The International Hydropower Association has outlined ten commitments at the closing of the World Hydropower Congress in Beijing.

On Thurdsay 21 May, Richard Taylor, chief executive of IHA, addressed an audience of international delegates from over 60 countries during the closing ceremony of the 2015 World Hydropower Congress in Beijing.

During his closing remarks, he outlined the ten commitments which IHA has pledged to deliver in the next two years:

1. Share the knowledge that has been pooled through the Congress and the related work programmes
2. Continue to strengthen the interaction between all partners of the Congress and advance hydropower where it is most needed, in particular in Africa.
3. Implement the tools that are available to measure and report on the performance of the sector
4. Promote planning of future projects that fit strategically within the water and energy systems to which they contribute
5. Make information available to enable hydropower decision-making to be more transparent and predictable
6. Encourage project design that integrates the multiple water and energy services that hydropower can bring
7. Call on the hydropower community to utilise the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol
8. Work with the public and private sectors to motivate investment through the equitable sharing of responsibilities, risks and benefits
9. Demand that hydropower development becomes a win-win for our society, environment and economy
10. Share widely IHA’s vision for a world where water and energy services are delivered to all in a sustainable way

These pledges will comprise the association’s priorities during the next two years, as IHA looks forward to the next World Hydropower Congress in 2017.

These commitments represent a firmly collaborative stance, which will involve key stakeholders across governments, financial institutions, research institutes, and private sector corporations.