October
15, 2001
Mr.
Ian Porter
Country Director
The World Bank Office Bangkok
Diethelm Towers
14th Floor Tower A
93/1
Wireless Road
Bangkok
Thailand
Dear
Mr. Porter
We,
the villagers affected by the Pak Mun Dam and Assembly of the Poor, write to
you from Mae Mun Man Yuen village No.1, at the Pak Mun dam site. Thousands
of us have been living here since March 23, 1999 to demand the dam sluice
gates be opened and the Mun River restored. We also demand that the World
Bank take responsibility for the destruction of the environment which has
caused suffering to us and endangered the fisheries of the Mun River.
In
1990, the World Bank and EGAT destroyed our livelihoods through the
construction of the Pak Mun dam. At that time, we sent a letter to the World
Bank requesting the Bank to stop providing loans to support the construction
of the Pak Mun dam. The Bank
ignored our request and did not listen to our voice. For us, the decision to
build the Pak Mun dam was made without the participation of local people.
During
our protest against the dam, we were promised a better way of life, but the
promise was never delivered. On the contrary, our fisheries were decimated
and our communities destroyed. Over the past eleven years we have learnt
that the mitigation programs provided by EGAT did not solve our problems. We
strongly believe that the only way to sustain our communities and our
livelihood is to decommission the dam and restore the river.
The
World Commission on Dams (WCD) Pak Mun Case Study Final Report found that
fish catch in the reservoir and upstream of the dam has declined by 60 to 80
percent, resulting in an economic loss to villagers of about $1.4 million
per annum. The report recorded that 56 species of fish have completed
disappeared since the dam was built and at least 51 species have been caught
less significantly since the completion of the project. According to the WCD,
migratory and rapid dependent species are particularly affected as their
migration route is blocked at the beginning of the rainy season. The WCD
also confirmed that the fish ladder "has not been performing and is not
allowing upstream fish migration."
The
WCD found that the Pak Mun dam has had significant impacts on communities's
livelihoods. According to WCD, in the post-dam period, fishing
communities located upstream and downstream of the dam reported 50-100%
decline in fish catch and the disappearance of many fish species
Villagers who were dependent on fisheries for cash income have found no
viable means of livelihood since the dam was built, despite efforts to
provide training opportunities. As their food security and income was
destabilised villagers sought different ways to cope, including
out-migration in search of jobs." (p.60, WCD Basin Study on Pak Mun).
Economically,
the WCD found the project isn't performing well, and that it contributes
only marginal amounts of power. The dam was supposed to generate 136
megawatts, but barely generates 40 megawatts in high-demand months. There's
simply insufficient water to turn the turbines in the dry season. According
to the WCD, the actual dependable capacity of Pak Mun project calculated
from daily output between 1995-1998 assuming that all available power get
assigned to a 4 hour peak demand period is only 20.81 MW. Even
in the rainy season, EGAT has to shut the plant down because high water
levels upstream and downstream mean there isn't enough water pressure to
drive the turbines.
Moreover,
the WCD found that the actual irrigation benefits are zero. The WCD
concludes "it is unlikely that the project would have been built if
actual true benefits would have been used in the economic analysis."
In
2001, after we held a long protest at the dam site and Government House, the
Thai Government agreed to open the Pak Mun dams gates for 4 months to
allow fish migration upstream. Two months after the dam gates were opened,
we conducted our own report and found that 119 fish species had returned to
the Mun River. From our knowledge, we found 99 species are migratory fish
including eels, which migrate from the South China Sea.
We
also found 54 species of native plants and 23 species of herbal plants,
which grow on the river banks after the water recedes.
We
have learnt that opening the dams gates this year has not restored the
Mun river ecosystem, but it has also brought back our livelihood. We have
been able to generate income from fisheries as well as increasing our food
security.
The
information above confirms that the dam your institution has supported has
caused destruction to the river and our communities, and that opening the
dam's gates is the only way to solve our problems.
Therefore,
we call on the World Bank to take responsibility for the destruction you
have caused to our lives and to the ecology and fisheries of the Mun River.
The
WCD in its final report recommends that the World Bank "Review the
portfolio of past projects to identify those that may have underperformed or
present unresolved issues and share in addressing the burden of such
projects for borrower countries. This may include, for example
providing
new support to help borrower countries address unresolved economic, social,
and environmental problems."
The
Pak Mun dam is such a project. We demand the World Bank work with the Thai
government to decommission the Pak Mun dam by opening the dams gates
permanently and restoring the Mun River. We believe that opening the Pak Mun
dams gates permanently will not be useful only for our communities but
also for our next generations including the life of the millions of people
in the Mun/Chi and Mekong basins who are dependent on the fish from the Mun
River.
We
also demand the World Bank work with us to develop a reparations program to
restore the livelihoods of our communities.
These
are the ways and means to solve our problems and we sincerely hope that you
are seriously concerned with our demands.
Yours
sincerely,
Villagers
Affected by Pak Mun Dam and Assembly of the Poor
Mae
Mun Man Yuen Village No.1
Near
by the Pak Mun Dam Site
Kong
Jiam District
Ubol
Ratchathani
P.O.Box
20, Kong Jiam Post Office, Ubol Ratchathani
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