Sustainability |
Development challenges and the large dams debate
For nearly three decades, Achim Steiner has worked tirelessly as a global leader on sustainable development, climate resilience and international cooperation. During a recent FutureDAMS webinar with David Hulme, Executive Director of the Global Development Institute at University of Manchester in the UK, Steiner discussed the sustainable development of water and energy resources. He reflected on his experience as United Nations Development Programme Administrator and Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, as well as his former role as Secretary General of the World Commission on Dams
Above: Achim Steiner is the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. He also served as Secretary General of the World Commission on Dams © Alexandros Michailidis
ACHIM STEINER IS KEEN to praise the work of the FutureDAMS project. He says it speaks to precisely the design challenge that goes well beyond the engineering of a dam and really looks to future development. Indeed, 21 years ago, the World Commission on Dams’ (WCD) final report focused on dams and development. But what has driven changes over the past few decades? And where do we go next? “I would begin by saying that there are some fundamentals that have over time driven both an understanding and awareness, but also a different set of paradigms and choices, that are essentially related to two issues – inequality and sustainability,” Steiner says. “We still live in an age where over 800 million people don’t have access to electricity. And the world is dependent on a fossil fuel-based infrastructure for producing energy that is now taking us to the brink where we will lose control over what happens with climate change.”
Although he describes economic progress as being “amazing”, by the end of 20th century Steiner says that we began to question confidence in our societies and governments to deliver a fair outcome in development. Poverty that prevails and inequality that becomes more pronounced is dividing society. There is heightened awareness that we need to address this issue: access to energy and water are two profound developmental and individual phenomena. At the same time, in many parts of the world, there is an increasing realisation that there simply isn’t going to be enough water. Many river basins in the world now trade water and water scarcity in many regions, such as the US, has become a real prospect. Steiner believes that inequality and sustainability
are the two key drivers that have changed our understanding, awareness and sense of urgency in redesigning the economy around the use of water and energy. Ultimately, we need it to become compatible
Right: Chile’s Ralco Dam was completed in 2004, following much controversy and public debate in the lead-up to the World Commission on Dams in the 1990s
20 | December 2021 |
www.waterpowermagazine.com
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