Methodology for Assessment LARGE DAMS IMPACTS ON POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN ARID REGIONS THROUGH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Dams are viewed as engines of economic progress and centerpieces of efforts to develop modern and industrial societies. They are also among the largest single investments in development infrastructure and are among the largest structures built by humans. Since the late 1940’s, the number of large dams worldwide has grown enormously on every continent. They provide electricity, flood control, water for irrigation, industries and domestic uses. Role of large dams for reduction of poverty is of great concern at the national and international levels. The eradication of poverty remains a major challenge for policy makers. Furthermore, an integrated viewpoint, which simultaneously takes account of development issues, resource use and environmental quality, and human welfare, must be taken under consideration. Dam in arid and semi arid climates are considered food machines and insurance against starvation and large-scale poverty reduction. Large dams have the direct benefits, which are generally considered for economic development of water resources.. Irrigation with respect to large dams strengthens the activities and facilitates growth of larger units in terms of investment, employment, and other opportunities. If these projects do not benefit the common man especially in rural area, then why a large number of rural people agitate for such projects, leading to marches, holding public meetings and demonstrations of other kinds? It is a fact that the farmers and public are aware of the benefits of water development projects and pressure the local leaders to obtain sanction, construct and develop large dams projects. However the development and economic objectives of dams are often not fully compatible with an equitable distribution of the benefits among different stakeholder and community groups. For example, with dams for hydropower generation or drinking water supply, the beneficiaries may be hundreds of kilometers away in urban centers, while the local and downstream communities may suffer from the adverse health effects of Environmental change and social disruption. Today, most of the world's large rivers are dammed due to various motivations. Among those, irrigation and drainage purposes consist of the very first reason of building dams, amounting to approximately 48 percent of all. A considerable proportion, approximately 15 percent, serves for domestic and industrial water supply. A substantially smaller number generate electricity. Other purposes include, in decreasing order of importance, flood control, recreation and, to a lesser degree, inland navigation and fish farming Construction of water resources development projects creates very large employment potential for the skilled and semi-skilled categories of workers. It is observed that labor component comprises nearly 25% of the project cost. Besides the employment created on account of construction of projects, canal irrigation is a direct source of livelihood for millions of agricultural labor in the developing countries where automatic and pressurized irrigation is not common. Poverty means more than lack of adequate income. Such as discrimination, exploitation, lack of power, fear, lack of human development, lack of voice in decision-making, and a high degree of vulnerability. Poverty has multidimensional causes, manifestations and outcomes, many of which are linked to vulnerability and social exclusion. The Poverty Reduction Strategy acknowledges the interdependence of economic, social, and institutional realities in tackling poverty by identifying three pillars for the poverty reduction framework. Evaluation of poverty is a very significant consideration of sustainable development. Sustainable development (SD) is defined as a pattern of social and economic transformations, which optimizes the economic and societal benefits available presently, without jeopardizing the likely potential for similar benefits in the future their usefulness for future generations. Certain questions can be posed about the sustainable development (SD) and poverty alleviation (PA) resulting from large dams in an arid region. According to the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), there are about 40,000 large dams on the world’s rivers. Most of them are built in the last 35 years. Presently, about 1,600 more dams are being constructed in more than 40 countries (dams and development, 2000). However, growing debate about the rights and wrongs of large-scale dams construction focuses on various aspects of development resulting from their presence. In many countries, dams are viewed as an important input to the agricultural production systems owning to life support system. The increased pressure on water resources due to (1) population growth-demanding not only more water for food, but also inducing changes in hydrological cycle, (2) changes in life style and urbanization and (3) climate change, lead to water scarcity and increased completion for water between agriculture, industries and the rapid growing cities (Municipal uses). In order to answer the above-mentioned questions, there is need to investigate how large dams contribute for poverty reduction and evolution of SD and PA, and also relationship between them for a given arid zone. The proposed research would evaluate the evolution and relationship between SD and PA of the world as affected by large dams in selected area.

کلیدواژه ها:

Poverty Sustainable Development ، Methodology ، Environmental Quality ، Large Dams ، Irrigation ، Social ، Economics ، Population