Viewed by some as symbols of progress and by others as inherently flawed, large dams remain one of the most contentious development issues on Earth. Building on the work of the now defunct World Commission on Dams, Thayer Scudder wades into the debate with unprecedented authority.

Employing the Commission's Seven Strategic priorities, Scudder charts the 'middle way' forward by examining the impacts of large dams on ecosystems, societies and political economies. He also analyses the structure of the decision-making process for water resource development and tackles the highly contentious issue of dam-induced resettlement, illuminated by a statistical analysis of 50 cases.

Thayer Scudder is Professor Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology and former Commissioner of the World Commission on Dams.

The Large Dams Dispute and the Future of Large Dams * Theories of the Resettlement Process * A Comparative Survey of Dam-induced Resettlement in 50 Cases, with the Statistical Assistance of John Gay * How River Basin Communities Can Benefit From Resettlement * Sri Lanka's Mahaweli Development Project * Further Case Studies * Addressing Downstream and Upper Catchments: Environmental and Social Impacts * Institutional Arrangements * The Future of Large Dams and the Way Forward *