Table Of Content

CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR THIS BOOK 'If you want to read a truly dazzling book on Big Dams, drop mine and read this.' ARUNDHATI ROY, Booker Prizewinning author of The God of Small Things Silenced Rivers will provide strength and support to anti-dam people's movements the world over.' MEDHA PATKAR, Save the Narmada Movement, India 'Its all here. The power and the glory, the money and the lies, the fear, the broken dreams, the inescapable geological, financial and ecological realities.. You need a good book on dams. Here it is.' TOM ATHANASIOU, author of Divided Planet Superlative _ enormously instructive information for those seeking to learn about the astonishing array of impacts caused by damming rivers. Required reading for all politicians and a prime text for engineering schools.' BRENT BLACKWELDER, President of Friends of the Earth USA The best-researched, best-written account ever of what we have done to our rivers. McCully lays it all out - the tragedy, the waste, the vain- glory, and the profits.' CATHERINE CAUFIELD, author of In the Rainforest 'McCully graphically enumerates what errors have been perpetrated; now it is up to dam proponents to learn from this warning and strive for sustainability.' ROBERT GOODLAND, World Bank Environment Department This is the most thorough and devastating critique of the global dam- building industry that I know. Impressively documented and argued with tough-minded passion, it shows convincingly how the conquest of nature is an outmoded and dangerous idea.' DONALD WORSTER, Hall Distinguished Professor of American History, University of Kansas 'This book has brilliantly consolidated all the scientific, environmental, social and economic evidence, proving clearly the non-viability and non- sustainability of large dams. Those of us struggling against such dams in Third World countries desperately need this book.' NALNI JAYAL, Secretary of the Himalaya Trust, Dehra Dun, India A fantastic work. Provides the most comprehensive case against large dams. All the arguments used to justify large dams are analysed and demolished. A great scholarly work accessible to all. One wonders how the building of a large dam can ever be regarded as rational from now on.' GAUTAM APPA, London School of Economics A wide-ranging definitive study that is long overdue. This book contains a powerful plea for the world to adopt a sane and restrained river policy for the next century.' STEWART L. UDALL, US Secretary of the Interior, 1960- 68 The best analysis yet of the political economy of dam building., brings together a wealth of new information to lay bare the networks of power that have led to dams being built at the expense of people and the environment - and to document the rising tide of resistance to the dam-building industry.' NICHOLAS HILDYARD and EDWARD GOLDSMITH, authors of The Social and Environmental Effects of Large Dams 'Patrick McCully has captured the legacy of man's bad judgement on the control of rivers and the resulting loss of ecosystem diversity, environmental health and biodiversity. This book should be required reading for all those who think that control of rivers is the solution to man's problems.' DAVE WEGNER, US Department of the Interior, Glen Canyon Environmental Studies ABOUT THE AUTHOR PATRICK MCCULLY is Campaigns Director of the International Rivers Network, an environment and human rights organization based in Berkeley, California. He is co-author of two books: Imperilled Planet (1990) and The Road to Rio: An NGO Action Guide to the Earth Summit (1992). S I L E N C ED RIVERS The Ecology and Politics of Large Dams Enlarged and Updated Edition PATRICK McCULLY © ZED BOOKS London & New York Silenced Rivers: The Ecology and Politics of Large Dams: Enlarged and Updated Edition was first published in 2001 by Zed Books Ltd. 7 Cynthia Street. London N1 9JF, UK, and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York. NY 10010. USA. in association with the International Rivers Network (IRN), 1847 Berkeley Way. Berkeley, California 94703, USA, and The Ecologisi, 18 Chelsea Wharf, Lots Road, London SW10 0QJ. Distributed in the USA exclusively by Palgrave, a division of St Martin's Press, LLC. 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA Copyright © Patrick McCully 2001 The moral rights of the author of this work have been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright. Designs and Patents Act, 1988 Cover designed by Andrew Corbett Typeset in Monotype Garamond by Illuminati, Grosmont All rights reserved A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library US CIP data is available from the Library of Congress ISBN 1 85649 901 4 Hb ISBN 1 85649 902 2 Pb Transferred to Digital Printing 2007 Contents Acknowledgements viii Glossary x Introduction to the Updated Edition A New Order for Rivers and Society: The World Commission on Dams, and Beyond xv The Prehistory of the World Commission on Dams xix Conspiracies and Consultations xxiii Findings xxvi Dirty Reservoirs: Greenhouse Gas Emitting Dams xxxii A Changing Climate for Dams xxxvii The Century of the Small: Alternatives to Dams xxxvili Bringing the Harvest Home xl We ve Got the Power xliii Recommendations I Reactions li Changing the World, Dam by Dam liv The Rise of the Dam Decommissioning Movement Ixi The Power and the Water 1 A Short History of Rivers 8 Dams: What They Are and What They Do 11 A Short History of Damming 12 The End of the Big Dam Era? 23 Rivers No More: The Environmental Effects of Dams 29 Flooding for Posterity 32 Dams and Geology: Morphological Effects 33 Dirty Dams: Effects on Water Quality 36 They Shall Not Pass: Dams and Migratory Fish 41 Foil'd Wanderers: Hydrological Effects 43 The Mitigation Game 49 The EIA Industry 54 3 Temples of Doom: The Human Consequences of Dams 65 Dammed Lies and Statistics 66 The Final Blow: Dams and Indigenous People 70 Waiting for the Dam 72 After the Deluge 76 The Failure of Resettlement Policies 82 Dams and Disease 86 4 When Things Fall Apart: The Technical Failures of Large Dams 101 Not on Solid Ground: Dams and Geology 102 Political Hydrology 104 Mud against Dams: Sedimentation 107 Reservoir-Induced Seismicity: Dams that Cause the Earth to Move 112 Iron Dams and Corpses: Dam Safety 115 Getting Old: Dam Ageing and Decommissioning 125 5 Empty Promises: The Elusive Benefits of Large Dams 133 Generating Risk and Debt: Hydropower 134 Dams to the Rescue? Hydro and Global Warming 141 The Great Illusion: Flood Control 146 Too Much to Drink: Dams and Public Water Supply 148 Blocking the Passage: Dams and River Transport 151 The One that Got Away: Reservoir Fisheries 153 All the Fun of the Reservoir: Dams and Recreation 155 6 Paradise Lost: Dams and Irrigation 164 Killing the Land: Irrigation and Soil Degradation 168 The Social Effects of Large-Scale Irrigation 172 The Technical and Economic Failure of Large-Scale Irrigation 179 7 The Wise Use of Watersheds 188 Managing the Land to Manage the Water 189 Flood Management 192 Farming Drylands without Large Dams 194 Going Underground 199 Traditional Diversions 202 Modern Irrigation: Back to the Future 205 Fix the Pipe, Spare the River 208 8 Energy: Revolution or Catastrophe? 217 The Renewables Are Coming 222 Bringing Hydro Down to Size 227 Storming the Palace Gates 232 9 Industry Applies, Man Conforms: The Political Economy of Damming 236 The Ideology of Dams 237 Dams and Domination 241 Dams and Pork 242 Technocrats without a Cause: Dam-Building Bureaucracies 243 A Vibrant Corps? Dam-Building Companies 247 The Ties that Bind: Dependent Industries 254 Those Who Pay the Piper: Dams and 'Aid' 255 Incomprehension and Intimidation: The Dam Builders' Reply 263 Nemesis: The Economics of Large Dams 269 10 We Will Not Move: The International Anti-Dam Movement 281 Aesthetics and Taxes: Dam Fights In the US 282 Arrests and Restoration in the Tasmanian Wilderness 287 Eastern Europe: Fight the Dams, Fight the System 289 Warriors and Workers Fight Back: Brazil 292 Struggle Over the River Kwai: Thailand 296 Clinging to the Land: Resistance to Dams in India 299 Dam Fighting on a Global Scale 306 Afterword: From the Dam to the Watershed 312 Appendix 1: The San Francisco and Watershed Management Declarations 313 Appendix 2: Manibeli Declaration 316 Appendix 3: Dams Involving Forced Resettlement 321 Appendix 4: Declaration of Curitiba 343 Contact Addresses 347 Index 349 Acknowledgements This book would not have been written - or if written would have been far inferior - were it not for the help and encouragement of a multitude of people and organizations. Edward Goldsmith and Nicholas Hildyard intro- duced me to the problems with large dams, advocated that I update their book on dams, and then supported my decision to write my own book, which, although not an updated version of theirs, would not have been possible had theirs not been written first. The inspiration to write Silenced Rivers came fro m the unshakeable commitment and integrity of the Narmada Bachao Andolan and the deceitfulness of the backers and builders of the Sardar Sarovar Dam. Financial support came from the Goldsmith Founda- tion, the Foundation for Deep Ecology and International Rivers Network. Owen Lammers, Executive Director of IRN, and the rest of IRN's staff and board (in particular Juliette Majot, Petra Yee, Elizabeth Hennin, Glenn Switkes and Rani Derasary), also provided vital encouragement, support, faith and patience, as well as an office base and logistical support. Robert Molteno of Zed Books also supplied large quantities of support, faith and patience. Aleta Brown of IRN was an invaluable, good-humoured and diligent re- searcher, assistant and reviewer. Demon editor Lori Pottinger of IRN bullied and shamed me into making huge improvements to my first drafts. Numerous people gave invaluable help by reviewing my draft chapters and giving me comments and corrections. Special mention must go to David Wegner of the Bureau of Reclamation's Glen Canyon Environmental Studies Program who sent me extensive and perceptive comments. Philip Williams, President of IRN and of Philip Williams & Associates, also reviewed my drafts and gave me invaluable advice on technical matters as well as moral support. Robert Goodland, Environmental Adviser at the World Bank, and Thayer Scudder, Professor of Anthropology at the California Institute of Technology, were also critical and patient reviewers. Author Thomas Athan- asiou, Michael Goldman and Leonard Sklar of the University of California viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix at Berkeley, Janos Vargha of Hungary's Danube Circle, Brent Blackwelder of Friends of the Earth US, Grainne Ryder of Probe International in Canada, Himanshu Thakker of the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environ- ment, Shripad Dharmadhikary and Medha Patkar of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, and Maria Clara Soares of the Brazilian Institute for Social and Economic Analysis also gave comments on some of my draft chapters. IRN interns Elizabeth Carpino, Colette Mercier and Davor Orsic gave me research help, as did Peter Worster of the Mono Lake Committee. Numerous others sent me comments and/or information, encouraged and supported me, answered my questions or helped me write this book in some other way. These include Gautam Appa (London School of Economics), Peter Bosshard (Berne Declaration, Switzerland), Margaret Bowman (Hydro- power Reform Coalition, USA), Catherine Caufield, Michael Cernea (World Bank), Pratap Chatterjee (Inter-Press Service), Andrew N. Cohen, Philip Fearnside (National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus), Giancarlo Di Giambattista (Ontario Hydro), Youssef Halim (Department of Oceanog- raphy, Alexandria University), Erik Hoines (FIVAS, Norway), Rita Kassai (Office of Edward Goldsmith), Adam, Simon and Rebecca McKee (Ballydoo Farm), Francesco Martone (Campagna per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale), Sarah Mason, Lyla Mehta (Institute of Development Studies, UK), Deborah Moore (Environmental Defense Fund, California), Wendy Rees (Quaker Peace and Service, London), David Rosenberg (Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Manitoba), Steve Rothert (Hydropower Reform Coalition, USA), Anthony Oliver-Smith (Department of Anthropology. University of Florida), Michael Rozengurt (Orange County Sanitation District, California), Heffa Schucking (Urgewald, Germany), Bina Srinivasan (Swashraya. Gujarat), Nantiya Tangwisutijit (The Nation, Bangkok), John Thibodeau (Probe Inter- national, Toronto), Lori Udall, Stewart L. Udall, and Ann Daniya Usher. To all the others who helped me and who I have forgotten to mention, I thank you and apologize. None of the above bears any responsibility for any positions advocated or factual errors in this book. Last but very decidedly not least, I must acknowledge and thank the support, patience, understanding, ideas, criticisms and edits of Angela Gennino. Several people deserve thanks for comments and advice on the new intro- ductory chapter: Philip Raphals (Helios Institute, Montreal) and Philip Fearnside (INPA, Manaus) for helping me get to grips with the latest devel- opments in the complex issue of reservoir greenhouse gas emissions; Peter Bosshard, Shripad Dharmadhikary, Sarah Bardeen, Benjamin McKee, Goran Ek and Nicholas Hildyard for their perceptive comments on a draft; Lori Pottinger, IRNs terrifying editor, for ruthless editing; Susanne Wong, Cassidy Teufel, Gila Neta and Himanshu Thakker for number-crunching and research assistance; and Juliette Majot, Executive Director of IRN, for supporting me taking the time to write this and for advice and editing. Glossary ACRE-FOOT: amount of water it takes to cover one acre to a depth of one foot (325,900 gallons or 1,233 cubic metres). ABUTMENT: part of valley side against which dam is constructed. AGGRADATION: raising of riverbed due to SEDIMENT deposition. AGROFORESTRY: farming system in which the growing of trees and shrubs is integrated with production of other crops and/or animal husbandry. ALLUVIUM: sediments transported by a river and deposited on its bed and floodplain. ANADROMOUS FISH: fish born in fresh water that spend most of their life In the ocean and then ascend rivers to spawn. AQUIFER: geological formation of high porosity and high permeability that yields significant quantities of GROUNDWATER. ARCH DAM: concrete or masonry dam which is curved upstream so as to transmit the major part of the weight of the water to the ABUTMENTS. ARMOURED RIVERBED: riverbed from which easily removable sediment has been eroded, leaving a surface of cobbles or boulders. BARRAGE: RUN-OF-RIVER DAM, usually built across the lower reaches of a river and used to divert water for irrigation. BASIN IRRIGATION: technique where fields are irrigated by trapping floodwaters behind embankments or In depressions. BENTHIC: pertaining to the bottom of a body of water. BUREC: US Bureau of Reclamation - agency within the US Department of Interior responsible for managing federal irrigation schemes in the western US. CANAL IRRIGATION: irrigation with water supplied via canal, usually having been diverted from regulated river or reservoir. CATCHMENT: see WATERSHED. COFFER-DAM: temporary dam built to keep riverbed dry to allow construction of permanent dam or other Infrastructure. x