Gia Manual

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Using this manual ............................................................................................ 4

Introduction .................................................................................................... 7

1.1 The gendered impacts of hydrop ower ..............................................................................7

1.2 Gender-bias and women within the hydrop ower industr y ...............................................7

1.3 The conte xt why gender matters ................................................................................ 9

2 Why this manual and why now? ..................................................................... 11

2.1 Who should use this Manual? .........................................................................................11

2.2 Where will the manual be useful? .................................................................................11

2.3 National legisl ation and policy conte xt In the lowe r Mekong Region ......................12

3 Gender impact assessment as good business.

The emerging context and opportunities. ..................................................... 17

3.1 Gender: WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, hydropower assessment, vulnerability and impacts .... .... .... 17

3.2 Hydrop ower and gender the opport unity ...................................................................21

4 Gender Impact Assessment: A vital tool for developers. ............................. 23

4.1 What is a gender impact asses sment ? ............................................................................23

4.2 Why should a gender impact asse ssment be undertaken ? .............................................23

4.3 When should a gender impact asse ssment be undertaken ? ...........................................24

4.4 What is basic good prac tice when it comes to gender asses sment ? ..............................26

4.5 Involvement and participation .......................................................................................26

5 Gender in the River basin pre project ....................................................... 28

Pre projec t: Understanding the conte xt coll ecting data and establ ishing a gender ba seline ............................................................28

Gender in decision-mak ing ......................................................................................................31

6 the Gender Impact Assessment process ......................................................... 34

6.1 Gender asses sment at feas ibilit y, design and pla nning stage .....................................35

step 1: gathering the data .....................................................................................................36

step 2: understanding the conte xt ........................................................................................36

step 3: identif y issues ...........................................................................................................45

step 4: understanding needs and aspir ations .......................................................................51

Step 5: Gender Str ategy and Action Pla n ..............................................................................57

Step 6: Rev iew, audit and respond .........................................................................................59

Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 61

appendix hsap and rsat.............................................................................. 63

Glossary of terms and concepts ................................................................... 68

References .................................................................................................... 69

Resources ...................................................................................................... 71


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This manual is made up of the fol lowing chapters:

1. Introduction.

The first chapter introduces the concept of genderand hydropower and places this in context within thehydropower industry.

2. Why this manual and why now?This chapter identifies who the manual is written for, howit is structured and where it can be useful in hydropowerproject development. It also includes an examination of thestate of gender in the lower Mekong Basin. This providesan analysis of the context of womens rights and gender inthe national legislation and policy context for Cambodia,Lao PDR and Vietnam; with a focus on what this means forgender justice in hydropower in the lower Mekong.

3. Gender impact assessmen t as good

business. The emerging context and

opportunities.

The chapter looks at how gender and womens rights havebeen addressed over recent global private sector andhydropower industry processes. It looks at the specificcontext for indigenous peoples or ethnic minorities inthe Mekong and at how hydropower industry initiativessit together with other multistakeholder and industryapproaches.

4. Gender Impact Asses sment: A vital tool

for devel opers.

This Chapter introduces the details of a gender impactassessment and how it can be inserted into existing

project management processes and business cycles.Opportunities are explored using the Environmental andSocial Impact assessment processes as an example, andbasic good practice approaches are outlined.

5. Gender in the River basin pre project

This chapter looks at the importance of having agender baseline for strategic planning consideringenvironmental, social and economic factors at the riverbasin scale. It looks at the impor tance of developing agendered baseline for the river before any decisions to

build a dam are finalized. This allows for the assessmentof options for use of the river and its waters, including bydifferent stakeholders, based on strong gendered analysisand shared understandings. It will also ensure that anytrade-offs negotiated as part of decision making willconsider gendered impacts and opportunities.

6. The Gender Impact Asse ssment process

Gender Impact Assessment at project stage

This chapter outlines the Gender Impact Assessmentprocess. It introduces a step by step approach togender impact assessment focusing on its use in thecontext of project development. This chapter adapts

some of the common gender analysis tools for thehydropower context including tools for capturing andassessing sex-disaggregated data to develop a genderedproject baseline, and to have a strong understandingof the gender context and impacts of the project. Inaddition it provides guiding questions at each stepto ensure that important aspects of gender relations,roles, responsibilities and power are understood. Theculmination of this is gender action plan developmentand the processes of reviewing, auditing and reportingagainst outcomes.

Conclusion

Appendix 1 HSAP and RSAT: How do these

hydropower industry tools assess gender?

This final chapter provides an overview of how gender isaddressed in two industry and stakeholder tools beingpromoted in the Mekong today the HSAP (HydropowerSustainability Assessment Protocol) and RSAT (RapidBasin-Wide Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Tool).This chapter includes recommendations for how thesetools could better address gender issues in hydropower.


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1. China Three Gorges Power Corporation 2002-2010, Corporation Information, Management Team, viewed 14 August 2013, http://www.ctgpc.com/information/information_b.php

2. Hydro Tasmania 2013, About us, viewed 14 August 2013, http://www.hydro.com.au/about-us/governance

3. Statkraf t n.d., Group management, viewed 14 August 2013, http://www.statkraf t.com/about-statkraf t/organisation/group-management/

4. EDF 2013, Board of directors, viewed 14 August 2013, http://about-us.edf.com/governance/board-of-directors-43708.html

1 Introduction

1.1 The gendered impacts of hydropower

Hydropower development in the Mekong region is running ata rapid pace. Thailand and Vietnam have largely developed

their hydro resources and have varying interests in regionaldevelopments. Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar on theother hand have significant plans for further developmenton their rivers. Lao PDR in particular has positioned itselfto use hydropower development to become the batteryof South East Asia. Many of the planned developmentsacross the Mekong region are on transboundary rivers.

As new projects are proposed and developed, theimportance of good governance of river resources,transboundary and national planning and assessment ofimpacts can not be overstated.

Hydropower has contributed to national development in

many countries around the world. While old technologyin relation to other renewable technologies it retains animportant role in many energy systems. However, it is alsowell recognised by the hydropower industry and acrossthe Mekong region that the construction of hydropowerdams has negative impacts on rivers and the environment.In affecting the environment, dams also impact oncommunities and peoples who use and l ive in and aroundrivers. Dams can change how people access and usenatural resources land and water; wetland, forest andaquatic resources. Hydropower dams will often requireinvoluntary resettlement of households and communities

which brings great social and psychological upheaval toindividuals and to communities as a whole.

These impacts are experienced by men and women,girls and boys, the young and the elderly, those withdisabilities, and by those of different ethnicities. Theimpacts often tear apart community structures and waysof life. Communities and households operate with definedgender roles and responsibilities these are all af fected.

In many societies, it is women who bear the burden ofresponsibility for the home and for the family, as wellas a variety of roles and tasks within communities. Forcommunities with strong social, cultural and economic

connections to land, rivers and place; the changesbrought about by hydropower dams can be very traumatic.Resettlement, in par ticular, is considered impoverishingas it takes away economic, social and cultural resourcessimultaneously (Koenig 2002 cited in Scudder 2005).Across all this dam-induced change, in most cases, it iswomen who are more adversely impacted.

Dam construction and hydropower development has madesignificant contributions to progress, across the globe.But the negative impacts cannot be understated, and itis still often the case that these impacts remain under-reported and are all too frequently ignored or downplayedin assessing the value and sustainability of projects.

These impacts are generally consistent in the experienceof hydropower development globally, and the suggestedapproach in this manual has global relevance. However,to ground the examples of impacts and identify the genderequality opportunities, the manual does drawspecifically on the context of gender in Mekong region

hydropower development.

1.2 Gender-bias and women within the

hydropower industry

Like many engineering and infrastructure sectors,hydropower historically is an industry dominated by men.Many of the processes involved in developing hydropower from engineering to resettlement are controlled bymen and deliver outcomes largely in the interests of men.

There is some hope that this is changing albeit slowly.Women are now seen in the social and environmentalaspects of hydropower businesses, or in sustainability orcorporate social responsibility arms. But overall womenand womens interests remain under-represented in higherlevels of decision-making in hydropower projects andwithin hydropower companies.

For example, the International Hydropower Association(IHA) a hydro-industry membership peak body hasa 22-member Board, of which only three are women.The IHA President, the Executive Director, and all fiveVice Presidents are men. In some of its largest membercompanies, the picture is similar:

Chinas Three Gorges Power Corporation has a

management board of nine and all are men1;

Australias Hydropower Tasmania Senior Board andExecutive is made up of 17 posts, 12 held by men, fiveby women2;

Norways Statkraft has a balanced Board of directorswith six men and five women, while its managementteam is made up of six men and one woman3; and

Frances Electricity du France has a Board of directorswith 14 men and four women, and an ExecutiveCommittee made up of eight men and one woman 4.

Having women represented throughout the corporatestructure is one step towards womens empowerment.In addition to representation, having corporate policyin place which advances womens rights and guidesstrategic decisions based on assessing gender impactsand opportunities will mean that project staff have a clearpolicy context to operate within. It is also an imperativeto ensure that staff are trained, resourced and able tooperationalise policy at the local project level . This manualprovides direction to hydropower companies towardsachieving positive outcomes for both men and women.


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1.3 The context why gender matters

Does it matter that men dominate the industry anddecision-making levels within corporations?

Women workers constitute 40 percent of the worldsworkforce, yet in many sectors, such as mining,construction and energy, women represent only a small

minority of workers, and in almost all sectors womenare less likely than men to be in management positions.Women continue to face many barriers to full andproductive participation in the labor market, includingdiscrimination and culturally entrenched ideas aboutgender roles, and their contribution is not always equallyvalued. [IFC 2013, p. 2.]

Corporate leadership and policy frameworks will informhow projects are developed and managed as such theabsence and under-representation of women makes itharder for a project to meaningfully consider and engagewith womens rights and with gender needs and

opportunities.Historically, hydropower projects have exacerbatedexisting gender biases and adversely impacted womensroles and position within the home and community forproject affected peoples. Negative outcomes for womenslivelihoods at a local level, and the impoverishment,health impacts and trauma that occurs as a result ofdisplacement and land appropriation associated with damconstruction is well-documented as being more severelyfelt by women (Scudder 2005; WCD 2000).

Where planning is insensitive to gender, project impactscan at best be neutral, and at worst aggravate existing

gender disparities to the extent of radically affecting thepre project gender balance. (WCD 2000, p.114)

But hydropower, like other infrastructure projects, has thepotential to play a positive role in gender relations. TheWorld Commission on Dams noted that:

as gender is a relational concept, access by womento the benefits generated by a dam is a necessary but notsufficient condition for positive gender impacts.(WCD 2000, p.114-115)

The WCD indicated that if dams are developed respectingthe rights and interests of women, alongside men, waterinfrastructure has the capacity to achieve benefitsequally for women and men. If done well, projects have thepotential to play a transformative role in gender relations.


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2 Why this manual and why now?

2.1 Who should use this Manual?

This manual is writ ten to promote stronger considerationof gender in hydropower development. The aim is that

this manual will assist hydropower company staf f in theirday-to-day jobs for assessing impacts and managing riskin hydropower development. In doing so, it should informdecision-making and implementation of hydropower damprojects so that impacts, rights and opportunities areconsidered equally for women and men.

The manual introduces useful tools for project staffin hydropower companies, and for government staf fresponsible for project development and operation.

It is designed to prompt, and expands on existing socialand environmental impact and management processes.The intention is that it can be used by many different

stakeholders in hydropower businesses not juststaff in community relations or environmental or socialmanagement divisions.

2.2 Where will the manual be useful?

This manual sets out a rationale for:

Why including better consideration of gender impactswill achieve more sustainable projects and outcomes;

How undertaking gender impact assessment will

improve projects; and

Why including women more centrally and consistently inthe processes of assessment, planning and decision-making is likely to lead to better projects.

The manual encourages stronger up-front considerationof gender in planning and governance of water resources.The basic premise underpinning this is that by ensuringthat both women and men are equally heard, and theirinterests and rights are considered, there will be anavoidance or minimisation of negative impacts on women.Meaningful participation in processes and decision-

making is key to this.In many cases, af ter implementing gender impactassessment and developing a gender action plan, projectsmay be modified. This could facilitate the additionalallocation of resources being put towards mitigation,adaptation or benefit sharing processes that targetoutcomes for women in particular. In some cases, thiscould also lead to projects being postponed or stoppedbecause of findings in the gender impact assessment.Across these options, gender impact assessment can beseen as a risk management tool. When used to its fullestpotential, this assessment can help a project contribute

to a transformative agenda for affected communitieswhich will inform more sustainable outcomes.

This manual demonstrates the importance and usefulnessof the many assessment tools already being employedby hydropower companies and government agencies. Itcan provide a resource for consulting companies whosework outputs enable projects to reach project approvalmilestones. Many of these tools are widely used andwell-established. These tools have been adopted andpromoted by financiers of hydropower and, as a result,there is existing evidence that demonstrates their useand value within projects.

This manual also looks at recent tools developedspecifically to measure sustainability in hydropowerprojects and how these consider gender, and makessuggestions of how they could be strengthened.

This manual outlines the addition of a specific setof gender oriented criteria and questions to thesetools, which reflects the context of hydropowerdevelopment. We hope this manual adds value to yourproject development toolbox, and to the monitoring andcompliance processes of governments.


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2.3 National legislation and policy context

In the lower Mekong Region

Hydropower development is running at a fast pace inthe Lower Mekong basin. While improving the genderpractices of private sector developers and financiers iscritical, government policy and legislation will set the

expectations for individual projects. The following sectionlooks at this context.

The countries of Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao PDR all haveprovisions in their constitutions, laws and national policyframeworks which promote gender justice and advanceequality of the sexes within their national development.Similarly, they have committed to the key internationalhuman rights conventions and declarations, whichoutline a states obligations. Given the transboundarynature of the Mekong River it is also important to consideradditional inter-governmental governance, managementexpectations and commitments.

The following discussion examines the legal and policycontext for gender inclusion and analysis at the countrylevel. This context defines government expectationsof the implementing agencies and of private sectordevelopers in terms of gender inclusion and outcomes.This section is a summary of a longer analysis looking ateach national context (Simpson 20135).

While the governments of all three countries havecommitments to gender and equality of developmentopportunities for their citizens, the significantchallenge is the implementation and monitoring of these

policies and laws in hydropower project development.The intersection between states obligations andrequirements, and the operational performance andobligations of private contractors is one of the mostcommon areas where negative gender (and other) impactswill be experienced by project affected communities. Thisis the context for private sector developers in the Mekong.

Gender and Mekong societies

In order to appreciate how and why national legislation andpolicy has evolved the way it has in the focus countries, it isimportant to understand traditional views of gender in each.

Vietnam and Cambodia are reasonably closely alignedin this sense, as both have a history of patriarchalmainstream culture. This means that historically men areregarded as household heads, and women have a lowersocial status and are expected to focus their energies oncaring for their husbands and families. A general result isthat women receive less education, have fewer rights andare less likely to contribute to decision-making processesoutside the home (ADB 2012; Tran 2001).

In Vietnam these attitudes stem from Confucian ethics;and in Cambodia, from traditional codes of conduct formen and women known as the Chbab Srey and Chbab Bros.

In contrast the Lao Tai, who comprise 67% of the LaoPDR population, generally maintain matriarchal practices(ADB 2012). This means that women have a higher status

in the family and stand to inherit land and property (FAO2012). However most of the ethnic minorities in Lao PDRsubscribe to similar values as those described in Vietnamand Cambodia, and some maintain practices such aspolygamy and marriage of young girls (FAO 2012), meaningthat overall Lao PDR ranked 139 out of 186 countries inthe United Nations Development Programmes GenderInequality Index in 20126(UNDP 2012).Cambodia andVietnam ranked 138 and 127 respectively (UNDP 2012).

National legislation and policy frameworks

The constitutions of all three countries uphold the rights

of all their citizens to equality before the law. They alsouphold womens equal status within the family. Cambodiaand Lao PDRs constitutions both commit the state toactively progressing the development and welfare ofwomen; and Vietnam and Cambodia specifically prohibitdiscrimination against women. Vietnam and Lao PDRassert womens rights to economic and political equality.

All three countries have adopted a mainstreamingapproach to gender in their national development context,with some articulating mainstreaming responsibilitiesand expectations into key hydropower-linked ministries.For example, Cambodias Ministry of Industry, Mines

and Energy has established a Gender MainstreamingAction Group and Plan, while Vietnams Ministry ofNatural Resources and Environment has an action planon gender equality and advancement of women, whichincludes commitments to gender mainstreaming in waterresource planning and management. Overall how thegender mainstreaming approaches are interpreted andoperationalised differs from country to country; and howeffective these are as mechanisms within the hydropowerdevelopment context is a point of current interest.7

Development and womens rights

Of the three countries, only Cambodia does not have adedicated law to protect women or promote gender equality.Vietnams Law on Gender Equality (2006) aims to ensuregender equality in all fields of pol itics, economy, culture,society and family; to support and create conditionsfor men and women to bring into play their abilities andprovide them with equal opportunities to participate in theprocess of development and benefit from development.With respect to gender justice in hydropower, this lastclause is perhaps the most relevant. Lao PDRs Law on theDevelopment and Protection of Women (2004) promotesequality in self-development, whereby women and men

5. Individual country reports for Lao PDR, Vietnam and Cambodia are also available, and can be downloaded at www.oxfam.org.au/giamanual

6. Calculated based on a range of indicators based on empowerment, reproductive health and labour.

7. The Mekong River Commission, working with GIZ, is currently scoping how to advance consideration of gender through discussions and work programs of the Initiative onSustainable Hydropower.


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8. Neary Rattanak translates as Women are precious gems and is part of the Royal Government of Cambodias Gender Equality and Empowerment Strategic Plan, preparedby the Ministry of Womens Affairs.

9. For example, Article 43 of Lao PDRsLand Law (2003), stipulates that the registra tion certificate of l and, where it is matrimonial property, must include the name s of boththe husband and the wife. While in Vietn am, Article 27 of theLaw on Marriage and Family (1986, revised 2000) states that all lan d acquired during marriage is consideredto be a common asset, and that LUCs for properties jointly owned by husband and wif e must be registered with the names of both spouses. This requireme nt is echoed inArticle 48 of the Land Law (2003).

10. Social Land Concessions are the mechanism whereby land is granted to communities displaced by development in Cambodia.

have the same value and opportunities in politics, theeconomy, society and culture, family [affairs], nationaldefence and security, and foreign affairs

All three countries have current national strategies orprojects related to womens development. VietnamsNational Strategy on Gender Equality for the 20112020

Period, Lao PDRs National Strategy for the Advancementof Women (20112015) (NSAW) and Cambodias NearyRattanak III (20092013)8have generally common goalssuch as the improvement of womens education, health,employment, political par ticipation, and improvinggender awareness, mainstreaming and machinery in theirrespective governments. Vietnams Gender Strategy forAgriculture and Rural Development (2005)aims to improveVietnamese womens access and involvement into themanagement of major resources, including land, water,infrastructure, credit lines, and other public services inthe [agricultural and rural development] sector. Further,

the Strategy recommends targets on gender [and]sexdisaggregated monitoring and evaluation tools indevelopment policies, plans, programs, and projects.This is perhaps the most directly relevant strategy fortargeting the needs of women impacted by hydropower.

Development and indigenous peoples andethnic minorities

Lao PDRs Technical Guidelines on Compensation andResettlement in Development Projects (2005)requires thedevelopment of a separate Ethnic Minority DevelopmentPlan in all instances where ethnic minorities are likely tobe impacted by development. Other pol icies and piecesof legislation in the three countries which address ethnicminorities focus on the elimination of discriminationand the general improvement of services and supportto ethnic minorities. Both Lao PDRs National Growth andPoverty Eradication Strategy (NGPES) and Vietnams Law onGender Equality (2006)recognise the particular difficultiesfaced by ethnic women.

But overall there is limited specific pol icy or legislationguiding gender outcomes in the context of impacts onindigenous peoples or ethnic minorities in and aroundhydropower development.

Rights to land and natural resources

Womens equal rights to land, both inheritance andownership, are protected in all three countries by variousarticles in land, property and resource laws.9All three alsorecognise, in varying ways, that land acquired by a couple(including in the context of resettlement) belongs asequally to the wife as to the husband; and that land titlecertificates should include both names.

Cambodias Sub-Decree on Social Land Concessions(2003)guarantees female headed households rights toparticipate in social land concession programs,10therebysupporting vulnerable womens access to land or naturalresources, which is especially important in the contextof a hydropower projects appropriation of land, water,

assets and resources.

National development plans

Of the three countries, Lao PDRs national planning strategiesmost comprehensively incorporate issues of genderequity. The countrys Seventh National Socio-EconomicDevelopment Plan (20112015), which includes hydropower asa development priority, identifies a range of actions relatedto the capacity building of women to participate in politicaldebate and economic development; increasing womensparticipation in provincial and sectoral planning and theintegration of gender considerations into such; ensuring thatwomen can access their rights; and intensifying gender-related research to improve all the above.

Lao PDRs National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy(NGPES)also has an emphasis on hydropower as a meansof attracting foreign investment, and has a dedicatedsection on Gender Strategy for Poverty Reduction,including clear actions for gender mainstreaming acrossthe fields of agriculture, education, health, transport andpolitical voice. However, the various national developmentplans of Vietnam and Cambodia generally mentionaspirations for gender equality, but do not integratespecific methods or targets for its achievement.

Energy sector development

With its large-scale vision for investment into the energy(hydropower) sector, Lao PDR has the clearest expressionfor using investment and project development to achievegender outcomes.

In particular Lao PDRs Renewable Energy DevelopmentStrategy in Lao PDR (2011)includes increasing genderequality as one of its main objectives, as well asenvironmentally and socially sustainable developmentthrough enforcement of adequate safeguards to ensure local communities food security, and secure access

to adequate land to meet and develop their livel ihoodsfor all ethnic groups with special focus on women.The Strategy does not elaborate on how it will meetthese objectives but the Social Impact Assessment andTechnical Guidelines on Compensation and Resettlementin Development Projects (2005)do articulate expectationsfor gender sensitive data collection and gender sensitiveresettlement entitlements. Emerging guidelines for publicinvolvement in EIA will hopefully continue with a strongconsideration of gender.


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Convention on the Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination against Women (CEDAW) requires theelimination of all discrimination against women. Whileupheld in the constitutions, and while none of the lawsor policies identified in this report has been activelydiscriminatory, active pursuit of gender equality is

required to achieve it in reality. Vietnam and Lao PDRboth have gender-focused laws which take steps towardthis goal, whereas Cambodia does not as yet. Article 14of CEDAW stipulates womens right to full participationin development, and Lao PDRs Technical Guidelines onCompensation and Resettlement in Development Projects(2005)and Vietnams Gender Strategy for Agriculture andRural Development (2005)best provide for this in thecontext of individual hydropower projects.

International Covenant on Economic Social and CulturalRights (ICESCR)guarantees in Article 1 the right tosubsistence, and in Article 7 the right to decent living. It

is unclear how well the national planning specificationsregarding the choice of land for resettlement in any ofthe countries uphold this obligation, however properconsultation with affected communities includingwomen as required by various policy instrumentsacross the three countries should contribute to apositive outcome.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)states in Article 3 that the advancement and developmentof women is to be a priority; in Article 23 that statesare to attempt to ensure gender equality in marriage; inArticle 25 that all shall have equal access to participation

in public affairs and access to public services; and inArticle 26 that all people are to be equal before the law.Equality before the law and in marriage are recognisedby all three countries, and development of womenaddressed previously in the paragraph on CEDAW. Whileall three countries state intentions to improve womensparticipation in public decision-making, Lao PDRs SeventhNational Socio-Economic Development Plan (20112015)most clearly ar ticulates intentions to increase womensparticipation in provincial and sectoral planning andpolitical debate.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights ofIndigenous People (UNDRIP) the constitutions of all threecountries uphold the equality of indigenous people, asrequired by Article 1. None of the countries, however, haveevident policy provisions for the following: prevention ofthe dispossession of indigenous people of their lands and

resources or involuntary resettlement (Ar ticles 8 and 10);the land rights further enshrined in Articles 2729 and32; or Ar ticles 13, 18 and 19 which oblige states to helpindigenous people understand and participate inpolitical and legal matters, particularly those that mayaffect them.

Implementation

Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam al l have similar nationalcommitments to womens human rights and gender equityunder a range of international treaties. How these havebeen expressed in national law and policy is mixed; withLao PDR having the most clear linkages to hydropowerdevelopment and gender outcomes.

All countries have provisions in their national policyframework which promote opportunity for achievinggender justice in hydropower. However, filling policy gapsfor specific gender consideration will be important, as willdiligent application of policies and guidelines in projectpreparation, implementation and monitoring operations.

The Mekong River Commission (MRC) as an inter-governmental body with responsibility for the sustainableuse and management of the river basin has opportunityto be a vehicle for advancing common approaches

to strengthened gender assessment and genderconsiderations. The MRC, like its member governments,has adopted a mainstreaming strategy to genderacross the various pillars of i ts mandate. In this, theMRC has developed guidelines, toolkits and checkl istsfor gender inclusion. The Initiative on SustainableHydropower is reinvigorating consideration of genderin its areas of responsibility and, importantly, can drawon investments and achievements in other MRC sectorssuch as fisheries, environment and agriculture. At thetime of writing, the toolkit for mainstreaming genderin hydropower is currently under review. But other

areas such as work towards common expectations forenvironmental and social impact assessment especiallyin a transboundary context present meaningfuland practical opportunities to promote the value andimportance of gender impact assessment for MRCmember countries.


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11. For example, the World Bank administers the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) a multi-donor technical assistance trust fund established in1983. The ESMAP includes a usef ul gender project which provides guidance and gender tools for use by energy companies. See ESMA P 2013,Gender: Social Inclusion inthe Energy Sector: Online Resources, viewed 14 August 2013, http://www.esmap.org/node/2757

3 Gender impact assessment as

good business. The emerging

contex t and opportunities.

When gender analysis and gender impact assessmentare used to inform decision-making it can lead to your

company and the project avoiding adding to or continuingdiscrimination; and instead a project can play an activerole in helping to realise womens empowerment andrights. A gendered approach at all levels within corporatestructures, project development and management is goodfor business.

Over recent years, some of those involved in watermanagement and hydropower development haveincreased their focus on understanding gender; and anumber are actually now try ing to position large-scaleinfrastructure projects to be agents in achieving positivesocial outcomes.

United Nations bodies have generated numerous genderresources for use in policy and project development andinternational financial institutions including the WorldBank and the Asian Development Bank have developedsignificant toolkits, policy guidance and resources forensuring gender is mainstreamed into their projectapproval and implementation requirements. Institutionalalliances have also developed sectorcontext specificresources which have relevance to the hydropowerindustry11. The most directly relevant of these arediscussed as follows:

3.1 Gender: WATER INFRASTRUCT URE,

hydropower assessment, vulnerability

and impacts

The World Commission on Dams: dams anddevelopment report

In 2000, the World Commission on Dams (WCD) released itsfinal report which identified a new approach to decision-making in water infrastructure. The WCD was a globalmultistakeholder process which deliberated on a largedatabase of experience and evidence in hydropowerdevelopment. The new WCD framework identified fivecore values:

1. Equity

2. Efficiency

3. Participatory decision-making

4. Sustainability

5. Accountability

It further detailed seven strategic priorities each of whichis supported by a set of policy principles. The sevenstrategic priorities are:

i. Gaining public acceptance

ii. Comprehensive options assessment

iii. Addressing existing dams

iv. Sustaining rivers and livelihoods

v. Recognising entitlements and sharing benefits

vi. Ensuring compliance

vii. Sharing rivers for peace, development and security

To implement the five core values, the WCD recommendedan approach which aligned these with key decision pointsand processes in hydropower development two of theseat the strategic governance and planning stage for waterand energy planning: a needs assessment for water andenergy, and considering options. The other three relate tothe selected preferred option and focus on key momentsfor project preparation, implementation and operation.

Across these, the WCD introduces the importance ofadopting an approach which recognises rights, andassesses risks to lay the foundation for negotiatingoutcomes in water infrastructure. Furthermore, the WCDidentifies the importance of considering gender withinbroader social, cultural and economic risks, and the costsand benefits associated with dam development (WCD 2000).

Hydro sector response

While the hydropower sector accepted the importance of

the core values and priorities recommended by the WorldCommission on Dams (HSAF 2011), its leading businessesand industry association rejected elements of the rightsand risk framework as not being practical.

Partially in response to this challenge of practicality, thehydropower industry has initiated processes itself, orjoined in with other initiatives to develop its own tools toassess sustainability. How these tools have recognisedgender is introduced below and discussed in more depthin the appendix.

Other stakeholders who are involved in hydropowerdevelopment such as the EU and German Government douse the WCD in their decision making about whether or notto support projects.


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Gender and indigenous peoples

One area of importance in the Mekong and many otherdeveloping country contexts is how hydropower isdeveloped using the resources, lands, territories andwaters of indigenous peoples. Understanding andengaging in gender impact assessment with indigenous

peoples is an important opportunity for achievingcommunity consent to a project, and ensuring theproject is developed with the interests and rights ofwomen and men considered equally. It is in this contextthat a company can avoid and mitigate the risk ofexacerbating negative gender roles and relations as aresult of the project.

Indigenous peoples are among the most impoverishedand marginalised in the world. Furthermore, withinsome communities who have experienced involuntaryappropriation of their lands and resources, indigenouswomen encounter further discrimination and are denied

the opportunity for full enjoyment of their human rights.Indigenous women often have lower rates of education,healthcare and employment. The status and power ofwomen in indigenous communities can see them sufferingmultiple forms of oppression and marginalisation. Inthe context of a hydropower dam being developed,which appropriates traditional lands and resources fromindigenous peoples and impacts community structures,it is often the men who negotiate the agreements andcontrol the flow of revenues and other benefits tohouseholds and communities.

In this context there is a lot a company can do to help

avoid negative impacts. Respecting indigenous peoplesrights to give or withhold their Free, Prior and InformedConsent (FPIC) is a clear statement of intent for theproject. Hydropower companies should not condone,tolerate or perpetuate discrimination against women, andshould work to avoid the gendered impacts of hydropowerby ensuring the involvement of indigenous women inFPIC processes. This is best done by acknowledgingand supporting the effor ts of indigenous women tooperationalise consent in a manner consistent with therights of all members of their community. It should alsobe indigenous women (not the imposition of others) who

decide how and when they should participate in decision-making processes, as well as their involvement in FPICprocesses, based on the principles of equality, non-discrimination and equity.

This manual can be used to help companies ensure thatwomen and men are equally involved in decision-making,and that when a project is developed, it is doing sounderstanding the gender contexts in which it operates.

United Nations, human rights and business the context for hydropower

Womens rights are a central part of the internationalhuman rights framework and are recognised in specificDeclarations and Conventions. Section 6 looks at howMekong governments have supported these instruments

and how they have been realised in the Mekong.

In recent years through the auspices of the UnitedNations, there has been a strong dialogue with the privatesector to determine how human rights instruments applyto business.

The UN Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework onBusiness and Human Rightsarticulates the roles andresponsibilities of both governments and businesses inrelation to preventing and addressing business-relatedhuman rights abuse. This framework has the support ofgovernments, business and civil society. It has threeinterlinked pillars:

1. The state duty to protect against human rightsabuses by third parties, including business, throughappropriate policies, regulation and adjudication.

2. The corporate responsibility to respect human rights,which means that businesses should act with duediligence to avoid infringing on the rights of others andto address adverse impacts with which theyare involved.

3. The need for greater access by victims of business-related human rights abuse to effective remedy, bothjudicial and non-judicial .

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rightsdeveloped to help support the Protect, Respectand Remedy Framework explains that the corporateresponsibility to respect human rights means businessshould avoid involvement in adverse human rightsimpacts, including through their business relationships. Inother words, business should, as a minimum, do no harm.

In practice, this requires that businesses have a humanrights policy that commits them to respect all humanrights, implement a human rights due-diligence processwhich explicitly considers gender issues to know andshow that they are respecting human rights (requiringidentification and assessment of impacts; integration ofthe findings of those assessments throughout corporateprocesses; and tracking and communicating human rightsperformance), and work to remedy any adverse impactsthey may have caused or contributed to, such as througha formal grievance mechanism.


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4 Gender Impact Assessment:

A vital tool for developers.

4.1 What is a gender impact assessment?

Gender impact assessment is a process which allows

decision-makers and stakeholders in a project tounderstand the current situation and context that will beaffected by the project, and what changes and resultsmay emerge based on that project. It uses gendercriteria to inform that understanding of predicted andrealised impacts.

Gender impact assessment will al low the projectsdevelopers (including government, financiers andcompanies) to consider gender relationships between menand women and how the project will impact on women andmen. It will ensure that power relations between men andwomen, many aspects of which will be exacerbated by the

project, are understood and that there can be equality inoutcomes. So that women in par ticular, given their greatervulnerability to project impacts, can be better off thanbefore the project.

A gender impact assessment will provide details andinformation about how men and women relate andinteract with one another in all levels of society, and canbe used to ensure activities do not disadvantage onegender over the other. Gender analysis will make sure thatdevelopment decisions are based on facts about relationsbetween men and women and their different contextand needs.

Using gender impact assessment in the project cycleallows the developer to assess risks and opportunities onmen and women, and to make changes, commitments anddecisions to avoid harm, and advance gender equality.

4.2 Why should a gender impact assessmen t

be undertaken?

The consideration of gender issues in the implementationof hydropower projects is crucial for their sustainability.Hydropower development projects are likely to produceprofound environmental consequences. Whether the

effects are beneficial or adverse, they will affect the livesof all segments of the population, ie women and men of allcastes and ethnicity living in the project area The adverseeffects of project implementation mainly affect the livesof women and the vulnerable castes and ethnic groups,whereas men tend to reap the most of the benefits.(Department of Electricity Development 2005, p. 1)

The goal of a gender impact assessment will differdepending on the context and the timing. Ideally thegender impact assessment will be undertaken inconjunction with project feasibility and early stage projectassessment. This will then inform management plans andbudgets. In doing so the possible outcomes include:

Project developers understanding of how the projectwill impact differently on men and women; and fromthat understanding

Project developers broaden their consideration ofgender impacts and womens participation in keyprocesses which inform future project decisions(including risk assessments, related scoping andcommissioning of other impact assessments such asfor indigenous peoples or where resettlement will berequired, on budget allocations, resourcing, timing,scope and so on); and in doing so

Project developers ensure that project decisions bettertarget gender equality; and

Risk assessment and cost/benefit analysis is morecomprehensive and accurately reflects how the projectwill affect gender relations now and into the future including gendered understanding of communities, anduse of the ecosystem services that will be af fected bythe project; and this should help in

Facilitating opportunity for maximum participationopportunities for women and men in the project, andhelp realise equal access to the sharing of benefits.

Project developers, and their financial backers andgovernment partners will gain value in their project byundertaking gender impact assessment. Consideringgender and the impacts of the project on gender, andthen adapting the project to address gender equalityare critical aspects in considering the sustainability ofa hydropower project.


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In ensuring that the project makes use of gender impactassessment, and continues to value and monitor genderrelations within the projects development and contextof operating, project proponents will better manage riskto their project. Proponents should consider the waysthat impacts are experienced differentially by men and

women and how these impacts affect relations withincommunities and within individual households.

Achieving sustainable positive outcomes and benefits forwomen as part of a good practice approach will require afocus on womens empowerment.

If a project is to contribute to transformation orempowerment for women, it is important to acknowledgethat women are not just one group among severaldisempowered or marginalised population groups insociety (such as indigenous people, the poor, people withdisabilities), but rather that women are present in all thesegroups. And further, that the family and the household are

particular points for womens disempowerment.

In this light, management strategies to address projectinduced impact will affect interactions between womenand men across the projects footprint this will bedifferent for dif ferent cultural and language groups,socio-economic differences, and even nationalities.The project will also affect society, communitystructures, work and family and, as such, will af fect thecircumstances under which men and women interact.Considering how policies and project activities affecthousehold level relations and responsibilities is critical.Further, examining the assumptions for compensating

or sharing project benefits with communities shouldappraise the power and control over resources andassets, as well as the institutional opportunities foraffecting womens empowerment.

The project should consider these in developing:

complaints mechanisms or grievance processes;

negotiating resource, land and water rights for resettledcommunities;

replacing lost assets and structures such as schools,health clinics, markets;

assigning use rights for communities whose livelihoodshave been impacted by the project.

project consultation and community decisionmaking processes;

project design and impact mitigation plans (such as inresettlement, environmental management);

benefit sharing agreements; and

community development projects.

4.3 When should a gender impact asses sment

be undertaken?

Gender analysis and impact assessment should beincluded as part of stakeholder engagement in strategicriver basin planning, from which options for developmentprojects on a river will emerge. Avoiding negative gendered

impacts should be one critical decision criteria forassessing the viability and sustainability of options.

In the context of a hydropower project having beenidentified, gender impact assessment and genderexpertise is most useful when it is brought in at theearly stages of a projects development. That is, beforecritical decisions are taken, so that project design andmanagement plans can be adapted based on genderedunderstandings, and that appropriate budgets andinvestments are allocated, based on the gender analysis.Building gender impact assessment into E/SIA is onekey option.

The following diagram shows where key moments forinvolvement of gender expertise, of women, and of genderimpact assessment can and should occur in projectdevelopment. This focuses on standard good practice,social and environmental assessment processes.


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Step 1: Gathering the data

establishing a project specific

baseline that analyses gender

Check that baselines established early inthe feasibility assessments are robust for

understanding gender context. If there are gaps inproject development, the data gathering processdescribed in the preceding section may need tobe undertaken, revised or updated.

In the context where detailed environmentaland social assessments are being scopedand terms of reference drafted, incorporatinggender analysis and expertise will be valuable.The following steps suggest some of the mostcommonly used tools for gathering and organisinggender data to inform analysis and planning atthis early stage of project development.

In order to develop an understanding of thetechnical aspects of a projects feasibility,developing a baseline about the river and itspeople that includes sex-disaggregated data willbe necessary to inform community engagementand project decisions.

In addition to understanding the gender context,many other demographic factors within the basinand project impact zone should also be considered,including: ethnicity and language groups,socio-economic status, education, literacy,

cultural norms and decision-making processes,marginalisation, social norms and domesticviolence, disability, and how any of multiple formsof vulnerability intersect with gender.

When the project has been given a green lightto proceed to more comprehensive feasibilityand impact assessment studies, looking at howgender can be incorporated into processes anddecision-making should be considered.

The E/SIA process diagram on page 25 providesguidance on key process opportunities forincorporation of gender expertise and assessment.

Step 2: Understanding

the context

A thorough context analysis for the hydropowerproject will help the company, and its backersin finance and government, understand the

communities that will be affected by the dam, howthey are structured, how they function and howthey interact with other communities and with thenatural environment that will be affected by thedam. Good practice means that there needs to bea clear understanding of the roles, responsibilitiesand relationships between men and women in theaffected communities and river user groups.

This context analysis should consider the practicalneeds and interests of women and men. Thefollowing pages outline a number of key tools whichwill help the company understand the context of

how the project will impact on those communities.

Womens and mens roles and the genderdivision of labour

The social impact assessment process establishesthe activity profile, which helps project developersto have an understanding of what women andmen do in their households, village, as well as onthe river and their lands. The activity profile helpsinterpret village activity daily, seasonally and overa period of years. It can be used as a key tool ofcommunication between project developers and

communities, therefore it is especially importantto gather a comprehensive overview of mens andwomens activities.

When conducting your activity survey considerthe following;

seasonal variation

time allocation (how long a task takes, and howlong it takes to get to/from the task)

gendered roles by age (what do boys/girls,women/men and the elderly do)

where the activity is performed

disability (are there specific roles andresponsibilities or barriers to these tasks forthose with disabilities)

language and literacy. These can be a barrieror limiting factor to certain activities andcan ultimately influence how companiesand government interact with communityrepresentatives. Who speaks which languageand which language is used by which sub-groups needs to be identified. Assessingwomens and mens competency in language is

important, as is a clear picture of who can readand write which languages.

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At this stage you need to understand the variousfactors of influence over the project and thetrends that will affect the project context,especially how this will be experienced by projectaffected communities.

These impacts are imposed on communities

by the introduction of the dam. In this way,communities can be seen to be bearing risk f romthe project which is imposed (WCD 2000). Thechanges which come with the project affectsocial relations and roles within the communityand between communities. The very fabric ormake up of communities is often underminedby a project, and for riparian communities in theMekong this directly affects livelihood strategies,and economic wellbeing. Relocation often takespeoples from their ancestral lands and erodescultural connection to place and property.

As such, looking at how these project-inducedchanges intersect with each other will helpidentify how the imposed risks can be avoided,mitigated or minimised. This should includeconsidering direct impacts and risks as well asindirect impacts that might be experienced farbeyond the immediate vicinity of the dam.

Participation of men and women, from all affectedcommunities, should be included to ensure a fullunderstanding of the intersectional issues arisingfrom the project.

Consideration should be given to how the hydroproject will interact with and impact on:

gender and power relations in the community;

gender roles and responsibilities;

gender division of labour and workload of

women (considering paid and non-paid labour);

womens access to and control over resources,including benefits that may derive f rom thehydro project (benefit sharing);

community management structures andprocesses and how women are, or couldbe, involved in general and in relation toassessments and decision-making on the hydroproject; and

community wellbeing, livelihoods and servicessuch as education and health.

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A needs assessment looks at the practical needsof women, but also their status and power insociety. Practical needs are those that allowwomen to do what they do now. Meeting practicalneeds will maintain the current status quo ofgender relations.

Strategic gender interests identify what will helpwomen achieve greater power and control overtheir own lives and within the society. Strategicgender interests work from a starting point thatwomen in many contexts will have less power andwill have lower social status than men. Taking astrategic gender approach means recognisingwomens rights and transforming the powerimbalances in society, community and family thatrestrict women from realising their rights.

Assessing the practical interests alongside thestrategic needs of women allows for consideration

of how a project will affect women, as well as howthe project can avoid exacerbating inequalitiesbetween women and men, and how it cancontribute to positive changes in womens lives.

As such, for companies the understanding of bothpractical and strategic needs of women is usefulfor project processes which are assessing projectinduced impacts and mitigating risk.

When combined with some of the other importantassessment tools such as the access andcontrol profile, a gender needs assessment

will help project staff identify opportunitiesfor strategic interventions. For example, it canbe used to inform negotiations and scopingof possible benefit-sharing mechanisms orin the identification of options in involuntaryresettlement and livel ihood restoration projects.

Many of the project decisions negotiated betweena company and dam affected communities willbenefit from use of a gender needs assessment.In doing so, a company and their governmentcounterparts can realise positive gender impacts.

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Womens empowerment

Given the gender-blindness of the planningprocess, large dam projects typically build onthe imbalance in existing gender relations. Foraffected communities dams have widened genderdisparities either by imposing a disproportionateshare of social costs on women or through aninequitable allocation of the benefits generated.(WCD 2000, p. 114)

We have established that the project willhave gender impacts. These have potential tobe positive, but as highlighted by the WorldCommission on Dams and other scholars[Scudder,T.The Future of Large Dams, 2005], too oftenhydropower projects will actually exacerbategender disparities.

For a project to avoid this, it is vital to analysehow the dam project responds to womens needs

and interests, and how its development willaffect gender relations within its impact zone andsphere of influence.

A useful tool for this process is the WomensEmpowerment Framework (WEF), which assesseswomens situations and needs relative tomens. This assessment delivers a relationalunderstanding of where women and men sit on arange of development measures. Often used forassessing poverty, the WEF allows the projectdeveloper to assess whether and how the projectwill have positive outcomes for women in

relation to men.

The WEF suggests there are three categories orlevels that a project can be assessed against:

1. Negativelevel: where the project will impactwomen negatively.

2. Neutrallevel: where the project will impactmen and women equally.

3. Positivelevel: where a project will havea positive impact on womens needs andinterests and will improve womens positionrelative to mens.

The WEF relies on a scaled approach to assessingequality and measuring empowerment. Assessingagainst five levels of empowerment, starting atthe lowest (or least transformative), it can be usedto assesses womens equality status as a resultof the project. The five empowerment levels are:

i. Welfare: women will receive materialcompensation or project benefits.

ii. Access: women achieve legal status, reformof access rights to productive resources andfactors that affect production such as labour,equity and resources equal to men.

iii. Conscientisation: the difference betweensex roles and gender roles is understood,that women and men have equalit y in genderdivision of labour, and domination is removed.

iv. Participation or mobilisation: women areequally involved in project level decision-

making and design, assessments, projectmechanisms and management processes.

v. Control: women are equally involved indecision-making and this affects thebalance of control over other gender rolesand responsibilities.

In many hydropower projects outcomes for womentend to be at the welfare end of the spectrum,where tangible products are given to women (andmen) such as new houses, new market space orseeds provided to re-establish home gardens afterinvoluntary resettlement. But where gender hasbeen better integrated and womens participationin project planning and decisions is systematicand meaningful, there is greater opportunityto have outcomes realised that are moretransformative in nature. This means that womensstrategic interests can be addressed by a project.

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Appendix HSAP and RSAT: How

do these hydropower industry

tools incorporate gender?

This chapter examines how two hydropower sustainabilityassessment tools the Hydropower Sustainability

Assessment Protocol (HSAP) and the Rapid Basin-wideHydropower Sustainability Assessment Tool (RSAT) incorporate gender. Both of these relatively recent toolsare now in the public domain and are being consideredby companies and government stakeholders today in theMekong region.

Target audiences and differences

The two tools have some similarities but also a coupleof important differences in their focus and how theyare operationalised.

The HSAP is written with the hydropower industry asthe primary target audience. It is focused on assessingan individual project, or suite of projects (such as acascade of dams). The protocol assesses a projectagainst sustainability considerations called topics for a hydropower project, and enables production of asustainability profile for that project. The protocol includesstandalone assessment tools designed for applicationat different stages of a projects development: the EarlyStage, Preparation, Implementation, and Operation stages.

The RSAT on the other hand is designed to assesssustainability on a basin scale not considering

individual projects. It is f ramed within an Integrated WaterResources Management (IWRM) approach to developmentand was developed through collaboration by the MekongRiver Commission, World Wildlife Fund, and the AsianDevelopment Bank. There is a relatively consistentalignment of topic areas and scoring approach betweenthe two frameworks, but the RSAT is more specific tosustainability issues in the Mekong context (giventhis was the context of its development), focusing ontransboundary assessment and emphasising areas suchas fisheries as higher level topic areas.

In their initial uptake and rollout both tools are beingused as a means of encouraging stakeholder dialogue,and generating an understanding of specific projects andbasins considering a broad spectrum of sustainabilitytopics. They use a suite of assessment criteria andguide a sustainability scoring of topic areas byoutlining expectations for good and best practice, or lowperformance. To date most use of the RSAT has been withgovernment counterparts, while the HSAP is mainly beingconsidered by member companies of the InternationalHydropower Association.

HYDROPOWER SUS TAINABILITY

ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL

What is it? How does it work? Why was it developed?

The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum wasinitiated through a collaboration of the International

Hydropower Association, World Wildlife Fund and TheNature Conservancy. With 13 members drawn fromdifferent sectors and stakeholder groups16as well asa coordinator and Chair, the Forum operated as a quasimulti-stakeholder initiative. The Forum was critiquedbecause it did not include a member from developingcountry non-government organisations, project affectedpeoples, or expert membership bodies such as thoseassociated with involuntary resettlement.

The primary output of the Forum negotiations was theHydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP). Theprotocol adopts a mainstreaming approach to including

gender, as it also does for other important areas ofsustainability for hydropower, such as climate change andhuman rights. The following section explains this approach,and identifies gaps and how these could be improved.

Useful outputs of the Forum process, beyond the protocol,are captured on the IHA sustainability protocol websiteknowledge base (IHA 2011a). Importantly there remainsome critical areas of non-consensus in the HSAP these relate to expectations around determining what isbasic good practice in Free, Prior and Informed Consentand Involuntary resettlement.

The protocol is an assessment framework that worksat different stages of project development. It candeliver a sustainability profile for a project based onproject performance and outcomes across a range ofsustainability issues. These are called sustainabilitytopics in the HSAP.

The suite of sustainability topic areas for the protocol isoutlined in full on p. 41. Environmental, social, technical,economic/financial and integrative perspectives areexplored through more specific protocol topics. Thesetopics are defined by a common approach, which includesa statement of description and intent; scoring statements

across five levels where 5 represents best practice,3 good practice and 1 no/poor performance. Thescoring statements are informed by criteria specific tothat topic, at that stage of the projects development.Finally, assessment guidance is provided which outlinesfor the assessors and the company users key definitions,examples, and concepts referred to in the topic andcriteria. These should guide the assessors to makejudgement on scoring.

16. Forum members were invited from the following stakeholder groupings: developing country governments, developed country governments, the hydropower industry,the environmental and social NGO sectors, and financing sec tor. The author of this manual represented Oxf am in the Forum.

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17. Oxfam supports the WCD framework as the pre-eminent tool for achieving sustainable development of rivers, while protecting the environment and advancing the rightsor river communities. Oxf am joined the HSAF process with the aim to ensure the WCD approach was refle cted in the HSAP. Areas of non-consensus in the protocol areindicative of where this aim was not achieved. The HSAF identif ies these as priority areas for fu ture review and revision of the protocol.

The protocol is developed as a set of standalone toolsfor use at different stages of development of a river anda project: early stage (before there is a project), thenpreparation, implementation and operation. The last threeproject-oriented tools set out a graded scoring system toassess performance against statements of good to best

practice within the industry.The process of undertaking an assessment requiresmeasurement against objective evidence anddocumentation. Scoring reflects this evidence baseand should be factual, reproducible, objective andverifiable. While problematic to establish in applicationof the protocol, it does recognise the validity of verbalevidence from project affected peoples important forgender-based information. There are six criteria areas forassigning scores: assessment, management, stakeholderengagement, stakeholder support, conformance/compliance, and outcomes.

As previously discussed, the protocol was developed asa tool for industry to assess projects for sustainability.The World Commission on Dams had earlier establisheda new framework for developing water infrastructure recommending a rights, risks and negotiated outcomesapproach but the International Hydropower Associationand some other key stakeholders responded to thisframework by claiming it did not deliver a practical tool fordevelopers.17 It was in this context of practical tools forindustry that the Forum developed the protocol.

HSAP approach to gender how the protocol

addresses genderThe HSAP adopts a cross-cutting approach to gender.Gender, along with human rights, climate change,corruption, grievance mechanisms, IWRM, transboundaryissues and transparency are among some of the highprofile issues that the protocol identified. Despite beinghigh profile, these are not identified as sustainabilitytopics, but rather the protocol includes considerationof them in various areas throughout the framework. Asummary of where gender appears in the protocol isoutlined on p. 19.

What this means in practice is that gender can easily be

lost in the process of considering what is importantwhen assigning performance scores. I t is unclear howcross-cutting issues in the HSAP are reflected in scoringdecisions. If a cross-cutting issue is not ref lected inscoring statements but only in the Guidance notes, as isthe case with gender, then there is no clear basis for theassessor to include it in a scoring decision. This raises themethodological question of how cross-cutting issues areassessed and reflected in scores, if they do not explicitlyappear in scoring statements.

For example, in topic P5 on Environmental and SocialImpact Assessment and Management in the PreparationStage, gender is not addressed at all in the topicdescription and intent, nor identified in any of the scoringstatement at any level. The one place that it is identifiedis in the Guidance Notes for that topic as one of the

many examples of evidence for an assessor to consider:Key social issues include project-affected communities,indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities, resettlement,cultural heritage (both physical and non-physical),and public health; and are analysed with respect tosocio-economic indicators (including living standards,livelihoods, and health statistics) as well as gender.Social impacts of the project that extend beyond thejurisdictional boundaries in which the project is locatedwould need to be assessed and included in managementplans. (IHA 2011a, p. 60)

HSAP in application: how gender assessment ismeasured; how an assessor is required to assess andmeasure a projects impact on women and men

The protocol is a public document, openly accessiblebut controlled by terms and conditions of use. Its officialuse is limited by licence from the IHA and governancecommittee for official protocol assessments. A set ofterms and conditions guide the use of the protocol andwhat claims can be based on its official use. It can beused for unofficial assessments interest in this todate is largely from self assessments conducted by hydrooperators and developers as learning exercises.

The use of accredited assessors is required by the IHAto undertake official protocol assessments. The IHA hasassumed the role of the management entity overseeingthe protocol, while its governance is in the hands of theHydropower Sustainability Assessment Council, made upof a central governance committee with sector chambers.


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18. While there are some importa nt diffe rences specif ic to the Mekong contex t of the RSATs development , there is also an intentional alignmen t in RSAT topic areas to the HSAP.

19. At time of writing, the RSAT 2010 is publicly available. The RSAT is produced as an open source document with new drafts being developed on an ongoing basis; a 2013draft which has incorporated gender to a greater ex tent than the 2010 version, is yet to be publicly released. Analysis and recommenda tions herein are based on this2013 draft unless otherw ise stated. This was sourced August 2013.

RAPID BASIN-WIDE HYDROPOWER SUSTAINABILITYASSESSMENT TOOL

What is it? How does it work? Why was it developed?

The RSAT identifies 10 topic areas 18for sustainabilitywith 27 sub-topics. Each sub-topic consists of four

common criteria that are assessed in all topic areas. Thefour criteria provide a framework for assessing topicsagainst four key areas of responsibility for IWRM andhydropower development. Each topic area has a number ofperformance statements, which outline the expectationsand focus of the topic area in balancing the IWRM andhydropower aspects.

The four criteria are:

1. River basin planning and management, which looks atthe different sectors and interests involved in riversand how they are represented and considered in basinplanning and management, and the quality of basin-

wide baseline data across sectors.2. Energy/power sector planning and regulation,which

looks at the policy and planning for energy and powerwithin the basin, with a focus on hydropower. It alsoconsiders how hydropower and water use planning isdeveloped.

3. Hydropower projects, this looks at the individual andcombined plans, studies and management actions ofall hydropower developers and operators in the basin.It also considers how these are coordinated, and howother users of water within the basin are consideredand involved. Considers projects at all stages of

development and operation.4. Regulatory and governance: considers the regulatory

and planning frameworks for hydropower and waterresource management. This looks across all thescales from local to international and how they areenforced and implemented in practice. (RSAT 2013)

RSAT approach to gender how the RSAT frameworkaddresses gender

In the latest draft of the RSAT,19gender analysis andunderstanding is expected in two key areas:

i. In the Criteria within some sub-topics. For example,

sub-topics 4.2 National to local benefit sharing,5.3 Food Security and poverty alleviation, and5.4 Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities,allidentify the importance of considering gender andwomens interests in the RSAT process.

ii. In the Guidance Notes and Definitions for some of thetopics. For example, Guidance Notes and Def initionsfor Topic 5 Social issues and stakeholder consultationidentifies the importance of sex-disaggregated datawith social data collection; and in considering socialrisks and defining meaningful consultation, the RSAT

identifies the importance of gender inclusive andresponsive processes.

The RSAT Assessment Guide, which informs theexpectations and processes for undertaking an|RSAT assessment, does not require gender data orgender expertise.

RSAT in application: how gender assessment ismeasured; how an assessor is required to assess andmeasure impacts on women and men

Key to an RSAT assessment, similarly to the HSAP, isthe collection of evidence and data. As such, gender

data and sex-disaggregated data may be collected andconsidered in an assessment, but it is not required toundertake the assessment. Performance statementswhich do identify gender considerations would howeverrequire the assessors to gather gender data. As such thetopics mentioned previously, it might be identified as agap during an assessment. Similarly to the HSAP, genderexpertise is not required as part of the assessmentprocess and participation of women, and of women withindifferent stakeholder groups, is not required.

The processes of conducting the assessment presentsopportunity for gender assessment and gender inclusion.

The selection of the facilitator for the RSAT is identifiedas critical, but does not indicate expertise in genderas a criterion for selecting that facilitator. Similarly,the conduct of the basin field visit is identified asan important opportunity for gaining an on-groundunderstanding of the basin and identification of importantissues but does not identify gender considerations inthe list of context deliberations for selection of sitesand issues.

If these factors are in place by chance, there is a realpossibility that an RSAT assessment could meaningful lyconsider gender in its dialogue and rapid assessment. But

because it is an accidental rather than deliberate focus,the RSAT could also miss impor tant opportunities to takeinto account gender and womens experience, needsand interests.


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Glossary of terms and concepts

Gender

The different roles and responsibilities taken up bywomen and men. These are learned from early in lifeand throughout life from those around us; they are not

natural. They vary between cultures and localities, andthey change over time.

Gender and sex

Sex refers to the biological differences between menand women.

Gender refers to the roles, responsibilities andrelationships taken up by women and men and the socialdifferences which are imposed on men and women withinsocieties and between societies.

Gender blindFailure to consider the dif ferences between mens andwomens needs, benefits, and access to resources, powerand social status.

Gender equality

Equal rights, status, opportunities and outcomes for bothmen and women.

Gender equity

Gender equity is achieving fair treatment for women

and men. Strategies and special measures will of ten berequired to compensate for womens historical and socialdisadvantage. Positive discrimination may be required tohelp women access equal opportunity. In achieving equity,equality is made possible.

Gender mainstreaming

A process of ensuring that all work, in the way it isdone, contributes to women achieving an equal shareof resources and power. Everything the company ororganisation does, including: policy-making, settingagendas, planning, human resource management,

program management, information management andresource allocation, must be informed by gender analysis.

Gender neutral

Relating to people or communities and not specificallyto men or to women. Can risk overlooking importantdifferences.

Gender relations

These are the social relations between women and menand are concerned with the distribution of power betweenthe sexes. They define the way in which responsibilitiesand social expectations are allocated, and the wayin which each is given a value. Gender relations vary

according to time and place, and between dif ferentgroups of people. That is, they vary according to othersocial relations such as class, race, ethnicity, disability,age and culture (adapted from Office of Women andUniversity of Adelaide 2005).

Gender transformative

Where gender is treated as central to promoting equalityand achieving positive development outcomes. It takeson the task of transforming unequal gender relations topromote shared power, control of resources, decision-making and support for womens empowerment.

Intersectionality

Where gender is assessed alongside other factors whichaffect power relations and vulnerability, including class,race, religion, ethnicity or disability. This is especiallyuseful when looking at issues of identity and power inunderstanding how change will be felt by marginalised ordisenfranchised peoples.

Womens empowerment

A bottom-up process of transforming relations of

power between women and men. It is achieved byindividuals or groups of people, particularly women,through becoming aware of womens lower status andpower, or imposed barriers and limited opportunities, andbuilding their capacity or facilitating avenues to challengeand change this.

Womens rights

The 1948 UNUniversal Declaration of Human Rights outlinesthe human rights of all men and women.However, tradition, prejudice, social, economic andpolitical interests have combined to exclude women from

many of these rights. Thus the human rights of womenneed to be considered separately and given specialattention.

(adapted from Kilsby, D 2013, Gender terms and definitions,Internal working paper, Oxfam)


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Resources

This report refers to the fol lowing established frameworks,and suggests approaches as to how these can be used inthe hydropower context.

A more comprehensive list of these frameworks is

available in Hill s (2009) Gender impact assessment inmining, while the various approaches and their strengthsand weaknesses, and context for use are examined inMarch, Smyth and Mukhopadhyays seminal text, publishedby Oxfam,A Guide to Gender-Analysis Frameworks(1999).

Harvard Analytical Framework

The Harvard Analy tical Framework examines the genderdivision of labour, and maps the work and resourcesof men and women in a community. The frameworkreflects an ef ficiency approach to integrating women indevelopment and is designed to demonstrate that there

is an economic case for allocating resources to women aswell as men.

Moser Framework

The Moser Framework was developed by Caroline Moserin the early 1980s as a method of gender analysis andplanning within the womens empowerment approach.Moser argued for the integration of gender planning in alldevelopment work with the goal of the emancipation ofwomen from their subordination, and their achievement ofequality, equity and empowerment.

Womens Empowerment (Longwe) FrameworkThe Womens Empowerment Framework was developedby Sara Hlupekile Longwe within the context of anempowerment approach, and questions what womensempowerment and equality mean in practice; criticallyassessing to what extent a development interventionsupports this empowerment.

Intersectionality

While not specifically designed as a gender analysisframework, Kimberl Crenshaws conceptualisation ofintersectionality20is a useful tool in gender analysisbecause it analyses the intersection of various formsof womens discrimination and disempowerment. Thisapproach explores the interaction of dif ferent dimensionsof discrimination and subordination that structure therelative positions of women and men.

20. See Crenshaw, K 1991, Mapping the margins: intersectionality, identit y politics, and violence against women of colour, Stanford La w Review, vol. 43, pp. 124199; andCrenshaw, K 2000, Background paper for the Expert Group Meeting on the Gender-Related Aspect s of Race Discrimination, held in Zagreb, Croatia, 2124 November 2000.


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Documents

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