The World Commission on Dams (WCD) has received an Institutional Award from the International Association of Impact Assessment (IAEA).
The award is in recognition of WCD’s ‘contribution to the policy debate about the environmental and social impacts of large infrastructure projects, and for urging that due consideration be given to incorporating impact assessment in consideration of any project.’ IAEA will present WCD with the award in Cartagena, Colombia, later this year.
Although successfully ‘decommissioned’, WCD lives on in the Dams and Development Unit, scheduled to start work on 1 August for two years. Until that date, a small group from the WCD secretariat will bridge the gap for a smooth handover. The group will be led by former senior advisor Jeremy Bird, a specialist in river basin management, water resources and irrigation policy.