The writing on the dam

The mega-dam is well on the way to being busted. It has had a short pre-eminence: all but seven of the world's hundred largest dams were built since World War Two. But people power is now bringing the era of big dam construction to a close. There are few sites ideal for big dams which do not already contain a cliff of clay, rock and concrete. Those that remain are mostly blocked, both because of the sheer numbers of people who would have to be relocated and because of mushrooming environmental lobbies. From Brasilia so Bangkok, engineers and politicians are faced with the reality that people are no longer content to submit meekly while their ancestral lands are flooded and their way of life disrupted beyond recall. Funding agencies have also had to change their policies in response to mounting public criticism. The World Bank, for example, is now delaying dam projects while their environmental impact is properly assessed. But even leaving aside ecological considerations, the sheer financial impact of these monster projects can be devastating.