In the last 50 years, due to industrialization and the intensification of agriculture, there has been building boom with respect to large dams.

Worldwide, over 45 000 dams fragment our rivers. In the process, unique ecosystems have been destroyed and 40 to 80 million people have been displaced. Many firms in the hydro-business have their office in industrialized countries, including Switzerland. Many dams would not have been built without the support of the World Bank, export credit agencies and international banks. The Berne Declaration requests that the businesses and institutions involved only build large dams if the well-being of the people concerned can be sustainably improved and if the maintenance of biological and cultural diversity is respected.

Read more about giant dams by clicking on the links to the left.