Challenges and opportunities for sustainable global dam-building

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book examines the governance and socio-economic implications of large Chinese dam developments in low- and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa and how these big infrastructure projects promote local and national development in the recipient countries. It illustrates different approaches related to the analysis of hydropower development and sustainability issues, such as political ecology, political economy, Asian Drivers, benchmarking and the links to the water-energy-food nexus. The book also discusses the failed Zamfara Dam and argues that each dam deal is inherently political and depends on the local setting. It also presents a benchmarking study by International Rivers that provided new insights into the environmental and social policies and project performance practices of Chinese overseas hydropower companies. It then argues that considerations of environmental justice and scalar mismatches are key to the effectiveness of the nexus concept