For World Water Day 2014, IWMI Director General Jeremy Bird reflects on the interconnectedness of water and energy and how IWMI’s research can help policymakers sustainably manage supplies of both.
Should we build more large dams?
A new report on the effectiveness of large dams has prompted the Agriculture and Ecosystems blog on World Water Day to ask five leading global experts, including Kim Geheb, Coordinator of the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems in the Mekong, and IWMI Director General Jeremy Bird if dam building has a bright future…
Read the full story: Should we build more large dams?
Is benefit sharing working in Nepal?
Efforts to share the benefits of hydropower development in Nepal could be compounding inequality in the country instead of tackling it, according to research from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).
One of the most water-abundant countries in the world, with vast areas of hills and mountains, Nepal has been the focus of hydropower development for decades.
But the local costs of hydropower projects can be significant. They can mean the displacement of farming communities to clear the way for dams or reservoirs, and disruptions to local hydrology and ecosystems. Meanwhile, the benefits – the production of electricity, primarily – accrue elsewhere, in relatively wealthy urban and peri-urban areas that enjoy access to the national grid.
In an attempt to address the mismatch, in the early 2000s, Nepal introduced a law to plough a portion of the revenues from taxes levied on hydropower companies back to the areas where their installations are located. Each year, this money is paid as a royalty to district offices and the larger ‘development regions’ in which they reside.
Read the full story: Hydropower to the people
