Irrigated agriculture and flood control—do large dams contribute significantly for irrigated agriculture?
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2005
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 30 KB
- Volume
- 54
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1531-0353
- DOI
- 10.1002/ird.161
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✦ Synopsis
One of the most controversial issues of the water sector in recent years has been the impact of large dams. Proponents of large dams have claimed that such structures are essential to meet the increasing water demands of the world, and that their overall societal benefits far outweigh the costs. In contrast, critics claim that social and environmental costs of large dams far exceed their benefits, and that the era of construction of large dams is over. The World Commission on Dams addressed these complex issues, but its report did not satisfy many countries and water professionals and institutions. ICID brought out a position paper on its stand during 2000 when it was leading the debate. Subsequently, Task Force 5 addressed comprehensively the aspect of ''Promoting Appropriate Decision-making Procedures for New Dams, particularly for Irrigation, Drainage and Flood Management'' (see report in ICID website: www.icid.org).
One of the major reasons for the lack of consensus on the overall benefits of large dams was because objective, authoritative and comprehensive evaluations of their impacts (especially after some years after their construction) were unavailable. Controversy over their appropriateness has continued. To overcome this deficiency, some creditworthy efforts were made as seen in the report of an Istanbul workshop, below.