Earth Reporters: Damming the Mekong

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Narrator: The Mekong in South East Asia is one of the world’s great rivers, stretching over 3,000 miles and passing through six countries. 60 million people rely on it for food and their livelihoods. But now it’s become the focus of an emotive issue that’s dividing people. Some believe the river should be dammed to create electricity and fund development.

Viraphonh Viravong: Hydropower development is one the best alternatives that brings electricity to people for their domestic use and also helps eradicate poverty.

Narrator: While others say that would be bad for social welfare, food security and the environment.

Pianporn Deetes: The dam will be devastating for ecosystem, for local livelihoods for economy and for the regional wellbeing.

Narrator: Caught in the middle of this dispute are people like Thitarat Sriwattanapong, a Laos based, Thai student.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: I’ve grown up around the Mekong and now I’ve learnt a lot in my work for the Mekong River Commission – an international organisation where I’m a working towards a PhD about the future of the river. I want to educate myself and others about the different perspectives and so I’m setting out to make this film to try and learn more about this complex issue.

Narrator: In this episode Thitarat Sriwattanapong is our Earth Reporter and this is her story.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: I’m a student from Thailand, but I live in Laos. When I was child I went to the Mekong River with my family. It was a very good memory. At that time the river was very big and beautiful to me and it was my passion to know more about the Mekong River.

The Mekong River flows through China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The plans for dams on the Mekong are polarising people, so I’m keen to find out more about this issue.

Narrator: Hydropower is the production of electricity created by the gravitational force of falling or flowing water and the Laos PDR government is planning to build 11 hydropower dams along its section of the river and claims the funds they generate can kick-start its ailing economy. Laos has an agreement in place to sell 95 per cent of the electricity to its economically booming neighbour Thailand, and the first of the dams would be a $3.8 billion hydropower project to be built here in Xayaburi in northern Laos.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: This is actual site of the Xayaburi dam. From the red flag will be the navigational locks……right here will be the powerhouse. The actual powerhouse of the dam will be built here across the Mekong River and it’s going to be huge.

Narrator: The Xayaburi Dam will be 810 metres long and 32 metres high. It would create a reservoir with a catchment area of 272,000 square kilometres. The immediate impact of the Xayaburi dam will be felt by the thousands of people living nearby. Whole villages could end up being dismantled and families moved from the homes they’ve lived in for generations.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong:How long have you lived here in the village?

Villager 1: This village was built 180 years ago.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: So, your family has lived here for 180 years?

Villager 1: Yes, I am fifth generation.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: Have all of you lived here since you were born?

Villager 1: Yes, we have.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: How many families live here in this village?

Villager 2: There are around 50-60 households.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: How many people approximately?

Villager 2: Nearly 200 people.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: Hello, what a beautiful girl, how old is she?

Villager 3: She is 6 years old.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: And how old is the baby?

Villager 3: Only 4 months old.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: Have you had lunch yet?

Child villager: Yes.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: What did you have?

Child villager: Jung.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: Was there any fish in it?

Child villager: Yes.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong:: What are you doing?

Villager 4: I’m collecting cotton to make a pillow.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: How do you do that?

Villager 4: Like this. You take the seed out.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: Am I doing it right?

Villager: Yes.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: If I take this one out, where should I put the seed? In here?

Villager: Yes, place it in there.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: 10 villages like this one will be dismantled and over 2,000 people relocated if the dam is built. The villagers seem happy here and I want to find out why the Laos government is prepared to cause so much disruption to their lives…… so I’m heading to the capital city Vientiane to ask them myself.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: I started by asking whether the government believes the dams will benefit the Laotian people.

Viraphonh Viravong: One of the main government priorities of the hydropower development projects is that all the benefits must go to the Laotian people. If the benefits don’t come to the people, the government will not approve the project. So, priority number one is the how the people will benefit.

The lessons learned from previous projects show that affected people who earn around $200-$300 per year before, will receive around £1000-$1200 per year by enhancing their knowledge and picking up new skills.

So, the benefits to the people must be the main priority, together with opportunities to build roads, hospitals and schools to improve infrastructure in the provinces.

In addition to this, Lao PDR is also aware of the income from royalties and taxes on the project. There will be more funds for investment. If we sell energy to Thailand, Thailand will benefit, or to Vietnam who will also benefit. The three levels – local communities, government and the region will all receive mutual benefits.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: The Laos PDR authorities insist that the country’s citizens will benefit if the dams are built. They also say they’ll try to alleviate any environment issues resulting from the dams.

Do you believe that the hydropower projects are a way for Laos to achieve prosperity and economic success?

Viraphonh Viravong: Laos has been looking into natural ways to develop the country for a while. Should this be mining or electricity, or agriculture? There were several studies conducted, but the lessons learned for the development scheme from 15-20 years ago was that hydropower development is one of the best alternatives that brings electricity to people for their domestic use and also helps eradicate poverty.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: Poverty is a major concern for Laos. One third of the people survive on less than a dollar a day and almost 40% of its children are stunted due to malnutrition, meaning they don’t grow properly. Laos is aiming to rid itself of poverty by 2020 and the government is desperate for foreign investment, so I understand why they want to build the dams. However, I’ve heard there could be negative impacts to the Mekong’s eco-systems, and I’m hoping environment organization International Rivers can shed more light on this.

Pianporn Deetes: The dams in Laos, the Xayaburi dam as well as the other 12 dams in the lower Mekong basin would cause devastating impacts to eco-systems definitely, fisheries and on local livelihoods of people. The Mekong River Commission’s study suggests that more than half of the fish catch will be destroyed because of these dams. A lot of the studies suggest that the Mekong fishery is the largest inland fishery in the world and generates income for the local communities and also for the countries as well, particularly Laos and Cambodia.

Narrator: The change posed by the dam construction will severely disrupt food supplies from land and water. Especially for freshwater fish, a key source of protein. But the local flora and plant life will also be impacted too.

The Mekong is home to more than 1300 different species of fish. Environmentalists claim that building dams on the river could block fish migrations which are vital to their life-cycle and could lead to the extinction of many species. The effect on commercial fishing which is worth around £2bn dollars a year could also be acute, affecting the livelihoods of millions living and working along the lower Mekong basin.

Pianporn Deetes: It is very important for the delta area. It is most productive agricultural area for Vietnam. People produce rice on that delta. It’s very fertile. So the destruction will be massive because of Xayaburi dam and other mainstream dams.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: Environmentalists have told me that the hydropower dams could threaten regional food security. They claim that the flow of sediment would be disrupted to the rice-growing southern delta region through which the Mekong flows. Cambodia and Vietnam would be worst affected, as the biggest producers of South-East Asia’s staple food.

Pianporn Deetes: For those living in Vietnam, the delta is where they grow rice. It is very important agricultural area for the whole country, not only the local population. If built these dams would destroy food security for the Cambodian and Vietnamese people definitely

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: According to the Laos government, they say they want to be the battery of Asia and the only way is to build the dams. What do you think about this argument?

Pianporn Deetes: In terms of income, Laos is not that rich, but in terms of natural resources, Laos is the richest one in South-East Asia. They have very big potential to develop in other ways without destroying the natural resources the country already has – the forests, the rivers, the eco-systems. Laos can develop in many other ways for example, the eco-tourism, sustainable tourism and this can generate income for the country and this can be a sustainable solution for Laos

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: That evening I saw for myself in Bangkok why Thailand, one of the fastest growing economies in South-East Asia is so desperate to buy electricity from Laos.

Everybody time I come here, I see lots more buildings, more lights, hotels, restaurants and even more roads and bridges constructed. Everything is changing, lots of new buildings. You can see many five star buildings. Bangkok is a never ending and never sleeping city.

Thailand’s newly industrialized economy achieved growth of 8% last year and this year’s economic figures have already exceeded expectations. Tourism is also booming, as is the country’s export market and I can understand that Thailand is hungry for more energy to continue fuelling this growth.

But if Thailand is so keen to gain access to more energy, why doesn’t it build the dams on its own section of the river? I went to see the Thai government to see if they could explain why.

Pakawan Chufahmanee: In the past, Thailand has built dams which have had a lot of impact in terms of resettlements, people being moved from their homes, as well as environmental effects. The compensation given to local people wasn’t so good as well, so many people were against these projects. Once people oppose one dam project, they’re likely to oppose others. If there are plans for a big hydropower project, there will be protests. For this reason, the international options have been taken into consideration because it’s difficult to plan hydropower dams in Thailand.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: It’s interesting that Thailand is reluctant to build dams on its own section of the Mekong because of the potential for internal protests, but is happy for Laos to build dams on its section of the river. It’s why some ecologists have accused Thailand of exporting environmental degradation. I’m wondering if as well as the pro and anti-dam arguments, there’s a third option. Is it possible to construct the dams, but in an environmentally sustainable way? Laos PDR already has a number of dams on tributaries to the Mekong, some of which were co-funded by the World Bank, including Nam Theun 2, the largest hydroelectric project so far in Laos. I went to see the World Bank at their Vientiane office to find out more.

William Rex: Nam Theun 2 has got a lot of attention both locally and internationally for its sustainable approach. And I think the starting point is good preparation, a lot of background studies to understand the risks and impacts of the project, a lot of consultations with affected communities to get their support and advice about how to do things better in the area they’re familiar with. On the resettlement front, Nam Theun 2 is different in that has a clear contractual obligation to leave people better off. The commitment is that five years after everybody has been resettled, people need to be better off. To help that happen, there’s a whole range of community restructure that’s been provided, electricity, roads and water supply, healthcare, schools etc. This all comes together to leave people better off. Another example is the environment side. The NT2 watershed is a 4,000 sq km area of real global biodiversity importance. It’s the biggest protected area in South-East Asia and thanks to NT2 it’s also by far the best financed in the area. This is because the project is providing a million dollars a year to contribute to the protection of this protected area and our watershed. The third example is the downstream infrastructure which is designed to reduce the impact of NT2 project on downstream communities, so all together this and many other features have characterized a strong commitment on NT2 to get the social and environmental bottom line effective.

Narrator: But critics point out that such schemes only help some of those directly affected. Nam Theun 2 is claimed to have affected up to 100,000 people upstream and downstream. But only a few thousand were resettled in the model villages

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: So is the World Bank planning to be involved in the proposed mainstream dams on the Mekong?

William Rex: No, we have no plans to finance any dams on the Mekong mainstream at the moment. We welcomed the Mekong River Commission’s consultant study at the strategic environment assessment which identifies some key risks that are still not fully understood on the Mekong mainstream and it makes sense to delay these dams by another 5- 10 years until the risks are better understood and it’s view we’re comfortable with.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: So the World Bank, the Laos government’s partner in the tributary dams is skeptical of dam projects on the Mekong mainstream. But Laos isn’t the first country to plan dams on the river. China has already built four dams on its section of the Mekong which were constructed without consulting its neighbours, although it has now agreed to consultations on any further dams. Environment groups claim the Chinese dams provide proof of the negative impacts of damming the Mekong.

Pianporn Deetes: We have experienced a change on the Mekong mainstream of a destroyed eco-system. Water levels have fluctuated unnaturally and this has disturbed the migratory patterns of the fish. The local villagers can catch less fish, some of them dropped 50% of their catch. This means a lot of people have had to leave the river and their villages and work as cheap labour in the city. The livelihoods of the local people have been destroyed.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: It seems to me that the benefits of the dams for one country, lead to negative effects for another. I think that’s why this issue is so complicated. The Mekong River Commission, an intergovernmental body has the tough task of trying to bring all affected parties to an agreement.

Birgit Vogel: The four countries of Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam signed in 1995 an agreement that they would like to cooperate in the framework of the Mekong River Commission. I can openly say that the MRC doesn’t have a position per se as it is an organization that really advises the countries and helps them to provide a platform for discussion and I mean it is a fact that Laos submitted this project for consultation and we are taking the challenge and doing our best to advise the MRC countries regarding this project.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: Last month in April I heard that there was a special session on this consultation. Can you tell me more about this issue please?

Birgit Vogel: The special session took place on the 19th of April and the 4 countries met to discuss the review of the Xayaburi project and to actually come to a conclusion of the prior consultation process. What was really the result of the meeting is that the countries had different opinions on the issue, for example Vietnam took the position that the knowledge is not strong enough. There are a lot of uncertainties and further investigations would be needed, so they were asking to have the project deferred by 10 years. Cambodia took a similar position asking for filling the knowledge gaps and reducing the uncertainties. Laos PDR was actually was quite confident that all impacts that have also been identified in the MRC report could be mitigated.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: So how much is the challenge that you are facing to get all the countries working together in the Mekong River Commission?

Birgit Vogel: As it is in other river basins, this is definitely a big challenge.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: I don’t envy the Mekong River Commission. It’s almost impossible situation for them, but at least the affected countries are in dialogue with one another, as they seek to find a lasting solution.

Countries throughout the region are struggling with the same dilemma with other dams planned for the main stream of the Mekong in Cambodia and other dams on tributaries which are seen as having similar levels of environmental impact as the dam in Xayaburi.

I’m heading back to Xayaburi to meet more villagers living near site of the proposed dam. Not far from the village, I discover that Thai developers have already begun construction work on the roads leading to the site of the Xayaburi dam. The road construction will cause concern to those who believe that Laos PDR will press ahead with its plans irrespective of any cross-boundary agreement, although the government has denied these claims.

It’s been fascinating to discover more about the issue of dams on my journey. There are strong arguments against the dams. Environment groups have told me that the Mekong’s eco-systems will be damaged and food security along the lower Mekong could be badly affected. But I’ve also heard really passionate arguments in favour of the dams. I’ve seen for myself the poverty in Laos’ and learned that the government believes that the dams could help raise people out of poverty.

Thitarat Sriwattanapong: This issue is important for many people and I hope that they can find an agreement together.

Since we filmed it has been reported that the Laos Prime Minister has said there will be a temporary delay in the dam building project for further expert assessment of the impact of the project.

Narrator: Anyone can be an Earth Reporter – to join the global conversation, go to – www. open.ac.uk/openlearn/earthreporters.