Pongphon Sarnsamak, The Nation 2 Apr 10;
Civic groups, academics and environmental activists yesterday called for the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to revise its 10year hydropower development plan on the river and its tributaries, saying the current plans would adversely affect millions of lives living downstream.
Representatives from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma and China open a twoday MRC summit in Hua Hin today.
The MRC Secretariat's chief executive officer, Jeremy Bird, said the Hua Hin summit would focus on regional cooperation issues and the record of cooperation over the past 15 years.
"They will use this anniversary as an opportunity to assess the achievements, to look at the challenges in the future from the water resources infrastructure and climate change, to reaffirm the commitment from four member countries for basin management cooperation," he said.
Activists rebutted Bird's optimism.
Witoon Permpongsacharoen of the Mekong Energy and Ecology Network and the Foundation for Ecological Recovery, presented a paper called "The Definite Future Situation", at a Chulalongkorn University seminar. The paper looks at the river five to 10 years from now with the development of cascade dams in China, plus at least 25 more hydropower dams in the tributaries, and con�cludes that "there will be a permanent change to the river flow regime".
About 200 representatives of environmental organisations and local communities in the six countries except China attended the twoday seminar to raise their concerns over possible problems to be caused by the hydropower development.
Pianporn Deetes from Save the Mekong Coalition said the Mekong drought and China's upstream dam construction demonstrate the need for cooperation among all countries sharing the Mekong River.
"There are better ways to meet water and energy needs and the climatechange challenge, while keeping rivers healthy," she said, adding that China's recent release of water to the Mekong to ease the historic drought was a move in the right direction and would help pave the way for genuine partnership from downstream neighbours.
She urged all countries to share information and forge a cooperative response to work with riverside communities to minimise economic, social and environmental costs.
Another 15 dams to be built along Mekong
China will build four more dams along its section of the Mekong River, which it calls the Lancang, while 11 more will be constructed on the Thai, Lao and Cambodian portions, in accordance with the Mekong River Commission's hydropowerdevelopment plan.
However, Witoon Permpongsacharoen of the Mekong Energy and Ecology Network/Foundation for Ecological Recovery yesterday insisted the plan was not entirely negative. Once completed, the dams will contain only 10 per cent of the annual water runoff, or 36 billion cubic metres per annum.
Moreover, due to the higher waterholding capacity, the river's water level in some areas could be higher during the dry season. For example, the water level along Chiang Rai's Chiang Saen district could be 59percent higher than now, or nearly 1 metre higher.
"However, looking at 20 years from now, with more dams built downstream, sandbars, rapids and deep pools could be adversely affected," Witoon said.
In 2008, China completed four dams that have been criticised for causing this year's unusually low water level downstream.
Pianporn Deetes of the Save the Mekong Coalition said not only had the river dried up, but also the water level was fluctuating unnaturally. While countries in the lower basin suffered from a water shortage, the MRC failed to warn local communities in northern Thailand and Laos about possible flooding in 2008, she said.
"There was a systemic lack of accountability to the public within the MRC," Pianporn said, adding that the MRC should monitor data more efficiently and formulate precautionary actions.
Dam debate looms large over Mekong summit
Rachel O'Brien Yahoo News 2 Apr 10;
BANGKOK (AFP) – Leaders of Southeast Asian nations straddling the shrinking lower Mekong River are set to lean on China at landmark talks as controversy builds over the cause of the waterway's lowest levels in decades.
Beijing's Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao will join the premiers of Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam in the Thai resort town of Hua Hin to discuss management of the vast river, on which more than 60 million people depend.
Myanmar will also participate as a dialogue partner at the top-level talks, which will kick off late Sunday and run through Monday.
A crippling drought in the region and the much-debated role of hydropower dams are due to dominate the summit of the inter-governmental Mekong River Commission (MRC) -- the first in its 15-year history.
The body warned Friday that the health of the Mekong Basin and the river's eco-systems could be threatened by proposed dams and expanding populations.
"There is a strong link between water quality and the impact of human activity on eco-systems," MRC advisor Hanne Bach said in a statement.
"Over the past five years, significant changes have taken place in water related resources and this is likely to continue, which may put livelihoods under threat," she added.
China is expected to staunchly defend its own dams, which activists downstream blame for water shortages, after the Mekong shrivelled to its lowest level in 50 years in Laos and Thailand's north.
Nations in the lower Mekong basin are likely to press China for information on the river as well as financial help, said Anond Snidvongs, director of the Southeast Asia START Regional Centre, which researches environmental change.
And "behind closed doors there will be strong debate," he told AFP.
China -- itself suffering the worst drought in a century in its southwest, with more than 24 million people short of drinking water -- says the reason for water shortages is unusually low rainfall rather than man-made infrastructure.
It says the dams, built to meet soaring demand for water and hydro-generated electricity, have been effective in releasing water during dry seasons and preventing flooding in rainy months.
"China will never do things that harm the interests of (lower Mekong) countries," said Yao Wen, a spokesman at the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok.
The crisis has grounded cargo and tour boats on the so-called "mighty Mekong" and alarmed communities along what is the world's largest inland fishery.
The situation "could be a taste of things to come in the basin if climate change predictions become a reality," said MRC spokesman Damian Kean.
The chief of the MRC's secretariat, Jeremy Bird, last week hailed Beijing's agreement to share water level data from two dams during this dry season, saying it "shows that China is willing to engage with lower basin countries".
Yet questions remain over the impact of the eight planned or existing dams on the mainstream river in China.
Vice Minister of Water Resources Liu Ning said Wednesday more were needed to guarantee water and food security, while 12 dams in lower Mekong countries have also been proposed.
Campaigners also fear that the settling of political scores could block co-operation over the Mekong -- especially the current animosity between Cambodian premier Hun Sen and his Thai counterpart Abhisit Vejjajiva.
The summit marks Hun Sen's first visit to Thailand since the two countries became embroiled in a row late last year over Cambodia's appointment of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra as an economics adviser.
"That's what worries me quite a lot, that the debate will be more political, and not even related to water," said Anond.
Thailand has invoked a tough security law and will deploy more than 8,000 troops in Hua Hin to ensure protesters do not disrupt the summit, in light of mass anti-government "Red Shirt" rallies in Bangkok since mid-March.
A year ago, regional leaders were forced to abandon a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) due to protests.
