"This is not the engineering heyday of the 1950s when dams were seen as the hallmark of development," said Robert Napier, chief executive of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Britain.

"We know dams cause damage and we must put this knowledge to work. Governments and the World Bank must insist that the WCD (World Commission on Dams) are applied to all dam projects now," he said.

More than 400 large dams are currently being built worldwide with hundreds more planned, the WWF estimated, with China, Iran and Turkey leading the construction field, closely followed by Japan.

Presenting a report, "To dam or not to dam? Five years on from the World Commission on Dams", the WWF said dams needed to be economically and environmentally sustainable.

Construction plans need to receive public approval while comprehensive assessments of other options should be carried out and any economic benefits should be shared with local communities, the environmental group added.

The report's author Ute Collier said: "Bad dams and bad economics are apparently still alive and kicking five years after the WCD.

"As the energy and water crisis tightens, we need to ensure that we choose the solutions with the least environmental damage and the greatest social benefits."

WWF singles out six dam projects for criticism: the Chalillo Dam in Belize; the Ermenek Dam in Turkey; the Nam Theun 2 project in Laos; Spain's Melonares Dam; Australia's Burnett Dam and the Karahnjukar project in Iceland.

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