What is a dam ?

A dam is any structure built across a stream,

river, or estuary to retain water.
Why is a dam built ?
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So dams do a lot of good ?

NO !

Large Dams do a lot of
harm!

But, what is a large dam ?

Any dam more than
15metres high (higher
than a 4 storey
building)

45,000 large dams
have been built all
over the world
Sardar Sarovar Dam on
the Narmada River
INDIA FACT SHEET
4,300 large dams
India is one of the worlds major dam
building countries
land area submerged by large dams
= about 37,500 square kilometers
People displaced = about 42 million
Harm caused by large
dams
SUBMERGENCE
More than 400,000 square kilometres of land has been brought under water by reservoirs worldwide.
Destroying the most fertile farmland, and most diverse forests and wetland ecosystems.
Huts submerged in the Narmada valley by the Sardar Sarovar Dam
DISPLACEMENT
Between 40-80 million people are believed to have been displaced by
large dams all over the world
House destroyed to build the Three Gorges Dam: Three Gorges Dam, China
is leading to the forced displacement of almost 2 million people

without fair rehabilitation
Rehabilitation efforts focus on physical relocation with no consideration for
social or economic rehabilitation
Social Impact
Displacement from dam and resrvoir :
- Forces the displaced to live impoverished lives with lost
livelihood, no food security and no land
- many reduced to live in urban slums
- breaks community bonds as the displaced are scattered and
struggling to survive
- Displaced often meet with state repression and human rights
violation
- Those affected are not part of the decision making process as
to whether the dam should or should not be built.
Rehabilitation
site : tin sheds in
place of a settled
village life
Secondary displacement
- damming a river reduces
downstream water flow
affecting the livelihood of
those who depend on the
river for livelihood through
Fisheries, or farm the fertile
banks
- Displaced by irrigation
canals






Environmental Impact
Rotting vegetation
drowned by the reservoir
produces greenhouse
gases like Carbon-di-
oxide and methane
causing global warming

Reservoirs drown forests i.e.substantial
levels of wildlife habitat adversely
affecting wildlife

Reduces biodiversity

Causes degradation of coastal deltas
because of reduction in sediment deposits


But atleast dams do what
they promise!



NO !

Analyzing the claims of
large Dams!
Differences between proposed benefits of
and actual outcomes of large dams :
WCDs Findings with regard to technical,
economic and financial performance of
large dams






Hydro-electric Dams :

perform close to but still below targets for power
generation, generally meet their financial targets
but demonstrate variable economic performance
relative to targets, and include a number of notable
under- and over-performers

Hydroelectricity is not cheap or clean as is claimed!
Costs over runs for dams are high 30% of World Bank
funded dams have cost over runs
Large dam reservoirs produce gases leading to global
warming showing hydro electricity is not clean as
claimed

Irrigation Dams
fallen short of physical targets, did not recover
their costs and have been less profitable in
economic terms than expected

WCD found that
Economic Return Rate
for most large dams
was around 10.5% but
at the time of approval
of the project the
estimated ERR was
claimed to be 15%



Large dams built for
municipal and industrial
water supply
have generally fallen short of intended
targets for timing and delivery of bulk water
supply and have exhibited poor financial
cost recovery and economic performance

Large dams with a flood
control component
have provided important benefits in this
regard, but at the same time have led to
greater vulnerability to flood hazards due
to increased settlement in areas still at risk
from floods, and in some cases have
worsened flood damages for a number of
reasons, including poor operation of dams
Is there any alternative to
large dams ?
Yes !

Build on small scale
decentralised options like
microhydel dams and rainwater
harvesting


Micro Hydel
Project,
Bilgaon,
Maharashtra
Pedal
Power










Explore and develop
renewable energy
sources
Make existing water supply
and energy systems more
Efficient

POINTS TO PONDER
Indian agriculture uses 85% of fresh water but
irrigational efficiency is only 20-50%
Transmission and distribution (T&D) losses
amount to 20-22% of total electricity generated
in India
Be efficient consumers
of power and electricity
DO NOT WASTE WATER OR
ELECTRICITY !
Demand-side management
reduce consumption
Reduce water and energy
demands
recycle