Hydropower generation and water management under change

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Transcript Hydropower generation and water management under change

Hydropower generation and water
management under change
Arthur Mynett & Miroslav Marence
UNESCO-IHE
Round Table – Business in Water Scare Areas
the importance of conflict sensitive management strategies
Den Haag, 29 March 2016
UNESCO-IHE – Institute for Water Education
UNESCO-IHE is the largest international graduate
education institute in the field of water. The institute
confers fully accredited MSc degrees and promotes PhDs.
Since 1957 the Institute has provided graduate education
to more than 15,000 water professionals from over 162
countries, the vast majority from the developing world.
140 PhD fellows are currently enrolled in water-related
research. The Institute carries out numerous research and
capacity development projects throughout the world.
Hydropower as multipurpose driver
Sharing the basin – potential conflicts
1978
214 international basins
Today
263 international basins
(breakup of the Soviet
Union and Balkan states,
better digital mapping
technology)
Examples
Nile - shared by 10
countries
Danube - shared by 17
countries
Water could act as unifier or irritant in the basin
Key issues in water disputes
Quantity - Competing claims for a scare resource
• Water allocation for different users and uses such as ecosystem
needs and individual livelihoods can lead to disputes
Quality - Unclean water poses serious threats to human and ecosystem health
• Pollution and excessive levels of salt, nutrients or solids make
water inappropriate for drinking, industry and even agriculture.
• Degradation becomes a source of conflict between those who
cause it and those affected by it.
Timing - Timing of water flow is often critical and operational patterns of dams
have competing interests
• In winter dams may release water upstream for hydropower
• In summer water is needed downstream for irrigation
Conflict potential – Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
Situation:
• Ethiopia is building a huge dam on Blue Nile
55km upstream birder with Sudan
• Capacity over 5.000 MW, reservoir over 60
billion cubic meters
• Filling of reservoir needs several years –
concern of downstream countries Sudan and
Egypt
• In operation change of flooding regime and
availability of water (possibility for other uses in
Sudan – concern of Egypt)
Rational solution by cooperation
• water is conserved (stored) in area with less
evaporation and more water available in region
• additional electrical energy
• compensations and compromises in filling and
operation
• Potential for cooperation
Conflict potential – Aral Sea Basin
Situation:
• Energy demand strong during winter (heating
and cotton processing) in Kyrgyzstan
(upstream) and irrigation during summer
Uzbekistan (downstream).
• During Soviet time not a problem because of
unique politics and compensations.
• After independence no coordination in use and
conflicts
• Additional conflict by planned Rogun dam
(highest in world) and HPP
Conflict points
• Climate change and water scarcity
• Upstream countries control water availability of
lower countries especially during summer
Potential for cooperation: first step set in a
conference analyzing environmental concerns,
bringing international awareness and finding
solutions to settle water scarcity
Hydropower in shared basins – good practice
On basin level:
• cooperation
• real time data collection and database
• early warning systems
• scenario simulations
New project development:
• By including all stakeholders and priorities in
design and also operation prediction
minimising conflict potentials
• Priorities: drinking water – food/irrigation –
energy
Hydropower Sustainability Assessment
Protocol - Sustainable design and operation of
hydropower
•
HSAP actively included representatives of:
environmental NGOs (WWF, The Nature
Conservancy), social NGOs (Oxfam,
Transparency International), development
banks (The World Bank), governments
(China, Zambia, Germany, Iceland, Norway),
and the hydropower sector.
UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education
Postgraduate Education, Training and Capacity Development
in Water, Environment and Infrastructure
www.unesco-ihe.org