Dams and territories: ITCOLD’s initiatives to promote proactive dialogue

Abstract

In Italy there are over 530 large dams mainly for energy production and water supply. At present, the multipurpose use of water resources is strongly influenced by problems related to the aging of dams and the ongoing climate change which affects the water availability. On the other hand, the European energy and climate directives require to preserve the existing hydropower generation and to increase storage capacity to better exploit non-programmable renewable energy sources. These choices require the identification of methods and actions to deal with the complex relationship between the dams and their host territories which represents a critical point on the way to attain the energy and climate goals considering that part of the media and public opinion often have a negative view on the role of dams and reservoirs. These considerations are at the basis of the regional initiatives “Dams and territory” promoted by ITCOLD (Italian Committee on Large Dams) which since 2014 has organized annual workshops whose aim is to promote dialogue between dam owners and interested parties to identify a point of balance between the various interests that sometimes conflict with each other. The paper represents an updating of the work presented during the 10th ICOLD European Club Symposium held in Antalya (Turkey) on October 2016 and synthesizes the results gathered in the 6 workshops held so far. The project could represent a possible point of reference for other countries wishing to undertake similar initiatives.