A new collection of case studies highlighting good practice in sustainable hydropower development, Better Hydro: Compendium of Case Studies 2017, has been launched at the 2017 World Hydropower Congress in Addis Ababa.

You can download Better Hydro: Compendium of Case Studies 2017 here.

The collection of 34 case studies is based on assessments carried out under the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol, a tool developed through multi-stakeholder consensus that measures the sustainability of projects across a range of social, environmental, economic and technical considerations. The case studies are written by accredited assessors who carried out the assessments on-site.

Topic case studies focus on specific aspects of development, such as ‘indigenous people’, ‘cultural heritage’, ‘economic viability’, and ‘water quality’ (23 are covered in total).

In addition, the publication features five project-wide case studies that cover a broad geographical scope and focus on different stages of project development. Finally, six more general initiatives demonstrating innovative local and regional approaches are also detailed.

Richard Taylor, IHA Chief Executive, said: "By using the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol, project developers have been able to identify gaps in their practices and processes, and better understand how they can be addressed.

"This has brought forth some invaluable information for the sector as a whole, but until now this has not been made widely accessible. With the publication of this compendium, we are taking an important step towards sharing these examples."