Publications

This How-to Guide helps hydropower developers to achieve good international industry practice in river management throughout a project’s life-cycle.
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This How-to Guide supports hydropower developers to identify, manage and avoid risks associated with resettlement.

It will guide practitioners to design and implement resettlement programmes in accordance with the internationally recognised Hydropower Sustainability Tools.

Learn more about resettlement.

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Now in its seventh edition, the 2020 Hydropower Status Report is published at a time of great global uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report, compiled by IHA and its team of researchers and analysts, finds that:

• Covid-19 has underlined the hydropower sector’s resilience and its critical role in delivering clean, reliable and affordable energy, especially at times of crisis.
• A bold and ambitious green recovery plan involving significant investment in sustainable hydropower will be needed as part of the policy response.
• Total global hydropower installed capacity reached 1,308 gigawatts (GW) in 2019.
• Clean electricity generation from hydropower achieved a record 4,306 terawatt hours (TWh), the single greatest contribution from a renewable energy source.

Learn more: www.hydropower.org/declaration

CHINESE LANGUAGE VERSION

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This guide has now been replaced by the How-to Guide on Climate Resilience, which was launched in September 2025 by the Hydropower Sustainability Alliance.

The Hydropower Sector Climate Resilience Guide offers a methodology for identifying, assessing and managing climate risks to enhance the resilience of hydropower projects.

The guide responds to the need for international industry good practice on how to incorporate climate resilience into hydropower project planning, design and operations.

It seeks to evolve from the default use of historical data and the assumption that hydrological variability will remain the same over the lifetime of a project. The guide also addresses how best to access, use and interpret climate change modelling and observed climate data.

The Hydropower Sector Climate Resilience Guide was developed with the financial and technical support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank Group and its Korea Green Growth Trust Fund.

News Release - New guide to help hydropower build resilience to climate change

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The 2019 Hydropower Status Report offers insights and trends on the hydropower sector.

This PowerPoint presentation is provided as a free educational resource.

Credit: International Hydropower Association 2019.

This document describes in detail how each of the components of the simple conceptual equation to define the net GHG footprint of reservoir impoundment have been defined and calculated in the G-res tool.

Upon accessing the G-res tool, users are invited to read this guidance document and the G-res tool technical documentation. Please take the time to do so carefully, as many parameters request specific information.

Download the Forum's Terms of Reference here...

This How-to Guide will help practitioners to understand good practice in benefit sharing for hydropower project development and operation.
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The publication supports decision-makers to identify and deliver socio-economic benefits to communities, while assisting companies to avoid business risks and improve project viability.

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This How-to Guide will help operators and developers to sustainably manage the impacts of erosion and sedimentation on a hydropower project.

The publication maps out practical measures that meet good international industry practice across the project life cycle: from early concept through to detailed design, construction, and operation.

This IHA position paper sets out the immediate impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on the hydropower sector.

The paper looks at how developers and operators have responded, and outlines important hydropower-specific recommendations to assist governments and international financial institutions as they develop their economic recovery plans.

For latest news and resources, visit IHA's Covid-19 communications centre:

hydropower.org/covid-19

Presentation on the 2020 Hydropower Status Report.

This PowerPoint slide pack includes headline information and infographics on worldwide hydropower installed capacity and generation data.

These slides can be used in external presentations provided the source is credited as 'International Hydropower Association (IHA), 2020 Hydropower Status Report'.

To download the full report pdf please visit the publication page.

Learn more: www.hydropower.org/statusreport

The Hydropower Sustainability Guidelines on Good International Industry Practice (HGIIP) define performance expectations for hydropower projects.

The 26 guidelines cover a range of environmental, social and governance topics. Each guideline presents definitions of the processes and outcomes relating to good practice in project planning, operation and implementation.

As a compendium, the guidelines are a reference document for meeting the expectations of lenders, regulators and communities. Compliance with the guidelines can be specified in commercial contracts between financiers and developers, and developers and contractors. Learn more.

The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP) is a tool for assessing projects across a range of social, environmental, technical and economic criteria.

Assessments are based on objective evidence and the results are presented in a standardised way, making it easy to see how existing facilities are performing and how well new projects are being developed.

The Assessment Protocol covers all stages of a project's lifestyle: planning, preparation, implementation and operation.

‍Find out more.

The Hydropower Sustainability ESG Gap Analysis Tool (HESG) enables project proponents to identify and address gaps against international good practice.

The gap analysis tool is based on the framework of the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol, assessing projects according to environmental, social and governance criteria.

The tool is divided into 12 sections which are compatible with IFC Environmental and Social Performance Standards and the World Bank’s new Environmental and Social Framework.

The tool is published by the International Hydropower Association (IHA) under the mandate of the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Council. Learn more.

IHA's 2019-2020 Annual Report outlines our contribution to global decision-making on hydropower and renewable energy, and our initiatives to advance sustainability and share best practices across the sector.

“Now, more than ever, collaboration and dialogue are needed to advance global sustainable energy and the transformation towards a low-carbon energy future,” writes IHA President Roger Gill in his foreword.

“IHA, under the mandate given to us by our members to advance sustainable hydropower, will continue working vigorously with our members, partners and wider stakeholders to deliver the ambition needed to tackle present and future threats and realise the opportunities ahead.”

The Hydropower Sector Climate Resilience Guide supports owners and developers of hydropower projects identify, assess and manage climate risks to enhance the resilience of hydropower projects.

The guide helps to make informed decisions about how to plan, build, upgrade and operate hydropower systems in the face of increasingly variable climatic and hydrological conditions.

It responds to the need for international industry good practice on how to incorporate climate resilience into hydropower project planning, design and operations. The guide seeks to evolve from the default use of historical data and the assumption that hydrological variability will remain the same over the lifetime of a project. The guide also addresses how best to access, use and interpret climate change modelling and observed climate data.

The Hydropower Sector Climate Resilience Guide was developed with the financial and technical support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the World Bank Group and its Korea Green Growth Trust Fund.

The Russian translation was supported by EBRD.

The Report on the 2019 World Hydropower Congress is a comprehensive account of the world's most important gathering of hydropower decision-makers, experts and innovators.

More than 750 delegates from a record 77 countries participated in the three-day event in Paris, 14-16 May 2019, representing industry, government, social and environmental NGOs, academia, finance and multilateral institutions.

Two-hundred speakers addressed 40 focused sessions and workshops on topics such as sustainability, climate resilience, data solutions, working with indigenous communities and supporting growth in other renewables.

In this report you will find:

• Outcomes of discussions and proposed priorities for action
• Session reports on Clean Energy Systems and Modernisation; Sustainability and Strategic Planning; and Climate Change and Resilience
• Regional sessions reports on Europe, Africa, North America, South & Central America, Latin America, East Asia & Pacific
• Workshop reports on Sediment Management, Climate Change Resilience Guide, Preparing operation and maintenance strategies, Sustainability assessment tools, Hydropower benefit sharing and the Francophone workshop on sustainability and good practices
• Summary of the opening and closing sessions

Visit the World Hydropower Congress website.