New assessment of controversial Commission highlights strategies to resolve contentious development projects

Issued jointly with Lokayan (India) and the World Resources Institue (WRI)
WASHINGTON, DC, November 21, 2001

The first independent assessment of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) concludes that as globalization advances, democratic multi- stakeholder processes such as the WCD can help resolve global and national debates on contentious environment, development, and social justice issues.

"While multi-stakeholder processes like the WCD do not produce legally binding results, they help shape solutions to conflict and provide a voice for marginalized groups. The success of similar future processes, however, depends on their independence, transparency, and inclusiveness," said Mairi Dupar, one of the co-authors of the report, A Watershed in Global Governance? An Independent Assessment of the World Commission on Dams.

The report, released today, is the first independent assessment of the work of the WCD, which concluded in November 2000. Today's report, which took two years to research, was released by the World Resources Institute (WRI), Lokayan, a research and advocacy group based in New Delhi, India, and the Lawyer's Environmental Action Team (LEAT), based in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

The WCD was created to review the development effectiveness of large dams, and assess alternatives to dam building. Funded by a wide consortium of donors, the WCD report has generated substantial interest among all related stakeholders.

The independent assessment, A Watershed in Global Governance?, charts how civil society demands for greater accountability and transparency in global policy-making has increased as economic globalization advances. The report seeks to answer such questions as: How should global policy on controversial development projects and programs be defined? Who should be the participants in this process? Who will make the rules on investment, human rights and environment? Who will enforce them?

"The WCD reveals both the promise and the pitfalls of an advisory multi-stakeholder process," said WRI's Dr. Navroz K. Dubash, one of the co-authors of the report. "The promise is that selection of active practitioners can provide legitimacy. The pitfalls are that balancing representatives and managing a credible process remain a challenge."

The authors state that the WCD was different from previous global commissions and policy processes, which were mostly led by eminent persons. The WCD was unprecedentedly diverse, including representatives of dam-affected communities, corporate executives, and dam operators. It also committed itself to be independent, inclusive, and transparent in its work. As such, the WCD was a premier example of a global public policy network.

The authors stress that the World Commission on Dams managed to be independent of its convenors, the World Bank, and the World Conservation Union - IUCN. "This greatly enhanced its legitimacy with a broad range of civil society groups," said Tundu Lissu of LEAT, one of the co-authors. "However, the World Bank's reaction to the WCD's report was cautious. This suggests that the supporters of future processes must weigh the benefits of independence against the probability of conformity with outcomes, and pursue other strategies to secure compliance." The report said that the process of the World Commission on Dams demonstrates the value of bringing diverse actors to the table. "However, the process highlights the need for states, multilateral development banks, and businesses to comply with internationally accepted norms of justice and environmental responsibility," said Dr. Smitu Kothari of Lokayan.

For similar future multi-stakeholder processes to be successful, the authors recommend:

Bring a wide range of stakeholders to the table, from all sides of the debate; Undertake a public consultation process that is carefully balanced between all points of view; Allow community members who are negatively affected by the development project to have direct input in the process; Use a wide range of electronic, printed, and personal means of outreach to get the highest standard of transparency about its goals, work program, and opportunities for participation; Be even more proactive than the WCD in making essential materials accessible to non-English speakers; Obtain funding from a wide range of sources to demonstrate the process is not beholden to a narrow set of interests. "However, the resources required for the WCD suggest that it will not be possible for a large number of effective multi- stakeholder processes to take place in the near future," said Mairi Dupar of WRI. "We recommend that the international community establish a select number of such processes around carefully chosen issues, and do them well."