Hydropower and Sustainability

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable development is a process of meeting present generation needs without compromising the needs of future generations. Sustainable development has at least three dimensions—environmental protection, and social and economic development. In this Special Issue, research papers should focus on the role of hydropower while addressing all three dimensions of sustainability, which asks for an inter-disciplinary perspective in all articles.

There has been a growing concern and interest in the hydropower sector the last 10 years over the industry’s ‘sustainable performance’, which includes the development of an industry protocol that defines what indicators and targets that should be reached in order to meet best practise for planning, construction and operation of hydropower projects. An important aspect of this is that the role of hydropower development with respect to its social and environmental performance must be assessed, and the potential social and environmental impacts and opportunities from a hydropower project must be seen in the lights of the benefits provided to the society as a whole. In particular, the multi-functional role of reservoirs in providing services such as flood protection, water for irrigation, secure drinking water supply and more are of interest for this special issue. More traditional studies on the environmental and social performance of hydropower projects are also welcome, but must be related to the full dimension of sustainable development. We would also underline that application of sustainability tools are welcome to the extent they follow scientific standards for research, i.e. the application itself is extensively evaluated and are discussed in the light of prior research within related fields of science. We would also encourage authors working on novel approaches, such as habitat off-setting and ecosystem services in regulated river basins, to submit articles for this Special Issue. Studies on climate change and the role of hydropower in fulfilling sustainability goals are very welcome.

Prof. Dr. Knut Alfredsen
Mr. Tor Haakon Bakken
Guest Editors

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