Bringing an

End to the
Big Dam Era

Patrick McCully
Temacapulín
October 2010
The Damming of the World
 Rate of Large Dam Construction

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000
Number of Dams
1000

0
<1900 1910s 1930s 1950s 1970s 1990s

Source: ICOLD World Register of Dams 1998

(Includes only “registered dams”;excludes most dams in China)
Status of rivers
• 50,000 large dams/diversions
moderately/severely impact
60% rivers
• > 500,000 km altered for
navigation
• 90% sewage in developing
countries untreated
• Half world’s wetlands
destroyed
• Watershed degradation,
climate change disrupting
flows
 Status of freshwater
biodiversity
• Rivers, floodplains, lakes & wetlands impacted more
than any other ecosystem type
• Freshwater species populations halved 1970-2000
• 20% freshwater fish species
threatened, endangered or
extinct
• N. America: 123 species of
fish, molluscs, crayfish,
amphibians extinct during
20th century
 Social impacts
• 40-80 million people physically displaced
• 472 million suffer livelihood losses
downstream
• Spread of waterborne disease
• Induced flooding, earthquakes
• Repression of opponents
 Unmet needs
• >1.1 billion without access to
adequate, clean water
– 2.4 billion without access to
sanitation
– Waterborne diseases kill 14-
30,000 people/day
• 1 billion people
undernourished
• 60 million people suffer from
damaging floods
• 2 billion people lack access
to modern energy
 Justifications
• Power and water to the
unserved
• Increasing food
production
• Alleviating poverty,
promoting
development
• Reducing greenhouse
gas emissions
• Climate change
adaptation
 Big dams irrelevant to the
unserved and hungry
• 80% of unserved, and hungry, in rural areas
• Key to meeting unserved are decentralized,
community-based, low-cost options e.g. water
harvesting, low/no-water sanitation, small-scale
renewables
 Hydro vs New Renewables
40
35
30
25 Large Hydro
Small hydro
20
GW Wind
15 Solar(PV/CSP)
10
5
0
1997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009
Dams & Climate Change
• Emissions of greenhouse gases
• Hydro emissions vs. fossil fuels:
– Run-of-river hydro very low
– Temperate reservoirs low
– Large tropical reservoirs high
• Reduced generation: drought and
evaporation
– Hydro ≥50% supply in 63 countries

• Safety threatened by extreme floods

• Faster sedimentation
• Worsen climate change biodiversity
impacts
 Current trends
• Increased funding for clean energy, retrofitting existing projects,
river restoration, rainwater harvesting
• New “enlightened” generation of water “experts”
• Declining importance of ‘traditional’ dam funders
• Continuing strong movement for water justice

BUT
•
Emergence of China as major global dam funder
• Brazil, India gaining in importance
• Continued World Bank promotion of big dams/diversions
• Governments promoting new water megaprojects
– Megahydro in NE India, SW China, Amazon, Congo
– Megadiversions in India, China, Brazil
Slide from presentation by John Briscoe, World
Bank Senior Water Advisor, 2005
20th Century Water Ethos
• Forecast ever increasing
demand, build new supply
• Water flowing to sea is wasted
• Water should be moved from
surplus to deficit areas
• Floods should be eradicated
• Engineering is excellent,
bigger is better, costlier is
cooler
21st Century Water Ethos?
• Respect natural cycles and limits
• Manage demand, minimize withdrawals
• Democratic planning
• Recognize vital role of
rainwater
• Promote small,
decentralized technologies
• Prioritize equity,
sustainability
• No-regrets planning for
climate change adaptation
The End/El Fin

www.internationalrivers.org