Laos
refuses to stop construction, China has already built a half dozen
Two
crucial decisions face authorities this week on the Mekong River, one of the
world’s greatest waterways and the primary source of fish for 60 million
people. The Mekong, the world’s greatest fishery, is under growing threat from
a wide variety of sources as riparian countries, particularly China build more
and more dams on its tributaries.
Despite
efforts to stop them, environmentalists warn, the most immediate threat is two
hydroelectric dams being built in southern Laos on tributaries of the river,
endangering fish populations, interfering with the river’s natural
flood-drought cycle and blocking the transport of sediment downstream, which
affects ecosystems along the length of the river.
The
Supreme Administrative Court of Thailand is scheduled tomorrow to decide
whether to accept a lawsuit against five government bodies, including the
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand who have agreed to purchase 95
percent of the power from the Xayaburi Dam, now about 30 percent completed in
southern Laos. And, on Thursday, a Mekong River Commission Council meeting is
to be held in Bangkok to call for immediate action to stop the two dams.
“It is
once again reckoning day for the future of the Mekong River, however this time
around there can be no confusion as to the position of Vietnam, Cambodia and
Thailand. Laos must recognize and accept that the Mekong is a shared river, and
decisions must be made jointly among Lower Mekong countries, to preserve the
future of this irreplaceable resource,” said Pianporn Deetes, Thailand Campaign
Coordinator for International Rivers, in a prepared release.
But the
river is under threat from far more than the two dams. China has already built
seven megadams on the upper reaches of the Mekong, called the Lancang in China,
with another 20 planned or under construction in Yunnan, Tibet and Qinghai,
according to the Berkeley, Calif.-based NGO International Rivers. The Chinese
have never consulted the downstream countries on the construction of their
string of dams.
“There
is a significant knowledge gap about what is being built,” said the
Bangkok-based Ame Trandem, Southeast Asia Program Director for International
Rivers. “China agreed to build without consultation with any of the countries.
It wasn’t until they noticed changes in the water levels when China built the
Xiaowan Dam on the Mekong.”
The
Xiaowan, one of the world’s tallest dams, was built in Yunnan. “A lot of
information has never been released to the public.” Trandem said.
Even
the Mekong River Commission, which came into being in 1995 to try to regulate
transboundary construction on the river, has only been told about two of the
dams built by the Chinese.
China,
as Trandem pointed out, has huge energy needs to fill and a driving need to do
it with renewable energy, given that coal-fired powerplants have caused almost
unbelievable air pollution in the country. But, she said, China is beginning to
understand some of the impact of large dams, especially given the
well-publicized environmental problems with the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze
River.
The two
Laotian dams, however, pose the most immediate threat to the river. The
governments of Vietnam and Cambodia have called on Laos to halt all
construction of dams on the Mekong mainstream for a 10 year period until
further studies – including the Mekong Delta study and MRC Council study – are
completed.
The
Laotians say they will take care of the threat to the river's fishery via fish
ladders and fish elevators, but critics say the technology the Laotians are
planning to use is untried, and that fish ladders and elevators don't really
work. There is also the question of stopping sediment from flowing
downstream. Sediment for centuries has renewed precious nutrients for the
basin's rice farmers.
The
requests to halt construction while the problems are being studied have gone
unheeded by Laos. Work is continuing on the Don Sahong Dam in southern
Laos has continued despite opposition from neighboring governments and ongoing
calls for regional consultation. The same situation has characterized the
Xayaburi Dam, also in southern Laos, with construction work taking place before
neighboring countries have had a chance to try to meet to stop them.
Dam
construction is allowed on tributaries to the Mekong under the Mekong
Committee’s rules. Laos contends the Don Sahong is on a tributary but the
committee and environmentalists contend the dam actually is on the main river.
“Laos
remains unwilling to respect the requests of neighboring countries for
construction to halt while transboundary impact studies and further
consultation can be carried out," Deetes said.
Business & Investment Opportunities
Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated
in Singapore since 1994.
No comments:
Post a Comment