In response to the collapse of the Hidroituango megadam in Colombia, this Spanish-language blog post by Fundacion Solon lays out 8 lessons for Bolivia. Below are English translations of excerpts from this blog post:
1) Megadams should not be built without broader studies that have been been verified by independent entities with no economic interest in the project.
2) All documentation must be made public and easily accessible
3) The environmental impact assessment study should be carried out with objectivity and in depth by independent entities that have no (financial) interests in the work.
4) .The entity that does the environmental impact assessment study for Rositas or Chepete can not be part of ENDE or be the same company that makes the final design of the work as is the case of Geodata with Chepete and El Bala.
5) Mega projects have to be absolutely independent, not subject to political or economic pressures. In the case of Bolivia, the Ministry of Environment and Water… does not have the necessary autonomy to present substantive observations and reject these projects.
6) The studies and design of these mega-dams…must be extremely detailed and consider serious natural disasters that will be aggravated by climate change.
7) Free and informed prior consultation with indigenous populations and local populations must be carried out—not to just communicate the decision to do a mega-dam, but to listen more closely to the observations of communities that know the area much better than the technicians themselves.
8) Signing a contract with a company for the construction of a mega hydroelectric without first having the environmental impact assessment studies is a crime.