Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum Consultation Session

1. Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum Consultation Session World Water Forum Side Event 19 March 2009 Istanbul

2. Session Outline • Chair – Brian Richter, The Nature Conservancy • Introductions of Forum members • Overview presentation – Helen Locher, Forum Coordinator • Discussion of Issues • Forum process • Forum objectives • Protocol application • Protocol content • Forum member comments • Closing

3. Initiatives Lifting Performance in the Hydropower Sector

4. Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum • The HSAF is a collaboration of representatives from different sectors who aim to develop a broadly endorsed sustainability assessment tool to measure and guide performance in the hydropower sector. • The Forum members are jointly reviewing and recommending enhancements to the IHA Sustainability Assessment Protocol (2006), developed to assess social, environmental and economic performance of hydropower projects and operating facilities against criteria described in the IHA Sustainability Guidelines (2004).

5. Why the IHA Sustainability Assessment Protocol? Advantages (e.g….) • Builds on WCD, DDP and other principles and policies • Balance across economic, social, environmental issues • Practical approach to measure sustainability • Continuous improvement (6 versions since 2003) • Strong endorsement by the hydropower sector • Opportunities (e.g….) • Broader ownership and wider application • Better meet the needs of other sectors • Harmonisation with other standards • Improve on emerging concepts • Increase objectivity • Improve support info e.g. technical guidance notes

6. Forum Membership The members of the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum comprise representatives of developed and developing countries, environmental and social NGOs, commercial and development banks and the hydropower sector, with membership guided by the common efforts of IHA, WWF and TNC. • Developing Countries • Dr Yu Xuezhong, Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, PR China • Mr Zhou Shichun, China Hydropower Engineering Consulting Group Co., PR China • Mr Israel Phiri, Manager PPI, Ministry of Energy and Water Development, Zambia • Developed Countries • Mr Geir Hermansen, Senior Advisor, Department of Energy, Norad, Norway • Prof Gudni A Johannesson, Director General, National Energy Authority, Iceland • Ms Kirsten Nyman, Policy Advisor for Sustainable Hydropower, GTZ, Germany (observer) • Hydropower Sector • Dr Refaat Abdel-Malek, President, International Hydropower Association • Mr Andrew Scanlon, Coordinating Author, IHA Sustainability Assessment Protocol • NGOs - Environmental Aspects • Mr David Harrison, Senior Advisor, Global Freshwater Team, The Nature Conservancy • Dr Joerg Hartmann, Lead, Dams Initiative, World Wildlife Fund • NGOs - Social Aspects • Mr Michael Simon, Lead, Development Banks/NRM, Oxfam • Dr Donal O’Leary, Water Sector Specialist, Transparency International • Finance Sector - Economic Aspects • Ms Courtney Lowrance, Environmental Specialist, Equator Principles Financial Institutions Group • Ms Daryl Fields, Senior Water Resources Specialist, World Bank (observer) • Forum Chair • Mr André Abadie, Sustainable Finance Ltd.

7. Forum Funding • Initial contributions pledged at the Forum commencement comprise: • German government - £84k • Icelandic government - £100k • International Hydropower Association - £25k • Norwegian government - £250k • The Nature Conservancy - £25k • In kind contributions estimated to total more than £720k • The Forum is seeking additional funds to complete its work programme and enable fuller consultation and trialling on Draft Protocol.

8. Overview of Forum Work Plan – 2008-09 (PHASE 1)

9. Forum Meetings – 2008-09

10. Milestone Reports – 2008-09

11. Proposals Arising from the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum

12. Proposed Protocol Structure Sections – stand-alone assessment tools relevant to a particular project life cycle stage Principles - a set of core sustainability values that underpin the Protocol Underpinning Principles Aspects – a set of key sustainability issues to be assessed for each section Section IV Section I Section II Section III Attributes – criteria for each aspect which form the basis for determining sustainability performance on that aspect Policy objective – identifies what is trying to be achieved Set of Aspects Aspect Name Description Policy Objective Objective evidence – evidence provided by an auditee and used by an assessor to verify whether and to what degree an attribute has been met Attributes, Guidance Notes, Scoring Instructions Objective Evidence

13. Proposed Protocol Sections Protocol Sections: Sec I Sec II Sec III Sec IV Strategic Assessments Project Preparation Project Implementation Project Operation Project Stages: Decision Points at the end of each project Stage: Commence hydropower project preparation Award of construction contracts Project commissioning

14. Section II – Project Preparation – Proposed Aspects

16. Uses, Users and Maximising Impact

17. How can the hydropower sustainability assessment protocol be used? • The IHA Sustainability Assessment Protocol (2006) is a voluntary assessment framework of sustainability in the hydropower sector. • Potential applications for the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol are broad in terms of who uses it and for what purpose.

18. Potential Users and Uses • All sectors providing a common basis for dialogue on sustainability issues. • Governments, potential financiers and other decision-makers can use the Protocol to ensure that new hydropower developments are an appropriate solution for the context in which they are proposed. • Companies, governments, financial institutions and NGOs can all use the Protocol to guide development of new hydropower facilities. • Companies, governments and development agencies to assess the sustainability of existing operations and develop programs for improvement. • NGOs and civil society to evaluate the sustainability of hydropower projects at different life cycle stages and to form a basis for dialogue and for holding operators and financiers to account. • Developers, financial institutions and other investors in assessing the risks of potential investments and as part of due diligence. • The hydropower sector in seeking external qualification for financing from banks, carbon credits (e.g. CDM/JI), renewable energy credits (e.g. RECs), recognition in voluntary markets (e.g. green certificates); and the administrators of these schemes in judging admission • Verification agencies certifying a level of sustainability. • Hydropower owners/operators for corporate sustainability management and training

19. Potential Future Pathways Reflected in national and regional legislation and policies Sector guidelines Reflected in bank safeguards policies Basis for common stakeholder dialogue Admission criteria for specific markets Sustainability & performance standards Awards & recognition Schemes Capacity building through training Programs Industry benchmarking Good Practice Information e.g. the Sustainable Hydro Website www.sustainablehydropower.org Hydropower sustainability certification schemes

20. Obtaining Views of Stakeholders

21. Consultation Strategy • All HSAF members have formal reference groups and/or networks of stakeholders with whom they discuss the HSAF work. • Two open consultation periods are built into the HSAF process: • Phase 1: Jan-Feb 2009. Focussed on developing relationships with stakeholders, building understanding of the HSAF process and getting initial feedback on protocol content (Key Components Document). • Phase 2: Jul-Aug 2009. Will focus on more detailed protocol content review and the practical application of this assessment tool. This phase will involve regional consultation meetings. A program of trialling the draft revised protocol will be conducted at the same time.

22. Consultation Phase 1 Outcomes • >180 people accessed the on-line questionnaire • >80 people submitted partial or full on-line responses • >23 on-line resondents provided detailed comment on individual sections • Majority of on-line respondents were from hydropower sector (companies or consultants) or research organisations, with some banks and inter-governmental organisations also responding. Very few NGOs responded on-line. • The Consultation Consultant put a lot of personal effort into following up with NGOs / civil society to gain an understanding of their issues, through direct emails and phone calls. • Translation of the 5-page HSAF overview document into Spanish to assist the effort to reach non-English speaking NGOs. • Gaps in response largely governments and climate change organisations.

23. Consultation Phase 1 Issues Raised

24. Session Outline • Chair – Brian Richter, The Nature Conservancy • Introductions of Forum members • Overview presentation – Helen Locher, Forum Coordinator • Discussion of Issues • Forum process • Forum objectives • Protocol application • Protocol content • Forum member comments • Closing

25. Next Steps • Response to Consultation Outcomes Report. • Development of Draft Protocol (June 09) • Consultation and trialling. • Analysis of potential pathways forward, and development of a proposal for a follow up work program. • Development and release of Final Protocol. • Commencement of follow-on phase focussing on implementation pathways. For More Information: www.hydropower.org/sustainable_hydropower/hsaf.html