Dams and Development: A new framework for decision-making

This paper is a summary of the final report produced by the World Commission on Dams (WCD), which is the product of over two years of intense study on all aspects of dams by the WCD, the WCD stakeholders’ forum, and hundreds of individual experts. Providing a comprehensive, global review of dams’ performance and contribution to development, the WCD report is relevant to everyone working with or concerned with dams. Building on an anaysis of how and why dams succeed or fail to meet development objectives, the report addresses key issues at the heart of the debate on dams, and recommends fundamental changes in the manner in which water development options are assessed and project cycles are planned, implemented, and monitored.