Author: Sanjeev Khagram
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501727397
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 287
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Book Description
Big dams built for irrigation, power, water supply, and other purposes were among the most potent symbols of economic development for much of the twentieth century. Of late they have become a lightning rod for challenges to this vision of development as something planned by elites with scant regard for environmental and social consequences—especially for the populations that are displaced as their homelands are flooded. In this book, Sanjeev Khagram traces changes in our ideas of what constitutes appropriate development through the shifting transnational dynamics of big dam construction. Khagram tells the story of a growing, but contentious, world society that features novel and increasingly efficacious norms of appropriate behavior in such areas as human rights and environmental protection. The transnational coalitions and networks led by nongovernmental groups that espouse such norms may seem weak in comparison with states, corporations, and such international agencies as the World Bank. Yet they became progressively more effective at altering the policies and practices of these historically more powerful actors and organizations from the 1970s on. Khagram develops these claims in a detailed ethnographic account of the transnational struggles around the Narmada River Valley Dam Projects in central India, a huge complex of thirty large and more than three thousand small dams. He offers further substantiation through a comparative historical analysis of the political economy of big dam projects in India, Brazil, South Africa, and China as well as by examining the changing behavior of international agencies and global companies. The author concludes with a discussion of the World Commission on Dams, an innovative attempt in the late 1990s to generate new norms among conflicting stakeholders.
Author: Arun Kumar Nayak
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788131607800
Category : Dams
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
This book discusses dams and the dynamics of development. Dams as a project of development were pioneered by the US in the 1930s, and the success of Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) model was replicated all over the world soon after the end of the Second World War. Almost all the rivers of developing countries were engineered and various dams and Multipurpose River Valley Development (MPRVD) plans were implemented on almost all the big rivers of the world, including India. However, many of these projects have failed to fulfill their intended objectives. Thus, this raises the question of the rationality of TVA and its execution in other parts of the world. Viewing these facts, this book argues that the MPRVD scheme was inextricably linked to the political economy of decolonization and nationalism rather than development. The integrated river basin management in India was largely promoted by many scientists, engineers, and statesmen, inspired by the United States. The book vividly describes the account of MPRVD on river Mahanadi (Hirakud Dam). Empirical scrutiny has shown that none of the objectives of the dam were fulfiled, even after fifty years of its completion. [Subject: Development Studies, Water Management]
Author: Bryan Tilt
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 023153826X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 281
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Book Description
China is home to half of the world's large dams and adds dozens more each year. The benefits are considerable: dams deliver hydropower, provide reliable irrigation water, protect people and farmland against flooding, and produce hydroelectricity in a nation with a seeimingly insatiable appetite for energy. As hydropower responds to a larger share of energy demand, dams may also help to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, welcome news in a country where air and water pollution have become dire and greenhouse gas emissions are the highest in the world. Yet the advantages of dams come at a high cost for river ecosystems and for the social and economic well-being of local people, who face displacement and farmland loss. This book examines the array of water-management decisions faced by Chinese leaders and their consequences for local communities. Focusing on the southwestern province of Yunnan—a major hub for hydropower development in China—which encompasses one of the world's most biodiverse temperate ecosystems and one of China's most ethnically and culturally rich regions, Bryan Tilt takes the reader from the halls of decision-making power in Beijing to Yunnan's rural villages. In the process, he examines the contrasting values of government agencies, hydropower corporations, NGOs, and local communities and explores how these values are linked to longstanding cultural norms about what is right, proper, and just. He also considers the various strategies these groups use to influence water-resource policy, including advocacy, petitioning, and public protest. Drawing on a decade of research, he offers his insights on whether the world's most populous nation will adopt greater transparency, increased scientific collaboration, and broader public participation as it continues to grow economically.
Author: Arundhati Roy
Publisher: India Book Distributors (Bombay)
ISBN:
Category : Dams
Languages : en
Pages : 96
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Book Description
Article on Sardar Sarovar (Narmada) Project.
Author: World Commission on Dams
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134898053
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 834
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Book Description
By the year 2000, the world had built more than 45,000 large dams to irrigate crops, generate power, control floods in wet times and store water in dry times. Yet, in the last century, large dams also disrupted the ecology of half the world's rivers, displaced tens of millions of people from their homes and left nations burdened with debt. Their impacts have inevitably generated growing controversy and conflicts. Resolving their role in meeting water and energy needs is vital for the future and illustrates the complex development challenges that face our societies. The Report of the World Commission on Dams: - is the product of an unprecedented global public policy effort to bring governments, the private sector and civil society together in one process - provides the first comprehensive global and independent review of the performance and impacts of dams - presents a new framework for water and energy resources development - develops an agenda of seven strategic priorities with corresponding criteria and guidelines for future decision-making. Challenging our assumptions, the Commission sets before us the hard, rigorous and clear-eyed evidence of exactly why nations decide to build dams and how dams can affect human, plant and animal life, for better or for worse. Dams and Development: A New Framework for Decision-Making is vital reading on the future of dams as well as the changing development context where new voices, choices and options leave little room for a business-as-usual scenario.
Author: Thayer Ted Scudder
Publisher: Earthscan
ISBN: 1849773904
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 407
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Book Description
Viewed by some as symbols of progress and by others as inherently flawed, large dams remain one of the most contentious development issues on Earth. Building on the work of the now defunct World Commission on Dams, Thayer Scudder wades into the debate with unprecedented authority.Employing the Commission's Seven Strategic priorities, Scudder charts the 'middle way' forward by examining the impacts of large dams on ecosystems, societies and political economies. He also analyses the structure of the decision-making process for water resource development and tackles the highly contentious issue of dam-induced resettlement, illuminated by a statistical analysis of 50 cases.
Author: World Commission on Dams
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134897987
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 447
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Book Description
By the year 2000, the world had built more than 45,000 large dams to irrigate crops, generate power, control floods in wet times and store water in dry times. Yet, in the last century, large dams also disrupted the ecology of half the world's rivers, displaced tens of millions of people from their homes and left nations burdened with debt. Their impacts have inevitably generated growing controversy and conflicts. Resolving their role in meeting water and energy needs is vital for the future and illustrates the complex development challenges that face our societies. The Report of the World Commission on Dams: - is the product of an unprecedented global public policy effort to bring governments, the private sector and civil society together in one process - provides the first comprehensive global and independent review of the performance and impacts of dams - presents a new framework for water and energy resources development - develops an agenda of seven strategic priorities with corresponding criteria and guidelines for future decision-making. Challenging our assumptions, the Commission sets before us the hard, rigorous and clear-eyed evidence of exactly why nations decide to build dams and how dams can affect human, plant and animal life, for better or for worse. Dams and Development: A New Framework for Decision-Making is vital reading on the future of dams as well as the changing development context where new voices, choices and options leave little room for a business-as-usual scenario.
Author: Cecilia Tortajada
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642235700
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 415
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Book Description
One of the most controversial issues of the water sector in recent years has been the impacts of large dams. Proponents have claimed that such structures are essential to meet the increasing water demands of the world and that their overall societal benefits far outweight the costs. In contrast, the opponents claim that social and environmental costs of large dams far exceed their benefits, and that the era of construction of large dams is over. A major reason as to why there is no consensus on the overall benefits of large dams is because objective, authoritative and comprehensive evaluations of their impacts, especially ten or more years after their construction, are conspicuous by their absence. This book debates impartially, comprehensively and objectively, the positive and negative impacts of large dams based on facts, figures and authoritative analyses. These in-depth case studies are expected to promote a healthy and balanced debate on the needs, impacts and relevance of large dams, with case studies from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America.
Author: THOUNAOJAM. SOMOKANTA
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781527503687
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Author: Florence Padovani
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1498529046
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 282
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Book Description
The world seems to have recently discovered India and China as major players in Asia, and political and economic connections between the two countries are rapidly growing. Beyond the fashionable phenomenon, the two countries have much in common and many shared experiences. Both are developing countries with dynamic economies focused on lifting their people out of poverty. There are also differences as well, as India is a democracy while China is an autocratic state, and the speed of economic growth is much higher in India. This collection provides a comparative analysis of development-induced migration in India and China caused by urbanization and dam construction. The contributors include scholars from both countries working in both academia and consultancy positions.
