Hydro Industry Seeks to Weaken Standards For decades,
communities affected by projects such as dams, mines or
pipelines were asked to trust the good intentions and promises
of project developers. This voluntary approach resulted in a
legacy of broken promises, environmental degradation,
corruption, conflict, and development disasters. Like dam
investors and contractors, affected communities can’t just rely
on promises to safeguard their interests. They need legally
enforceable rights. For more than 20 years, civil society
networks have promoted binding policies and standards which
safeguard the rights of affected people and the environment.
Their struggles resulted in policies and conventions which
(among other things) defined the right of indigenous peoples to
“free, prior, informed consent,” enshrined the right of
displaced people to land-for-land compensation, safeguarded
labor rights, and preserved ecological no-go areas. The dam
industry is now trying to roll back this progress. A rights-
based approach…