To the Friends of the Mekong
-- “With the completion of the Xiaowan and Nuozhadu Dams in Yunnan, “The Mekong is destined to become China’s new water tower and electrical powerhouse” Fred Pearce
-- In the initial efforts to exploit the two Xayaburi and Don Sahong Dams, the small nation of Laos failed to leave behind a “good track record”
THE MEKONG’S POTENTIALS FOR HYDROPOWER
With a length of 4,800 kilometers, the Mekong ranks 11th among the largest rivers in the world. Her potentials for hydropower are estimated at about 60,000 MW to be divided into: 28,930 MW for the Upper Mekong Basin located within China’s borders and 30,000 MW for the Lower Mekong Basin that covers the four countries of Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. However, the lion’s share of the 12 dams projected to be built on the river’s mainstream can be found in Laos and Cambodia.
THE UPPER MEKONG BASIN: THE SIX DAMS IN YUNNAN HAD BEEN BUILT
Half the length of the Lancang Jiang (the Chinese name of the Mekong) can be found within China’s territory. This river offers huge potentials for the production of hydropower. In the 1970s, this country has adopted a project to build a series of 14 dams in the Mekong Cascades in Yunnan. [PICTURE 1]
PICTURE 1 – The 14 dams in the Mekong Cascades in Yunnan (Source: Materials published by Yunnan Provincial Government 1995)
As of August, 2014, 6 of the 14 projected dams in the Mekong Cascades in Yunnan had been completed:
1/ Manwan: 1,500 MW the first dam on the Mekong’s mainstream, started in 1984 and completed in 1993
2/ Dachaosan: 1,350 MW the second mainstream dam, started in 1996 and completed in 2003
3/ Jinghong: 1,500 MW the third mainstream dam, started in 2003 and completed in 2009
4/ Gongguoqio: 900 MW the fourth mainstream dam, started in 2008 and completed in 2011
5/ Xiaowan: 4,200 MW the fifth mainstream dam, started in 2001 and completed in 2010
6/ Nuozhadu: 5,850 MW the sixth mainstream dam, started in 2006 and completed in 2014
PICTURE 2 – The “Mother Dam”Xiaowan Dam 4,200 MW (Source: Tom Fawthrop)
After the completion of the sixth mainstream dam Nuozhadu in 2014, China has attained a total production of 15,150 MW – equivalent to over half of the hydropower potential output of 28,930 MW estimated for the Lancang Jiang. It can be expected that during the first decades of the 21st century, China will be able to complete before schedule the remaining 8 mainstream dams.
According to Fred Pearce of Yale University, with the completion of the “Mother Dam” Xiaowan and the largest dam Nuozhadu, the Mekong is destined to become China’s new water tower and electrical powerhouse. [Damming the Mekong: Major blow to an Epic River, Yale Environment 360, 22 June 2009]
Phillip Hirsch, Director of the Mekong Research Centre at the University of Sydney, observed: “The two dams, Xiaowan and Nuozhadu will impact the flow regime of the entire system – all the way down to the Delta in Vietnam.”
THE LOWER MEKONG BASIN: AN ADDITIONAL 12 DAMS DOWNSTREAM
Projects for the building of hydroelectric dams on the Lower Mekong Basin dated far back to the time of the Mekong River Committee (1957). However, they were put on hold due to different reasons such as: the Vietnam War that persisted and expanded to the three Indochinese countries, high investment costs during the post-war period, and also concerns about their extensive impacts on the environment. Later on, the proposed locations in those projects were once more reviewed and supported by groups of experts from Canada and France. Their reports were published by The Secretariat of the Mekong in 1994. Starting in 2006, companies from Thailand, Malaysia, and China conducted feasibility studies of the 12 run-of-river dams in the Lower Mekong Basin. The dams are listed below in geographical order from north to south:
Pak Beng Dam, Laos 1,320 MW; project sponsors: Chinese company Datang International Power Generation Co. and Lao government.
Luang Prabang Dam, Laos 1,410 MW; project sponsors: Vietnamese company Petrovietnam Power Co. and Lao government.
Xayaburi Dam, Laos, 1,260 MW, Xayaburi Province, Laos; Project Sponsors: Thai company Karnchang and Lao government.
Pak Lay Dam, Laos, 1,320 MW Xayaburi Province, Laos; project sponsor: Chinese company Sinohydro Co.. To do feasibility studies June, 2007.
Xanakham Dam, Laos, 1,000MW; project sponsor: Chinese company Datang International Power Generation Co.
Pak Cho Dam, Lao-Thai borders, 1,079 MW; project sponsor: MoE Thailand.
Ban Koum Dam, Lao-Thai borders, 2,230 MW, Ubon Ratchathani Province; project sponsors:
Italian-Thai Development Co., Ltd and Asia Corp Holdings Ltd. and Lao government.
Lat Sua Dam, Laos, 800 MW; project sponsors: Thai companies Charoen Energy, Water Asia Co. Ltd., and Lao government.
Don Sahong Dam, 260 MW, Champasak Provimce, Laos: project sponsor: Malaysian company Mega First Berhad Co.
Thakho Diversion, Laos: project sponsors: CNR & EDL / France & Laos.
Stung Treng Dam, Cambodia, 980 MW; project sponsor: Russian government.
Sambor Dam, Cambodia; project sponsor: Chinese company China Southern Power Grid Co. (CSPG).
XAYABURI AND THE THREE-STAGE PNPCA PROCESS
Xayaburi is considered the first mainstream dam on the Mekong located outside of China’s border. It is also the first mainstream dam in Laos. With an output of 1,260 MW and a total investment costs of $US 3.5 billion it is funded by the Thai company Karnchang and the Lao government.
The 1995 Agreement of the Mekong River Commission stipulated that though no country can wield the veto power, all projects pertaining to the Mekong must go through a three-stage process known as PNPCA:
-- Stage I [PN]: Procedures for Notification: The Mekong River Commission was officially notified by the Lao government about the Xayaburi Project in September 2010
-- Stage II [PC]: Prior Consultation: the time earmarked for prior consultation is to last 6 months starting from the day the Notification is received. Another clause allows the Mekong River Commission to extend this 6-month time frame in case the member countries fail to reach a common agreement.
-- Stage III [A]: Agreement: the Xayaburi Project was supposed to go through the entire three-stage process of the PNPCA. Nevertheless, the Lao government has unilaterally determined that the Xayaburi Dam was not expected to cause any impacts on its southern neighbors. For that reason this country deemed that it would not be necessary to prolong the Prior Consultation period. It skipped the Agreement Stage and went ahead with the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the Xayaburi Dam to the utter consternation of the Mekong countries especially Vietnam and Cambodia the two countries downstream.
In the case of the Xayaburi Dam, the Lao government only fully observed the first Procedures for Notification Stage. It partially went on with the second Prior Consultation Stage and totally disregarded the third Agreement Stage. After that, it proceeded with the construction of the Xayaburi Dam without reaching a prior agreement with the member countries in the Mekong River Commission. Therefore, the spirit of the 1995 Agreement of the Mekong River Commission was willingly ignored by Laos right from the start.
THE INCONSISTENCY DISPLAYED BY LAOS IN THE PNPCA PROCESS:
_ May, 2007 the Lao government signed an agreement with the Thai company Ch. Karchang for the implementation of the Xayaburi Project.
_ November, 2008 the Swiss company AF Calenco joined a Thai consultant group to carry out the feasibility study of the dam.
_ February, 2010 the EIA report was submitted to the Lao government.
_ July, 2010 the Lao government officially entered into an agreement to sell the electricity generated by the Xayaburi Dam to Thailand through the intermediary of the Thai company EGAT (Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand).
_ April, 2011 the Joint Committee of the Mekong River Commission issued a press release stating that the member countries “had not reached an agreement to proceed with the Xayaburi Project”.
_ April, 2011the governments of Cambodia and Vietnam requested Laos to conduct additional studies on the transboundary impacts of the project.
_ June, 2011 the Lao government unilaterally gave the “green light” to the Thai company Ch. Karnchang to implement the project.
_ December, 2011 at the Siem Reap Meeting, the 4 member countries of the Mekong River Commission concluded that 10 additional years were needed to carry out research on the impacts of the Xayaburi and other mainstream dams in the Lower Mekong Basin.
_ September, 2012 The Lao Minister of Energy Soulivong Daravong announced that his government would not delay the plan to build the Xayaburi Dam despite the fact that two months prior (July, 2012) the Lao Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed at the ASEAN Meeting that the Xayaburi Project will be put on hold pending further research.
_ The state-owned news media of Laos was informed that the Lao government had given the nod to the Ch. Karnchang Company to carry on with their activities according to plan including the relocation of the inhabitants living in the vicinity of the construction site.
_ No consent on a date to start the construction of the Xayaburi Dam had been obtained at the regional level as required by the 1995 Agreement of the Mekong River Commission.
_ On November 7, 2012, Mr. Rewat Suwanakitti, Vice-Director of the Xayaburi Hydroelectric Dam Project, announced that Laos had performed the ground-breaking ceremony to start the building of the dam. However, on the previous day (Tuesday, November 6, 2012) the Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong asserted with a Wall Street Journal’s reporter that the dam project had been temporarily postponed to allow for further research.[1]
The ground-breaking ceremony was only a ritual used to “formalize” the continuous violations of the agreements the Lao government entered into with the Mekong countries in the aftermath of the Siem Reap Meeting of December 8, 2011. The inconsistencies shown by the Lao government were in clear contravention of the regional agreements it had reached with the neighboring Mekong countries.
Viraphonh Viravong; Mechanical Engineer, a 1976 graduate of Footscray Institute of Technology, Victoria University, Australia; was the “brain” behind all hydroelectric projects in Laos. Over the last three decades he has shown relentless and determined efforts to modernize Laos and realize the dream of turning his country into the “Kuwait of hydropower of Southeast-Asia”. Presently the Vice-Minister of Energy of Mine of the Lao government, one day prior to the ceremony, Viraphonh Viravong confided into a group of foreign correspondents: “It [the dam] has been assessed, it has been discussed the last two years. We have addressed most of the concerns.”
The construction of the Xayaburi Dam had been progressing, first quietly then publicly, in the face of numerous concerns raised by conservation groups in regards to the long-term as well as permanent impacts the dam might cause to the entire ecology of the Mekong, its source of alluvia, fish supply and fishing industry, and the source of protein to nearly 70 million inhabitants along the Mekong’s riverbanks.
PICTURE 3 – General view of the Xayaburi construction site, the first mainstream dam in Laos, year: 2014. It is expected that this section of the Mekong will still be flowing in February, 2015 and the environmental groups, NGOs have maintained a sustained effort to stop the Austrian company from delivering the turbines to the site by that date. (Source: Tom Fawthrop)
THE NEW DON SAHONG DAM: THE COUP DE GRACE
The ground-breaking ceremony took place on November 7, 2012. A mere thirteen months later, sooner than expected, the Lao government took the further step of announcing its controversial decision to build the Don Sahong Dam 260 MW. On October 3, 2013 the government notified the Mekong River Commission of its intention to construct the second mainstream Don Sahong Dam in the vicinity of the Khone Waterfall in the Champasak Province. Located in Southern Laos, this dam is only 2 kilometers away from the Cambodian border. The Don Sahong Dam Project not only did away with the Prior Consultation stage, but more importantly it failed to include a reliable and independently conducted scientific assessment of the detrimental impacts the dam may visit upon the ecology.
Even though the Don Sahong Dam has an estimated output of just 260 MW – less than those of the dams built on the Mekong’s tributaries in Laos – it however straddles the Hou Sahong Water channel that is considered most vital to fish migration especially during the Dry Season. This “blocking” Don Sahong Dam will disrupt the eco-system, create havoc to the water source and threaten to bring about the potential extinction of many fish species as well as an alarming reduction in the fish source that was estimated at 3 million tons per year (source: MRC 2008). This fish source is most abundant in Southeast Asian and ranks second only to that of the Amazon River in South America. It traditionally represents the main protein source for millions of people living along the Mekong particularly in Cambodia and Laos.
Laos did adhere to the Prior Notification stage, but did not include an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) in the Don Sahong Project it submitted to the MRC as required by the Prior Consultation stage. That “scientific, objective, and independent” assessment of the dam’s impacts on the environment was supposed to help the other member countries in the MRC greatly in their decision-making process at the regional level. [5]
Regardless of the decision the other Mekong countries might eventually adopt, the Lao government asserted that the implementation of the Don Sahong Project would start in November, 2013 with a completion and production date of May, 2018.
Don Sahong is an exact “encore” of the unconventional and dangerous experience with the Xayaburi Dam. Pianporn Deetes, Thailand Campaign Coordinator for International Rivers opined: "Continued construction towards the Don Sahong Dam is an unwelcome déjà vu for Mekong communities and governments as Laos continues to move forward unilaterally with decisions which threaten the entire region. The risks go well beyond the borders of Laos – the Don Sahong Dam will irreversibly impact livelihoods and food security throughout the Mekong. Yet 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.” [2]
It should be noted here that the behavior adopted by the Lao government must be looked at as inconsistent and irreverent. The 1995 Agreement of the Mekong River Commission stipulates that Laos must consult with each individual member country of the MRC before it reaches a decision that may be harmful to the interests of its neighbors.
We are reminded of this pointed remark by Engineer Phạm Phan Long of the Viet Ecology Foundation: “Laos would not be able to act alone without the implicit support coming from the top leaders of Vietnam, Cambodia, including the investors from Thailand.”
PICTURE 4 – Location of the Don Sahong Dam 260 MW on the Khone Waterfall, Southern Laos [Source: MRC 2013]
The Lao government’s decision stirred up a wave of opposition and indignation among civil society groups and renowned environmental organizations in the world like: IRN/ International Rivers Network, WWF/ Worldwide Fund for Nature, Living Rivers Siam Association, Vietnam River Network, Viet Ecology Foundation…
What about the Lao people? They are living under a one-party system of government that wields complete control of the news media designed to disseminate misinformation and flaunt the benefits that could be derived from the dams.
On the Cambodian side, Mr. Mok Mareth, Chairman of the Committee of Environment and Water Resources of the National Assembly, immediately voiced his criticism about the “lack of transparency” on the way Laos conducts itself vis-a-vis the Don Sahong and Xayaburi Dams.
Mr. Chhith Sam Ath, Executive Director of the Forum on Cambodia offered this comment: “The Don Sahong Dam will only push Cambodia and Vietnam closer to a food crisis. Considering that the project is located next to Cambodia’s border, has the Lao government forgotten that fish are the lifeline and backbone of Cambodia’s economy? It is indeed irresponsible to proceed with this project without consulting the inhabitants living downstream or even carrying out a credible transboundary impact assessment.”
Teerapong Pomun, an active member of the Living Rivers Siam Association has forcefully expressed this criticism: “Laos is once again attempting to evade its responsibilities, while forcing the public in the whole region to pay for the immense damage that the Don Sahong Dam will cause. Laos must cancel this project, along with the other mainstream dams, before it’s too late.” [1]
In Thailand, just recently, on June 24, 2014, the Thai Supreme Court decided to consider a lawsuit against 5 agencies of the Thai government including EGAT (Electric Generating Authority of Thailand) for their agreement to purchase 95% of the electricity generated by the Xayaburi Dam. This lawsuit was initiated in August, 2012 by 37 villagers coming from the Northeastern provinces of the country that are directly impacted by the construction of the Xayaburi Dam. [2]
At the meeting of the Mekong River Commission MRC in Bangkok on June 26, 2014 - just 6 weeks ago - a totally unanticipated event took place: the Lao delegation announced it will resubmit the Don Sahong Hydropower Project to undergo the Prior Consultation process that this country had previously ignored. In the face of constant pressure from civil society groups and demands from foreign aid donors, Laos had reluctantly consented to abide by the Prior Consultation process with the countries in the region. However, in reality, it presses ahead with the implementation of the Don Sahong Project in the same way it proceeded with the Xayaburi Dam. [6]
From Vietnam, June 29, 2014, Vietnam River Network , a NGO, comprising of civil society groups and Vietnamese scientists has publicly voiced its concerns about the unpredictable and nefarious impacts the Xayaburi Dam may pose to the hydrology and ecology of the entire Lower Mekong Basin. Furthermore, they may also threaten the food security, sustained growth and strengthening of regional cooperation. This organization has sent a letter to a number of Thai banks (Siam, Bangkok, Kasikorn) to dissuade them from extending loans to Laos to fund the implementation of the Xayaburi Dam Project. [3]
[It would be advisable that we take a short detour here: even in the unlikely best case scenario that the Thai banks suspend their loans to the ongoing construction of the Xayaburi Dam and the Malaysian company withdraws from the Don Sahong Project, the situation would remain mostly unchanged or could even grow worse. In such event, China would immediately jump in to take over the funding of the Xayaburi and Don Sahong Projects. Beijing, in its efforts to isolate Vietnam, would entice Cambodia and Laos to move into its orbit. It has ample of money and technical knowhow to help those two countries build their 11 dams in the Lower Mekong Basin. By the same token, the Chinese leaders could show that their power overshadows not only the East Sea but also the entire continent of Asia including the 4,800km long Mekong. This would actually become essentially an environmental war waged without a shot being fired but nevertheless much more dreadful and destructive. Should that happen, it would also be the second time, in recent history, that China wishes to “teach Vietnam a lesson”. The first one being the border war under Deng Xiaoping in 1979. This time under Xin Jinping in 2014 should this Chinese leader be given the opportunity to help build the mainstream dams in Laos and Cambodia to use them as weapons. Then the dams would be like nails driven into the cover of the coffin of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.]
As for the nearly 20 million inhabitants of the Mekong Delta, like always, they are not only kept uninformed but also not given the chance to have their voice heard. All this despite the fact that they are living at the end of the current and have to suffer the accumulative negative impacts caused by the hydroelectric dams in China and in the Lower Mekong Basin as well.
IN LIEU OF EPILOGUE: THE ENVIRONMENT AND DEMOCRACY
During the past years, both the Xayaburi and the Don Sahong Projects have continuously attracted much controversy and opposition from numerous quarters. With their eyes fixed on short-term gains, the Lao leaders have brushed aside all warnings from experts to heedlessly give the “green light” for the implementation of those two projects. The price to be paid is the permanent destruction of a rich eco-system not only in Laos but all over the Mekong basin. The end result would be a food crisis caused by the depletion of the fish source entailing a decrease in the protein intake and malnutrition among the Lao people while in the Mekong Delta we can observe a loss of alluvia and increased salinization that endanger the rice basket that feeds the whole country.
Like its excessively greedy and selfish big neighbor China, the small nation of Laos, through its conduct in the exploitation of the hydroelectric dams Xayaburi and Don Sahong, has failed to produce a good track record.
Article 7 of the MRC 1995 Mekong Agreement for a sustainable development of the Mekong Basin states: “The contracting parties agree to make every effort to avoid, minimize and mitigate harmful effects that might occur to the environment, especially the water quantity and quality, the aquatic eco-system conditions, and the ecological balance of the river, from the development and use of the Mekong River Basin water resources.” This article of faith has yet to be observed by the government of Laos.
We may soon be crossing into the 21st Century, yet Myanmar is not the only country in the Mekong culture that is caught up in that deplorable situation. Though the nations along that river’s current may be going through different forms and stages of economic development, the same social pyramid is ever-present in all of them.
A general view of the countries in the Mekong Basin from China moving south to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam will reveal that in spite of the different names they chose for their political systems, all of them are not democracies. Their societies are best described as “social pyramids” – to borrow the term from the Burmese sociologist Kyaw Nyein – best characterized by a small group of rulers at the top and the large majority of exploited and oppressed poor people at the bottom. In 2000 the author observed: “Obviously, there cannot be a simple solution to the environment issue. On the contrary, it requires a fundamental and uniform transformation of the social system from “totalitarianism” to “Democracy”. Democracy will open the door to a more educated citizenry that will make the inhabitants along the Mekong riverbanks become more informed and willing to exercise their right to conserve the Mekong River, their very lifeline. They will then enjoy equal opportunity, the right to gulp down a cup of clean water or to breathe in fresh air from the sky. Those are the “human rights” that can only exist in a democratic country.”
The fundamental truth: The Environment and Democracy will always remain an “Inseparable Duo”.
NGÔ THẾ VINH
16 – 08 – 2014
REFERENCES:
- Laos PDR Breaks Ground For Xayaburi Dam: A Tragic Day for the Mekong and Mekong Delta. Ngô Thế Vinh http://www.vietecology.org/Article.aspx/Article/94
- PR – Déjà Vu for The Mekong; International Rivers Network, Wednesday, June 18, 2014 http://www.internationalrivers.org/node/8343
- 2nd VRN's letter to Kasikorn Bank, Siam Commercial Bank and Bangkok Bank: Careful consideration and suspension of the loan to the Xayaburi hydropower dam project. June 23, 2014 http://vrn.org.vn/en/h/d/2014/06/966/2nd_VRN's_letter_to_Kasikorn_Bank_Siam_Commercial_Bank_and_Bangkok_Bank:_Careful_consideration_and_suspension_of_the_loan_to_the_Xayaburi_hydropower_dam_project_dot_/index.html
- Mekong – Cửu Long 2011, A Look Forward Into the Next Half Century. Ngô Thế Vinh http://www.vietecology.org/Article.aspx/Article/63
- Xayaburi, One Year Later: Don Sahong, The Second Mainstream Dam in Laos. Ngô Thế Vinh http://www.vietecology.org/Article.aspx/Article/96
- MRC Council Reaches Conclusions on Pressing Issue. Bangkok, Thailand, June 26, 2014 http://www.mrcmekong.org/news-and-events/news/mrc-council-reaches-conclusions-on-pressing-issues/
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