| |
Mekong citizens appeal to Thai PM against construction of dams
by Usa Picha
Mizzima news Thursday, 18 June 2009
http://www.mizzima.com/news/regional/2315-mekong-citizens-
appeal-to-thai-pm-against-construction-of-dams.html
Chiang Mai (mizzima news) - Citizens of six countries which share the
Mekong River on Thursday submitted a petition with 16,000 signatures
to Thailands Prime Minister to save the Mekong River.
The Save the Mekong coalition, a civil environmental society
concerned about the Mekong River released a press statement on
Thursday saying that the group is to hand in a petition, endorsed by
more than 16,000 people from the six-countries of the Mekong region
and around the world, who have signed a Save Mekong petition urging
governments to abandon plans for hydropower development along the
rivers mainstream.
The six countries that share the Mekong River are China, Lao, Burma,
Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia.
The statement noted that most postcard signatories wrote personal
messages to the regions leaders such as Dont let hydropower dams
block our children's future! said Wang Dezhi from Yunnan, China.
Dont build the Mekong dams. The existing dams in Thailand already
make brothers and sisters fight against each other! Mak Vangdokmai,
Roi et, from Thailand wrote. Saving us, saving our resources!
Electricity is not everything! Nguyen Thanh Hang, Hanoi, from Vietnam
wrote in the petition.
Over the past few months, citizen groups have organized a number of
events to the run-up to this weeks Save the Mekong launch, to rally
public support for the river including a photo exhibition, environment
workshops and events.
Mekong fisheries provide a critical source of food and income for
millions of people along the river. Recent official estimates place
the annual value of the rivers wild capture fisheries to be worth up
to US$3 billion, the statement said.
It further added that mainstream dams will block the massive fish
migration that account for up to 70 per cent of the rivers commercial
fish catch which ensure regional food security. Experience around the
world demonstrates that there is no way to mitigate the fisheries
impact of such large dams.
Chinas dam construction on the Upper Mekong mainstream (Lancang) has
already caused serious environmental problems, in the form of
declining fish stocks, riverbank erosion, and hazardous water level
fluctuations in downstream Burma, northern Thailand and northern Lao
PDR, the group said in the statement.
The Save the Mekong coalition and those that signed the petition are
very concerned that similarly severe cross-border impacts could create
cross-border disputes, the group added.
The petition has been written in seven languages by fishermen and
farmers living along the rivers mainstream and tributaries, as well
as by monks, students, city-folk and even some of the regions well-
known celebrities, and will be submitted to Thailands Prime Minister
Abhisit Vejjajiva in Bangkok, and sent to other government leaders in
the region.
Civil society groups in the Mekong region and internationally have
been sounding the alarm about plans to build 11 hydro dams on the
Lower Mekong mainstream for many years, in what is often described as
an uphill battle.
The group concluded that the largely donor-backed inter-governmental
Mekong River Commission, meanwhile, has failed to disclose its
assessment of the Don Sahong dam, prepared in 2007, despite repeated
requests from civil society groups, and is now positioning itself as a
facilitator among the regions hydro developers. The MRC has skirted
some of the most critical issues, including ensuring transparency and
public participation, and protecting regional food security.
|
|
