ICOLD

International Commission
on Large Dams

Michel de VIVO
Secretary General

What Is ICOLD?

International Commission
On Large Dams was
founded in Paris in 1928.

Currently comprised of 92
countries

and 10,000 individual members

Engineering Companies, Consultants,
Builders, Development companies,
Scientists, Researchers, Engineers,
University Professors, Governments,
Financial Institutions, Associations..

What does ICOLD do?

ICOLD leads the profession in setting guidelines

to ensure that dams are built safely,
economically, and in an environmentally and
socially sustainable manner.
.

What does ICOLD do?

Forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience
Congress every 3 years

Next Congress in JAPAN in May 2012

Annual meeting in a different country each year

Next Meeting in SWITZERLAND in May 2011

Publications of nearly one century of knowledge

Congress Proceedings, Symposia, Bulletins
Dictionary, Dams Registers, Guidelines

Permanent search for progress

25 Technical Committees, 500 experts on specific themes

Promotion of dams for developing countries

Heightening decision-makers and investors awareness,
Prospecting for financing, Technical support

ICOLD s main Focus

Dam Safety
Social Impacts
Environmental Impacts
Water Management
Information for the Public
Cost Analysis
Monitoring of Performance
Reanalysis of Older Dams
Effects of Aging
Sharing International Rivers
River Basin Development

PUBLICATIONS
Congress Proceedings
Symposia
Bulletins
Dictionary, Dams Registers
Guidelines

Dams and Reservoirs for

Human Sustainable Development

Dams in the World

50.000 Large Dams

1 Million Little Dams
Total Capacity: 8,300 km3

Dams in the World

LARGE DAMS %
GEOGRAPHICAL REGION

AUSTRALIA-ASIA; 1,3
SOUTH AMERICA; 2
AFRICA; 3,3
EUROPE; 12,6

NORTH AMERICA; 21,1

ASIA; 59,7

Dams in the World

LEADERS COUNTRIES IN NUMBER OF LARGE DAMS
30000

26278
25000

20000

N
U
M
B
E
R

15000

9265

10000

4636

5000

1267

1205

1121

915

793

635

625

597

549

536

517

507

M
ex
ic
o
U
n
Kite
in d
g
d
oA
m
u
st
ra
li
a

It
al
y
T
u
rk
ey
F
ra
n
ce

B
ra
zi
l
S
o
u
th
A
fr
ic
a

C
an
ad
a

Ja
p
an
K
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re
a(
R
O
K
)

S
p
ai
n

In
d
ia

C
h
in
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U
S
A

Dams in the World

OTHERS; 5%
NAVIGATION AND
FISH FARM ING; 3%
RECREATION; 8%
IRRIGATION; 38%

FLOOD CONTROL;
14%

WATER SUPPLY;
14%

HYDROPOWER; 18%

Dams in the World

UNDER CONSTRUCTION 2007
500

467

450

400

350

1 200 Large Dams under construction

300

N
U
M
B
E
R

250

200

150

120

100

73

68

67
28

50

20

18

11

PAKISTAN

ROUMANIE
ROMANIA

GRCE

AFRIQUE
DU SUD

MAROC

0
INDE

CHINA

JAPON

TURKEY

BRESIL

ESPAGNE

Water Resources in the

World
Renewables

(R)

40.000 Km3 / year

Natural

9.000 Km3 / year

Dams and Reservoir

AR)

4.000 Km3 / year (31%

TOTAL available ( AR )
(32.5 % R)

13.000 Km3 / year

Hydropower in the World

2 100 million tons of CO2 avoided !!!

Ongoing Problems
World population is growing: 10 billion people in 2050
!!

1 billion people do not

have access to safe
drinking water

2 billion people lack

basic sanitation

2 billion people have

no access to electricity

Ongoing Problems

Droughts and floods

have devastating
impacts on the food
supply and living
conditions for 200
millions people every
year.

Greenhouse gases
emissions are
threatening to
change our climate

Oil resources are

depleting

We must face the Climate Changes !!

Solving these Problems

In many cases dams have proved to be a
sustainable and successful development
tool to address these problems

For Flood Regulation

For Agriculture Development

For a large supply

of drinking water

For an Affordable Electricity

For Replacing Polluting

Energies

For Reducing Deforestation

For Developing Tourism

and Fish Breeding

Dams contribute to
the fight against Climate Changes
Fight against the Causes of Climate Changes:

Clean and Cheap Energy replace Fossil Energies

Abundant Energy in Developing Countries
reduce Disforestation
Immediately available Energy replace Fossil
Energy for Peak daily Consumption
Incomparable tool for Grid Regulation

Dams contribute to
the fight against Climate Changes
Fight against the Consequences of Climate Changes:

Reservoirs regulate the impacts of devastating

floods
Large water storages reduce the Water Stress

Electricity in Africa

in Africa, 70% of the people live without electricity

8% of the hydroelectrical potential is exploited

Electricity in Africa
Africa :
North America :
kWh/cap/year

450 kWh/cap/year
12 000

Water storage in Africa

Hydropower potential in the

World
Region

Potential

Hydroelectricity produced

TWh / y

TWh / y

790

560

71%

Asia

4 000

950

24%

Africa

1 100

85

8%

North America

1 000

670

67%

South America

1 600

600

38%

90

55

61%

8 580

2 920

34%

Europe

Oceania
World

Grand Inga hydroelectric potential is more than 280 TWh ..

Hydropower Potential in the

World

Average costs of Electricity

Solar

0.40 1.00

$/kWh

Fuel

0.15 0.30

$/kWh

Wind

0.10 0.15

$/kWh

Gas (CC)

0.04 0.07

$/kWh

Coal

0.03 0.05

$/kWh

Nuclear

0.03 0.04

$/kWh

Hydro (Large)

0.02 0.05

$/kWh

Grand Inga

less than 0,01 $/kWh

The bigger the dams,

the less costly .

Hydropower potential in
Africa
African hydropower potential is 1100 TWh
3 among the 4 largest dams in the world are African but the largest
African Power plant is only at the 30th rank in the world
For example: Grand Inga could produce 280 TWh

Large possibilities of
transmission
Interconnections in progress

NAPP

WAPP
EAPP
SAPP
CAPP
NAPP

CAPP
WAPP

EAPP

SAPP

World Declaration
Under the impulse of ICOLD, several International
Organizations decided to sign in 2008 a common World
Declaration in order to support:

Dams and Hydropower

for Africa Sustainable Development
AU
WEC
ICID
USCE
IHA
UPDEA
ICOLD

African Union,
World Energy Council
International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage
US Corp of Engineers
International Hydropower Association
Union of Producers and Distributor of Electricity in Africa
International Commission on Large Dams
Etc ..

Conditions are now ripe for

hydropower development in Africa
Its is a period of unique opportunity
The political context is very favourable: Ministerial Declaration,
Johannesburg, March 9 2006 had a strong message for Hydropower
International financing institutions are encouraging dam and Hydropower
Hydropower generation is cheap while other energies prices are high
Hydropower generation is clean and part of solution to climate change
The interconnected high voltage African network is being constructed
Hydropower potential in Africa is vast and underexploited
Needs of the African population is now almost in a case of emergency

 Nothing can be started without

developing Capacity Building first

ICOLD launched in 2006 a first training programme for African technicians

and engineers:
Programme: 3 Years - 1 month per year
Participants number: around 20 persons per year
Participants from : Mali, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Nigeria, Zambia etc
Host country of the programme: Turkey (DSI)
This pilot programme will be duplicated with other countries:
China Morocco, Austria, Spain, France,
ICOLD also launched Several Regional Congresses in Africa in order to
share experiences in Dam & Hydropower: Burkina 2006, Nigeria 2007

African Countries
Members of ICOLD
Algeria
Burkina Faso
South Africa
Cameroon
Congo (RDC)
Ivory Coast
Egypt
Ethiopia
Ghana
Lesotho

Libya
Mali
Morocco
Mozambique
Madagascar
Nigeria
Sudan
Tunisia
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Main Dam benefits

for African countries
Dams are an answer to support the
development of the countries
Dams for large agriculture development
Dams for a cheap and sustainable energy
in the cities and villages
Dams for water for every body

Main benefits
for ICOLD members
To belong to a widely recognized international organisation
To share a one century-old experience and knowledge
To meet potential partners for elaborating and developing projects
To get logistical support from ICOLD Central Office for
documentation and contacts.
To access to the richest library in the world in the field of dams
To contribute to the evolution of knowledge in the field of dams, water
and hydroelectricity

To be an actor of the evolution of our world

Quote
Political freedom alone is still not enough
if you lack clean water.
Freedom alone is not enough
without light to read at night,
without time or access to water to irrigate
you farm, without the ability to catch fish
to feed your family.
For these reasons
the struggle for sustainable development
nearly equals the struggle for political
freedom.
They can grow together
or they can unravel each other.
Nelson Mandela

Thank you !
We invite you to join us:
May 2011
May 2012

ICOLD Annual Meeting

ICOLD Congress

LUCERNE Switzerland
KYOTO Japan

www.icold-cigb.org