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UN study advises caution over dams

By MICHAEL CASEY
Source: Associated Press

A dam-building spree in China poses the greatest threat to the future of the
already beleaguered Mekong, one of the world's major rivers and a key source
of water for the region, a U.N. report said Thursday.

China is constructing a series of eight dams on the upper half of the Mekong
as it passes through high gorges of Yunnan Province, including the recently
completed Xiowan Dam, which - at 958 feet (292 meters) high - is the world's
tallest. Its storage capacity is equal to all the Southeast Asia reservoirs
combined, the U.N. report said.

Laos, meanwhile, has started construction on 23 dams expected to be finished
by 2010 on the Mekong and its tributaries, the U.N. said, as a means to spur
development and lift the country from poverty. Cambodia and Vietnam also
have ambitious dam-building plans.

"China's extremely ambitious plan to build a massive cascade of eight dams
on the upper half of the Mekong River, as it tumbles through the high gorges
of Yunnan Province, may pose the single greatest threat to the river," the
report said.

The report went onto to say that the impacts of the proposed dam development
include "changes in river flow volume and timing, water quality
deterioration and loss of biodiversity."

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a regular briefing the
government pays equal attention to the development of the Mekong and its
protection. The Mekong is known as the Lancang river in China.

"I would like to point out that the Chinese government attaches great
importance to the exploration and the protection of cross-border rivers and
conducts the policy of equal attention to development and protection," Ma
said.

The proposed dams would add further pressure to the Mekong, which runs
through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The
307,000-square-mile (795,000-square-kilometer) river network is home to
dozens of rare bird and marine species, including the Mekong giant catfish,
and is a source of food and jobs for the 65 million people who live in the
river basin.

The river and its vast tributary network already face threats from
pollution, climate change and the effects of earlier dams that were built in
China and have caused water levels to drop sharply on the upper Mekong.

Still, the U.N. report said for the time being, the Mekong's pollution
levels were not at "alarming levels" while water shortages and conflicts
over water on the Mekong have so far not emerged.

"The Mekong is in good condition at this time and can take more pressure
such as irrigation development or industrial development," said Mukand S.
Babel, one of the reports' authors.

The report, however, found several river basins in the Mekong that are under
threat, including the Tonle Sap in Cambodia, Nam Khan in Laos and
Sekong-Sesan Srepok in Vietnam and Cambodia due to increasing development
and demand for water.

It called for countries bordering the Mekong to work more closely together
to ensure that the region's growing population and expected economic
development doesn't further strain the capacity of the delta.

"The time to tackle these challenges is now, otherwise the projected growth
and development may impact on the basin's ability to meet future water
needs," said Young-Woo Park, a U.N. regional director

 
 

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