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dam-l World Commission on Dams Update No. 4



Dear Colleague,

Attached is the fourth issue (plain text version) of the Large Dams   
Review Update, an occasional briefing of the IUCN-World Bank Interim   
Working Group (IWG) on Large Dams.  This issue describes the progress of   
the Interim Working Groups since October 1997 to establish the World   
Commission on Dams.  Since October 1997 the IWG held an unscheduled   
fourth meeting in January in Cape Town, South Africa to discuss the   
composition of the Commission.  The Commission was launched in Cape Town   
on February 16th, and the 11 Commissioners in addition to Kader Asmal,   
the chair, were announced. For those that did not receive it, the third   
issue is also attached. Additional information about the evolution of the   
Commission is available on our web site:
http://iucn.org/themes/wcd/


If you would like us to remove you from our distribution list, please   
contact us (dams@iucnus.org).  Otherwise, we will assume that you would   
like to continue to receive updates of the Interim Working Group's   
progress.  Please accept our apologies if you have already received an   
electronic copy of the update.

Kindest Regards,

Derek Stanfill
Database Manager
Interim Secretariat
World Commission on Dams
*********************************

LARGE DAMS REVIEW UPDATE
A Briefing of the Interim Working Group of the IUCN/World Bank Joint   
Initiative on Large Dams

Issue No. 4, 8 April 1998
__________________________________________________________________________  
______________

This is the fourth edition of the Large Dams Review Update, an occasional   
briefing of the Interim Working Group Secretariat for the World   
Bank/IUCN-The World Conservation Union joint initiative on large dams. In   
April 1997 IUCN and the World Bank jointly hosted a two day workshop in   
Gland, Switzerland, which concluded that it was important to establish an   
international commission with a two year mandate to review the   
development effectiveness of large dams and their alternatives, and to   
develop standards, criteria, and guidelines to advise future decision   
making. An Interim Working Group, established by the workshop   
participants, has been working since June 1997 to facilitate the   
establishment of the Commission.


SELECTION OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The Chair of the WCD, Professor Kader Asmal, has named Achim Steiner to   
be the Secretary-General of the recently launched Commission.  Steiner,   
an experienced official of the German technical assistance agency, GTZ,   
is currently serving as Chief Technical Advisor to the Mekong River   
Commission in Southeast Asia.  Asmal stated that Steiner would be   
launching the Secretariat by the end of April.

The World Commission on Dams, a distinguished panel named in early 1998   
to review the development experience of dams and their alternatives, and   
then to recommend standards for the water and power sectors, is the   
product of an unprecedented partnership between the opponents and   
advocates of large dams.  The major controversies of the last decade over   
particular dam projects have virtually brought the industry to a   
standstill.

The momentum to establish the Commission was launched in early 1997 by   
the heads of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, and the World Conservation   
Union - IUCN, David McDowell, in order to create an objective and   
influential body to review the record and come up with advice for all the   
participants in the impasse over dams.

Steiner will oversee a work program for the next two years from the   
headquarters of the Commission in Cape Town, South Africa, where Asmal   
also serves as the Minister for Water Affairs and Forestry.  Steiner   
reports to Asmal and a Commission of eleven members, whose names were   
provided in Large Dams Review Update No. 3.  Their consensus report is   
due to be presented publicly in June 2000.

In addition to his background with GTZ in a range of technical and policy   
capacities in Pakistan and the headquarters in Germany, Steiner worked   
with the World Conservation Union as Senior Policy Advisor in Washington,   
DC, as the Programme Coordinator in southern Africa, and as the first   
coordinator for the WCD initiative in 1997.  He was educated in Brazil   
and Germany, and obtained his university and postgraduate education in   
Oxford, London, Berlin and Harvard.




FIRST MEETING OF THE COMMISSION

On May 22-23, 1998 the World Commission on Dams will be hold its first   
meeting in Washington, D.C.  The Members of the Commission will discuss   
and adopt a work plan for the two-year life of the Commission, and   
develop a process for full stakeholder involvement in the work of the   
Commission and the Secretariat.

For more information about the
World Commission on Dams
please contact:
Interim Secretariat
IUCN-The World Conservation Union
1400 16th Street, NW, Suite 502
Washington, DC  20036, USA
Tel: (202) 797-5454
Fax: (202) 797-5461
Email: dams@iucnus.org
http://iucn.org/themes/wcd/


LARGE DAMS REVIEW UPDATE

A Briefing of the Interim Working Group of the IUCN/World Bank Joint   
Initiative on Large Dams

Issue No. 3
February 18, 1998

This is the third edition of the Large Dams Review Update, an occasional   
briefing of the Interim Working Group Secretariat for the World   
Bank/IUCN-The World Conservation Union joint initiative on large dams. In   
April 1997 IUCN and the World Bank jointly hosted a two day workshop in   
Gland, Switzerland to discuss the findings of a World Bank internal   
review on large dams and the implications for a more in-depth study. The   
workshop participants represented a diverse group of interests from   
around the world, including private industry, the international financial   
institutions, and civil society organizations.

A major conclusion of the workshop was to establish an international   
commission with a two year mandate to review the development   
effectiveness of large dams and to develop standards, criteria, and   
guidelines to advise future decision making. An Interim Working Group,   
established by the workshop participants, has been working since June   
1997 to facilitate the establishment of the Commission.

In This Issue

Fourth Meeting of the IWG
Launch of the Commission
Preparatory Work of the Commission
Recruitment of the Secretary-General and Staff


FOURTH MEETING OF THE IUCN/WORLD BANK  INTERIM WORKING GROUP

The IUCN/World Bank Interim Working Group (IWG) held an unscheduled   
fourth meeting in Cape Town, South Africa on January 24-25.  Five members   
of the original group of workshop participants were invited to attend the   
IWG meeting to solicit their input into a final list of Commission   
members.  In Cape Town, the IWG addressed the criteria for the   
composition of the Commission and recommended a list of Commission   
members.

It was agreed that the Commission should be:

* composed of eminent persons with appropriate expertise and experience
* widely regarded as having integrity and being objective
* independent and representative of the diversity of perspectives   
including affected regions, communities and private and public sectors.

Based on these criteria, the IWG recommended the following list of   
Commissioners:

Professor Kader Asmal
Ministry of Water Affairs and Forestry
Republic of South Africa

Donald J. Blackmore
Chief Executive
Murray-Darling Basin Commission

Joji Carino
Executive Secretary
International Alliance of Indigenous-Tribal Peoples of the Tropical   
Forest

José Goldemberg
Professor
University of Sao Paulo

Judy Henderson
Chair
Oxfam International

Laxmi Chand Jain
High Commissioner to South Africa
Republic of India

Goran Lindahl
President and CEO
ABB Asea Brown Boveri, Ltd.

Deborah Moore
Senior Scientist
Environmental Defense Fund

Medha Patkar
Founder
Struggle to Save the Narmada River

Wolfgang Pircher
Honorary President
International Commission on Large Dams

Thayer Scudder
Professor of Anthropology
California Institute of Technology

Shen Guoyi
Director-General
Department of International Cooperation
Ministry of Water Resources
People's Republic of China

WCD Secretary-General, ex-officio

Participants in the Cape Town meeting agreed that these individuals would   
provide an appropriate balance and eminence for the Commission.   
 Professor Asmal announced his intention to propose L.C. Jain as   
Commission Vice Chair.  In early February, David McDowell, Director   
General of IUCN, and James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group,   
formally endorsed these individuals to serve as Commissioners.


LAUNCH OF THE COMMISSION

On February 16th the World Commission on Dams was formally launched in   
Cape Town, South Africa. The event included video-taped speeches by James   
Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, and David McDowell, Director   
General of IUCN.  Professor Kader Asmal publicly announced the  names of   
the Commission Members.


RECRUITMENT OF SECRETARY GENERAL & STAFF

The Chair is consulting widely on candidates for Secretary General, and   
will develop a short list for interviews in mid-March.  Following the   
selection of the Secretary General, the rest of the Secretariat's   
professional staff will be chosen.  Potential candidates for positions in   
the Secretariat should submit letters and C.V.'s to the Interim   
Secretariat as soon as possible.


PREPARATORY WORK OF THE COMMISSION

Prior to the first planned meeting of the Commission in May, the   
Commission members and the Secretariat will be developing options for the   
decisions on the work plan.  As envisioned, the Commission will be   
identifying the following over the next few months:

* possible case studies of dam and river basin management projects as   
well as national case studies
* possible topics for expert panels and resource groups
* possible areas for seminars, consultations and hearings
* an extended constituency to include private financiers, environmental   
scientists, and others not yet represented in the Reference Group.
* proposals for procedures to make the Commission work most efficiently   
and to make the Commission process as inclusive as possible.

The Secretariat will be working closely with Commission members to   
develop these options, but it also welcomes suggestions from the broader   
constituencies.  The Commission will come to the first meeting in May   
ready to decide on options, and to set the review of dams in motion   
immediately.  The work plan still calls for a two-year effort, with the   
final report due in June 2000
.
The issue of obtaining full funding for the Commission's budget of US$8.4   
million will require approaches to a range of donors (governments, the   
private sector, multilateral organisations, and foundations).  One-third   
of the total is already committed, with the remainder needed before June.


For more information about the
World Commission on Dams
please contact:

IWG Secretariat
IUCN-The World Conservation Union
Washington Office
1400 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC  20036, USA
Tel: (202) 797-5454
Fax: (202) 797-5461
Email: dams@iucnus.org
http://iucn.org/themes/wcd/



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