Shock that the era of dams is over Mid-1990s

Shock that the era of dams is over Mid-1990s

In the mid-1990s, a statement by the head of the U.S. dam administration who visited Japan and said that "the era of dams is over" came as a strong shock to Japan. Dams have long been a symbol of the modern nation, responsible for flood control, water utilization, and power generation, and in Japan, dams have been considered the centerpiece of public works projects that supported postwar reconstruction and rapid economic growth. In the U.S., however, since the late 1980s, the environmental costs of dam construction, such as worsening water quality, loss of wetlands, impeded fish migration, and destruction of indigenous cultures, have been perceived as serious. Behind this statement is a reflection on the government itself, which has focused only on the benefits and has not adequately evaluated the negative impacts. The role of government was shifting from new construction to natural restoration, and the removal of old dams and river restoration were beginning to become policy
issues. These words resonated in Japan because they coincided with a time when the cost-effectiveness and environmental impact of public works projects were being questioned after the collapse of the bubble economy, and the belief in massive infrastructure was beginning to waver. It was a symbolic statement that challenged the very idea of modernization that had taken dams for granted.