Dams and territories: ITCOLD’s initiatives to promote proactive dialogue

In Italy there are over 530 large dams mainly for energy production and water supply. At present, the multipurpose use of water resources is strongly influenced by problems related to the aging of dams and the ongoing climate change which affects the water availability. On the other hand, the European energy and climate directives require to preserve the existing hydropower generation and to increase storage capacity to better exploit non-programmable renewable energy sources. These choices require the identification of methods and actions to deal with the complex relationship between the dams and their host territories which represents a critical point on the way to attain the energy and climate goals considering that part of the media and public opinion often have a negative view on the role of dams and reservoirs. These considerations are at the basis of the regional initiatives “Dams and territory” promoted by ITCOLD (Italian Committee on Large Dams) which since 2014 has organized annual workshops whose aim is to promote dialogue between dam owners and interested parties to identify a point of balance between the various interests that sometimes conflict with each other. The paper represents an updating of the work presented during the 10th ICOLD European Club Symposium held in Antalya (Turkey) on October 2016 and synthesizes the results gathered in the 6 workshops held so far. The project could represent a possible point of reference for other countries wishing to undertake similar initiatives. En Italie, il existe plus de 530 grands barrages destinés principalement à la production d’énergie et à l’approvisionnement en eau. À l’heure actuelle, l’utilisation polyvalente des ressources en eau est fortement influencée par les problèmes liés au vieillissement des barrages et au changement climatique en cours qui affecte la disponibilité de l’eau. D'autre part, les directives européennes sur l’énergie et le climat exigent de préserver la production hydroélectrique existante et d’augmenter la capacité de stockage pour mieux exploiter les sources d’énergie renouvelables non programmables. Ces choix nécessitent l’identification de méthodes et d’actions pour faire face à la relation complexe entre les barrages et leurs territoires d’accueil qui représente un point critique sur la voie de l’atteinte des objectifs énergétiques et climatiques considérant qu’une partie des médias et l’opinion publique ont une vision négative sur le rôle des barrages et des réservo