The water levels of most of the world’s rivers fluctuate with seasonal rains, melting snows, or droughts, and in the arid zones there are flash floods. It makes sense to capture and store the abundant waters and later release it during the low flow periods or use it for power. So dams have been built for the purposes of irrigation, municipal water supply, and hydroelectricity generation. Flood control and transportation benefits are also important. Cities are growing all over the developing world, and they require water supplies and reservoirs. Since the beginning of the 20th century, hydropower energy has steadily increased and it now supplies 19% of worldwide electricity. (more…)

The World Commission on Dams (WCD) was formed in 1998 by a joint initiative of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the World Bank (WB) after a historic meeting of leading dam proponents and opponents in Switzerland, with proceedings reported by Dorcey and others. The WCD was asked to discover the truth about the hydropower energy facts, hydropower energy pros and cons, cost, effect, and benefit of large dams and it functioned independently for 2 years at a cost of $10 million. The money was well spent, and at the end of that period the WCD produced a comprehensive report and numerous support documents, and then dissolved itself. The report and support documents remain on the Internet available to all, and they have changed forever the debate about dams. (more…)