WCD Thematic Papers I.1: Contributing Paper: Dams and Benefit-Sharing

Historically, hydropower developed in the early 1900s as a local activity with small projects supplying local communities and industry: projects had local impacts and provided local benefits. As dams grew in size and electricity networks developed, hydropower dams began serving regional and national interests, often to the detriment of local residents. Today, there is a growing consensus that local stakeholders should share the benefits of such projects in addition to being compensated for the inevitable environmental and social costs of developing such projects. What are the available mechanisms to transfer revenues to local communities? What are their limitations? The purpose of this summary review is to provide a brief overview of approaches where benefit sharing with project affected communities has worked in the past or may work in the future.