Impacts of Large Dams: A Global Assessment

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

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2. Impacts of Large Dams: Issues, Opportunities and Constraints

   • Asit K. Biswas

   Pages 1-18

3. Indirect Economic Impacts of Dams

   • Rita Cestti, R. P. S. Malik

   Pages 19-35

4. Resettlement Outcomes of Large Dams

   • Thayer Scudder

   Pages 37-67

5. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Reservoirs

   • Olli Varis, Matti Kummu, Saku Härkönen, Jari T. Huttunen

   Pages 69-94

6. Impacts of Dams in Switzerland

   • Walter Hauenstein, Raymond Lafitte

   Pages 95-122

7. Hydrodevelopment and Population Displacement in Argentina

   • Leopoldo J. Bartolome, Christine M. Danklmaier

   Pages 123-152

8. Impacts of Sobradinho Dam, Brazil

   • Benedito P. F. Braga, Joaquim Guedes Correa Gondim Filho, Martha Regina von Borstel Sugai, Sandra Vaz da Costa, Virginia Rodrigues

   Pages 153-170

9. The Atatürk Dam in the Context of the Southeastern Anatolia (GAP) Project

   • Dogan Altinbilek, Cecilia Tortajada

   Pages 171-199

10. Impacts of King River Power Development, Australia

    • Roger Gill, Morag Anderson

    Pages 201-218

11. Resettlement in China

    • Guoqing Shi, Jian Zhou, Qingnian Yu

    Pages 219-241

12. Officials’ Office and Dense Clouds: The Large Dams that Command Beijing’s Heights

    • James E. Nickum

    Pages 243-257

13. Resettlement due to Sardar Sarovar Dam, India

    • C. D. Thatte

    Pages 259-276

14. Impacts of Kangsabati Project, India

    • R. P. Saxena

    Pages 277-298

15. Regional and National Impacts of the Bhakra-Nangal Project, India

    • R. Rangachari

    Pages 299-327

16. Impacts of Koyna Dam, India

    • C. D. Thatte

    Pages 329-356

17. Resettlement and Rehabilitation: Lessons from India

    • Mukuteswara Gopalakrishnan

    Pages 357-378

18. Impacts of the High Aswan Dam

    • Asit K. Biswas, Cecilia Tortajada

    Pages 379-395

19. Back Matter

    Pages 397-407

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One of the most controversial issues of the water sector in recent years has been the impacts of large dams. Proponents have claimed that such structures are essential to meet the increasing water demands of the world and that their overall societal benefits far outweight the costs. In contrast, the opponents claim that social and environmental costs of large dams far exceed their benefits, and that the era of construction of large dams is over. A major reason as to why there is no consensus on the overall benefits of large dams is because objective, authoritative and comprehensive evaluations of their impacts, especially ten or more years after their construction, are conspicuous by their absence. This book debates impartially, comprehensively and objectively, the positive and negative impacts of large dams based on facts, figures and authoritative analyses. These in-depth case studies are expected to promote a healthy and balanced debate on the needs, impacts and relevance of large dams, with case studies from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America.

• Large dams
• environmental impacts
• regional development
• social impacts
• water management
• landscape/regional and urban planning
• ecotoxicology
• water quality and water pollution

• Third World Centre for Water Management, Los Clubes, Atizapan, Mexico

  Cecilia Tortajada, Asit K. Biswas

• Fac. Engineering, Dept. Civil Engineering, Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey

  Dogan Altinbilek

Dr. Cecilia Tortajada is the Scientific Director of the International Centre on Water and Environment (CIAMA), Zaragoza, Spain; Visiting Professor of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore; and Vice-president of the Third World Centre for Water Management in Mexico. She is the immediate Past President of the International Water Resources Association (2007-2009). She is also Editor of the International Journal of Water Resources Development and Associate Editor of Water International.

 

Dr. Dogan Altinbilek is Professor of Civil Engineering at the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey. He is a former Director General of the Turkish State Hydraulic Works (DSI). Currently, he is a Governor and Bureau Member of World Water Council. He is also Executive Board Member and former President of the International Hydropower Association.

Prof. Asit K. Biswas is the President of the Third World Centre for Water Management, a leading international think tank on global water issues, and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore. One of the world´s leading authorities on water resources management, he is a founder of the International Water Resources Association and the World Water Council, and was a member of the World Commission on Water. He is author of more than 70 books and his work has now been translated into 33 languages.