ABSTRACT
The World Commission on Dams has improved our awareness of some of the more important issues surrounding dams in the 21st Century. For too long there have been fierce battles between the advocates of dams and those opposed to them. Nelson Mandela described with a heart-rending simplicity during the launch of the WCD report last year the simple need that people have for light and warmth to allow them and society to develop. Through the organised environmental groups, society continues to demonstrate its will over the environmental, cultural and sociological issues in the construction and operation of dams and their appurtenant structures. On the other hand, the technical issues lie in a kind of no man’s land: the protesters appear to do little more than demand more exhaustive studies of alternative solutions while the technical specialists have found it difficult to communicate well outside their field of excellence.
