International Hydrological Programme

Outcomes of the UNESCO Workshop on GHG emissions from freshwater reservoirs, Paris, France
Chixoy reservoir, Guatemala
Chixoy reservoir, Guatemala
© UNESCO - Inguat-Samajoa

Recent research on freshwater reservoirs has included the monitoring of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions above the water surface, both within the reservoir area and immediately downstream of the retaining infrastructure, using various methodologies.

A workshop was convened at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, on 5-6 December 2006, to discuss the scientific issues related GHG emissions from freshwater reservoirs. At this workshop, government officials, scientists, and reservoir managers reviewed research and field measurements concerning GHG emissions, assessed a common understanding on this topic, identified knowledge gaps and research needs, and discussed roles for future actions. At the end of the workshop, participants approved a joint statement.

:: Workshop rationale [PDF format - 28 KB]
:: Participants’ statement [PDF format - 100 KB]

The presentations made during the workshop were the following (in each case the presenters’ name is marked with an asterisk):

- Atle Harby*, Odd G. Brakstad, Håkon Sundt, Bror Johansen
GHG emissions from Follsjø hydropower reservoir in Norway [PDF format – 2 MB]

- Jari T. Huttunen*
Importance of winter in the annual greenhouse gas emissions from northern hydro reservoirs [PDF format – 584 KB]

- Marco Aurélio dos Santos*, Luiz Pinguelli Rosa, Bohdan Matvienko, Elizabeth Sikar, Ednaldo Oliveira dos Santos, Marcelo Bento Silva, Carlos Henrique D’Almeida Rocha, Ayr Portilho Bentes Júnior, John Madock, Sambasiva Rao Pachtinelam
Variability of greenhouse gas fluxes from hydropower reservoirs in Brazil [PDF format – 3 MB]

- Marco Aurélio dos Santos*, Luiz Pinguelli Rosa, Bohdan Matvienko, Elizabeth Sikar, Ednaldo Oliveira dos Santos, Marcelo Bento Silva, Carlos Henrique D’Almeida Rocha, Ayr Portilho Bentes Júnior
Downstream GHGs fluxes measured in Brazilian hydroelectric reservoirs [PDF format – 760 KB]

- Elizabeth Sikar*, Bohdan Matvienko, Marco Aurelio dos Santos, Luis Pinguelli Rosa, Marcelo B. da Silva, Ednaldo dos Santos, Carlos Henrique Rocha, Ayr P. Bentes Jr. and Sambasiva R. Patchineelam
Reduction in the greenhouse burden produced by tropical reservoirs – or reservoirs as carbon sinks [PDF format – 51 KB]

- Alain Tremblay*
The issue of greenhouse gases from hydroelectric reservoirs from boreal regions [PDF format – 2 MB]

- Frédéric Guérin, Robert Delmas* et Rachel Baile
Methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from a tropical hydroelectric reservoir (Petit-Saut, French Guiana): experimentation and modeling [PDF format – 6 MB]

- Andrew Scanlon*
Calculating the change in quantity and timing of GHG emissions attributable to a reservoir [PDF format – 491 KB]