Cambodian Activists Want Laos Dam on US-ASEAN Agenda

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA—

Civil society groups are calling for Laos’ Don Sahong hydropower dam project to be discussed when Southeast Asian leaders meet with President Barack Obama next week at the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage, California.

The unprecedented U.S.-hosted ASEAN summit comes amid increased efforts by the Obama administration to increase its security and economic presence in the region, where it wants to balance the influence of a rising China.

Environmental campaigners in Cambodia said the two-day meeting, which kicks off February 15, provides members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations the opportunity to appeal for American assistance or mediation on the awkward issue of hydropower on the Mekong River, the lower reaches of which have not yet been dammed.

Nongovernmental organizations expressed this hope to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on his visit to Cambodia last month.

FILE - Cambodian nongovernmental organization activists hold a cutout of a Mekong dolphin, left, and cutout of other species during a protest against the proposed Don Sahong dam, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 11, 2014.

Of immediate concern for these groups is the plan to construct the 260-megawatt Don Sahong facility at a site in southern Laos, just 1.5 kilometers from the Cambodian border. The governments of both Cambodia and Vietnam have raised concerns about the potential impacts downstream, where millions of people rely on the Mekong’s fish for protein.

Chhith Sam Ath, country director for the World Wildlife Fund in Cambodia, said dam construction should at least be suspended while Lower Mekong countries discuss the issue.

"Cambodia has Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong, which may swim back and forth between Cambodia and Laos," he told VOA Khmer. "It also is one of the countries in Asia that has the most fish. These fish contain protein that supports millions of people."

Beyond providing basic sustenance for locals, the Mekong River draws tourism that, he said, could be threatened if damming disrupted the river’s delicate ecosystem.

"We are worried that the Don Sahong dam will affect our efforts to protect dolphins, as well as about fish migration, water quality and the livelihoods of millions of people," Sam Ath said.

Laos already is constructing the Xayaburi dam along the main body of the Mekong River, where it has proposed another 10 dams. Laos has pushed ahead with the hydropower projects, despite opposition from the downstream countries.

U.S.-funded initiative

While official protests have been lodged through the Mekong River Commission, a multilateral body formed out of a 1995 agreement among Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, another multilateral mechanism might hold more hope for an effective intervention over Laos’ hydropower plans.

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