Effects of Dams on Environment: A Study in Global Perspective

Abstract

Dams have been important to human civilisation since ancient times. Dam construction dates back to as ancient as the Mesopotamia civilisation. Earlier in the agrarian society dams were important as they supplied with water to fields. According to an estimate there are around 45000 dams which divert water from almost all the flowing rivers in the world. America has the most number of dams in the world followed by China. India ranks third in the number of dams. Till the year 2000 around 19 percent of the world electricity was generated from dams. Dams also play a crucial role in supplying water to the fields for irrigation. However, dams have their own cons too. According to a study, around 40 million people have been displaced due to construction of dams on their land. Also, dams are a threat to the marine life of reservoir upon which they are built .Thus, further we will look at the pros and cons of dam construction and their effects on the environment.