International Commission on Large Dams

What International Commission on Large Dams does

The International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD/CIGB) is a non-governmental international organization founded in 1928 and headquartered in Chatou, France, that functions as the global authority on dam engineering. It operates through a federation of more than 100 national member committees representing countries across all inhabited continents, and its principal mission is the exchange of knowledge on the design, construction, maintenance, safety, and environmental impact of large dams. The organization's primary technical asset is the World Register of Dams, a proprietary database cataloguing more than 62,000 large dams (defined as dams at least 15 meters high or 5+ meters with capacity above 3 million m³) across 166 countries, with over 40 statistical fields per dam including geographic, structural, hydrological, ownership, and environmental data. Since September 2023, the register has incorporated WGS84 geocoordinates, and since 2025 it cross-references ICOLD publications.

ICOLD's product portfolio centers on four pillars: (1) the World Register of Dams database, accessed via 3-year subscription access rights; (2) technical publications including Bulletins, triennial Congress Proceedings, and Symposium Proceedings; (3) the multilingual Technical Dictionary on Dams covering 3,000+ terms in 9+ languages; and (4) the member-only Database of Dams Incidents. The organization runs triennial International Congresses (28th held in Chengdu, May 2025) and annual meetings (94th scheduled for Guadalajara, May 2026), with the 28th Congress proceedings published Open Access.

The business model is membership- and publication-driven. Revenue is generated through three principal streams: recurring National Committee membership fees (which confer discounted publication pricing), recurring 3-year database access subscriptions, and one-time publication sales. Customer segments are segmented horizontally into National Committees (primary, organizational buyers), individual engineers and dam professionals, and academics/researchers. Distribution is largely direct through the icold-cigb.org e-commerce storefront and at Congress events, supplemented by social media, newsletters, and circular letters. There is no external investor, parent company, or public equity structure; ICOLD is governed entirely by its member committees.

Name

International Commission on Large Dams

Legal name

International Commission on Large Dams

Website

https://icold-cigb.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

ICOLD (International Commission on Large Dams) is a non-governmental international organization founded in 1928 that serves as the global authority on dam engineering, operating the World Register of Dams database covering 62,000+ dams and serving 100+ national member committees worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dam Engineering Knowledge Services

NAICS

Information (51)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Instrumentation, Controls & Automation Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAM)

Keywords

• Dam engineering standards
• Dam safety guidelines
• Water infrastructure research
• Dam registry database
• Hydraulic engineering publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Publication Sales: ICOLD generates revenue through the sale of publications including Bulletins, Congresses Proceedings (Congress held every 3 years), World Register of Dams, Symposium Proceedings, and other technical materials. Congress proceedings over 6 years are free for members except for shipping/management fees.
2. Database Access Rights: Access to the World Register of Dams database requires prior acquisition of an access right, granted for a period of 3 years from the date of acquisition. Users must create a personal account and obtain access codes.
3. Membership Fees: National Committee members receive discounted Committee Member Prices on publications and free access to congress proceedings over 6 years. Members must be part of their country's National Committee to qualify for member pricing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ICOLD is an international non-governmental organization that provides knowledge services and reference resources on large dams, including the World Register of Dams database (62,000+ entries), technical publications (Bulletins, Congress and Symposium Proceedings), and a multi-language Technical Dictionary on Dams covering 3,000+ terms. Its core activities are triennial International Congresses, technical committees, and regional clubs that develop standards and best practices for dam engineering, with content delivered through its own website and gated subscription access.

Product overview

ICOLD provides a suite of knowledge products and databases centered around the World Register of Dams, the premier global database of over 62,000 large dams. The portfolio includes Bulletins and Congress/Symposium Proceedings as core publications, the E-Dictionary offering 3000+ technical terms in 9 languages, and the Database Dams Incidents for members. The organization also manages the ICOLD Innovation Award. The World Register of Dams serves as the foundational data product, with access provided through a subscription-based model for 3-year periods.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• World Register of Dams: A global database cataloging large dams worldwide, containing over 55,000 entries with information on dam characteristics, reservoirs, and environmental data.
• ICOLD Young Professionals' Forum
• ICOLD Innovation Award
• Technical Dictionary on Dams

Products and services

• World Register of Dams A comprehensive database of more than 62,000 large dams worldwide, established from national inventories sent by member countries. The register includes over 40 statistical fields per dam covering geographical data, dam characteristics, spillway, reservoir, responsible parties, and environmental data.
• World Register of Dams Database Access Subscription-based access to the World Register of Dams database. Access requires creation of a personal account and acquisition of an access right granted for a period of 3 years from date of acquisition. Login credentials are personal and non-transferable.
• Bulletins Technical bulletins published by ICOLD covering various aspects of dam engineering, safety, and environmental considerations. Available for purchase with member pricing for National Committee members.
• Congresses Proceedings Proceedings from triennial ICOLD Congresses where 3/4 technical questions are selected and debated, including academic communications and discussions. Congress proceedings over 6 years are free for members.
• Symposium Proceedings Proceedings from ICOLD symposiums covering specialized topics in dam engineering and related disciplines.
• E-Dictionary (Technical Dictionary on Dams) Technical Dictionary on Dams providing translations of more than 3,000 technical terms in the field of dams (with sketches for certain terms) in multiple languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Slovene, and Finnish.
• Database Dams Incidents A database of dam incidents available to ICOLD members, containing information on dam failures and safety incidents for analysis and prevention purposes.
• ICOLD Innovation Award An award program recognizing innovative contributions in the field of dam engineering and water resource management.

Quantifiable outcome

• 62,000+ large dams documented in the World Register
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• National Committees on Large Dams (100+ countries)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICOLD is structured around national committees from over 100 countries including USA (USSD), Australia (ANCOLD), Argentina (CADP), France (CFBR), UK (British Dam Society), China (CHINCOLD), Canada (CDA), Japan (JCOLD), India (INCOLD), Brazil (CBDB), Germany (DTK), and many others. These national committees serve as the primary members and representatives of ICOLD in their respective countries, providing national dam inventories and participating in technical committees.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• World Energy Council (WEC): WEC is a century-old London-based global energy membership body that publishes flagship reports and convenes member committees in 100+ countries. Its scale, governance, and triennial congress model are structurally similar to ICOLD, though its scope is the entire energy sector rather than dams specifically.
• Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE): ICE is the UK-based chartered body for civil engineers, publishing journals, proceedings, and standards. Like ICOLD, it generates revenue from publications and member services and serves a population that includes dam and reservoir specialists.
• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE): ASCE is the largest US civil-engineering membership society (150,000+ members) and a publisher of codes, standards, and journals. It overlaps with ICOLD through dam/geotechnical committees and a comparable publication-and-membership operating model.
• International Water Association (IWA): IWA is a larger London-based membership organization covering the full urban water cycle. It is broader than ICOLD but overlaps on reservoir/water-resource engineering and shares the same NGO congress-and-publication business model targeting utilities and consultants.

Regional players

• Australian National Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD): ANCOLD is the Australian member committee of ICOLD and represents the same organizational structure (technical committees, publications, dam register contributions) at a national level. It is comparable as a scaled-down analog of ICOLD.
• United States Society on Dams (USSD): USSD is the ICOLD-affiliated US National Committee and effectively ICOLD's largest member chapter. It runs US-focused conferences, technical committees, and publications on dam engineering, mirroring ICOLD's mission at a national scale.

Others

• International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID): ICID is a sister international NGO headquartered in New Delhi that deals with irrigation, drainage, and flood management. It overlaps thematically with ICOLD on water infrastructure, runs a similar congress-and-publication model, and shares stakeholder overlap with national water-resource agencies.

Emerging players

• Global Water Intelligence (GWI): GWI is a commercial Oxford-based research and data firm covering the global water industry, including hydropower and dams. It is an emerging commercial competitor to ICOLD's information/data franchises, monetizing via subscriptions and consulting rather than NGO membership.

Direct peers

• International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR): IAHR is a global, Madrid-headquartered membership organization of hydro-environment engineers and researchers. It mirrors ICOLD's model (membership, journals/congresses, technical committees) and serves a largely overlapping audience of hydraulic and water-resource engineers.
• International Hydropower Association (IHA): IHA is the closest functional peer — a London-based international NGO that convenes the global hydropower community through membership, publications, and a Hydropower Status Report. It overlaps directly with ICOLD's stakeholder base (dam owners, engineers, consultants) and covers a closely adjacent knowledge domain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ICOLDCIGB
• Facebookfacebook.com/icoldcigb
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/icold-cigb
• Instagraminstagram.com/icoldcigb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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