WORKING TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF DAMS
Dam Safety      AND DOWNSTREAM COMMUNITIES

                      The safe planning, design, and management of
                      the world’s dams contributes to securing water
                      for people and production, while safeguarding life,
                      property and the environment.




               Our central priority is to ensure that safe dams
               contribute to resilient and sustainable economic
               growth, and social development.




                      We work with clients to build
                      capacity, embed good international
                      practice to assure safe operations,
                      reduce the risk of failure, and
                      provide water for human needs.
Dam Safety

                                            58,000
                                                                                         The majority of large dams were built between 1950 and 1989.
                          Globally, there
                          are more than
                                                                    large dams.          Some
                                                                                              19,000              dams have been
                                                                                                                  operating for    50       years
                                                                                                                                            or more.


             The WORLD’S LARGE DAMS
             have the potential to store   1/6          of the total annual river flow
                                                        into the oceans.
                                                                                             The incidence of large dam failure is low, yet
                                                                                         failures do occur – and they can result in large-
                                                                                         scale loss of life and livelihoods, environmental
                                                                                                    damage, and destruction of property.
                    Millions of small dams and impoundments add significantly
                    to the storage and productive use of global freshwater resources.


                                                                                             We work to ensure that populations are not put
                        Roughly half of the world’s large dams serve multiple
              1/2       purposes – primarily supporting irrigation, followed by
                        hydropower generation, water supply, and flood control.
                                                                                              at risk at any point during the life of a dam.


                                                                                           The most effective measures to manage the risks
                                                                                           associated with dams are proper planning, design,
             Irrigation from dams directly supports
                                                      12-16%
                                                      of global food production.
                                                                                                      construction, and operation.


                                                                                                       The World Bank’s Environmental and
                                                                                                       Social Framework aims to better manage
                                                                                                       project environmental and social risks
             HYDROPOWER
             contributes about   70%
                                               of renewable energy
                                                    production, or    24%
                                                      of total electricity production.
                                                                                                       and improve development outcomes.
                                                                                                       It emphasizes the corresponding
                                                                                                       responsibility of borrowers to avoid or
                                                                                                       minimize such risks and impacts.