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Lao dams may cast long shadow downstream

Written by Sebastian Strangio and Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post. Thursday, 12 June 2008
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/200806126707/National-news/Lao-dams-may-cast-long-shadow-downstream.html

Mekong watchers warn of dam burdens without benefits

Planned hydroelectric projects in southern Laos could wreak long-term
havoc downstream in Cambodia if proper steps are not taken to
alleviate environmental effects, warn local advocacy groups who are
calling on the government to engage Laos in a discussion of the
possible cross-border impacts of its dam-building programs.

A number of projects in the Sekong River basin, a key Mekong
tributary, have been planned as part of a long-term Lao government
strategy to raise revenues by exporting electricity to power-starved
Thailand and Vietnam.

“We need the government to play a role in exploring what impacts are
being generated by hydropower projects in Laos,” said Ngy San, deputy
executive director of the NGO Forum on Cambodia.

“It is very hard for the Cambodian government, based on current
resources and capacity, but if there’s some commitment on the issue,
it would be appropriate to start a dialogue with the Lao government.”

The NGO Forum viewed the Nam Kong 1 and Se Kong 4 dams, both being
built by Russia’s Regional Oil Co and expected to begin construction
this year, as of particular concern, Ngy San said.

Vientiane Times quoted former Russian ambassador Yuri A. Raikov last
December as saying that “these projects [will] contribute to socio-
economic development and help improve transport infrastructure and
living conditions for the people of Laos.”

Environmental groups, however, are concerned that Cambodia may end up
shouldering the environmental burdens of the dams while enjoying few,
if any, of the economic benefits.

Even the Initial Environmental Examinations (IEEs) for the Nam Kong 1
and Sekong 4 projects, produced by the Norwegian consultancy
Norconsult for the Lao government in 2007, admitted the likelihood of
downstream problems.

The reports warn of negative effects stretching along the Sekong from
the Lao border to Stung Treng town.

The Sekong 4 IEE warns that “the reservoir will change the hydrology
of the river significantly both upstream and downstream,” with “the
release of poor quality water from the reservoir [having] an effect
upon the aquatic flora and fauna in the first stretches of the river
below the dam, tending to reduce both diversity and populations.”

A forthcoming report by Rivers International goes further, criticizing
the IEE for not focusing sufficiently on the effects on fisheries on
the Cambodian side.

There is no mechanism through the Mekong River Commission that
requires Laos to inform Cambodia of these impacts or by which Cambodia
can demand that such impacts be prevented.

– Rivers International

The report predicts “heavy downstream fisheries losses, amounting to
an estimated $18.7 million per year and affecting hundreds of
thousands of people [and] leading to a loss of approximately 71
percent of the total fish catch.” It points out that these estimates
have “likely been underestimated.”

Rivers International is also concerned with the apparent lack of
dialogue between the Lao and Cambodian governments.

“There is no mechanism through the Mekong River Commission that
requires Laos to inform Cambodia of these impacts or by which Cambodia
can demand that such impacts be prevented, mitigated, or put to an
end,” Rivers International says in a forthcoming report.

Ngy San also noted that the process of producing environmental
assessments prior to dam construction, a requirement under Lao law,
has been marked by a lack of transparency.

“Will we get the environmental impact assessment submitted to the Lao
government? There should be transparency [but] the information is not
here,” Ngy San said. “We have tried to obtain information but all the
information to date is unofficial.”

Cambodia National Mekong Committee secretary general Pich Dun said the
potential negative effects of the dam projects have been greatly
exaggerated.

“I do not know about any serious downstream effects on Cambodia. We
have not had any complaints from the local villagers,” he said.

He acknowledged, however, the negative effects on fisheries but said
“both Cambodia and Laos will try to encourage proper cooperation in
the resolving this issue.”

Bun Hean, chairman on the Standing Committee on Dams and Canals along
the border of Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, also disavowed any
knowledge of serious effects stemming from hydropower developments on
the Sekong.

 
 

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