International financial institutions - the World Bank, regional development banks, export credit agencies, private banks - play a major role in promoting and developing large dams. Finance is the weakest link of many dam projects, and so it is often financial institutions that decide whether or not a dam project goes ahead.

The World Commission on Dams found the following: "Although the proportion of investment in dams directly financed by bilaterals and multilaterals was perhaps less than 15%, these institutions played a key strategic role globally in spreading the technology, lending legitimacy to emerging dam projects, training future engineers and government agencies, and leading financing arrangements." (WCD report, p. 171)

Working together with NGOs around the world, IRN monitors and challenges the role of international financial institutions in financing large dams. This website provides information on the policies and projects of the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, export credit agencies, and private banks and investors. The site also provides an overview of new water and power sector projects in the lending pipelines of financial institutions.

An IRN listserv provides regular updates about issues that relate to international financial institutions and dams. To subscribe to this listserv,  enter your email address in the "int’l finance mailing list" field in the left column of this page and click "go".