Blog by: Matthew McCartney (IWMI), James Dalton (IUCN) and Eric Odada (University of Nairobi)
Large dams contribute significantly to economic growth, food security and national development. They can also help societies cope with climate change by storing water, protecting people and assets from floods, and generating cleaner electricity. Yet, large dams are controversial because of the adverse social and environmental impacts associated with them historically. Among dam proponents, the debate centers on how best to overcome these impacts and how much project financing to set aside for this purpose. Anti-dam campaigners, meanwhile, represent nature as a hapless victim of the tyranny of large infrastructure projects.
Convinced that neither point of view is satisfactory, we propose a more constructive way of thinking. One which acknowledges the dual role that nature plays, contributing to the success of large dams, on the one hand, while helping people adapt to their impacts, on the other.Read more