Dams have often been constructed for hydropower, water storage and to support socio-economic development, particularly in areas of water stress. In many places, the water stored in human-made reservoirs is essential to meet the development objectives of water supply, agriculture, industry, energy generation and other sectors. However, in the absence of adequate foresight and planning, many past dams have had considerable negative impacts on ecosystems and the livelihoods of affected communities, resulting in conflicts and health hazards. While enhanced human health and well-being could be considered as the ultimate outcome of development programs, the public health impact of dams remains an issue that is often neglected by policy makers and investors. National policies and international guidelines, such as those of the World Commission on Dams (WCD), have been used to improve planning and impact assessment of dams. Here, we provide an analysis of four large dams, across three continents, and show that they had limited consistency with WCD principles and guidelines. Moreover, health aspects were largely neglected during planning, construction and operation of these dams, but seriously undermine their intended benefits. This perspective paper discusses impacts of dams on energy and food, ecosystem health, inclusion, and ultimately human health and wellbeing. We argue that a One Health perspective, based on these four categories, can support the systematic consideration of environmental, animal, and human health determinants. A dedicated One Health approach to dams and reservoirs remains to be developed but could potentially improve how dams, both existing and future, support more inclusive development.

中文翻译：

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水坝和水库对人类健康的影响：单一健康视角下被忽视的问题

修建水坝通常是为了水力发电、蓄水和支持社会经济发展，特别是在水资源紧张的地区。在许多地方，人工水库储存的水对于满足供水、农业、工业、能源发电等部门的发展目标至关重要。然而，由于缺乏充分的远见和规划，许多过去的水坝对生态系统和受影响社区的生计产生了相当大的负面影响，导致冲突和健康危害。虽然增强人类健康和福祉可以被视为发展计划的最终成果，但水坝对公共卫生的影响仍然是一个经常被政策制定者和投资者忽视的问题。国家政策和国际准则，例如世界水坝委员会 (WCD) 的准则，已被用来改进水坝的规划和影响评估。在这里，我们对横跨三大洲的四个大型水坝进行了分析，并表明它们与 WCD 原则和指南的一致性有限。此外，在这些水坝的规划、建设和运营过程中，健康问题在很大程度上被忽视，但却严重损害了其预期效益。这篇观点论文讨论了水坝对能源和粮食、生态系统健康、包容性以及最终对人类健康和福祉的影响。我们认为，基于这四个类别的“同一个健康”视角可以支持对环境、动物和人类健康决定因素的系统考虑。针对水坝和水库的专门“同一个健康”方法仍有待开发，但可能会改善现有和未来水坝支持更具包容性的发展的方式。