Indochina: Xayaburi dam proposal was 'poorly researched'

Impacts on Mekong River unclear, says report
Bangkok Post 11 Apr 11;

Impacts of the Xayaburi hydropower dam planned for northern Laos are unclear as the proposal is poorly researched, says a technical report to the Mekong River Commission.

The four Mekong countries -- Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam -- comprising the commission meet to make a final decision on the project next week.

The Xayaburi dam project is designed to churn out 1,285 megawatts. Thailand is expected to buy up to 90% of the output.

Thai environmentalists have vowed to stop Laos from going ahead with the dam. They say more information is needed to assess its impacts.

However, Vientiane in February told the Mekong countries that it would go ahead despite opposition.

It claimed the project would not have an impact on the environment and that it had full authority to approve the construction because the dam would be located in its territory.

A team of experts has now written a technical review to the commission which says design and operation models for the dam fail to meet best international practices.

The report refers to the project's environmental impact assessments and feasibility studies, and its potential impacts on river flows and eco-systems.

Laos' studies of the project, the experts' report said, are incomplete, with crucial gaps in knowledge needed to understand its potential impact. Without that information, an accurate assessment of the implications could not be reached.

The four countries agreed to set up the MRC in 1995 to jointly manage their shared water resources and develop the economic potential of the Mekong River. The Xayaburi hydro power dam is planned for the lower Mekong River, which means it has to be reviewed by the commission for its possible environment impact and economic potential. In response, the Laos government said some of the report's recommendations may be based on incorrect assumptions, especially concerning the likely impact on fisheries.

''Some substantial requirements mentioned in the MRC review are probably based on the wrong assumptions,'' Laos said, citing an assertion that the water level in the river would not fluctuate after the dam is built.

Such an assertion made some of the report's recommendations, such as the inclusion of ''nature-like fish passes'' to allow fish to travel through during spawning seasons, more than questionable, it said.

The recommendations have ''an experimental character'' and would be difficult to implement without studies.

Laos recommended more studies be carried out on fish biology, peak biomass, and fish swimming performance to help refine the design of the fish facilities.

It also questioned the role of the MRC in reviewing the proposal.

Hydropower was a form of green energy which should be promoted as an answer to power supply shortages.

Pianporn Deetes, a campaigner for International Rivers, said gaps in knowledge were a common problem in understanding the potential impacts of dam projects on the Mekong, including Xayaburi.

She said the Lao government should pay heed to the findings.

''The technical review has confirmed a crucial point that we need more knowledge to understand the Mekong River, on which millions of lives depend.

''What would be lost cannot be compensated by the benefits from the dam,'' said Mrs Pianporn.

Activists fight to stop dam across Mekong
(AP) Google News 9 Apr 11;

BANGKOK (AP) — A plan for the first dam across the Mekong River anywhere in its meandering path through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam has set off a major environmental battle in Southeast Asia.

The $3.5 billion Xayaburi dam is slated for the wilds of northern Laos and would generate power mostly for sale to Thailand. The project pits villagers, activists and the Vietnamese media against Thai interests and the Laotian government in its hopes of earning foreign exchange in one of the world's poorest countries.

A decision on whether the dam gets the green light, is axed or deferred for further studies is expected April 19 during a meeting in the Laotian capital among Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Opponents warn it could open the way for 10 more dams being considered along the lower Mekong.

"Our lives and livelihoods depend on the health of the Mekong River," said Kamol Konpin, mayor of the Thai riverside town of Chiang Khan.

"As local people have already suffered from dams built upstream in China and watched the ecosystem change, we are afraid that the Xayaburi dam will bring more suffering."

China has placed three dams across the upper reaches of the Mekong, but otherwise its 3,000-mile (4,900-kilometer) mainstream flows free.

The Xayaburi would cut across a stretch of the river flanked by forested hills, cliffs and hamlets where ethnic minority groups reside, forcing the resettlement of up 2,100 villagers and impacting tens of thousands of others.

Environmentalists say such a dam would disrupt fish migrations, block nutrients for downstream farming and even foul Vietnam's rice bowl by slowing the river's speed and allowing saltwater to creep into the Mekong River Delta.

A Thai firm would build the 1,260 megawatt hydroelectric project. However, Thai villagers along the river are staging protests and planning to deliver letters to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the Lao Embassy in Bangkok, where the Thai government has maintained an official silence on the issue.

Pianporn Deetes, of the U.S.-based International Rivers, said environmentalists are ready to take their case to court if Abhisit doesn't deliver a positive response.

Last month, 263 non-governmental organizations from 51 countries sent letters to the governments of Laos and Thailand urging that the project be shelved.

Laos said in February that the Xayaburi would be the "first environmentally friendly hydroelectric project on the Mekong" and that will "not have any significant impact on the Mekong mainstream."

"We are excited about this project," the statement said.

Vietnam's official media, in a rare disagreement with its communist neighbor, has blasted the dam, while scientists and environmental groups have called for its construction to be delayed for 10 years until more research is conducted.

"It seems that countries of the lower Mekong still haven't learned lessons from the impact of the Chinese dams," Pianporn said. "Xayaburi is so important because it could set off the destruction of the lower Mekong."

Since 2007, there have been proposals to put up 11 mainstream dams in Cambodia and Laos.

The Mekong River Commission, set up by the four Southeast Asian neighbors in 1995 to manage the river, has expressed serious reservations about Xayaburi. A study by the group recommended a 10-year moratorium on all mainstream dams, a stand supported by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a Southeast Asian trip earlier this year.

The commission cited feared damage to migrations of between 23 and 100 fish species, among a host of other environmental problems.

Another MRC document showed nobody spoke in favor of the dam during public consultations this year in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, while many officials, academics and residents cited problems or lack of information about the project. No consultation was held in Laos.

"If this project goes ahead it would be unimaginably irresponsible," said Ame Trandem of Rivers International.

Somkiat Khuengchiangsa, who has spent his life along the river and heads The Mekong-Lanna Natural Resources and Culture Conservation Network, said governments are more interested in the economics of the project than its effect on residents.

"Rivers are not the property of nations or groups of people. They belong to all mankind," he said.