The problem and its consequences

Major projects

The world bank and dam projects.

With growing environmental awareness, increased attention has been focused on dams and their associated water resources projects. This paper explores the relation between dams and the environment - both the effect of dams on the environment, and the effect of the environment on dams - and the economic analysis of these effects. Dams are large social investments which have many associated environmental and social effects, some of which are benefits but more of which are likely to be costs. The economic analysis of dams must include all associated benefits and costs, both direct and indirect, both in assessing the proposed project and in evaluating alternatives. Consideration is given to environmental effects that occur upstream, on-site, and downstream and techniques of economic analysis that can be used to value environmental effects in monetary terms. Samples of actual and proposed dam projects are examined to see what can be learned from completed projects and what are the environmental issues associated with several proposed dams

In English

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