Sustainability Criteria for Hydropower Development
Publisher: CEE Bankwatch Network
Volume: 3 pages, pdf
Description:
Any hydropower project no matter the size can cause negative consequences to water basins, associated ecosystems, to climate and affected communities1 living along the water basins. A large number of individually acceptable projects can also lead to unacceptably high negative cumulative effects. Therefore, strategic planning should be the first step in setting thoughtful goals for hydropower’s contribution to a country’s electricity balance, taking into account that rivers are a vital element of the environmental, climate adaptation, social and cultural systems of our planet and that areas of high conservation value (either protected by law or not) have to be preserved from the negative impacts of hydropower plants.