International Hydropower
Association Reveals “Good Practice” Guide for (Damming) Protected Areas

It looks like the hydropower
industry is getting on nerves of the big international NGOs (BINGOs) who have “cooperated”
with the IHA for a decade in common search for “sustainable hydropower”.
And there was a good reason for that at a webinar held on September 21 by the
industry association to present its historic commitments.

The new “historic commitment”
taken on by the industry promises to spare from dam-building only World
Heritage but continue to dam protected areas and remaining free-flowing rivers
(in a sustainable manner). Commitment born after …

Yebatan Hydro under construction

(Full Contents of Hydropower Policy BRIef here)

Unfortunately, modest development of greenfield hydropower in 2020 again came at the cost of destruction of irreplaceable natural areas and suffering of local communities in countries where those dams have been built. It also often exacerbated transboundary tensions, fuelled corruption and economic crisis. Using the River without Boundaries database we examined for which countries championing in 2020 we can present recent evidence of persistent generic problems in hydropower development policies and practices.

Table 3. Hydropower related problems in 2020 hydropower …

Over 290 organizations from 69 countries call on governments to not use climate funding for so-called “sustainable” hydropower schemes

September 21, 2021

Glasgow,
Scotland—Over 290 organizations from 69 countries
today launched a Rivers for Climate Global Declaration
calling on governments and leaders attending COP26 to protect river ecosystems
and stop using scarce climate funds to finance false climate solutions such as
hydropower. Representing the views of civil society, peoples movements,
Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, scientists, and conservationists, the
declaration called out the proliferation schemes being peddled under an
erroneous pretense of sustainability. 

“Hydropower is not clean energy. We’re at an
unprecedented moment …

(Full Contents of Hydropower Policy BRIef here)

Our analysis for 2020 is based on two annual reports: “Renewable Capacity Statistics 2021”[1] by IRENA and “Status of Hydropower Report” by the International Hydropower Association (IHA). We reviewed data on the countries adding more than 100 MW, according to at least one of two reports (Table 1). For either IRENA or IHA version our review covers 90% of capacity installed in 2020.

Table 1. Countries installed more than 100 MW hydropower in 2020 (“Hydropower
Champions”)

Notes: “A” marks
difference between IRENA and IHA data. …

Dedicated to the 2021 World Hydropower Congress, this Brief provides a review of hydropower development in 2020 and rich statistics on hydropower in the 21 century. It notes a modest role of hydropower in renewable energy (RE) revolution, global decline in annual hydropower expansion for the last 7 years. Section contains a brief account of relative advantages and disadvantages of hydropower as a part of “sustainable development”. It further assesses national policy environment for current hydropower development in dam-developing countries, exploring violations of internationally recognized ESG standards and safeguards. The …

A Cannibal Tasked with Writing “Responsible Eating Guidelines” Faces Natural Difficulties…

It has been almost two weeks since the International Hydropower Association (IHA) announced its “historic commitment” not to build dams inside the World Heritage areas. It became about the last in the long line of industries who have been convinced by the World Heritage Center to declare such a commitment. In the explanatory FAQ document the IHA even says that when creating dams in the same basins but outside World Heritage “the focus should be on avoiding and …