INTRODUCTION
This study is a comparative assessment of the regulatory frameworks applicable to dam safety in 22 countries.1 The purpose of the study is to provide information to policymakers and technical experts in countries that are planning to develop new or to modify existing regulatory frameworks for dam safety. The study should also be of interest to two other groups. The first is policymakers and technical experts who are interested in learning more about current approaches to the regulation of dam safety around the world. The second is that group of people who are trying to decide whether it is a worthwhile exercise for their countries to design a regulatory framework for dam safety. The International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) estimated that by the end of the last century there were over 45,000 large dams.2 More than half of those dams are located in developing countries, and a number of those countries are currently engaged in extensive dam-building programs. Thus, the subject of dam safety becomes an important one for a number of reasons. First and most obviously, it is essential that each dam owner be able to ensure that its dams are safe and do not pose an unacceptable risk to life, human health, property, or the environment. Second, dam safety directly influences the sustainability of dam projects and the extent of their potential environmental and social impacts. Consequently, dam safety is an important consideration at all stages of the dam’s life cycle. Third, dam safety is relevant 1. Those 22 countries are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, France, India, Ireland, Latvia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 2. See International Commission on Large Dams, World Register of Dams (ICOLD 1998) (computer database). ICOLD defines a large dam as a dam (i) with a height of 15 meters or more from the foundation, or (ii) with a height between 5 and 15 meters, with a reservoir volume of more than three million cubic meters. 1