Challenges and opportunities for the governance of hydropower

Sergio Villamayor-Tomas; Maria Claudia Lopez; Caroline C. Arantes; Daniela Del Bene; Ratha Chea; Daniel B. Kramer; Christopher Schulz; Giuseppina Siciliano; Bryan Tilt; Emilio F. Moran

doi:10.1038/s41893-026-01782-2

Challenges and opportunities for the governance of hydropower

Sergio Villamayor-Tomas^*, Maria Claudia Lopez, Caroline C. Arantes, Daniela Del Bene, Ratha Chea, Daniel B. Kramer, Christopher Schulz, Giuseppina Siciliano, Bryan Tilt, Emilio F. Moran

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

More than 3,700 hydropower dams with capacities of over 1 MW are planned or under construction across the global south, repeating many past environmental and social problems. The World Commission on Dams issued guidelines in 2000, but major dam-building nations dismissed them as impractical. A quarter of a century later, the net benefits of large dams remain contested, yet the context has shifted. Climate change narratives, China’s leadership, private investment, environmental justice movements and multi-level governance now shape hydropower development. This landscape creates opportunities for better governance, strategic planning and community involvement, as well as for new research on hybrid systems, transboundary contexts and China’s political–economic dynamics.

Original language	English
Number of pages	11
Journal	Nature Sustainability
Volume	AOP
Early online date	26 Mar 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-026-01782-2
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 26 Mar 2026

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 13 Climate Action

Access to Document

10.1038/s41893-026-01782-2

Villamayor-Tomas_2026_NS_Challenges-hydropower_AAM_CCBY
Copyright © 2026 the Authors. This work has been made available online in accordance with the University of St Andrews Open Access policy. This accepted manuscript is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-026-01782-2
Accepted author manuscript, 1.11 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{fc098286362a46c9995761ceeb737bef,

title = "Challenges and opportunities for the governance of hydropower",

abstract = "More than 3,700 hydropower dams with capacities of over 1 MW are planned or under construction across the global south, repeating many past environmental and social problems. The World Commission on Dams issued guidelines in 2000, but major dam-building nations dismissed them as impractical. A quarter of a century later, the net benefits of large dams remain contested, yet the context has shifted. Climate change narratives, China{\textquoteright}s leadership, private investment, environmental justice movements and multi-level governance now shape hydropower development. This landscape creates opportunities for better governance, strategic planning and community involvement, as well as for new research on hybrid systems, transboundary contexts and China{\textquoteright}s political–economic dynamics.",

author = "Sergio Villamayor-Tomas and Lopez, \{Maria Claudia\} and Arantes, \{Caroline C.\} and \{Del Bene\}, Daniela and Ratha Chea and Kramer, \{Daniel B.\} and Christopher Schulz and Giuseppina Siciliano and Bryan Tilt and Moran, \{Emilio F.\}",

note = "Funding: E.F.M. and M.C.L. thank the National Science Foundation for their support through an INFEWS project (number 1639115). C.C.A. thanks the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture for funding under the McIntire Stennis project (number 1026124). S.V.-T. thanks the project (number CNS2022-136063) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033) and by the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR.",

year = "2026",

month = mar,

day = "26",

doi = "10.1038/s41893-026-01782-2",

language = "English",

volume = "AOP",

journal = "Nature Sustainability",

issn = "2398-9629",

publisher = "Nature Research",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Challenges and opportunities for the governance of hydropower

AU - Villamayor-Tomas, Sergio

AU - Lopez, Maria Claudia

AU - Arantes, Caroline C.

AU - Del Bene, Daniela

AU - Chea, Ratha

AU - Kramer, Daniel B.

AU - Schulz, Christopher

AU - Siciliano, Giuseppina

AU - Tilt, Bryan

AU - Moran, Emilio F.

N1 - Funding: E.F.M. and M.C.L. thank the National Science Foundation for their support through an INFEWS project (number 1639115). C.C.A. thanks the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture for funding under the McIntire Stennis project (number 1026124). S.V.-T. thanks the project (number CNS2022-136063) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033) and by the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR.

PY - 2026/3/26

Y1 - 2026/3/26

N2 - More than 3,700 hydropower dams with capacities of over 1 MW are planned or under construction across the global south, repeating many past environmental and social problems. The World Commission on Dams issued guidelines in 2000, but major dam-building nations dismissed them as impractical. A quarter of a century later, the net benefits of large dams remain contested, yet the context has shifted. Climate change narratives, China’s leadership, private investment, environmental justice movements and multi-level governance now shape hydropower development. This landscape creates opportunities for better governance, strategic planning and community involvement, as well as for new research on hybrid systems, transboundary contexts and China’s political–economic dynamics.

AB - More than 3,700 hydropower dams with capacities of over 1 MW are planned or under construction across the global south, repeating many past environmental and social problems. The World Commission on Dams issued guidelines in 2000, but major dam-building nations dismissed them as impractical. A quarter of a century later, the net benefits of large dams remain contested, yet the context has shifted. Climate change narratives, China’s leadership, private investment, environmental justice movements and multi-level governance now shape hydropower development. This landscape creates opportunities for better governance, strategic planning and community involvement, as well as for new research on hybrid systems, transboundary contexts and China’s political–economic dynamics.

U2 - 10.1038/s41893-026-01782-2

DO - 10.1038/s41893-026-01782-2

M3 - Review article

SN - 2398-9629

VL - AOP

JO - Nature Sustainability

JF - Nature Sustainability

ER -

Challenges and opportunities for the governance of hydropower

Abstract

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this