The IHA Board meeting in London on 19-20 July 2017 was an opportunity for the outgoing Board to review activities for the 2015-2017 period and provide recommendations for the future.

The current IHA Board met for the sixth time in the two-year cycle which concludes in September. The meeting was an opportunity to review the association’s activities over the past two years and to look ahead to the 2017-2019 period.

Elections are currently underway for the new Board, which will be in place for its first meeting on 20-21 September.

Accompanying a changing sector

The last two years of intense activity within IHA culminated in the 2017 World Hydropower Congress, where some 650 participants from our membership and the wider hydropower community discussed key areas of our work, from measuring greenhouse gas emissions from hydropower activities to building capacity and addressing skills shortages in the sector.

The congress took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 9-11 May 2017.

IHA has also been building new partnerships across the sector, which has enabled us to be present at a range of events where hydropower is on the agenda, notably in China, Africa and South America.

Our ambitious work programme is enabling us to position IHA as the go-to organisation in the sector, recognising our role in building and sharing knowledge on a broad range of topics, such as climate resilience, sediment management and sustainability performance.

Among the key achievements highlighted to the Board were our contribution to reporting on the sector, and our ‘Better Hydro’ initiative.

Our current activities are part of a wider 2020 set of targets aiming at improving the association’s visibility, impact and service to members.

New cycle of work

The 2017-2019 strategy will shape our activities over the coming two-year period, guiding our hydropower development, sustainability, membership and communications activities.

This meeting was an opportunity for outgoing Board members to share their thoughts on the new strategy, which will be reviewed and adopted by the incoming Board in September.

Ahead of the July meeting, Board members were invited to participate in two in-depth workshops, on the World Hydropower Congress and on sustainability assessment.

Ken Adams, IHA president, thanks those outgoing members of the Board who contributed to previous activities but are not seeking re-election: Roy Adair; Mike McWilliams; Roland Münch; José María Sánchez Tillería; Wolfgang Semper; Torstein Dale Sjøtveit; and Igor Zhezhel.

Review of hydropower activities around the world

The Board meeting is also an opportunity for members to report on their own activities. The Board includes 18 elected members, representing six regions worldwide. A number of observers, representing IHA platinum corporate member companies, development agencies and governments are also invited to attend the meetings.

The results of the IHA Board elections will be announced on 7 August. Members who have not yet voted should note the deadline of 2 August and click here for further information.

For more information on the current IHA Board, please click here.