Table Of ContentCRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR THIS BOOK
'If you want to read a truly dazzling book on Big Dams, drop mine and
read this.'
ARUNDHATI ROY, Booker Prizewinning author
of
The God of Small Things
Silenced Rivers will provide strength and support to anti-dam people's
movements the world over.'
MEDHA PATKAR, Save the Narmada Movement, India
'Its all here. The power and the glory, the money and the lies, the fear,
the broken dreams, the inescapable geological, financial and ecological
realities.. You need a good book on dams. Here it is.'
TOM ATHANASIOU, author of Divided Planet
Superlative _ enormously instructive information for those seeking to
learn about the astonishing array of impacts caused by damming rivers.
Required reading for all politicians and a prime text for engineering
schools.'
BRENT BLACKWELDER, President of Friends of the Earth USA
The best-researched, best-written account ever of what we have done
to our rivers. McCully lays it all out - the tragedy, the waste, the vain-
glory, and the profits.'
CATHERINE CAUFIELD, author of In the Rainforest
'McCully graphically enumerates what errors have been perpetrated; now
it is up to dam proponents to learn from this warning and strive for
sustainability.'
ROBERT GOODLAND, World Bank
Environment Department
This is the most thorough and devastating critique of the global dam-
building industry that I know. Impressively documented and argued
with tough-minded passion, it shows convincingly how the conquest of
nature is an outmoded and dangerous idea.'
DONALD WORSTER, Hall Distinguished Professor
of American History, University of Kansas
'This book has brilliantly consolidated all the scientific, environmental,
social and economic evidence, proving clearly the non-viability and non-
sustainability of large dams. Those of us struggling against such dams
in Third World countries desperately need this book.'
NALNI JAYAL, Secretary of the Himalaya Trust, Dehra Dun, India
A fantastic work. Provides the most comprehensive case against large
dams. All the arguments used to justify large dams are analysed and
demolished. A great scholarly work accessible to all. One wonders how
the building of a large dam can ever be regarded as rational from now
on.'
GAUTAM APPA, London School of Economics
A wide-ranging definitive study that is long overdue. This book contains
a powerful plea for the world to adopt a sane and restrained river policy
for the next century.'
STEWART L. UDALL, US Secretary of the Interior, 1960- 68
The best analysis yet of the political economy of dam building., brings
together a wealth of new information to lay bare the networks of power
that have led to dams being built at the expense of people and the
environment - and to document the rising tide of resistance to the
dam-building industry.'
NICHOLAS HILDYARD and EDWARD GOLDSMITH, authors of
The Social and Environmental Effects of Large Dams
'Patrick McCully has captured the legacy of man's bad judgement on
the control of rivers and the resulting loss of ecosystem diversity,
environmental health and biodiversity. This book should be required
reading for all those who think that control of rivers is the solution to
man's problems.'
DAVE WEGNER, US Department of the Interior,
Glen Canyon Environmental Studies
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PATRICK MCCULLY is Campaigns Director of the International Rivers
Network, an environment and human rights organization based in Berkeley,
California. He is co-author of two books: Imperilled Planet (1990) and The
Road to Rio: An NGO Action Guide to the Earth Summit (1992).
S I L E N C ED RIVERS
The Ecology and Politics of Large Dams
Enlarged and Updated Edition
PATRICK McCULLY
©
ZED BOOKS
London & New York
Silenced Rivers: The Ecology and Politics of Large Dams: Enlarged and Updated Edition
was first published in 2001 by
Zed Books Ltd. 7 Cynthia Street. London N1 9JF, UK, and
Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York. NY 10010. USA.
in association with the International Rivers Network (IRN),
1847 Berkeley Way. Berkeley, California 94703, USA,
and The Ecologisi, 18 Chelsea Wharf, Lots Road, London SW10 0QJ.
Distributed in the USA exclusively by Palgrave, a division of St Martin's Press,
LLC. 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
Copyright © Patrick McCully 2001
The moral rights of the author of this work have been asserted by him
in accordance with the Copyright. Designs and Patents Act, 1988
Cover designed by Andrew Corbett
Typeset in Monotype Garamond by Illuminati, Grosmont
All rights reserved
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
US CIP data is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 1 85649 901 4 Hb
ISBN 1 85649 902 2 Pb
Transferred to Digital Printing 2007
Contents
Acknowledgements viii
Glossary x
Introduction to the Updated Edition
A New Order for Rivers and Society:
The World Commission on Dams, and Beyond xv
The Prehistory of the World Commission on Dams xix
Conspiracies and Consultations xxiii
Findings xxvi
Dirty Reservoirs: Greenhouse Gas Emitting Dams xxxii
A Changing Climate for Dams xxxvii
The Century of the Small: Alternatives to Dams xxxvili
Bringing the Harvest Home xl
We ve Got the Power xliii
Recommendations I
Reactions li
Changing the World, Dam by Dam liv
The Rise of the Dam Decommissioning Movement Ixi
The Power and the Water 1
A Short History of Rivers 8
Dams: What They Are and What They Do 11
A Short History of Damming 12
The End of the Big Dam Era? 23
Rivers No More: The Environmental Effects of Dams 29
Flooding for Posterity 32
Dams and Geology: Morphological Effects 33
Dirty Dams: Effects on Water Quality 36
They Shall Not Pass: Dams and Migratory Fish 41
Foil'd Wanderers: Hydrological Effects 43
The Mitigation Game 49
The EIA Industry 54
3 Temples of Doom: The Human Consequences of Dams 65
Dammed Lies and Statistics 66
The Final Blow: Dams and Indigenous People 70
Waiting for the Dam 72
After the Deluge 76
The Failure of Resettlement Policies 82
Dams and Disease 86
4 When Things Fall Apart: The Technical Failures
of Large Dams 101
Not on Solid Ground: Dams and Geology 102
Political Hydrology 104
Mud against Dams: Sedimentation 107
Reservoir-Induced Seismicity: Dams that Cause the
Earth to Move 112
Iron Dams and Corpses: Dam Safety 115
Getting Old: Dam Ageing and Decommissioning 125
5 Empty Promises: The Elusive Benefits of Large Dams 133
Generating Risk and Debt: Hydropower 134
Dams to the Rescue? Hydro and Global Warming 141
The Great Illusion: Flood Control 146
Too Much to Drink: Dams and Public Water Supply 148
Blocking the Passage: Dams and River Transport 151
The One that Got Away: Reservoir Fisheries 153
All the Fun of the Reservoir: Dams and Recreation 155
6 Paradise Lost: Dams and Irrigation 164
Killing the Land: Irrigation and Soil Degradation 168
The Social Effects of Large-Scale Irrigation 172
The Technical and Economic Failure of Large-Scale Irrigation 179
7 The Wise Use of Watersheds 188
Managing the Land to Manage the Water 189
Flood Management 192
Farming Drylands without Large Dams 194
Going Underground 199
Traditional Diversions 202
Modern Irrigation: Back to the Future 205
Fix the Pipe, Spare the River 208
8 Energy: Revolution or Catastrophe? 217
The Renewables Are Coming 222
Bringing Hydro Down to Size 227
Storming the Palace Gates 232
9 Industry Applies, Man Conforms: The Political
Economy of Damming 236
The Ideology of Dams 237
Dams and Domination 241
Dams and Pork 242
Technocrats without a Cause: Dam-Building Bureaucracies 243
A Vibrant Corps? Dam-Building Companies 247
The Ties that Bind: Dependent Industries 254
Those Who Pay the Piper: Dams and 'Aid' 255
Incomprehension and Intimidation: The Dam Builders' Reply 263
Nemesis: The Economics of Large Dams 269
10 We Will Not Move: The International Anti-Dam
Movement 281
Aesthetics and Taxes: Dam Fights In the US 282
Arrests and Restoration in the Tasmanian Wilderness 287
Eastern Europe: Fight the Dams, Fight the System 289
Warriors and Workers Fight Back: Brazil 292
Struggle Over the River Kwai: Thailand 296
Clinging to the Land: Resistance to Dams in India 299
Dam Fighting on a Global Scale 306
Afterword: From the Dam to the Watershed 312
Appendix 1: The San Francisco and Watershed Management
Declarations 313
Appendix 2: Manibeli Declaration 316
Appendix 3: Dams Involving Forced Resettlement 321
Appendix 4: Declaration of Curitiba 343
Contact Addresses 347
Index 349
Acknowledgements
This book would not have been written - or if written would have been far
inferior - were it not for the help and encouragement of a multitude of
people and organizations. Edward Goldsmith and Nicholas Hildyard intro-
duced me to the problems with large dams, advocated that I update their
book on dams, and then supported my decision to write my own book,
which, although not an updated version of theirs, would not have been
possible had theirs not been written first. The inspiration to write Silenced
Rivers came fro m the unshakeable commitment and integrity of the Narmada
Bachao Andolan and the deceitfulness of the backers and builders of the
Sardar Sarovar Dam. Financial support came from the Goldsmith Founda-
tion, the Foundation for Deep Ecology and International Rivers Network.
Owen Lammers, Executive Director of IRN, and the rest of IRN's staff and
board (in particular Juliette Majot, Petra Yee, Elizabeth Hennin, Glenn Switkes
and Rani Derasary), also provided vital encouragement, support, faith and
patience, as well as an office base and logistical support. Robert Molteno of
Zed Books also supplied large quantities of support, faith and patience.
Aleta Brown of IRN was an invaluable, good-humoured and diligent re-
searcher, assistant and reviewer. Demon editor Lori Pottinger of IRN bullied
and shamed me into making huge improvements to my first drafts.
Numerous people gave invaluable help by reviewing my draft chapters
and giving me comments and corrections. Special mention must go to David
Wegner of the Bureau of Reclamation's Glen Canyon Environmental Studies
Program who sent me extensive and perceptive comments. Philip Williams,
President of IRN and of Philip Williams & Associates, also reviewed my
drafts and gave me invaluable advice on technical matters as well as moral
support. Robert Goodland, Environmental Adviser at the World Bank, and
Thayer Scudder, Professor of Anthropology at the California Institute of
Technology, were also critical and patient reviewers. Author Thomas Athan-
asiou, Michael Goldman and Leonard Sklar of the University of California
viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix
at Berkeley, Janos Vargha of Hungary's Danube Circle, Brent Blackwelder of
Friends of the Earth US, Grainne Ryder of Probe International in Canada,
Himanshu Thakker of the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environ-
ment, Shripad Dharmadhikary and Medha Patkar of the Narmada Bachao
Andolan, and Maria Clara Soares of the Brazilian Institute for Social and
Economic Analysis also gave comments on some of my draft chapters.
IRN interns Elizabeth Carpino, Colette Mercier and Davor Orsic gave
me research help, as did Peter Worster of the Mono Lake Committee.
Numerous others sent me comments and/or information, encouraged and
supported me, answered my questions or helped me write this book in some
other way. These include Gautam Appa (London School of Economics),
Peter Bosshard (Berne Declaration, Switzerland), Margaret Bowman (Hydro-
power Reform Coalition, USA), Catherine Caufield, Michael Cernea (World
Bank), Pratap Chatterjee (Inter-Press Service), Andrew N. Cohen, Philip
Fearnside (National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus), Giancarlo
Di Giambattista (Ontario Hydro), Youssef Halim (Department of Oceanog-
raphy, Alexandria University), Erik Hoines (FIVAS, Norway), Rita Kassai
(Office of Edward Goldsmith), Adam, Simon and Rebecca McKee (Ballydoo
Farm), Francesco Martone (Campagna per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale),
Sarah Mason, Lyla Mehta (Institute of Development Studies, UK), Deborah
Moore (Environmental Defense Fund, California), Wendy Rees (Quaker Peace
and Service, London), David Rosenberg (Department of Fisheries and
Oceans, Manitoba), Steve Rothert (Hydropower Reform Coalition, USA),
Anthony Oliver-Smith (Department of Anthropology. University of Florida),
Michael Rozengurt (Orange County Sanitation District, California), Heffa
Schucking (Urgewald, Germany), Bina Srinivasan (Swashraya. Gujarat),
Nantiya Tangwisutijit (The Nation, Bangkok), John Thibodeau (Probe Inter-
national, Toronto), Lori Udall, Stewart L. Udall, and Ann Daniya Usher.
To all the others who helped me and who I have forgotten to mention,
I thank you and apologize. None of the above bears any responsibility for
any positions advocated or factual errors in this book.
Last but very decidedly not least, I must acknowledge and thank the
support, patience, understanding, ideas, criticisms and edits of Angela
Gennino.
Several people deserve thanks for comments and advice on the new intro-
ductory chapter: Philip Raphals (Helios Institute, Montreal) and Philip
Fearnside (INPA, Manaus) for helping me get to grips with the latest devel-
opments in the complex issue of reservoir greenhouse gas emissions; Peter
Bosshard, Shripad Dharmadhikary, Sarah Bardeen, Benjamin McKee, Goran
Ek and Nicholas Hildyard for their perceptive comments on a draft; Lori
Pottinger, IRNs terrifying editor, for ruthless editing; Susanne Wong, Cassidy
Teufel, Gila Neta and Himanshu Thakker for number-crunching and research
assistance; and Juliette Majot, Executive Director of IRN, for supporting me
taking the time to write this and for advice and editing.
Glossary
ACRE-FOOT: amount of water it takes to cover one acre to a depth of one foot
(325,900 gallons or 1,233 cubic metres).
ABUTMENT: part of valley side against which dam is constructed.
AGGRADATION: raising of riverbed due to SEDIMENT deposition.
AGROFORESTRY: farming system in which the growing of trees and shrubs is
integrated with production of other crops and/or animal husbandry.
ALLUVIUM: sediments transported by a river and deposited on its bed and
floodplain.
ANADROMOUS FISH: fish born in fresh water that spend most of their life In the
ocean and then ascend rivers to spawn.
AQUIFER: geological formation of high porosity and high permeability that yields
significant quantities of GROUNDWATER.
ARCH DAM: concrete or masonry dam which is curved upstream so as to transmit
the major part of the weight of the water to the ABUTMENTS.
ARMOURED RIVERBED: riverbed from which easily removable sediment has been
eroded, leaving a surface of cobbles or boulders.
BARRAGE: RUN-OF-RIVER DAM, usually built across the lower reaches of a river
and used to divert water for irrigation.
BASIN IRRIGATION: technique where fields are irrigated by trapping floodwaters
behind embankments or In depressions.
BENTHIC: pertaining to the bottom of a body of water.
BUREC: US Bureau of Reclamation - agency within the US Department of
Interior responsible for managing federal irrigation schemes in the western US.
CANAL IRRIGATION: irrigation with water supplied via canal, usually having been
diverted from regulated river or reservoir.
CATCHMENT: see WATERSHED.
COFFER-DAM: temporary dam built to keep riverbed dry to allow construction of
permanent dam or other Infrastructure.
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