ID: 1996
Presenting Author: Doug Smith
Session: 524 - Power and Perception: Misinformation, Disinformation, and the Environmental and Social Narrative in Hydropower Development
Status: pending
Alternatives analysis in IA of hydropower often presents misleading or incomplete analysis. This paper will assess case studies on the use of alternatives analysis to inform, and misinform.
Impact Assessment of hydropower project development often presents misleading information that a project is imperative for power sector development and GHG mitigation, or that it is even the only option. Opponents of hydropower may strategically distort information on the feasibility of alternatives to meet these objectives. This paper will examine the analysis of alternatives in IA of hydropower, and how it may be used to misinform stakeholders on the need for, or alternatives to, hydropower projects. It will consider case studies of hydropower project development, from a range of global regions, to assess the scope and depth of the alternatives analysis conducted, and whether it informs or misinforms. The paper will ask whether and how consistency in alternatives analysis of hydropower could be improved, to improve transparency and decision-making.
Doug Smith is an environmental specialist, with 30 years of global experience in IA and hydropower, Accredited Assessor for the Hydropower Sustainability Standard, and author of hydropower guidance.