Mekong nations to meet on Laos dam
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Thailand not opposed to plan, but Vietnam, Cambodia want further studies
Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam will hold high-level talks tomorrow to decide whether to approve a controversial proposed dam on the Mekong River fiercely opposed by environmentalists.
The US$3.8 billion (Bt117.4 billion) Xayaburi project in Laos is the first of 11 dams planned for the mainstream lower Mekong, and activists warn that a green light could spell disaster for the roughly 60 million people who depend on the waterway.
Thailand, which has agreed to purchase some 95 per cent of the electricity generated by the dam, has already indicated it will not oppose the project at this week’s environment ministers’ meeting in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap.
But Vietnam and Cambodia, wary of the dam’s impact on their farm and fishing industries, have expressed strong concern and are calling for more studies on the impact of the vast 1,260 megawatt dam before it is allowed to go ahead.
Vietnam, voicing “deep” concerns about fish stocks and crucial sediment flows to the rice-growing Mekong River delta, has called for a 10-year moratorium on all hydroelectric projects on the lower Mekong.
The four member states of the intergovernmental Mekong River Commission have an agreement to cooperate on the sustainable development of the waterway and have been in consultations over the Xayaburi project.
In response to its neighbours’ criticism of the project, Laos – one of the poorest countries in the world, which sees hydropower as vital to its future – in May said it had suspended work on Xayaburi and commissioned a new review.
Last week, Laos indicated it should be allowed to go ahead, as “This dam will not impact countries in the lower Mekong River basin,” Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Viraphon Viravong told the official Vientiane Times.
Cambodia said this was not enough and called for more examination of cross-border impacts of the multibillion-dollar project before a final decision is made.
“We will request Laos to carry out further studies,” Te Navuth, secretary-general of the Cambodia National Mekong Committee, said on Monday. “We don’t understand everything about the project yet.”
Environmentalists have warned that damming the main stream of the river would trap vital nutrients, increase algae growth and prevent dozens of species of migratory fish from swimming upstream to spawning grounds.
“An immediate green light for Xayaburi equals taking an immense risk for the survival of several unique species,” including the endangered giant Mekong catfish, said Marc Goichot, conservation group WWF’s technical expert.
Some 22,600 people from 106 countries have submitted an international petition calling on the ministers to cancel the project, according to environmental group International Rivers.
“The whole world is watching. We do not want to remember December 8 as the day the Mekong died,” said Pianporn Deetes, Thailand coordinator for the group, which argues the dam is not needed to meet Thailand’s future energy needs.
International Rivers has accused Laos of pushing ahead with construction of access roads to the site and work camps despite a lack of regional agreement.
About 700 Thais yesterday gathered at the foot of the First Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge in Thailand’s Nong Khai to protest against the construction of Xayaburi Dam.
Stretching across the Mekong River, the bridge links Nong Khai to Laos’ Vientiane.
The protesters were residents of provinces along the Mekong River – Loei, Nong Khai, Beung Kan, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Amnat Charoen, Ubon Ratchathani and Chiang Rai. The construction will hurt more than 60 million people in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, they said.
Somnuk Kuangphan from Ubon Ratchathani said that if the meeting on Thursday approved the construction of Xayaburi Dam, his network would close down the bridge.
