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| Sustainable Hydropower >> Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum | |
Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol: The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum is pleased to announce the final version of the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol. To download the Protocol, please visit the hydrosustainability.org.website. Protocol Purpose and Target Users To reflect the different stages of hydropower development, the Protocol includes four sections, which have been designed to be used as standalone documents. Through an evaluation of basic and advanced expectations, the Early Stage tool may be used for risk assessment and for dialogue prior to advancing into detailed planning. The remaining three documents, Preparation, Implementation and Operation, set out a graded spectrum of practice calibrated against statements of basic good practice and proven best practice. The graded performance within each sustainability topic also provides the opportunity to promote structured, continuous improvement. Assessments rely on objective evidence to support a score for each topic, which is factual, reproducible, objective and verifiable. The Protocol will be most effective when it is imbedded into business systems and processes. Assessment results may be used to inform decisions, to prioritize future work and/or to assist in external dialogue. A wide application of the Protocol is desired; it should be applied in a collaborative way, to ensure the best availability of information and points of view. The development and evaluation of a hydropower project will involve many actors with different roles and responsibilities. It is recognized that both development and operation may involve public entities, private companies or combined partnerships, and responsibilities may change as the project progresses through its life cycle. It is intended that the organisation with the primary responsibility for a project at its particular life-cycle stage will have a central role in any Protocol assessment. This organisation may not have the major responsibility for all sustainability topics. Roles and responsibilities for different topics will be discussed in a Protocol assessment and indicated in the assessment report. The use of the Protocol is governed to protect its integrity, ensure appropriate qualification of trainers and assessors, provide quality control, consistency and comparability of training material, assessments and results, and revenue generation to sustain further development of the Protocol and associated activities. Subject to terms and conditions of use as generally indicated below, the Protocol is available to all parties, without charge, from the International Hydropower Association (IHA) website [www.hydropower.org]. The Protocol, with its previous drafts, is protected by IHA through international property law, including copyright1.The Protocol is free to be used without license for informal purposes, such as informing dialogue, guiding business systems and processes, and for in-house assessments. Formal use of the Protocol, including translation, training of assessors, disclosure of assessment results and any income- and fee-generating activities relating to the Protocol, is controlled by license. The terms and conditions for obtaining a license to formally use the Protocol shall be made publicly available, as soon as they are finalized. Once an applicant meets the terms and conditions for obtaining a license, such a license shall not be unreasonably withheld. IHA and the endorsing organizations seek feedback and suggestions for improvement of future versions of the Protocol. To gain further information on the use of the Protocol and/or to provide feedback, please contact the IHA Central Office2. 1Copyright © International Hydropower Association (IHA). 2010 All rights reserved (No part of this document may be reproduced, translated, transmitted or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written permission of IHA, or as expressly permitted by law.) |
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