13. Sustainable Environmental Development of Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project

The Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project (GBHP) is located in Pakistan on Indus River down stream of Tarbela Dam. It is a major run-of-the-river environmentally sustainable project (1450 MW installed capacity), and is designed to meet the acute shortage of peak power demand in Pakistan. This paper highlights the methodology, environmental and social issues identified during EIA of the project and there mitigation supported by continuous monitoring program, which has been carried out for ensuring environmentally sustainable development of the Project. EIA process and the mitigation measures adopted at GBHP adopted for environmental and social issues proved to be a milestone for sustainable development. Therefore the methodology and monitoring can be successfully applied to large-scale water resource and hydropower projects in the world. It is quite clear that sustainability in development can only be realized when structured systematic policy and methodology is to be adopted.