Good living of communities and sustainability of the hydropower business: mapping an operational framework for benefit sharing

Abstract

The negative impact of hydropower companies is cushioned frequently through compensation that is proportional neither to the needs of communities nor to the energy business. Considering the dependence of hydropower on the environment, it is unclear how the good living of communities can be combined with the long-term sustainability of power companies. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to establish a benefit sharing scheme between hydropower companies and local communities. We conducted a systematic literature review using a sequential mixed-method approach. In the first stage, we performed a quantitative bibliometric analysis, and its results, described in Model 1.0, were the basis of the second stage. Consequently, in the second stage, we conducted a content analysis of 40 documents to enrich the previous version of the model in Framework 2.0. After completing both the methodological stages, we prepared a theoretical operational framework for benefit sharing based on collaborative governance that assigned different specific weights for companies and local communities. Equal benefit sharing is the result of an adaptive process that depends on (1) the performance of companies, (2) the level of empowerment of communities and (3) the state’s capacity to intervene in setting rules of engagement that help reduce power asymmetries between companies and the society.

Hydropower benefit-sharing and resettlement: A conceptual review

“…Globally, but particularly in the Global South, hydropower developers are increasingly expected or required to share benefits with people living in project-affected areas [1][2][3][4]. As more and more hydropower dams are being built around the world, not least in the context of climate change mitigation [5,6], designing effective benefit-sharing mechanisms is of great practical relevance today [7][8][9][10]. A growing number of development banks, international organisations, and professional associations such as the International Hydropower Association (IHA) have begun to develop guidelines for benefit-sharing [3,11,12].…”

“…[11,12,[32][33][34][35]), here we aim to contribute to the comparatively small, but growing academic literature on the subject (e.g. [2,4,7,9,10,36]). For practitioners, the IHA's recently published how-to-guides on hydropower benefit-sharing [11] and resettlement [24] may be of interest, as well as a series of case studies on hydropower benefit-sharing [35] that was commissioned by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group.…”

How Management Efforts of a Large Hydropower Firm Impact Sustainability in the Colombian Andes: A Multivariate Analysis of Society’s Perceptions

“…Hence, the management of hydropower projects require guidance in environmental, social, financial, and technical sustainability criteria, from the joint perspective of industry, civil society, policy makers, and financiers [25]- [27]. Practical solutions to overcome hydropower drawbacks include developing of protective measures [26]; performing comprehensive impact assessments [7], risk evaluations and management plans involving the stakeholders [29], [30]; engaging stakeholders in the decisions related to the watershed [31]- [33]; and a benefit sharing scheme [34], [35]. However, adopting a holistic sustainability approach in the management of large hydroelectric firms [11] (e.g., corporate sustainability [36]) could be a solution to create value while strengthening the social and environmental development of watersheds.…”

“…The sustainability of the hydropower sector in Colombia has gained increasing awareness and financial support [44]. In recent years, sustainability issues related to hydropower in Colombia has been assessed, i.e., the management of sediments [45], [46], the sediments generation according to the land use [47], the payment for ecosystem services [48], the benefit sharing scheme [35], the governance for sustainability in a context of violence [20], the equity and sustainability of water allocation [49] and the political events that have led to social conflicts related to hydropower [16]. Other authors have modelled different scenarios and proposed policies to aid in the decision-making process [50].…”