Environmental group faults global dam projects

GENEVA -- New dams intended to provide cheaper power and support irrigation systems are destroying important water sources and causing economic disruption, a leading environmental group said in a report released today.

The report by the World Wide Fund for Nature noted that dams can destroy wetlands, which hold water like sponges and cannot be replicated by man-made storage facilities.

"The world's ailing rivers and the communities that depend on them face a bleak future without prompt action," WWF said in the report, which assessed the environmental effects of six dam projects around the world.

Dams flood valleys, destroy fisheries and are threatening endangered species such as the Iberian lynx and jaguars, whose natural habitats in valleys can end up underwater.

"As the energy and water crisis tightens, we need to ensure that we choose the solutions with the least environmental damage and the greatest social benefits," said Ute Collier, author of the report.

A $30 million dam in Belize was designed to reduce electrical imports, but local people have seen prices rise since its completion, the report said. It also has flooded 2,500 acres of rain forest.

A project in Iceland likely will flood hundreds of nesting sites of the rare pink-footed goose and destroy some of the habitat of Iceland's only reindeer herd, the report said.

In Laos, about 5,700 villagers will have to be resettled because of a dam project that has been approved by the World Bank. At least 50,000 people who rely on the river for their livelihoods also will be affected as water is diverted.

"This is not the engineering heyday of the 1950s when dams were seen as the hallmark of development," said Robert Napier, chief executive of the World Wildlife Fund in Britain.

"We know dams cause damage, and we must put this knowledge to work. Governments and the World Bank must insist that the WCD's (World Commission on Dams) recommendations are applied to all dam projects now," said Jamie Pittock of the WWF.

More than 400 large dams are currently being built worldwide with hundreds more planned, the WWF estimated, with China, Iran and Turkey leading the construction field, closely followed by Japan.

Presenting a report, "To Dam or Not to Dam? Five Years on from the World Commission on Dams," the WWF said dams needed to be economically and environmentally sustainable.

Construction plans need to receive public approval, while comprehensive assessments of other options should be carried out and any economic benefits should be shared with local communities, the group added.

Collier said: "Bad dams and bad economics are apparently still alive and kicking five years after the WCD.

"As the energy and water crisis tightens, we need to ensure that we choose the solutions with the least environmental damage and the greatest social benefits."

WWF also singled out the Ermenek Dam in Turkey, Spain's Melonares Dam and Australia's Burnett Dam for criticism.

This report includes information from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.