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SANCOLD 2022 ANNUAL CONFERENCE – Evolving Dams in a Climate of Change

Foreword

From the Chairperson of the South African National Committee on Large Dams(SANCOLD)

On behalf of SANCOLD, I am pleased to welcome you all to the 2022 Annual Conference at TheRadisson Convention Centre, OR Tambo. We are very happy to have the opportunity to host this eventand to facilitate discussion and the exchange of knowledge and experiences amongst professionals with
an interest in dams on subjects related to“Evolving Dams in a Climate of Change”.
It is incredible to think that just a few years ago, climate change was not a part of our lives. Now, notonly do we hear and see the impacts around the world with frightening frequency, but it has come hometo us in the dam engineering world with many new pumped storage schemes being planned andimplemented all over the world in the process of looking to clean our sources of energy.
Everyhydropower project that we look into now has to consider carefully the potential impacts of climatechange, all while the world is still trying to understand and quantify those impacts and the extent ofwarming that we will in fact experience.
On top of potential reductions in water security caused by climate change, Africa faces the enormoustask of dealing with a population that is predicted to double by 2050, when it is anticipated that 25% ofthe world’s population will live in Africa. This is a monumental issue that we should be planning for now.Instead, as a continent, we now encourage project development and implementation in a manner thatdeprives us of the people development and capacity building that is an essential requirement ofpreparing for larger populations.
To deliver the technical Keynote Address this year, we are privileged to have Ross Cooper to talk to usabout “The Global Industry Standard for tailings management: An Owner’s Perspective”. Mr Cooper hasbeen involved in tailings storagefor 28 years andhis talk will focus on risk-informed, performance-basedoperational management.

At the Conference, we will be addressing the following themes

• Technical advances in the design and construction of new dams
  Dam Rehabilitation
  Tailings dam operations/lifecycles and closure
  Strategies for extending the service life of dams and reservoirs
  Dam safety and risk management
  Hydropower development

We will also have presentations on the following subjects:

• Updates to Flood Estimation,Uncertainty Estimation and Impacts of Climate Change
  Dam Safety Applications in the Nile River
  Feedback from ICOLD Committees
  Changes to APP regulations

Recognising the need for the sustainability of our industry and the safety of the country’s significantinventory of dams, we will maintain our focus particularly on Young Professionals during this event.Weare pleased that a number of the papers have been prepared and are being presented by our youngercolleagues.The Young Persons Forum will as usual be holding a meeting, with a social eventafterwards.
Lastly, a big thank you to our Professional Conference Organiser, Paragon Africa, Michelle Blaeser, andthe SANCOLD organising committee for putting together this event, which we trust you will enjoy it.

Dr Quentin Shaw