The International Center on Small Hydro Power (ICSHP) is a non-profit institution operating under the auspices of the

United Nations Industrial Development Organization The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in e ...

(UNIDO) to promote the development of small hydro power. The ICSHP is also the headquarters of the International Network on Small Hydro Power (INSHP).

Formation

The ICSHP was formed in 1994 by the

United Nations Development Program The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries Poverty reduction, eliminate poverty and achieve Sustainable development, sustainable economic growth and Human development (economics), hu ...

(UNDP) and the

(UNIDO) in co-operation with the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. Following approval from the

State Council of the People's Republic of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

in 1999 the ICSHP became the first international institution to be established in China. The following year an official agreement between the Chinese government brought the ICSHP directly under the auspices of UNIDO. Its establishment has been described as 'one of the major achievements of China's reform and a symbol of world SHP demand, which reflects the international status of China's SHP development'

Mission

The ICSHP was established 'to promote small hydropower development worldwide'. It has a specific focus on developing countries, south-south co-operation and the promotion of small hydro power for 'the social, economic and environmental development of rural areas'. The organisation provides training, advice, research and information exchange on small hydro power development and management. The mission of the ICSHP is also in keeping with UNIDO's focus on promoting South-South Co-operation, 'by encouraging more horizontal investment flows'.

World Small Hydro Power Development Report

In 2013 the ICSHP and UNIDO published the World Small Hydro Power Development Report. According to Li Yong, Director-General of UNIDO, the report was "a world first compilation of global small hydropower data". The report assessed small hydro power development in 149 countries across 20 regions from over 60 different authors. It found that while installed small hydro power was estimated at 75 GW, potential small hydro power was approximately 173 GW. Over 50% of the world's potential small hydro power was found to be in Asia however the report noted "It is possible in the future that more small hydropower potential might be identified both on the African and American continents". In 2015 it was announced that a second, updated edition of the report would be published in 2016.

Headquarters

The ICSHP is based in

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

with additional bases in Hunan and Gansu provinces and sub-bases in India, Nigeria and Colombia

References

External links

Official website of ICSHP

Official website of UNIDO
{{authority control Sustainable technologies Power station technology Energy conversion Hydropower Hydraulic engineering organizations International sustainability organizations United Nations organizations based in Asia International organizations based in China Hangzhou United Nations Industrial Development Organization 1994 in Hangzhou