Sustainability |


j World Commission on Dams Speaking about the World Commission on Dams,


Hulme asks in what way did it push forward learning and lead to change? “WCD did not achieve universal peace,” Steiner


laughs. “It was born out of controversy and also landed in a world that was still very polarised.” Describing WCD as “an extraordinary group of commissioners”, Steiner says it was an remarkable experience that profoundly changed his understanding of development and how to deal with issues that often divide society. “The fact that this report remains a reference in the


debate on dams essentially reflects one fundamental shift. The construction of dams was, first of all, a civilisational journey that took human ingenuity, engineering hydrology and all the things that came with it to a new level of sophistication,” Steiner says. “It climaxed somewhere in the middle of the 20th century and certainly passed its peak towards the end of it. It became a technology that had to be increasingly understood as not a product of engineering and river basin management etc, but had to be understood as a profound intervention into systems – such as social, economic and ecological systems. The World Commission on Dams and its final report gave expression to the implications of embracing that understanding and how to decide in future whether to build a dam or not.” The commission established a three-dimensional view of dam projects. If you build a dam you are intervening into systems and your answer on whether to build or not is going to be determined by how people understand the impact of the dam in these systems, Steiner explains. He spoke about “one of the incontestable findings that all commissioners came together on”. This was that the biggest mistakes were made at the point when you decide to build a dam or not. Options assessment and looking at the alternatives “are profoundly important”. Sometimes, Steiner claims, dams were built “as someone thought that it was brilliant thing to do, and all sorts of interests congregate around these mega projects”. “We actually agreed in the commission not to use


the term trade-offs anymore. And it is something I have maintained for myself ever since,” Steiner comments.


“A trade-off is one group deciding for another what is good or bad for them. Dams are neither themselves good nor bad. What determines their value or in a sense their impact (positive or negative) is how they impact on people, ecology and economic systems. “ With its rights and risk framework, Steiner says that


WCD had a new way of holding to account those who wanted to advocate for dams, as well as accounting for those who were affected by dams. Nobody in the past had really ever calculated the cost for those living downstream, along with impacts on environmental flows, he says. Talking about his work with WCD, Steiner admits that a lot was learnt from the US’ experiences. The country was one of the biggest dam builders in 20th century but by the later part had invested billions of dollars in buying back water to ensure environmental flows and maintain the ecological viability of its river systems. Such a paradigm shift is one illustration of how societies are making very different decisions in today’s world, Steiner says. He also mentioned the bitter irony the commission witnessed when looking at dams that were built to power an economy and provide electricity. He said that the WCD actually saw the irony of “bringing power to the people” when the very people who were resettled downstream to make way for that dam, still did not have access to one power point 20 years later.


Energy transition There is something immensely enticing about


harnessing the power of nature. This is what drove dam building, Steiner says. The idea that you can produce a third of your power needs by capturing river water and turning millions of lightbulbs on, was “simple and compelling logic”. However, it was the compounded impact of dams that led to that understanding that you cannot just look at a dam from a design option. When you look at some of the large dam projects, Steiner says, there is no question that in many ways a dam is a temple of human ingenuity. “But you cannot”, he says, “and I say it with all


respect for engineers, you cannot let engineers decide for a society whether a dam is in fact the best option for a society to build at that moment.”


Right: Steiner says that the World Commission on Dam learnt a lot from the US’ dam building experience


22 | December 2021 | www.waterpowermagazine.com


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