Why are environmentalist are telling not to built dams?

Why are environmentalist are telling not to built dams ? What are your openion on construction of dams?

Taxonomy

• Environment
• Water Supply
• Infrastructure
• Dams
• Environment

2 Answers

1. Not sure -  Beavers have always built dams - prehaps the issue is the size and location of the dam and maybe we need to consider build dams that are off - line that may have a use for energy management and storage.   In addition to creating niches - dams also change the groundwater gradient and promote groundwater storage. 

2. Depends on where the dam is located
   
   

   Environmentalist of which country ? whether of USA where nearly on all the possible dam sites, dams have already been constructed ? or the environmentalist of Europe where there are rains in about 15 days in a month ? Europe do not require dams for irrigation, but it requires dams for power generation? Now the countries like India, China, other nations of Asia, Latin America, Africa require dams for fulfilling demand of water for ever increasing population for Irrigation, domestic water supply, Industrial use and other uses? Is the slogan of environmentalist not to construct dams is to prevent developing and under developed nations , harnessing their water resources for the use of their population ? Such people have already tried to put barrier on construction of new dams advising international financing institutions not to finance construction of new dams. The developing world and the International Commission on irrigation and Drainage, etc objected to it. This resulted in the formation of World Commission on Dams (WCD) in April 1997, to research the environmental, social and economic impacts of the development of large dams globally. WCD issued a final report which was launched under the patronage of Nelson Mandela in November 2000. The WCD established the most comprehensive guidelines for dam building to date and issued ten key recommendations. The world bank and other financial institutions then lifted the ban on construction of new dams. Mr Aamir must tell why this question has again been raised and by whom and on what ground. Mr Aamir may like to read the final report of World Commission on Dams to have detailed information.