The 12-member Commission included representatives from industry, dam owners, government and environmentalists, with two members from the United States. It was established by the World Bank and the World Conservation Union and began its work in 1998. In its research on the impact of dams, the Commission focused mostly on nine large dams, including Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in Washington, as being representative of the world's 45,000 large dams. In addition to the benefits dams were meant to provide, the Commission found that they also caused significant negative social and environmental effects that developers never assessed before construction. They are the basis for life and the livelihoods of local communities.
Dams transform landscapes and create risks of irreversible impacts.
Understanding, protecting and restoring ecosystems at river basin level is essential to foster equitable human development and the welfare of all species. Among the Commission's findings are dams generate 19 percent of electricity worldwide and 24 countries generate more than 90 percent of their energy with dams. Half of the world's dams were built to provide water for irrigation and those account for 12 percent to 16 percent of the world's food production. Twelve percent of large dams supply domestic and industrial water, and large dams provide flood control services in more than 70 countries. However, in general dams have not delivered all of the predicted water and electricity services or the social benefits claimed by developers ahead of construction.