2.5. DAMS-BENEFITS AND PROBLEMS

Today there are more than 45,000 large dams around the world, which play an important role in communities and economies that harness these water resources for their economic development. Current estimates suggest some 30-40% of irrigated land worldwide relies on dams. Hydropower, another contender for the use of stored water, currently supplies 19% of the world’s total electric power supply and is used in over 150 countries. The world’s two most populous countries – China and India – have built around 57% of the world’s large dams.

This chunk introduces the prevalence and significance of large dams globally. It highlights that over 45,000 large dams exist, emphasizing their roles in irrigation (30-40% of irrigated lands depend on these dams) and hydropower generation (19% of global electricity). Furthermore, it explains that most of these dams are in populous countries like China and India, indicating the scale at which these nations utilize water resource management.

You can think of a dam like a giant sponge that collects water. Just as sponge helps absorb moisture to hydrate plants, dams collect river water to help irrigate farmland, generate electricity, and prevent floods.

River valley projects with big dams have usually been considered to play a key role in the development process due to their multiple uses. India has the distinction of having the largest number of river valley projects. The tribal’s living in the area pin big hopes on these projects as they aim at providing employment and raising the standard and quality of life. The dams have tremendous potential for economic upliftment and growth. They can help in checking floods and famines, generate electricity and reduce water and power shortage, provide irrigation water to lower areas, provide drinking water in remote areas and promote navigation, fishery etc.

This chunk outlines the various advantages of large dams, particularly in river valley projects. These projects are crucial for development, providing benefits such as job creation for local tribes, economic growth, flood control, electricity generation, irrigation, and even drinking water provision in remote areas. The text underscores the multifaceted roles that dams play in improving the overall quality of life for surrounding communities.

Imagine a big kitchen that stores all your cooking ingredients. A dam serves a similar purpose for water, storing it to serve multiple needs like cooking (irrigation), making electricity (using water for power), and sustaining your family (providing drinking water).

Problems include fragmentation and physical transformation of rivers; serious impacts on riverine ecosystems; social consequences of large dams due to displacement of people; water logging and salinization of surrounding lands; dislodging animal populations, damaging their habitat and cutting off their migration routes; fishing and travel by boat disrupted. Large dams have had serious impacts on the lives, livelihoods, cultures and spiritual existence of indigenous and tribal peoples.

This chunk addresses the negative impacts of large dams. These include changes to river systems that can harm local ecosystems, resulting in species displacement and habitat destruction. Additionally, the construction of dams may displace local populations—especially indigenous and tribal communities—leading to significant social tensions. Water logging and salinization can make the surrounding land unusable, thereby disrupting agriculture and natural wildlife patterns.

Think of a large dam as a wall in a river. While it can hold back a lot of water, it also changes the river's natural flow, making some fish unable to swim upstream, similar to how blocked streets can prevent cars from reaching their destinations.

In India, of the 16 to 18 million people displaced by dams, 40 to 50% were tribal people, who account for only 8% of our nation’s one billion people.

This chunk highlights a critical human rights issue related to dam construction in India, specifying that a significant number of the displaced individuals are from tribal backgrounds. This is striking because, despite making up a small percentage of the total population, they represent about half of those displaced by dam projects. This emphasizes the uneven social and cultural impacts of such infrastructure projects.

Imagine building a large castle that requires a lot of land. Many people living nearby may have to leave their homes. If the majority are small families or less powerful groups, they might lose their homes and culture while the castle owners prosper, highlighting an unfair distribution of benefits and burdens.

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