This document is the Background that accompanies a set of four stand-alone assessment tools, with all five documents being collectively referred to as the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (the “Protocol”).

The Protocol is a revision, update and expansion to the IHA’s Sustainability Assessment Protocol 2006. It was developed at a time of a resurgence of interest in hydropower as a result of increasing requirements for a low carbon economy, energy security and improved water management. This growing interest has been alongside disparate approaches to assess new and existing hydropower projects at local, national and regional levels.