Raising the bar on big dams
 

 

 

Publisher: CEE Bankwatch Network

Date: April, 2012
 

Volume: 40 pages, pdf

 

Description

Large dam projects are among the most controversial and potentially destructive of all internationally financed projects. An estimated 40-80 million people have been displaced by large dams worldwide, and millions more have been displaced by the construction of associated infrastructure, or harmed by changes to downstream environments. Efforts to resettle and compensate people for their losses have been inadequate at best. The legacy of environmental harm caused by large dams is equally unacceptable, with 60% of the world’s rivers and their associated ecosystems suffering from profound and often irreversible impacts. Meanwhile, the economic benefits of large dams have often been elusive. Large dams tend to underperform their targets for power generation, while lengthy construction delays and substantial cost overruns are routine.