Mountains of Concrete - International Rivers

Responses of Civil Society andAffected People’s GroupsPakistan, Nepal and India all have a very active and vigilant civil society and media, though the intensity of their workrelated to big dams differs. (The same cannot be said for Bhutan.) In all three countries, there are organisationsof dam affected people, advocacy and research groups and others that have been raising important issues relatedto dams in the larger context of just and sustainable development. As a result, there is a rich critique of dams anddevelopment in these countries. There have been several attempts, especially in India, to locate a critique of big damsin the larger context of electricity and energy planning of the country.Dams are highly controversial and contentious and thedebate around them has often been polarising. There is avocal population in these countries who do support bigdams; this support is often expressed in the media. This viewequates dams with development and argues that dams arenecessary for meeting electricity needs. These argumentsare often presented as assertions and viable alternativesare overlooked. Social and environmental impacts areignored or categorized as the necessary price to be paid fordevelopment. Severe electricity shortages in these countriesreinforce the case for large dams in the public discourse.While all this has been replicated in the context of theHimalayan dams, these projects have also presented newissues and new challenges. Cultural issues have becomevery important. For example, several organizations ofaffected people are strongly protesting dams in Sikkimand Arunachal Pradesh in India on the issue of identityand culture. On June 12, 2008, the government of Sikkimannounced the scrapping of four projects – 90 MW Ringpi,33 MW Rukel, 120 MW Lingza and 141 MW Rangyongproject – in response to the struggle of the Affected Citizensof Teesta. 142Projects being built for exporting electricity fromNepal to India have prompted people to raise the issue ofrights to resources and to challenge the export of water andenergy resources when the country itself faces severe energyand electricity shortages.Some experts argue that the idea that Nepal has surpluselectricity to export to India is itself fallacious. It is a myopicvision that makes Nepal import oil and export electricity.If Nepal increasingly uses electricity for transportation,production processes and other uses, replacing oil, then notonly will Nepal become self-sufficient in energy but willnot have any surplus power to sell to India.Of course, this does not necessarily imply thatNepal should build big dams, for they have serious social,environmental and other impacts. The point made here isthat Nepal needs its energy sources for meeting its ownrequirements. The development of these sources shouldbe through small and medium projects, and based oncomprehensive assessments of all costs and benefits forchoosing the optimal solutions, as groups like WAFED, 143a national network of water and energy project affectedpeople and local concerned groups in Nepal, are demanding.Even in these projects, they are calling for the involvementof local people, making them partners and ensuring thatthey have first rights to benefit sharing. All of this should bein place before projects are considered.In general, civil society groups and affected peoplehave been raising several important issues and questions.Will these dams meet the energy needs of the countries,especially the needs of people without electricity access,the poor, the vulnerable? Are these dams the best or theoptimal solution? This is by no means established and is afundamental question being raised.Various groups are calling for assessments to understandthe full impacts of this massive dam building, especially thecumulative impacts. Some other key demands of civil societygroups and affected people include the incorporationof social and environmental impacts as equal criteria indecision-making, and making local people, especiallyaffected people, meaningful participants in the dam-relateddecision-making processes.One of the most interesting features of the region isthat such groups are forming links and networks acrossboundaries. This is an important recognition of the fact thatthe region is highly interconnected, both geographicallythrough its shared rivers, and culturally and socially throughthe many interactions between common citizens. Groupsfrom all the countries have expressed the desire to strengthensuch links and networks. This is very important for countrieslike Nepal and India, where the Indian government andIndian companies are building dams in Nepal for the exportof electricity to India. Ordinary citizens in Nepal oftenM 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 | 37