Mekong Nations To Meet On Controversial Laos Dam

[Lite Beer]

Mekong nations to meet on controversial Laos dam

by Suy Se

PHNOM PENH, December 6, 2011 (AFP) - Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam hold high-level talks on Thursday to decide whether to approve a controversial proposed dam on the Mekong River fiercely opposed by environmentalists.

The $3.8 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 percent 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 hydro-electric 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 multi-billion-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, told AFP 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 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, conservation group WWF's technical expert Marc Goichot told AFP.

Major questions about the dam's impact, particularly on fish biodiversity and fisheries, have not been answered by Laos, he said.

Last week, US senators called for a decision on the dam to be delayed citing concerns over the "health and well-being of the more than 60 million people who depend on the Mekong River," Senator Jim Webb said in a statement.

Some 22,589 people from 106 countries have also submitted an international petition asking 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.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-12-06

[KRS1]

How can Laos be so selfish to Dam a river that runs through so many countries and supports life?...War is fought over natural resources. They can route part of the river making it a tributary and make electricity, no need to feed off the main flow.

[Oberkommando]

How can Laos be so selfish to Dam a river that runs through so many countries and supports life?...War is fought over natural resources. They can route part of the river making it a tributary and make electricity, no need to feed off the main flow.

It will be Thai built, Thai financed and 95% of the energy provided will be consumed by Thailand.

http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/blog/kirk-herbertson/2011-12-5/guilty-getaway-driver-thailand%E2%80%99s-role-xayaburi-dam

[Oberkommando]

How can Laos be so selfish to Dam a river that runs through so many countries and supports life?...War is fought over natural resources. They can route part of the river making it a tributary and make electricity, no need to feed off the main flow.

It will be Thai built, Thai financed and 95% of the energy provided will be consumed by Thailand.

http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/blog/kirk-herbertson/2011-12-5/guilty-getaway-driver-thailand%E2%80%99s-role-xayaburi-dam

[KRS1]

Wonder if this is government endorsed or run by the private sector...a few years ago during thaksins regime the thai electricity authority was privatised.

[jombom]

Only a few days ago, the other main English language paper, carried a report saying the dam was not necessary. Report also said nuclear and coal were not necessary, and heavily criticized the analytical procedure involved.

Basically, it said that projections of power demand, were grossly inflated.

[rmacdon61]

China has rejected claims that its dams on the Mekong River are to blame for record low water levels in downstream nations.

The song of those who "know" what is best for the river!!!!!

[maidu]

China is the 900 lb gorilla sitting in the corner of the meeting room, that no one appears to notice - but they all know it's the premier power player.

China intentially didn't sign on to the Mekong River Commission, because it want to do what it wants (dam all the headwaters) with no interference.

The SE Asian talking heads (along with Chinese absentee experts) are neophytes when it comes to environmental concerns. It would be like convening a group of Sudanese high schoolers to discuss how to safeguard ancient Korean manuscripts. They're just out of their league. Their horizons are papered with dollar signs - that's their God.

[puntmeister]

China is the 900 lb gorilla sitting in the corner of the meeting room, that no one appears to notice - but they all know it's the premier power player.

China intentially didn't sign on to the Mekong River Commission, because it want to do what it wants (dam all the headwaters) with no interference.

The SE Asian talking heads (along with Chinese absentee experts) are neophytes when it comes to environmental concerns. It would be like convening a group of Sudanese high schoolers to discuss how to safeguard ancient Korean manuscripts. They're just out of their league. Their horizons are papered with dollar signs - that's their God.

Unfortunately, I think you are just about right.

I suspect the dam will go ahead - Laos could care less about any damage to the health of the Mekong, and Thailand is about as ambivalent. Vietnam and Cambodia, the major opponents, don't have enough political muscle to stop it. So, it will likely proceed, and the consequences will outweigh the benefits by many many catfish.

[folium]

Just to underline the multiple nature of the threat to the long term health of the Mekong due to chronic short-sightedness of some of the bordering countries, what is happening at Hongsa in Laos represents another dimension.

Hongsa will be a lignite strip mining and power plant site generating some 1800 MW by 2015 at a cost of some $3.7billion. Majority owned by Thai companies Banpu & RATC (having eased out the original Thai owner, see New York based law suits), 95% of the electricity will be sent to Thailand. Funding is via Thai/Chinese banks and the construction will be done by Chinese contractor CNEEC. This explains all the road building from Luang Prabang to Hongsa.

Hongsa has been developing as an ecotourist spot based around the Sayaburi elephant festival and the large local elephant population (sadly only around 200 now due to the destructive logging of the area), but these are likely to be early casualties of strip mining and power generation.

Lignite is one of the dirtiest and least efficient fossil fuels. Banpu's similar lignite operation at Mae Moh, near Lampang,has been highly controversial due to the degree of pollutants generated, and the subsequent cost of retrofitting some pollution control has meant Banpu has been very interested in developing similar projects in more "amenable" locations such as Hongsa.

Sayaburi or Xayaburi province in Laos is likely to be in the press again this week as the Mekong River Commission meets in Siem Reap Dec 7-9 to discuss the Xayaburi dam on the main course of the Mekong river(downstream from Hongsa). The same nexus of Thai/Chinese construction/banking interests, insatiable Thai electricity demands,tame environmental assessments and huge scope for financial gain means that consensus may be achieved opening the way to Laos building 8 such dams on the main course of the river with significant impactson the environment, wildlife and 60 million people downstream whose livelihoods and nutrition depend on the river, but seem to carry little weight against the gravy train of vested interests.

Shortsightedness seems to know no bounds. Enjoy the Mekong valley while you can.

Nice little piece from the WSJ summarizing the situation and what is at stake this week in Siem Reap if the MRC nods through the Xayaburi project.

http://blogs.wsj.com...oogle_news_blog

Classic piece of Thai cash-induced myopia.

"Thailand'senergy minister, Preecha Rengsomboonsuk told reporters last week that the dam is Laos's internal affair and Thailand won't intervene. Laos,he said, will have to take care of the environmental impact by itself."

Seems to overlook

1. the fact that the basic geographical fact that the Mekong is shared by 5 countries and the Xayaburi dam impacts 3 downstream countries (Thailand, Cambodia & Vietnam)
2. that the actual environmental impacts have not yet been properly identified,
3. and also that Laos lacks the means or the desire to address most of the likely impacts on its own

For exactly these reasons the MRC was set up and that's why Thailand should play its part, rather than act the disinterested, self-serving spectator.

Edited December 7, 2011 by folium

[Tanaka]

If, as some says, the dam should be built by Thais, then we should be able to relax. It would not last long.

[Nigel1500]

Hi level delegates can be bought just like anyone else ... you just have to pay a bit more .......

[NxaiPan]

Looks like the MRC has backed down from a full blown confrontation over the Sayaburi dam, see attached.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203501304577086012500372618.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Hopefully this is just a face-saving exercise and the new environmental report will drag on a while. Strange though because the MRC rejected the environmental impact assessment report it commissioned last year as it was too straightforward about the likely problems involved with damming the main stream of the Mekong. We then had the joke of a report by the notoriously "open-minded" and generous in its views Swiss company Poyry, all done in less than a month which raised endless issues with the dam and then promptly ignored them to enable the Laos government to continue construction as they had "done" an environmental report.

So humble pie time for Laos, an undignified silence from the Thai side (apart from the cancelling of some expensive Christmas shopping), and while Cambodia has been ambivalent, Vietnam had everything to lose and nothing to gain so must be jubilant.

Some kudos should be given to Clinton and the US State Dept who at the very least gave the issue a major public airing which contributed to today's decision.