riverbp
12–13 October, 2016, CAREC in conjunction with International Hydropower Association Sustainability Ltd (IHAS) holds the training course on ‘Train-the-trainers event on the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol’. Policy-makers, regulators, developers and operators of hydropower projects from Central Asia participate in the training. The main objective of this training is to build a capacity for improving the sustainability of hydropower projects in Central Asia, including developing and operating projects.
IHAS developed the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol in partnership with various stakeholders – comprising industry, civil society and government representatives. The Protocol is a framework for assessing the sustainability of hydropower projects at four stages of development, promoting the continuous improvement of hydropower sustainability performance. It provides a shared language for improved dialogue on hydropower sustainability.
The content of the workshop included an introduction to the Protocol, case studies of the Protocol assessments and selected sustainability topics. Participants will get in-depth understanding of the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol, and it’s role in the Central Asia.
Central Asian countries have strict regulations and engineering standards, so there is an issue on conformity of the Protocol in the region – some areas are still not covered by these regulations, for example there may not be any standard on sedimentation or reservoir planning.
The Protocol provides guidance on the environmental and social issues that are specific to hydropower – it is like a hydropower 'sector guideline'.
_____________________________________