But dams were continuing "to cause excessive social and environmental damage", WWF International said in a report.

"While promising cheaper power or water for better irrigation systems, dams can actually result in economic disruption, with electricity prices rising and many people displaced," the Swiss-based group said.

Focusing on six projects launched since the commission produced its findings after two years of work, WWF said they all failed to comply with the 2000 recommendations.

The $650 million Ermenek dam in Turkey threatened wildlife in the Goksu river, whose delta is an important wetland; while the livelihoods of 50,000 people in Laos were at risk by the diverting of the river Nam Theun under a World Bank project.

In Belize, the $30 million Chalillo dam flooded 1,000 hectares of pristine rainforest and increased electricity prices for local residents by 12 percent.

Other dam projects investigated were Iceland's Karahnjukar, the Melonares dam in Spain and Australia's Burnett dam, which WWF said threatens already endangered fish in Queensland.

"Bad dams and bad economics are apparently still alive and kicking five years after the WCD," said Ute Collier, author of the WWF report.