IHA Co mmit ment t o Sustainability

The Inter national Hydropower Association(I HA)regards sustainability as a f unda mental co mponent of social responsibility,sound business practice and nat ural resource management.

Sustainable devel op ment has been defined as develop ment t hat meets t he needs of the present wit hout co mpr o mising the ability of f ut ure generations to meet t heir own needs(Report of t he Worl d Co mmission on Envir on ment and Develop ment,1987).Sustainability requires the integration of three co mponents-econo mic develop ment,social develop ment and envir on mental pr otection-as inter dependent,mut ually reinf orcing pillars.Eradicating poverty,changing unsustainable patter ns of pr oduction and consu mption,and pr otecting and managing t he nat ural resource base under pinning econo mic and social develop ment are overarching objectives of,and essential requirements f or sustainable develop ment.(https://www.daowen.com)

The Inter national Hydropower Association(I HA)has published Sustainabilit y Guidelines to pr o mote greater consideration of envir on ment,social,and econo mic sustainability in t he assess ment of new ener gy suppl y options,new hydr o pr ojects and the management and operation of existing hydr opower facilities.

To support the Sustainabilit y Guidelines t he I HA has also developed t his docu ment-Sustainability Assessment Pr otocol.