Hydropower: is prosperity without growth possible?

This paper aims to demystify the popular environmentalist claim of ‘prosperity without growth’ by demonstrating the conflicts between development and conservation, particularly in the developing countries. The paper looks both at the urgency and necessity of hydro development, and the anti-dam movements throughout the world. The paper argues that the seemingly controversial hydro development in the developing world is the ‘choice of no choice’, and that prosperity without growth is not realistic. The author contends that the environmental claim of ‘relative decoupling’ of ecological exploitation and economic growth to slow down the pace of resource utilization is sometimes manipulated and can become highly political, which actually compromises people’s developmental rights.