122(2), 601–646.
Feeley, T. J., III, et al. (2008). “Water: A critical resource in the thermoelectric power industry.” Energy, 33(1), 1–11.
Fisher, W. (2001). “Diverting water: Revisiting the Sardar Sarovar Project.” Int. J. Water Resour. Dev., 17(3), 303–314.
Fullbrook, D. (2008). “Dams it is!” World Today, 64(6), 7–10.
Gadgil, M., and Guha, R. (1994). “Ecological conflicts and the environmental movement in India.” Dev. Change, 25(1), 101–136.
Hadjerioua, B., Wei, Y., and Kao, S. (2012). “An assessment of energy potential at non-powered dams in the United States.” 〈http://www.google.com.sg/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CC8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww1.eere.energy.gov%2Fwater%2Fpdfs%2Fnpd_report.pdf&ei=3R03UbGSOMq4rAeJ0oGQAg&usg=AFQjCNEQX7l8Z1abJGOtUS79a9Dp7WilDA&sig2=Mfxjhf9YsJsUr8HPZ8xfDw〉 (Mar. 3, 2012).
Hemmati, M. (2002). “The world commission on dams as a multi-stakeholder process: Some future challenges.” Polit. Life Sci., 21(1), 63–66.
Hydropower & Dams. (2012a). “International news.” Issue 6, 3–23.
Hydropower & Dams. (2012b). “International news.” Issue 4, 3–20.
International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), International Hydropower Association (IHA), and International Commission on Irrigation, and Drainage (ICID). (2000). “Open letter from ICOLD, IHA and ICID on the final report of the World Commission on Dams.” 〈http://unep.org/dams/documents/default.asp?documentid=450〉 (Mar. 3, 2013).
International Energy Agency (IEA). (2012). World energy outlook 2012, OECD/IEA, Paris.
International Hydropower Association (IHA). (2011). “Hydropower sustainability assessment protocol.” 〈http://www.hydrosustainability.org/〉 (Mar. 3, 2013).
International Monetary Fund (IMF). (2010). “Bhutan: Poverty reduction strategy paper.”, Washington, DC.
Iyer, R. R. (2001). “World commission on dams and India: Analysis of a relationship.” Econ. Polit. Weekly, 36(25), 2275–2281.
Jagadeesan, S., and Kumar, D. (2013). Assessing the economic and social impacts of large water projects: The case of Sardar Sarovar on River Narmada, Sage Publications, New Delhi.
Li, H., Waley, P., and Rees, P. (2001). “Reservoir resettlement in China: Past experience and the Three Gorges Dam.” Geograph. J., 167(3), 195–212.
Lin, T. C. (2007). “Environmental NGOs and the anti-dam movements in China: A social movement with Chinese characteristics.” Issues Stud., 43(4), 149–185.
Lum, T., Fischer, H., Gomez-Granger, J., and Leland, A. (2009). “China’s foreign aid activities in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.” CRS Rep. for Congress, Congressional Research Service, Washington, DC.
Mallaby, S. (2004). “NGOs: Fighting poverty, hurting the poor.” Foreign Policy, 1(5), 50–58.
McCully, P. (2001) Silenced rivers: The ecology and politics of large dams, Zed Books, London.
Mohanti, B. (2005). “Displacement and rehabilitation of tribals.” Econ. Polit. Weekly, 40(13), 1318–1320.
Nakayama, M., and Fujikura R. eds. (2013). “Special issue on livelihood rehabilitation of involuntarily resettled people by dam construction projects: Cases in Asia.” Int. J. Water Resour. Dev., 29(1).
Nakayama, M., Fujikura, R., and Takesada, N. (2009). “Lessons from resettlement caused by large dam projects: Case studies from Japan, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.” Int. J. Water Resour. Dev., 25(3), 407–418.
Nakayama, M., and Maekawa, M. (2012) “Economic benefits and security implications of trading hydropower through transboundary power grids in Asia.” Int. J. Water Resour. Dev., 29(4), 501–513.
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). (2010). “Water-energy interface research program, 2010 update.” Dept. of Energy, NETL, Albany, NY.
Nevin, T. (2008). “Grand Inga—Reality or pipe dream?” Afr. Bus., 338, 32–34.
Patel, A. (2001). “Resettlement in the SSP: A cause vitiated.” Int. J. Water Resour. Dev., 17(3), 315–328.
Picciotto, R., Van Wicklin, W. and Rice, E., eds. (2001). “Involuntary resettlement, comparative perspectives.” World Bank series on evaluation and development, Vol. 2, Transaction Publishers, London.
Rangachari, R. (2005). Unravelling the “Unravelling of Bhakra.” A critique by R. Rangachari of “Unravelling Bhakra” by Shripad Dharmadhikari, Indian Water Resources Society, New Delhi.
Rangachari, R. (2006). Bhakra-Nangal Project. Socio-economic and environmental impacts, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
Rinzin, C. (2012). “Relevance of water infrastructure for the socio-economic development of Bhutan. Specific to development of hydropower resources.” Int. Workshop on Water Infrastructure in Asia, Singapore.
Rothman, F. D., and Oliver, P. E. (1999). “From local to global: The anti-dam movement in southern Brazil, 1979–1992.” Int. J., 4(1), 41–57.
Royal Government of Bhutan. (2009). “Tenth five year plan 2008–2013.” Main document, Vol. 1, Gross National Happiness Commission, Bhutan.
Scudder, T. (2001). “The world commission on dams and the need for a new development paradigm.” Int. J. Water Resour. Dev., 17(3), 329–341.
Scudder, T. (2005). The future of large dams: Dealing with social, environmental, institutional and political costs, Earthscan, London.
Scudder, T. (2012). “Resettlement outcomes of large dams.” Impacts of large dams: A global assessment, C. Tortajada, D. Altinbilek, and A. K. Biswas, eds., Springer, Heidelberg, 37–67.
Sengupta, N. (2001). “World Commission on Dams: Biased if misread.” Econ. Polit. Weekly, 36(19), 1647–1649.
Shah, Z., and Kumar, M. D. (2008). “In the midst of the large dam controversy: Objectives, criteria for assessing large water storages in the developing world.” Water Resour. Manage., 22(12), 1799–1824.
Smits, M., and Bush, S. R. (2010). “A light left in the dark: The practice and politics of pico-hydropower in the Lao PDR.” Energy Policy, 38(1), 116–127.
Souksavath, B., and Maekawa, M. (2013). “The livelihood reconstruction of resettlers from the Nam Ngum 1 hydropower project in Laos.” Int. J. Water Resour. Dev., 29(1), 59–70.
Souksavath, B., and Nakayama, M. (2013). “Reconstruction of the livelihood of resettlers from the Nam Theun 2 hydropower project in Laos.” Int. J. Water Resour. Dev., 29(1), 71–86.
Tanaka, K. (2011). China, a new driving force of the world development? Implications of China’s engagement in water infrastructure, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore.
Thornton, J. (2001). Evaluation of the joint initiative of the World Commission on Dams and the United Nations environment programme on the environmental, social and economic impacts of large dams, UNEP, Kenya.
Tortajada, C. (2000). “Evaluation of actual impacts of the Ataturk dam.” Int. J. Water Resour. Dev., 16(4), 453–464.
Tortajada, C. (2014). “Water resources: An evolving landscape.” International development: Ideas, experience, and prospects, B. Currie-Alder, R. Kanbur, D. Malone, and R. Medhora, eds., Oxford University Press, Oxford, 448–462.
Tortajada, C., Altinbilek, D., and Biswas, A. K. (2012). Impacts of large dams, Springer, Heidelberg.
U.S. Energy Information Administration (USEIA). (2011). “International energy outlook 2011.” 〈http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/ieo/〉 (Mar. 3, 2013).
Verghese, G. (2001). “Sardar Sarovar project revalidated by Supreme Court.” Int. J. Water Resour. Dev., 17(1), 79–88.
Watcharejyothin, M., and Shrestha, R. M. (2009). “Effects of cross-border power trade between Laos and Thailand: Energy security and environmental implications.” Energy Policy, 37(5), 1782–1792.
World Bank. (2009). Directions in hydropower, IFC, MIGA, Washington, DC.
World Bank. (2012). “Laos - Nam Theun 2 Board update: Project progress during 2011.” Washington, DC, 〈http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/03/15978009/second-nam-theun-board-update-project-progress-during-2011〉.
World Commission on Dams. (2000). “Dams and development: A new framework for decision-making.” The Rep. of the World Commission on Dams, Earthscan, London.
World Energy Council (WEC). (2010). 2010 survey of energy resources, London.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 20 • Issue 1 • January 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 10, 2013
Accepted: Oct 4, 2013
Published online: Jun 13, 2014
Discussion open until: Nov 13, 2014
Published in print: Jan 1, 2015
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.