Improving Decision-Making for the Energy Transition: Guidance for Using Strategic Environmental Assessment
Chapter 5 focuses on hydropower development and outlines why SEA is crucial for planning hydropower projects at a watershed or basin level. It emphasizes the need to manage cumulative environmental and socio-economic impacts, engage stakeholders, and inform better decision-making across the hydropower lifecycle. This chapter provides insights into hydropower’s environmental and social impacts and offers strategies to mitigate risks and optimize outcomes, especially through integrated water resource management and coordinated river basin planning. It also includes global examples of SEA applications in the hydropower sector, highlighting the importance of this tool in supporting sustainable energy transitions.
Hydropower is an important source of renewable energy, but building hydropower projects can cause environmental and social problems. Common environmental issues include loss of habitats and biodiversity, water pollution, downstream impacts, and greenhouse gas emissions from reservoirs. On the social side, building dams and other infrastructure can force people to move, take away their livelihoods, and cause conflicts over land and water.
How can SEA be helpful in hydropower projects?
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) helps make sure that policies, plans, and programs (PPPS) for the hydropower sector are framed in a way that, when implemented (mainly through individual projects), they balance energy production with protecting the environment and people’s well-being. Instead of just looking at individual projects, SEA looks at the big picture, focusing on entire watersheds or regions to better manage environmental and social risks.
SEA helps identify problems early, like how multiple hydropower projects in the same area might affect the environment and communities.
One of the main benefits of SEA is its ability to pinpoint the best places for hydropower projects. It can show which areas are too risky to develop and suggest better locations where the impact on nature and people will be less harmful. This planning ensures that we get the energy we need while minimizing negative effects.
SEA also helps bring people into the conversation. It encourages early involvement from local communities, including marginalized groups and Indigenous peoples, to avoid conflicts and make sure the benefits of hydropower are shared more fairly. Listening to different perspectives early on when preparing PPPs makes it easier for subsequent projects to succeed.
SEA improves the overall management of hydropower projects by streamlining environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs), saving time and money. It also encourages countries to work together on shared rivers, especially in regions where water flows across borders.
In short, SEA helps ensure that hydropower PPPs (and subsequent projects) support the shift to cleaner energy in a way that is good for both the environment and people. By using SEA, decision-makers can plan better, reduce risks, and create more sustainable outcomes for everyone.