On Thursday, the International Hydropower Association (IHA) World Congress on Advancing Sustainable Hydropower held plenary sessions on: assessing sustainability performance, diverging views on social issues and sharing water for development. A press conference was held to launch the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol, and a session was held on how to use the Protocol. Parallel sessions also addressed downstream flow regimes and hydropower in the 21st century. In the evening, participants were invited to a light and sound show at Itaipu Dam.

The main discussions held through the day concerned the use of the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol, an instrument that is the fruit of a three-year revision process engaging both the industry and NGOs. Participants highlighted the importance of testing the Protocol on the ground and promoting its widespread use among IHA members and other stakeholders. They emphasized that it does not constitute a standard, and recognized that as a scoring tool, it reduces complex social issues to numbers. However, the value of the Protocol as an instrument was highlighted, not just to assess sustainability per se, but to provide a common language for dialogue among all actors in the process, including affected communities, and act as a bridge between different world views.

Speakers emphasized that the Protocol should be seen as strengthening and including, not displacing, the recommendations from the World Commission on Dams.