Commission May Oppose Narmada-Sized Dams
The commission launched with World Bank support is expected to oppose construction of large dams such as the Narmada dam in India.
The commission has new Indian High Commissioner to South Africa Lakshmi Chand Jain as its vice-chairman and Medha Patkar of the Narmada Bachao Andolan as one of its commissioners. Both have opposed the Narmada dam project in their own ways.
The commission was launched in Cape Town in South Africa earlier this week with South African minister Kader Asmal as its chairman. We will work over the next two years to prepare rules and principles to govern the future of the construction of dams, Asmal said in an interview from Cape Town.
The World Commission on Dams aims to find solutions that currently plague the relationship between those who plan, finance and build large dams and those who oppose them, Asmal said. The panel of commissioners has been chosen to represent all views, he said, and there is no reason to believe that rational people cannot come to an ethically and morally sound conclusion.
The recommendations of the commission in the year 2000 will have far-reaching consequences for World Bank investment in dams, officials say. A recommendation against dams will mean that the World Bank will not fund the Narmada project or other dams. The World Bank has provided funds towards building about 50 dams so far.
Asmals own views showed which way the chairman leans. There is a case for dam building, he said. But the real costs are rarely taken into account, such as the ecological and environmental effects of dam construction and the cost of decommissioning dams that we face in the future. The normal life span of 35 to 40 years of a dam is cut to 25 years in areas of high silting, and this is an important question to be addressed, Asmal said.
It is not enough to say that because a government exists in a democracy, it can take large-scale decisions, Asmal said. The present generation must be involved, particularly those likely to be affected. It is therefore necessary that the driving force for development projects, including planning and implementation, come from local communities themselves.
The findings of the commission are expected to be contentious. A decision on a large dam is the most important economic decision a government takes after the budget, Asmal said.
The report of the commission is not binding on governments or finance houses that may pay towards dam building. But its report is expected to be used by the World Bank to deny funds to projects like the Sardar Sarovar project on the Narmada.
World Bank president James Wolfensohn was present at the launch of the commission along with David McDowell, director-general of the World Conservation Union, the two organisations behind the setting up of the commission. The new commission will, however, work independently over its two-year term. lIndia Abroad News Service
Disputes have arisen before the commission could get going over its composition. Wolfensohn spoke at the inauguration of the commission about the mistrust between various stakeholders.
Strong differences arose over appointment of the vice-chairman. Jain was picked before he was appointed as High Commissioner to South Africa. Jain has won the Magsaysay award for his services with Indias Planning Commission and as a member of an independent committee to review the controversial Sardar Sarovar project.
Jain is now placed between his role on the Narmada commission and his role as government representative. But he is vice-chairman of the commission in his individual capacity, Asmal said.
The commission will seek to review the effectiveness of dams and assess alternatives for water resources and energy development, Asmal said. It will also aim to develop internationally accepted standards, guidelines and criteria for decision-making in the planning, design and construction, monitoring, operation and decommissioning of dams, Asmal said.
The launch of the commission follows a meeting held in Gland in Switzerland in April last year to discuss an internal World Bank study on dams. Asmal said that the commission will be very open through its two-year progress and that it will ensure timely and appropriate opportunities for informed involvement by stakeholders.