Mountains of Concrete - International Rivers

The impact on this ecologically sensitive area is a questionthat remains to be answered. Indeed, it has hardly been asked.(For a map showing the “Chicken’s neck,” see Box 6)Greenhouse Gas EmissionsHydropower is often portrayed as an important weaponin the fight against climate change, claiming that itproduces very small amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions. 110 However, it is now recognised that big damscan be significant sources of GHGs, including methane.The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change’s(IPCC) “Technical Report on Climate Change and Water”notes that “Hydrodams are a source of renewable energy.Nevertheless, they produce greenhouse gas emissionsthemselves. The magnitude of these emissions depends onspecific circumstance and mode of operation.” 111Calculations carried out by Himanshu Thakkar ofSANDRP based on a study by Ivan Lima and colleaguesfrom Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE)show that the methane emissions from Indian big damscontribute 18.7% of the total GHG emissions in India. 112This means that the claim that hydropower is climatefriendly is a myth.Although the net emissions from a dam depend onseveral site and design specific factors – and therefore need tobe estimated on a case by case basis – this is not being donefor most of the projects under construction and planning.Disastrous Track RecordWhile the social and environmental impacts of the proposeddams are likely to be severe, the record of these countries ofassessing, avoiding, mitigating or compensating for past bigdam projects does not inspire confidence.In Pakistan, the refugees of Tarbela Dam were notresettled or compensated properly, even several decades afterthe dam was completed. 113 The oustees from Bhakra Damin India, displaced in the late 1940s and early 1950s, arestill fighting for proper rehabilitation. Indeed, the WorldCommission on Dams (WCD) notes that in India, over 75%of people displaced by big dams have not been rehabilitatedand are impoverished. 114The record on the environmental front is no better.EIAs and other assessments for individual projects are oftenof poor quality, and cumulative impact assessments of severalprojects taken together are virtually absent. There is littleBox 6The red circle shows the “chicken’s neck” throughwhich all power from Bhutan and northeastern Indiawill be transmitted to rest of the country.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d8/Chickensneckindia.jpgattempt at planning projects in such a way as to avoid orminimise displacement and environmental impacts. Socialand environmental criteria are minimally considered indecision making and planning processes related to damprojects.In India, even the limited and flawed safeguards offeredby the environmental clearance procedure have now beendiluted through recent changes. The EIA Notification ofSeptember 2006 puts enormous discretion in the hands ofauthorities; they can now do away with a public hearingthat was earlier mandatory. The right of participation in thehearing has also been restricted to “local people.”The continuing absence of proper safeguards and theexclusion of social and environmental criteria from thedecision making process mean that current and proposeddams are likely to create massive social and environmentaldisruptions.M o u n ta i n s o f C o n c r e t e : D a m B u i l d i n g i n t h e H i m a l aya s | 2 9