the interrelations among water, energy, food, climate change, poverty, social and economical development etc etc are well known. Large dams can be the proper answer to several problems only if their design and management enter into a regional masterplan. The impact of large infrastructures, like large dams, is very high but also the benefits can be very important, such as flood control, water reservoirs for dry period to assure agriculture activities and also energy production. As other contributors said, it is impossible to give a generic answer. Each case must be considered independently. The aspects to be taken into account are several and goes from the purely technical ones to the ones related to transboundary management so that usually these large infrastructures affect international water courses. I am not negative at all about large dams a priori but I am convinced that for the success of the investment and the satisfaction of the down stream river side population, several fundamental aspects have to be taken into consideration. Among these: the regional impact; the set up of an international authority (such a basin authority) for the management of the new hydraulic regime according to hydrologic forecast and the needs of all the users. Not last, such large dams require highly specialised personnel for the real time regulation, especially in case of extreme events. So, the design and the construction of large dams must be always associated to advanced training for the benefit of the hydrografic district affected by the dam.
the interrelations among water, energy, food, climate change, poverty, social and economical development etc etc are well known. Large dams can be the proper answer to several problems only if their design and management enter into a regional masterplan. The impact of large infrastructures, like large dams, is very high but also the benefits can be very important, such as flood control, water reservoirs for dry period to assure agriculture activities and also energy production. As other contributors said, it is impossible to give a generic answer. Each case must be considered independently. The aspects to be taken into account are several and goes from the purely technical ones to the ones related to transboundary management so that usually these large infrastructures affect international water courses. I am not negative at all about large dams a priori but I am convinced that for the success of the investment and the satisfaction of the down stream river side population, several fundamental aspects have to be taken into consideration. Among these: the regional impact; the set up of an international authority (such a basin authority) for the management of the new hydraulic regime according to hydrologic forecast and the needs of all the users. Not last, such large dams require highly specialised personnel for the real time regulation, especially in case of extreme events. So, the design and the construction of large dams must be always associated to advanced training for the benefit of the hydrografic district affected by the dam.