Will the 21st century world also have any space left for dams-small dams as well as big dams-across the globe? In fact, the question should be will the world be left with any space for humans for appropriation other than dams?There is a growing apprehension among environmentalists regarding the usefulness of big dams. This apprehension is well-articulated in the words of the World Wide Fund for Nature International's director-general (Dr) Claude Martin. WWF chief has made significant remarks in his foreword to the report entitled ``A Place for Dams in the 21st Century''.Says Claude Martin: ``... Natural flows of most of the major rivers have been altered or modified in some way; in some cases rivers have ceased to reach their natural destination-sea ... Humans have a long history of manipulating the environment. Few interventions rival the scale of change as those resulting from construction of a large dam ... In just 30 years, from 1950 to the late 1980s, more than 35,000 large dams were built worldwide... the report's findings demonstrate that some countries in the developed world have already exhausted all opportunities for developing hydropower and many have started to reduce their reliance on dams. Some countries have taken this step farther and are actively removing dams, restoring rivers to their natural condition-a move that is welcomed by WWF.''
Apprehension regarding big dams is all the more relevant to a country like India where millions and millions of people have already been sacrificed at the altar of ``greater good of the nation'' over the past half a century. Worse, millions more are still facing the very real threat of being hounded out from village to village and state to state whenever there is a need for the authorities to indulge in ``greater good of the nation''!
No wonder the 108-page report lists Sardar Sarovar Project (Narmada river of India) among the six major ``dam flashpoints''. ``The decade-long struggle against the Sardar Sarovar Dam has become a worldwide symbol ofopposition to destructive development projects. The dam and its associated irrigation canals would lead to the eviction of 320,000 people and deprive many more of their means of livelihood. Most of the affected people refuse to move and have succeeded in stalling work on the dam ... Opponents (of the dam) say the benefits are greatly exaggerated and the full cost concealed,'' the report speaks of the Sardar Sarovar Project.
Why is there so much hue and cry over the Sardar Sarovar Project? Why not? The Biobio river in Chile has in its region hardly 600 people who are facing the prospect of being displaced because of six hydroelectric dams that are being planned by the largest private company in Chile, Endesa. However, the proposed six hydel projects around the Biobio in Chile are set to damage forests, harm wildlife resources and displace more than 600 people. So there is a protest in Chile. Moreover, the projection of Chile's future energy requirements indicates that the energy it would produce is notneeded, according to the report.
Indian protestors of the Sardar Sarovar Project can certainly get emboldened by the fact that if a handful of people in Chile--some 600-odd people--can oppose six hydel projects, lakhs and lakhs of people--conservatively estimated at about 320,000--around Sardar Sarovar can certainly get agitated by the monstrosity of the project.
The Sardar Sarovar and the Chilean Biobio projects are but two of the six ``dam flashpoints'' pointed out by the WWF International in its report. There are others like the Malaysian Bakun dam across Rajang river, the Namibian Epupa dam across the Cunene, the Laotian Nam Theun 2 dam across the Mekong and of course the Chinese Three Gorges dam across the Yangtze. The dams and hydel power projects are at various stages of construction in these flashpoint regions. Thousands and lakhs of people have already been displaced or are in the process of being displaced. In the case of the Namibian Epupa dam for hydel power, for instance, ``the project willflood 250 square miles of land inhabited by the Ovahimba people, a group of semi-nomadic pastoralists,'' according to the report.
One can very well imagine the damage caused by big dams when one notices that the world's highest dam in Tajikistan-Nurek dam--built in the eighties is 300 metres in height which is as tall as the Eiffel Tower!
One inescapable fact pointed out by the report is that ``every dam, irrespective of its size, location, and shape, obstructs the natural flow of river; and thus has an impact on biodiversity''.
So, what are the solutions? The report is emphatic when it says: ``It does not give prescriptions or solutions to dam building. Considering that the World Commission on Dams is presently the only international platform addressing the large dams controversy, the paper suggests issues and matters to be explored by the commission.''
However, there are certain recommendations in the report. These include:-
``Many countries have the possibility of removing some dams torehabilitate certain ecosystems, without significantly lowering per capita energy consumption. Removing dams should become an active tool for ecosystem rehabilitation. ``A strategy to deal with future dam issues requires a flexible and open approach. Governments need to be convinced about meeting their growing needs by adopting more environmentally friendly ways of energy production and management. Environmental agencies too must work towards conserving unique species and spaces, rather than taking a rigid stance opposing the construction of any dam in a developing country. ``The challenge to the World Commission on Dams is to look at the hydroelectricity issue in a much broader context. The hydroelectricity industry, if it is to survive, has to develop and adopt specific measures that will conserve ecosystems. The Commission should identify general guidelines and specific suggestions suitable for global and national applications.''Dam Facts
Dams higher than 15 metres across theworld number a little over 41,400. Together these 41,400-odd 15-metre-high dams have a reservoir capacity which can provide 1,000 litres of water for each person in the world; that is 1,000 multiplied into the global human population! The total area occupied by these 15-metre-high dams is equivalent to the size of Germany and Belgium put together. According to the World Commission on Dams, the commission ``is an unprecedented opportunity for a meaningful debate in the context of sustainable development''. In the past few decades, more and more widespread use of fertilisers and detergents and growing quantities of waste water have accelerated the process of `eutrophication'. In the eutrophication process, excess nutrients produce a bloom of plankton, algae and weed growth which when they die and rot use up the available oxygen at the depth of the dams. This leads to the formation of ``sulpheretted oxygen'' which renders the water unfit for domestic consumption. Some 20 percent of the world's 8,000 freshwater species are threatened with extinction because of changes in river hydrology thanks to large dams. Newport Number 11 on the Clyde River in Vermont, US, was the first dam to be removed for purely environmental reasons.Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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