Promoting favourable outcomes in dam development: an alternative development approach

Abstract

The age old dams-debate has been criticised for over concentration on cost-and-effect analysis of large dams. In this article, an analytical framework that discusses the various outcomes that are associated with the development of large dams depending on the development paradigm used and the structures and processes that are employed is provided. The over-arching argument of the article is that the development of large dams could yield favourable outcomes for all stakeholders in the large dam development maze, if the alternative development approach is applied.