South &
Southeast
Asia

Hydropower in South and South-East Asia plays a crucial role in meeting the region's growing energy demands and fostering sustainable development. This region is characterized by a diverse landscape of rivers, including the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Mekong, and many others, providing abundant opportunities for hydropower development. Countries like India, Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia and Malaysia have harnessed this potential by investing in large-scale hydropower projects to meet their increasing energy needs, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and enhance energy security.

Karnali Province, Nepal, photo by Simon Howard

MALAYSIA

Sarawak Energy Berhad is Malaysia’s largest renewable energy developer and has been working with us since 2013 to strengthen sustainable hydropower development in Sarawak.

Since the inception of the partnership between HS Secretariat and Sarawak Energy, a total of seven internal and official sustainability assessments have been carried out across different hydropower projects, with three more currently in planning. Of these, four assessments were carried out internally by Sarawak Energy’s staff who received formal training on the HS Standard.

Sarawak Energy has 73 employees who are Certified Users and 22 employees who are Internal Assessors – a record amongst our industry partners.

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Assessor training for Sarawak staff, 2019

INDONESIA

We have been working actively with the Indonesian Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS) since 2017.

In this period, we have trained over 100 professionals, online and in-person on the HS Standard. The HS Standard has become a household name among high-ranking Indonesian government officials. In May 2023, a group of Assessors have conducted an assessment of the country's most iconic and important reservoirs. Jatiluhur dam provides more than 80% of the water supply to the capital Jakarta.

Prior to this assessment, we have conducted an assessment of Kusan Dam, which empowered local consultants in their understanding of the HS Standard. As a result of our programme, we have two Provisional Accredited Assessors from Indonesia.

Assessment of the Jatiluhur project, 2023

NEPAL

In Nepal, we have partnered with Bizbell, Nepal Hydropower Association and the Hydropower Investment and Development Company Limited (HIDCL) to deliver a capacity building programme to support Nepal's hydropower industry implement the HS Standard and attract green finance.

The programme is supported by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) with the goal of making the country a hub for sustainable hydropower development in South Asia. Through this partnership, over 60 professionals have become Certified Users and three professionals have progressed to becoming Accredited Assessors.

So far, three projects (Chuwa, Upper Chuwa and Mai Beni) have been assessed against the HS Standard and we see a great potential for more projects joining them on this sustainability journey.