CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN PLANNING FOR THE WISE USE OF NATURAL-RESOURCES IN DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES - EXAMPLE OF A HYDROPOWER PROJECT

The impacts of hydropower developments on local environment, ecology, and socio-economics, has influenced, and will continue to influence, t he efficacy in decision making and planning/design processes. Big dams have several disadvantages: (a) high costs, (b) possible collapse, (c ) evaporation loss, (d) flooding of prime agricultural land, (e) silta tion of reservoir, (f) salt-water intrusion in coastal areas, (g) defo restation and 'greenhouse' effect, and (h) destruction of habitat for rare species. We must refine our environmental understanding of how hy dropower development affects species, both individually and in their i nteractions with each other. The utter dependence of organisms on appr opriate environments is what frustrates most attempts to proceed with development and still protect ecosystems and wider ecocomplexes. Conse rvation objectives must be integrated with other objectives in formula ting national and other policies, before they crystallize into project s and programmes. When ecological factors are considered only at the e nd of the process, they are liable to be viewed as obstructing develop ment, which can be disastrously wrong. But if integrated at the basic level of decision-making, they can positively guide development most p ropitiously and beneficially. Translated to the global context, this i s best served by holistic thinking. Developing countries face severe c hallenges in dealing with planning, conservation, and wise use of reso urces. The stimulus given by hydropower developments to ecological and limnological research can provide a valuable infrastructure which can be used to promote future effective multi-objective environmental eva luation, especially in truly developing countries. Multi-objective pla nning must also include sociological impacts for sufficient understand ing for innovative treatment of the complex interrelationships between the components of the environment. Environmentally well-designed, and meticulously carried out, integrated research should play a fundament al role as the basis of deciding for the future the renewable and sust ainable needs and wise use of our often limited resources.