Dammed big

The world’s superdams, which together hold as much water as the North Sea and
have engendered huge controversy over their human and environmental impacts,
face their first independent review next week. The World Bank, the biggest
funder of these dams, launches the World Commission on Dams in Washington DC on
24 November with the World Conservation Union and antidam campaigners. The new
body will recommend the first international standards for dam construction and
management.