Water woes along Mekong: Dams disrupt lives of millions

Nirmal Ghosh, Straits Times 8 Aug 09;

BANGKOK: The mighty Mekong, meandering from China through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, is the lifeblood of tens of millions of people.

But the huge volume of water coursing down half a continent through Indochina is a wounded creature.

As many as 53 dams have been built, are under construction or are being planned along the 4,500km river. Another 66 are at various stages of study.

Dams produce electricity and supply water for irrigation.

But they also disrupt the free flow of water, change the course and patterns of rivers and floods, and restrict the range and breeding of fish. They alter the subsistence livelihood base of millions of people, creating social and political tension.

One recent study estimates that the volume of migratory fish catch put at risk by dams on the Mekong is between 700,000 and 1.6 million tonnes a year. That is about five times the annual fish catch of a country such as Finland.

Civil society groups have for years been blowing the whistle on over-exploitation of the Mekong.

Now, environmental groups are waiting to see what the United States will bring to the table under a 'sister river' partnership between the Mekong River Commission and the Mississippi River Commission. The partnership came with the renewed engagement of the US in the lower Mekong region.

Last month, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met for the first time ministers from Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. At the meeting, held on the sidelines of the Asean Regional Forum in Phuket, she pledged a greater US role in issues such as the environment, health and education.

The ministers discussed collaboration on climate change, infectious diseases, the use of technology for education and development, and infrastructure at the talks.

Renewed American interest in the lower Mekong countries has largely been welcomed.

With Cambodia and, to some extent, Laos dependent on aid from donors, their governments are seen as welcoming enhanced US assistance, which also serves as a hedge against China.

This year, the US will spend more than US$7 million (S$10 million) on environmental programmes, US$138 million on health and US$16 million on education in the lower Mekong countries.

Washington's foot in the door, however, has drawn a less than enthusiastic response from Chinese analysts.

Professor Guo Xiangang, a scholar at the China Institute of International Studies, told the official Xinhua news agency on the day Mrs Clinton met the ministers that increased US presence in South-east Asia would complicate and bring uncertainties to regional issues.

For those who depend on the Mekong and are affected by water and rainfall disruption caused by global warming, the key issue is ecological security.

'We hope the increased presence of the US will be backed with a genuine commitment towards... sustainable development,' Mr Sam Ath, executive director of the NGO Forum on Cambodia, wrote to The Straits Times in an e-mail.

The 'sister river' partnership aims to share expertise and best practices in climate change adaptation, flood and drought management, hydropower and impact assessment, and water resource management.

But the Mississippi River is not exactly a shining example of good management.

A recent study by Louisiana State University concluded that marshland loss in the Mississippi Delta was being exacerbated beyond repair by dams.

'By learning more about what has happened along the Mississippi, the lower Mekong region can avoid making the same mistakes,' wrote Mr Ath.

The mighty Mekong
Straits Times 8 Aug 09;

ABOUT 4,500km long, the river passes through more countries than any other river in Asia - China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.

An estimated 61 million people, especially fishermen and farmers, depend on the river for their livelihood.

Rich in biodiversity, it is also a focus of substantial trade and commerce. Recent estimates put the annual value of the river's wild capture fisheries at US$3 billion (S$4.3 billion).

Mainstream dams, which disrupt the free flow of the river, have contributed to the endangerment of the giant Mekong catfish, which can grow up to 3m in length. The catfish population is reckoned to have fallen by about 80 per cent in the past 20 years or so.

In June, a petition signed by about 12,000 citizens of Mekong countries urged Thailand and other Mekong countries to keep the river flowing freely and pursue electricity options that are less damaging than dams.