International small dam safety assurance policy benchmarks to avoid dam failure flood disasters in developing countries

•Research into small dam failure disasters in developing countries is limited.•Global dam safety assurance policy benchmarks reviewed, synthesised and applied.•Case study of Vietnam finds major physical, management and policy inadequacies.•Policy analysis/design process an exemplar for other developing countries to follow.

SummaryIn developing countries small dam failure disasters are common yet research on their dam safety management is lacking. This paper reviews available small dam safety assurance policy benchmarks from international literature, synthesises them for applicability in developing countries, and provides example application through a case study of Vietnam. Generic models from 'minimum' to 'best' practice (Pisaniello, 1997) are synthesised with the World Bank's 'essential' and 'desirable' elements (Bradlow et al., 2002) leading to novel policy analysis and design criteria for developing countries. The case study involved 22 on-site dam surveys finding micro level physical and management inadequacies that indicates macro dam safety management policy performs far below the minimum benchmark in Vietnam. Moving assurance policy towards 'best practice' is necessary to improve the safety of Vietnam's considerable number of hazardous dams to acceptable community standards, but firstly achieving 'minimum practice' per the developed guidance is essential. The policy analysis/design process provides an exemplar for other developing countries to follow for avoiding dam failure flood disasters.