The Future of Large Dams: Dealing with Social, Environmental, Institutional and Political Costs
Viewed by some as symbols of progress and by others as inherently flawed, large dams remain one of the most contentious development issues on Earth. Building on the work of the now defunct World Commission on Dams, Thayer Scudder wades into the debate with unprecedented authority. Employing the Commission's Seven Strategic priorities, Scudder charts the 'middle way' forward by examining the impacts of large dams on ecosystems, societies and political economies. He also analyses the structure...
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* "The author is the undisputed world leader in this subject. The treatment is authoritative and magisterial" --Robert Goodland* The definitive work on large dams--the world’s single most controversial, divisive and expensive development issue--essential reading * Unmatched coverage of all aspects of large dams and development including economics, politics, environmental risk, energy, agriculture, and human displacement and resettlementViewed by some as symbols of progress and a necessary evil and by others as inherently flawed and destructive of ecosystems and societies, large dams remain the most contentious development issue on earth. Building on the work of the now defunct World Commission on Dams, Thayer Scudder, the world’s leading authority on large dams, weighs in on the debate with unprecedented authority.Armed with a vast array of case studies and statistical data from Asia, including China and India, North America, Africa, and Latin America, Scudder charts the "middle way" forward by examining all aspects of the costs, benefits, and risks to ecosystems, societies and economies of large dam development projects. Employing the World Commission on Dams’ Seven Strategic Priorities, Scudder analyzes the structure of the decision-making process for water resource and energy development and the planning, implementation, and governance of assets when a large dam is selected as the best development option. He also assesses state-of-the-art procedures for addressing environmental, institutional, political, and social issues and tackles the highly contentious issue of dam-induced resettlement, illuminated by a statistical analysis of 50 cases.
1The large dams dispute and the future of large dams12Theories of the resettlement process313A comparative survey of dam-induced resettlement in 50 cases, with the statistical assistance of John Gay564How river basin communities can benefit from resettlement875Sri Lanka's Mahaweli development project1386Further case studies1887Addressing downstream and upper catchments : environmental and social impacts2118Institutional arrangements2439The future of large dams and the way forward292
