World Congress on Advancing Sustainable Hydropower

World Congress on Advancing Sustainable Hydropower
Antalya, Turkey | 29-31 May, 2007


Preliminary Events
Sun 27 May
Mon 28 May
World Congress
Tue 29 May
Wed 30 May
Thu 31 May
Summary	HTM	PDF
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Hydropower Congress Welcomes
Former Turkish President Süleyman Demirel;
Addresses Water, Energy and Climate Change

Süleyman Demirel, 9th President of Turkey, accepted an Outstanding Achievement Award for his work in hydropower from IHA President Doğan Altınbilek.

The International Hydropower Association (IHA) World Congress on Advancing Sustainable Hydropower opened on Tuesday and focused on water, energy and climate. The opening session was co-chaired by Doğan Altınbilek, President of the IHA and Haydar Koçaker, Director General, Turkish State Hydraulic Works (DSİ). Delegates heard opening remarks from representatives of the IHA, DSİ, the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), and the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Forum of Energy Ministers of Africa (FEMA), and the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy of Norway, and from Governor Alaaddin Yüksel of Antalya.

A roundtable of energy leaders, chaired by Süreyya Yüczel Özden, World Energy Council (WEC) Turkish National Committee President, with panelists from the World Coal Institute (WCI), International Aluminum Institute (IAI), International Renewable Energy Alliance (IREA), IHA, WWF International, and ENERGY - The International Journal, followed the opening session. Panelists and delegates discussed how to increase cooperation within the sector to address supply and consumption issues, as well as the feasibility of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and the development of policy frameworks that favor renewable energy.

In the afternoon, Süleyman Demirel, 9th President of Turkey, presented the keynote address on the history of hydropower development in Turkey. Former President Demirel then co-chaired a Water Leaders Roundtable with Altınbilek, in which panelists from ICOLD, ICID, the Nature Conservancy, Water Integrity Network and IHA emphasized the need for dams to be developed only where they are technically and economically feasible. Demirel summarized the discussion and said that development of dams is not in itself a goal, but a means for ensuring the welfare of people.

The day ended with a session on climate change, chaired by Petru Boeriu, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, with panelists from the UNESCO-IHE, IHA, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Oxford Energy Institute. Panelists and delegates discussed: greenhouse gas emissions from reservoirs; the need for "climate proofing;" IEA's Alternative Policy Scenario; and assessing climate change options based on the accessibility, availability and acceptability of technology.

In the evening, delegates attended a cocktail reception sponsored by the Turkish Contractors Union.

Tuesday, 29 May
Opening Addresses
Richard Taylor, Executive Director, IHA, gave brief introductory remarks.	Doğan Altınbilek, President, IHA, welcomed participants to the World Congress on Advancing Sustainable Hydropower.	Kaydar Koçaker, Director General, DSİ, addressed the need for multidisciplinary and sustainable management, planning and protection of water resources.
Louis Berga, ICOLD, said decisions on hydropower should be taken within the framework of integrated water management (IWM).	Peter Lee, President, ICID, suggested IHA and ICID work together to emphasize the need for storage hydropower.	Manfred Konukiewitz, Deputy Director General, BMZ, noted benefits of dams in developing countries, but urged inclusiveness in planning large hydropower projects.
Speaking for FEMA, Simon D'Ujanga, Minister of State for Energy, Uganda, said although Africa is endowed with renewable resources, under 8% of its population has access to electricity.	Anita Utseth, Deputy Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Norway, highlighted access to energy as a development priority.	Alaaddin Yüksel, Governor of Antalya, expressed thanks to IHA for hosting the Congress in Antalya and welcomed delegates to the city.
Energy Leaders Roundtable

Jack Whelan, IHA, facilitated the energy leaders roundtable session.	Süreyya Yüczel Özden, WEC, noted that energy should be acceptable, accessible, affordable, clean, and environmentally benign.	Milton Catelin, Chief Executive, WCI, noted that energy production grew faster than production from any other source in the 1995-2005 decade.
Jerry Marks, Climate Change Consultant, IAI, noted success in reducing direct emissions, and interest in hydropower development to reduce indirect emissions.	Peter Rae, President, IREA, said the growth rate of investment in renewables outstrips even that of information technology, boding well for growth in renewable energy production.	Terry Moss, IHA, highlighted South Africa's energy mix, which is shifting away from coal and toward renewables and nuclear energy.
Jamie Pittock, Director, WWF, presented the results of climate change mitigation research.	Noam Lior, Editor-in-Chief, ENERGY - The International Journal, said renewable energy must be both affordable and clean.	Pradeep Perera, Asian Development Bank, asked about the feasibility of promoting CCS in Asian countries.
Keynote Address by Süleyman Demirel, 9th President of Turkey

Former President Süleyman Demireal welcomed participants to the Congress, and provided a history of hydropower development in Turkey. He stressed that hydropower is an important alternative to carbon intensive means of electricity generation. After his speech, he presented a copy of his book to Haydar Koçaker of DSİ.
Water Leaders Roundtable

Doğan Altınbilek, IHA, co-chaired the session.	Louis Berga, ICOLD, said that electricity infrastructure, hydropower and dams are essential for a country's economic and social development.	Peter Lee, ICID, noted the need for a renewed interest in technology within the hydropower sector.
David Harrison, Water Resource Consultant, The Nature Conservancy, highlighted the need to move toward IWM and to balance structural and non-structural approaches.	Donal O'Leary, Senior Advisor, Transparency International, said project risk assessments and project governance improvement plans were tools to address corruption.	Refaat Abdel-Malek, Vice President, IHA, emphasized the need to select energy sources based on regional viability, instead of trying to use one option for all situations.
Climate Change

Petru Boeriu, UNESCO-IHE, chaired the session.	Roger Gill, IHA Vice President / Hydro Tasmania Consulting, served as facilitator.	Henk van Schaik, UNESCO-IHE, suggested countries look at the recent IPCC outcomes and identify vulnerabilities at the basin, national and sub-national levels.
Andrew Scanlon, Climate Change Specialist, IHA, discussed hydropower's "greenhouse footprint."	Dolf Gielen, Senior Energy Analyst, IEA, outlined IEA's Alternative Policy Scenario.	Malcolm Keay, World Energy Council (WEC), outlined a WEC study on energy and climate change and acceptability, accessibility and availability.
Around the Congress
The congress banner outside the convention center.
Turkish NGOs hung their own banner in protest, and distributed copies of a letter calling for the country's hydropower projects to comply with the IHA Sustainability Guidelines.