HYDRO POWER PROJECTS: SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The concept of living in harmony with nature is as old as humankind. However, a modern conception emerged in the term ‘sustainable development’ with the rise of green movements in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Sustainable development can be defined as an approach to the economic development of a country without compromising with the quality of the environment for future generations. This definition captured the spirit of the times whereby government, business, and civil society have strived to make development sustainable. Hydropower accounts for 16% of all global electricity production and it is one of the world’s most widely used renewable, low-carbon energy resources. It plays an important role in enabling communities around the world to meet their power and water needs. In some regions the pace of hydropower growth has been rapid but with little guidance to ensure development is sustainable. However, some of the most promising and influential initiatives to improve development, such as the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol, have been driven by the hydropower sector itself. This paper addresses the progress that hydropower has made in the context of sustainable development over the past 15 years. The concept of sustainable development does imply limits, not absolute limits but limitations imposed by the present state of technology and social organizations on environmental resources and by the ability of the biosphere to absorb the effects of human activities. But technology and social organization can both be managed and improved to make way for a new era of economic growth. Keywords: Hydro Power, Environment, Sustainable Development, Technology