Top Banner
Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era Patrick McCully Temacapulín October 2010
16

Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

Nov 21, 2014

Download

Documents

Presenter: Patrick McCully, International Rivers, USA.

Temacapulín, Mexico - October 2, 2010
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Page 1: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

Bringing an End to the

Big Dam Era

Patrick McCully

Temacapulín

October 2010

Page 2: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

The Damming of the World

Page 3: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

Rate of Large Dam Construction

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

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

Number of Dams

Source: ICOLD World Register of Dams 1998 (Includes only “registered dams”;excludes most dams in China)

Page 4: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

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

Page 5: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

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

Page 6: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

Social impacts• 40-80 million people physically displaced• 472 million suffer livelihood losses

downstream• Spread of waterborne disease• Induced flooding, earthquakes• Repression of opponents

Page 7: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

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

Page 8: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

Justifications• Power and water to the

unserved• Increasing food

production• Alleviating poverty,

promoting development

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions

• Climate change adaptation

Page 9: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

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

Page 10: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

Hydro vs New Renewables

05

10152025303540

1997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009

GW

Large HydroSmall hydroWindSolar(PV/CSP)

Page 11: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

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

Page 12: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

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

Page 13: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

Slide from presentation by John Briscoe, World Bank Senior Water Advisor, 2005

Page 14: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

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

Page 15: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

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

Page 16: Bringing an End to the Big Dam Era

The End/El Fin

www.internationalrivers.org