Frequently Asked Questions about the Forum and the Draft Protocol
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum (the “Forum)?
The Forum is a collaboration of representatives of developed and developing countries, environmental and social NGOs, commercial and development banks, and the hydropower sector who aim to develop a broadly endorsed sustainability assessment tool to measure and guide performance in the hydropower sector.
The Forum members are jointly reviewing and recommending enhancements to the existing IHA Sustainability Assessment Protocol (2006), developed as a measuring tool to assess social, environmental and economic performance of hydropower projects and operating facilities against criteria described in the IHA Sustainability Guidelines (2004).
The Forum held its first meeting in March 2008, and appointed a Forum Coordinator in April 2008. The Forum aims to produce a final revised protocol in early 2010, with endorsement of this product by all parties to the Forum (endorsement is not a condition of participation in the Forum).
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How was the Forum established?
The Forum was initiated by a meeting in 2007 with WWF, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the International Hydropower Association (IHA) about endorsement of the IHA Sustainability Assessment Protocol (2006) by parties outside of the sector.
The initial joint-review proposed by WWF and TNC evolved into a broader cross-sectoral review process. Identification of and approaches to potential Forum members was undertaken through the common efforts of WWF, TNC and IHA, as were the initial efforts to obtain the necessary funding support.
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Who are the Forum members?
The members of the Forum cover representatives of developed and developing countries, environmental and social NGOs, commercial and development banks and the hydropower sector.
More about Forum membership...
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What is the Forum’s work plan?
The Forum is operating over a two year period. Following the launch in March 2008 in Washington DC, Forum meetings have been held in July 2008 (USA), September 2008 (Zambia), October 2008 (China), December 2008 (Brazil), March 2009 (Turkey), and June 2009 (Iceland), with a further two meetings planned for early 2010 (locations to be determined).
Two public consultation periods are built into the Forum work plan – Phase 1 Consultation in January-February 2009, and Phase 2 Consultation in September, October and November 2009. A period of trialling of the Draft Protocol is also to be undertaken alongside the Phase 2 Consultation.
More about the Forum work plan...
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How are the views of stakeholders beyond Forum members obtained and taken into account?
The Forum provides a diversity of expertise and cross-sectoral views relevant to consideration of sustainability issues for hydropower projects throughout their life cycle. The Forum does not claim to be fully representative of all stakeholder groups. There are four NGO representatives on the Forum, representing Oxfam, The Nature Conservancy, Transparency International and WWF. The establishment of reference groups has helped inform Forum members of different viewpoints.
The Forum Work Plan includes two consultation phases to further include stakeholder input in the revision process.
- Phase 1 Consultation (Jan-Feb 09) was focussed on raising awareness and developing relationships with stakeholders, assisting stakeholders to understand the Forum process and progress, and providing an opportunity for early stage feedback.
- Phase 2 Consultation (Sep-Nov 09) focuses on the content of the Draft Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol August 2009, and the practical application of this assessment tool.
The Forum is committed to independent reporting on consultation issues raised, and to publicly respond to these issues.
More about Forum Consultation...
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How is the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol structured and how does one use it?
The Draft Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (August 2009) is built around Sections, Aspects and Attributes. The four sections reflect different stages of the project life cycle:
- Section I –Strategic Assessment
- Section II –Hydropower Project Preparation
- Section III –Hydropower Project Implementation
- Section IV –Hydropower Facility Operation
The Draft Protocol is provided as four separate documents, one for each section, providing a stand-alone assessment tool to measure performance of a hydropower project against sustainability criteria appropriate to that point in the project life cycle.
Each protocol section contains a set of aspects important to forming a view on the overall sustainability of that project at that point in its life cycle. An aspect is one of a set of key sustainability issues with regard to technical, social, environmental and economical considerations.
Up to seven attributes are assessed for each aspect. There are three process attributes (assessment process, management process, and consultation process) and four performance attributes (level of stakeholder support, level of compliance, level of conformance with plans, and level of effectiveness).
See the Introduction sections of the Draft Hydropower Sustainability Protocol to understand more...
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How does scoring work?
Scoring is an essential feature of the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol. Outlining of the gradation of practice on all of the important sustainability considerations for hydropower should assist developers / owners / operators in seeing where their strengths, weaknesses and opportunities lie, and where they can direct their efforts to address target areas.
Each of the seven attributes for each aspect is scored from level 1 to 5. Level 1 is understood to be the absence of or very poor practice. Level 3 is understood to be basic good practice, with a particular consciousness of what is achievable in countries with minimal resources or capacities or with projects of smaller scales and complexities. Level 5 is understood to be proven best practice, but conscious of the global applicability of this tool, so that it is not only attainable by the largest projects with the most resources at their disposal.
Each aspect contains score instructions, which identify the requirements to be met to receive a particular score. These scores are assigned by the auditor based on observations, interviews with relevant stakeholders, and review of objective evidence.
See the Introduction sections of the Draft Hydropower Sustainability Protocol to understand more...
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What value does the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol add?
There is presently an absence of a globally agreed hydropower sustainability standard. This has created a situation of individual standard and criteria-setting at organization, sector, country and/or regional levels.
The IHA Sustainability Assessment Protocol (2006) is a voluntary assessment tool developed by the International Hydropower Association that assesses performance against the IHA Sustainability Guidelines (2004). It is one of a number of approaches that are formally used by various institutions to assess the sustainability of hydropower projects. Other approaches include National and State Government requirements, development bank safeguard policies, commercial bank financial screening tools (including the IFC Performance Standards which underpin the Equator Principles), and a methodology based on the World Commission on Dams (2000) report “Dams and Development: a New Framework for Decision-Making” recommendations utilised for Clean Development Mechanism eligibility.
The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum (the “Forum”) is a cross-sector collaboration proposing enhancements to the IHA Sustainability Assessment Protocol (2006) based on the views of a diversity of sectors. The objective is to develop a measurement tool that is practical, objective, able to be implemented globally across a range of contexts, that facilitates objective decision-making and transparent arbitration on critical hydropower sustainability issues, that is committed to by the hydropower sector, and that is endorsed by external organizations.
The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol that is being developed by the Forum is intended to replace the IHA Sustainability Assessment Protocol (2006). The Protocol will continue to be a voluntary assessment tool promoted by IHA for use by its members, with the aspiration that externally endorsing parties will also promote its application.
The value that can be added to other sectors by having a broadly endorsed hydropower sustainability assessment tool is setting out common expectations amongst stakeholders on the sustainability issues that need to be addressed for hydropower projects. Such a framework can improve, shorten and facilitate decision-making at key project stages, ultimately reducing project costs and timeframes.
Because it is the outcome of a rigorous cross-sectoral process and incorporates current thinking on hydropower sustainability assessment issues, over time this Protocol may inform the evolution of or be adopted as the assessment approach used by governments, banks and other institutions.
See also “Who would use the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol?”
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Who would use the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol?
The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol is an assessment framework of sustainability for hydropower projects. Potential users and uses include, but are not limited to:
- All sectors, including project affected communities, providing a common basis for dialogue on sustainability issues;
- Governments, potential financiers and other decision-makers to ensure that new hydropower developments are an appropriate solution for the context in which they are proposed;
- Companies, governments, financial institutions and NGOs to guide development of new hydropower facilities;
- Companies, governments and development agencies to assess the sustainability of existing operations and develop programs for improvement;
- NGOs and civil society to evaluate the sustainability of hydropower projects at different life cycle stages, to form their own views on the sustainability performance of operators and financiers with respect to hydropower projects, and to form a basis for dialogue on these projects;
- Developers, financial institutions and other investors in assessing the risks of potential investments and as part of due diligence;
- The hydropower sector in seeking external qualification for financing from banks, carbon credits (e.g. CDM/JI), renewable energy credits (e.g. RECs), recognition in voluntary markets (e.g. green certificates); and the administrators of these schemes in judging admission;
- Verification agencies certifying a level of sustainability; and
- Hydropower owners/operators for corporate sustainability management and training.
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How is the Protocol applicable to difference size, types and national contexts for hydropower?
The Protocol is intended to be a globally applicable sustainability assessment tool for hydropower regardless of type, scale or other reservoir uses. In the Draft Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (August 2009), there are two mechanisms by which the individual context can be considered.
- Each section has guidance on Criteria to be Met for an Aspect to be Considered Not Relevant. This recognises that not all aspects will be relevant to every hydropower project. For example, if there is no reservoir then it is not necessary to assess the aspect called Reservoir Management. Exclusion of an aspect is reliant on credible evidence to justify this decision.
- Each aspect contains guidance on Considerations Relevant to Project Context or Scale. This provides a flag to the auditor on what may or may not be relevant under different circumstances. It is hoped that through an extensive trialling process for the Draft Protocol, that these instructions to the auditor may become increasingly refined.
The Forum is committed to seek input on how to ensure relevance of the Protocol to all types of hydropower in various contexts, through the consultation and trialling of the Draft Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol August 2009.
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How do we ensure that with so many aspects that some of fundamental importance are not lost in the detail?
The Protocol needs to reflect the many dimensions of hydropower sustainability, including economic, environmental, financial, social, and technical aspects as well as many issues that cut across these themes. The Forum is committed to explore options in how to apply the Protocol so that aspects clearly communicated to the Forum to be of fundamental importance are not lost in the detail. Mapping of high profile and cross-cutting themes, supplemented by guidance notes, is part of this approach. Providing a range of options on how outcomes of the assessment can be presented and analysed is another part. The Phase 2 Consultation will allow the opportunity for stakeholders to review how well this has been achieved in the Draft Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol, and to make any suggestions on how to do this better.
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How are decommissioning and relicensing dealt with?
The Forum does not have specific sections to address decommissioning and relicensing. Hydropower projects tend to have an extensive lifetime, with many projects having been in service for more than a century. Major project decisions relating to project or network re-optimisation, project life extension or decommisioning would ideally go back to Section I Strategic Assessments. Project decisions relating to refurbishment could go back to Section II Project Preparation. In the case of re-licensing which would be assessing existing operations, Section IV Project Operation should be appropriate.
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Does the Protocol set standards for acceptable performance?
The Forum’s work is based on the premise that development of a sustainability assessment tool is an important foundation step for efforts to lift sustainability performance in the hydropower sector. The Forum is developing an assessment tool that describes levels of performance on key hydropower sustainability issues without specifying guidelines or minimum standards on acceptable performance. The Forum sees this assessment tool a foundation step, and that there will be follow-up work on different application and implementation pathways, all with the common objective of lifting sustainability performance in the hydropower sector. This follow-up work is yet to be defined, but is highly likely to include pathways towards development of a sector standard. The potential pathways forward will be considered by a second phase of effort in 2010, once the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol has been finalized.
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How does the Forum process relate to the World Commission on Dams?
The World Commission on Dams (WCD) was an extensive review of the performance of large dams conducted between 1998 and 2000, based on a process of submissions, hearings, surveys and case studies, out of which was proposed a new framework for decision-making for the water and energy sectors. UNEP’s Dams & Development Project (DDP) was a six-year follow up to the WCD, and resulted in a consensus around the Core Values and the Strategic Priorities of WCD, on which the IHA Sustainability Guidelines and Protocol build.
The Forum is not an attempt to duplicate or re-write the WCD outcomes. Unlike WCD, it is not a Commission reviewing performance of a sector. The HSAF is a cross-sector collaboration looking at an existing performance measurement tool and proposing enhancements. It draws on WCD Core Values and Strategic Priorities, along with other existing principles and policies, in its work to develop a practical assessment tool for hydropower sustainability.
In response to requests of stakeholders in the Forum’s Phase 1 Consultation, a Mapping of WCD Strategic Priorities within the Draft Protocol Content has been made public with the Draft Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (August 2009).
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