The Dam Dilemma: MSU researchers work with a global network of scholars to lay groundwork for a more just energy future

April 15, 2026

Belo Monte Dam - Image Credit: Bruno Batista/VPR — Belo Monte Dam, on the Xingu River in Brazil. Photo credit Bruno Batista/VPR via Creative Commons license.

A comprehensive study led by some of the world's top scholars working on dams was recently published in the journal Nature Sustainability, including Dr. Emilio Moran, an MSU John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences, Maria Claudia Lopez, a Professor in the MSU Department of Community Sustainability, Daniel Kramer, a Professor in James Madison College at MSU, Sergio Villamayor-Tomas (corresponding author) from the Department of Political Science and Public Law and the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Aut noma de Barcelona (UAB), and others at organizations in the U.K., Cambodia, Italy, and the USA based on a series of workshops sponsored by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC), which is funded by the National Science Foundation. Their findings are now helping to form the basis of a global conversation on how to address the governance challenges of hydropower, especially how to realize its benefits without undermining livelihoods, communities, and the environment.

The review has two major questions: what characterizes the current wave of large hydropower dam building in the global south, and what opportunities exist to realize the benefits of hydropower without undermining local people and the environment? The authors begin by reviewing the global status of dam building before 2000, and the impact of the World Commission on Dams' report on how dams ought to be built to reduce the negative outcomes from building them. Those important recommendations, however, were dismissed by the major dam-building nations such as China, India, and Brazil, who claimed that following the recommendations would be impractical and slow economic development goals. A quarter century later, the problems persist. However, the authors point out that the landscape has changed with a growing number of local communities being proactive and organized internationally to protect their environments and livelihoods. In addition, governance and sustainability are growing in significance in the discussion of the energy transition, and even the hydropower sector is recognizing the importance of reducing negative impacts.

The article points to several governance opportunities that could help steer hydropower projects toward a more sustainable path. Instead of building dams project by project, the study suggests democratizing the planning and design of dam construction and operation, and embracing strategic basin-wide planning and coordinated dam operations. Such an approach would help identify overlooked opportunities, reduce environmental impacts, better adapt to the effects of climate change, and expand beyond hydropower to include solar, wind, hydrokinetic turbines, and floating solar panels in the energy mix of dam building. These are now proven technologies that increase renewable energy production and reduce the need for many planned dams, while increasing resilience in energy production.

The drivers, actors, and governance frameworks shaping hydropower development have evolved substantially since the World Commission on Dams (2000). These shifts create new opportunities to better address the socio-environmental impacts of dams and to reduce the conflicts they often generate. Source: *Challenges and opportunities for the governance of hyrdopower*

In addition, the study suggests that there has been a growing call to move away from top-down decision-making to a horizontal governance approach,including an increasingly popular prosumer model.Such a model would empower local and Indigenous communities to become both producers and consumers of their own energy," explained author Sergio Villamayor-Tomas. “This approach can help to democratize the power system and ensure that those most affected by energy projects are also able to& benefit from them, which generally has not been the case to date."

As the world seeks to move away from fossil fuels, the study demonstrates that renewable does not always mean just or sustainable. “However, with more strategic planning, horizontal governance, and community-led solutions, our work demonstrates that the tools for a better path forward already exist,” said author Maria Claudia Lopez. “The question is not whether governments and investors will meet their energy needs, but do so without sacrificing the world’s vital ecosystem. The tools and frameworks are in place, and this article is one important contribution highlighting them and advancing ongoing discussions of the energy transition."

To learn more, see the original full article “Challenges and opportunities for the governance of hydropower” in the journal Nature Sustainability.