The Mouth of the Moon
by Neville Powis, Radio Netherland, 4 September
2002.
http://www.rnw.nl/special/en/html/mun020904.html
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Thailand's Moon River begins in the San Kamphaeng mountain
range northeast of Bangkok. It flows east for 418 miles (673 km), receiving
the Chi River, its main tributary, and entering the Mekong River at
Thailand's border with Laos. Extensive damage to communities, the fishing
industry and the environment has become the hallmark of many hydro-electric
dam projects in the region.
The Pak Moon Dam - Pak Moon means mouth of the Moon
River' - has disrupted the lives of more than twenty-five thousand
villagers. NGOs have been working with the local communities. They are
campaigning for its gates to be permanently opened. Only then will fish
migration in the Moon River be restored.
The villagers affected by the dam have watched their homes
being destroyed and the abundant fisheries of the Moon River decimated,
destroying their livelihoods.
When I went to witness the protests outside Government
House in Bangkok the villagers were camping out on the main street. This is
also where they demonstrated for 99 days four years ago. And the protests
are still going on.
Gates opened
So far, their ongoing protests have achieved partial success - the dam
gates were temporarily opened in June 2001. This June's deadline for
them to be closed again has been extended until a number of environmental
research projects are completed and assessed by the Thai government.
Already more than half of the 156 species found in the
Moon River have disappeared, but they are now slowly returning. This
includes one of the most prized of fish, the Mekong Giant Catfish.
When the project was first mooted, local fisherfolk
mounted an international campaign to prevent the World Bank from financing
it. However, EGAT, the Energy Generating Authority of Thailand, and the bank
dismissed the villagers' concerns.
A fish ladder was installed, to appease them, but
unfortunately the ladder's design was based on the habits of Pacific salmon,
not Mekong River fish, and is therefore useless.
In protest and in a "quest for justice", over
3,000 villagers occupied the area adjacent to the dam for more than 17
months - and moved in May 2000 to occupy the dam itself. At that time 472
people were on an indefinite hunger strike outside Government House in
Bangkok. Inspired in part by the growing US dam-decommissioning movement,
the villagers believe the only way to recover their lost livelihoods is
through restoring the Moon River to its original condition.
Completed in 1994, the Pak Moon dam cost $233 million,
almost twice as much as originally estimated. The outstanding costs of $177
million will most likely be passed on to ratepayers in the form of a special
charge on their electricity bill, regardless of whether the dam continues to
operate or not.
In the meantime the cost of maintenance, and compensation
for damage to fisheries and other economic losses keeps going up.
Damning Study
The World Commission on Dams (WCD), an independent international agency
established to review the effectiveness of large dams, recently completed
its Pak Moon Dam study.
The WCD recorded that 56 species of fish in the Moon River
have completely disappeared since the dam was built. It was estimated that
the actual catch in the reservoir and upstream is 60 to 80 per cent less
than in the pre-dam era, resulting in an economic loss to villagers of about
$1.4 million per annum. The WCD also confirmed that the fish ladder
"has not been performing and is not allowing upstream fish
migration."
"Economically, the WCD found the project isn't
performing well, and that it contributes only marginal amounts of
power," said the report. "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. 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."
The report concludes that "it is unlikely that the
project would have been built if actual true benefits had been used in the
economic analysis." With such support for the villagers' claims that
the project has done more harm than good, there appears to be no good reason
for the Pak Moon Dam's gates to remain closed. It seems that removal of the
dam would result in immediate benefits and no great loss to Thailand's
power-generation capacity, which is currently in surplus
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