Is it worth a dam?
Water isn't just a resource; it's the lifeblood of our planet. Yet, instead of empowering communities to steward this vital element, essential for all living organisms on Earth, the systemic privatisation of water alongside the proliferation of dams poses an insidious threat to our survival. It leaves us at the mercy of a select few who monopolise water as an asset and commodity to gain power and control. Pressing social, political, economic, and environmental crises demand that we rethink everything, worldwide.
I'm not here to bash dams outright. Yes, they may offer short-term gains, but at what cost? These colossal structures, with their artificial design and ecologically disruptive presence, wreak havoc on our climate, freshwater reserves, and precious biodiversity. I question their design and fundamental purpose: why do they exist in the first place? If dams are meant to store water and provide life, then they are not fulfilling their job well. I urge those in charge to reevaluate the dam infrastructure.
The dam greedy
Climate change was believed to be the culprit behind the disappearance of Laguna de Aculeo, what was once a beautiful blue lake in central Chile until it was dried out in 2018. However, a 2022 study found “undisputable evidence that this natural body of water disappeared primarily because of anthropogenic factors”—mainly through the diversion of rivers and pumping of groundwater from aquifers that once replenished the lake. All of this happened because Chile's constitution, enacted in 1980 by General Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship, protected the private ownership of water. The 1981 Water Code also enabled the government to grant permanent and transferable water rights to private owners, free of charge.
Chile’s water problem flows deeply in other countries. Specifically, the corruption of governments who exploit the gift of Mother Nature, designed to free flow abundantly to all, for their own selfish gains. This exploitation extends beyond the government and into self-serving corporations like Nestlé—not any new revelation here—who have long been monopolising water supplies worldwide for profit and control.
Last summer, volunteering on climate restoration projects, exposed me to the consequences of Bali’s rampant corruption in water privatisation, driven primarily by the demands of the island’s tourism-dependent economy. Since the 1950s, Bali's tourism industry has surged at an unprecedented rate, outstripping its capacity to sustain the escalating demands. The Telaga Tunjung Tabanan Dam, constructed around 2002–2003, initially served as a beacon of hope by promising farmers access to clean water. However, this promise was shattered as the majority of its water was diverted to luxury villas and tourist hotspots in Southern Bali (Uluwatu—where there is no water—Canggu, Kuta, and Seminyak, as some of the destinations), leaving local farmers with limited access and dwindling supplies.
Construction expanding the Telaga Tunjung Tabanan Dam, recorded in September 2023.
Back in 2012, it was estimated that roughly 60% of Bali’s water was consumed by the tourism industry. The average tourist consumes about 150–200 litres per day, compared to the 30–50 litres used by locals. When factoring in the water usage of luxury resorts and villas, the consumption per tourist skyrockets to an estimated 2,000 to 4,000 litres (528 to 1,057 gallons) per day. This excessive demand from tourism has out-competed local demands for water, placing a severe strain on residents and farmers alike.
During the production of an upcoming documentary series Overbooked, we met with local Balinese farmers grappling with the impacts of mass tourism. One farmer shared his challenges with the Telaga Tunjung Tabanan Dam. Just a few years after the dam went into operation, he was forced to switch from growing rice to corn cultivation due to water scarcity. However, even with this transition to a less water-intensive crop, we saw how dry his land had been and the increasing difficulty he faced in harvesting a good yield. The lives of the farmers in Tabanan, a region once hailed as the “rice bowl” of Bali, are in jeopardy because of water privatisation and mismanagement.
Filming of documentary series ‘Overbooked’ in Bali 2023. I am not directly involved with the production. I was volunteer with non-profit Tri Hita Karana Bali, where the founder, Chakra was being interviewed.
Our damned history
The first humans known to build dams were the ancient Mesopotamians who built the Jawa Dam around 3,000 BCE. Dams have been around for thousands of centuries. Throughout human civilisation, dams have provided a steady source of water supply to growing populations. By 1997, there were an estimated 800,000 dams worldwide. The widespread construction of dams has been described as the largest anthropogenic (human-caused) alteration of freshwater hydrological conditions.
According to current estimates by the International Commission On Large Dams, there are close to 62,000 ‘large’ dams worldwide that store roughly one-sixth of the globe’s total annual river flow into our oceans. This discounts the number of small dams and reservoirs, roughly 16 million of them, that exist around the world. Although dams bring certain benefits like storing freshwater supplies, providing renewable energy and preventing floods, they have been incredibly destructive to our environment.
Dam climate impact
Water loss due to evaporation
Contrary to the belief that dams hold and store water, they actually contribute to significant water loss worldwide. Large surface areas accelerate evaporation because they provide more space for water to escape into the atmosphere. With larger surface areas like our dams and reservoirs, more water molecules are exposed to the sun’s energy, allowing them to break free from their liquid state and transition into vapour. The amount of water lost due to evaporation could be a significant proportion of the total water stored, where annual losses could be up to 50% of the dam’s total storage volume. Further, dams trap nutrient-rich sediments that foster the growth of aquatic plant life. These plants draw water from the reservoir, contributing to additional water loss through their transpiration process. It is estimated that 170 cubic kilometres of water evaporate from the world’s reservoirs each year, accounting for 7% of all freshwater consumed by humans.
Loss of critical biodiversity
Dams have played a significant role in the staggering 84% decline in observed freshwater populations since 1970. They disrupt the natural flow of life by dividing rivers, creating upstream/downstream habitats, and blocking essential migratory pathways critical to the survival of certain species. This interference also affects the movement of organic matter, depriving ecosystems of essential nutrients.
Take for instance, Asia’s longest river, where over 50,000 dams were built in the past half century. Species like the Yangtze sturgeon and Chinese paddlefish—who survived extinction during the era of dinosaurs, but failed to survive human intervention—were declared extinct by the IUCN in 2022. Similarily, the Baiji dolphin has vanished from existence after the construction of The Three Gorges, the world’s largest hydropower project. The Three Gorges dam has resulted in unprecedented biodiversity loss for over 6,000 plant species, 500 terrestrial vertebrates and over 400 species of fish. Here are just a few examples of the significant biodiversity loss resulting from the construction of dams.
Increased greenhouse gas emissions
When dams are flooded, large reservoirs are created where vast amounts of organic material submerge underwater, facilitating the anaerobic decomposition of rotting vegetation. This process releases greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Methane, in particular, is produced at the bottom of the reservoir, where oxygen is limited and bacteria decompose already present organic matter and those carried by the dam's flow. A study published on BioScience found that dams emit more methane than natural wetlands, lakes, ponds, and rivers combined. Researchers from the same study approximate one billion tonnes of greenhouse gases get emitted by dams each year, accounting for 1.3% of total anthropogenic (human-influenced) emissions.
Flooding of carbon sinks
Dams demolish carbon sinks that play a vital role in the carbon cycle by drawing CO2 from the atmosphere. Carbon sinks are crucial for maintaining balance on Earth as they absorb more carbon than they release, offsetting a significant portion of carbon emissions that help to stabilise our global climate. The world’s biggest sinks are found in our oceans, forests and soil. Unfortunately, dams are frequently built over rivers, valleys, and forests, destroying extensive 'green' areas, home to all different kinds of life.
As reservoirs fill up, upstream areas like our forests become flooded. The drowning of forests essentially eliminates their function as a carbon sink, and worse, the drowned vegetation releases powerful greenhouse gases during their decomposition process. Dams indirectly promote other environmental altercation such as increased deforestation for agriculture and urban development. When we lose our forests, we also lose our rainfall. It’s a vicious cycle spiralling us towards all types of shortages where there won’t be enough resources on Earth.
The impediment of sediments travelling downstream also means fewer nutrients get transported to downstream rivers and oceans. This diminished nutrient supply leads to a gradual loss of ecologically important vegetation and coastal ecosystems that can sequester up to 20 times more carbon per acre than land forests. Although the performance of microalgae in carbon emission reduction has yet to be fully understood, a paper published in 2016 in Nature Geosciences estimates that sea kelp can sequester around 200 million tons of carbon dioxide per year—that’s more than the annual emissions of the state of New York.
We be dammed if we don’t change
Free-flowing rivers are some of the rarest and most endangered ecosystems in the world. In a 2019 study published in Nature, 12 million kilometres of rivers were assessed worldwide. Of rivers longer than 1,000 kilometres, only 37% of them remain free-flowing while 23% flow uninterrupted to the ocean—that’s less than a quarter. Based on damming plans for the future, it is estimated that up to 90% of all rivers will be fragmented by 2030. The loss of connectivity will mean a big dam problem.
Today, 27% of known freshwater species are threatened with extinction. While freshwater ecosystems cover just 1% of Earth’s surface, they are home to over half of all known fish species. This is the equivalent of animal protein for 158 million people. With freshwater river ecosystems disappearing three times faster than forests, we risk losing multiple freshwater populations needed to sustain life on Earth.
It doesn’t matter that dams have provided for agriculture, drinking water, and energy. Their ecological footprint is too damaging and will only leave us parched—and hungry. Needless to say, there will be more challenges, besides thirst and hunger, that we will have to face if we don’t change. Yes absolutely, it won’t be easy, but there is more than enough proof that a whole-systems thinking approach to the design of our future works. When you have experienced the magic of permaculture, you will see how “infrastructures” can coexist harmoniously with nature because they draw inspiration directly from her. We need to restore our relationship with Mother Earth because she is our biggest teacher and the greatest gift.
P.S. There really is hope. Three years ago, when a series of dams on the Hiitolanjoki River were dismantled, wild salmon started returning to the river after years of absence. So, Finland started removing more of their dams, especially considering assessments that showed their energy production was no longer worth it. Every time a dam was removed, salmon returned to embrace the newly opened section of the river, extending their habitat upstream towards their historic spawning grounds.
Recently, water along a portion of the Klamath River—running 414 kilometres (257 miles) through Oregon and California, ending in the Pacific Ocean—flowed freely for the first time in more than 100 years. For decades, the river was blocked by four hydroelectric dams—J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate. The demolition of the Klamath dams is considered the largest-ever dam removal project in the United States, and if the extremely divided USA can pull this off, so can the rest of the world.
Dam removal is not new but we need to demand more changes: let our rivers flow. Just like how the human flow state benefits our health and productivity, the same can be said when nature is in flow.
P.P.S. Enjoy below 💙
