Environmental

Hydropower Sustainability Standard assessment open for consultation in Tajikistan

Hydropower Sustainability Standard assessment open for consultation in Tajikistan

Pamir Energy’s Sebzor hydropower project in Tajikistan has been assessed using the Hydropower Sustainability Standard by independent auditors, and that assessment report is now open for public consultation.

For 60 days, stakeholders from around the world are invited to provide feedback on the findings of the project’s sustainability assessment. All public comments will be reviewed and addressed by the independent assessors, after which the report will be submitted to the Standard’s Secretariat for decision on its certification status.

The project, on the Shokhdara River, is on track to become the world’s first project certified by the Hydropower Sustainability Standard, IHA said.

“This is a fantastic moment for clean energy development. Now more than ever we need more low-carbon and sustainable energy projects to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement. Sebzor is one of those projects,” said IHA Senior Sustainability Specialist Alain Kilajian. He said the Sebzor project underwent a previous assessment using the Hydropower ESG Gap Analysis Tool (HESG) over a year ago and the company has since worked closely with IHA and other international sustainability experts to address the gaps identified. “This is a case study of how the hydropower sector can engage with the Standard to result in meaningful sustainability improvements,” he said.

The 11 MW Sebzor project’s previous assessment, conducted in August 2021, identified two gaps in the “Community Impacts and Infrastructure Safety” section. A year later, in the Hydropower Sustainability Standard assessment, Pamir Energy demonstrated that it had closed Sebzor’s previous gaps and also met all minimum requirements needed to qualify for a certification. Additionally, the project met enough advanced requirements to make it eligible to be certified at Silver level.

The Sebzor hydropower project’s sustainability assessment is publicly available online, and comments can be left through an online form. The report will also be translated into Russian and shared with local communities affected by the project for their input.

The Hydropower Sustainability Standard is an independent certification scheme that measures minimum levels of good practice in 12 sustainability topics from biodiversity and indigenous peoples to water quality and climate change mitigation. Developed by a multi-stakeholder group comprised of industry, environmental and social NGOs, multilateral banks and civil society organizations, the standard provides a framework to incentivize sustainable hydropower projects and improve less sustainable developments.