ASEAN – Mekong dams issue shunned at Jakarta summit
by Paolino Accolla – for PlanetNext
The question remains open, casting a shadow over the future of millions of people in South East Asia. Yet there seems to be nothing the main political forum of the region can do about it. When the leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) gather for a summit in Jakarta, the very controversial issue of a giant dam planned on the Mekong river, high up in the mountains of Laos, will not be formally discussed.
Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam–the four countries which share the lower Mekong with Laos–will keep their negotiations with Vientiane behind closed doors, simply ignoring villagers and environmentalists opposing the project.
There is, after all, not much the ASEAN heads of states and governments can say: the plan for the $3.5 billion dam to be built in Xayaburi is officially on hold, even though digging for the first set of foundations has started, in spite of protests staged by Lao and Thai villagers. It seems, however, that no other major construction work will be done until the Mekong River Commission, an allegedly impartial body established by the five concerned countries with the specific purpose of handling issues related to the Mekong, gives the green light.
For the time being, in the face of controversies, the commission has suspended any deliberations. But there is little doubt that it will eventually place its stamp of approval on the project, notwithstanding the negative evaluation given by a pool of experts within the commission itself. In a recent report they warned about the potentially disastrous effects of the planned dam on the environment, people and organisms living along a water basin which functions as a source of life for a whole region.
The project will go ahead since the commission is but a collection of parties with very vested interests. And, in principle, not one of these is against the idea of a dam. Only Phnom Penh has pushed to obtain reassurances from Laos regarding the effects of the project on local people and their economies. In the end, while worried, each country is now basically weighing the pros and cons of a situation which seems to have no alternatives, given Vientiane’s proven determination to proceed. They are instead negotiating special energy tariffs with Laos in order to profit from the energy harnessed from the powerful Mekong waters.
Thailand holds a special position in the negotiations. Under pressure from local communities, Bangkok is officially expressing concern, but in between talks the Thai government is also actually pushing for the project, which would be carried out on Laotian territory but would be constructed and operated for at least 29 years by Thai and Thai-controlled conglomerates.
Thailand would also be the main customer for the energy generated by the 1,260 megawatt-strong and 810 meter long Xayaburi Dam. This dam would force the relocation of a whole village of over 2,000 people and would impact negatively on the local economy of countless villages and urban settlements, both in Laos and Thailand, by radically changing the environment of the middle section of the Mekong basin. This area is home to thousands of unique animal and plant species and to at least 23 species of migratory fish, which seasonally travel upstream to spawn .
Yet, what worries environmentalists most is what lies ahead: the Xayaburi Dam is only the first in a series of 11 dams scheduled to be built in the next ten years along the lower Mekong, as it winds its way through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and finally Vietnam.
Except for three dams built on Chinese territory years ago, the more than 3,000 mile long Mekong flows freely in its lower region and its water supports the livelihood of over 60 million people. The 11 new dams would meet only 8% of the energy demand in the region and the environmental costs would far outweigh any gains. Based on this, the Mekong River Commission’s experts suggested in a report that concerned governments ought to devise a wider plan for building more dams, but on the tributaries to the Mekong rather than on the main river itself.
For environmentalists, this alternative would not change the substance of the problem. The many dams would still radically affect the flow of the river, changing its navigation patterns and dramatically reducing the water mass flowing into the southern Vietnamese delta, the rice basket of the country.
Until now, over years of negotiations, Vientiane has never manifested any uncertainties regarding the Xayaburi dam. A recent press release signed by Viraphonh Viravong, head of the Lao delegation negotiating with neighboring countries, assures that the dam’s design conforms to international standards and that “major impacts on navigation, fish passage, sediment, water quality and aquatic ecology and dam safety can be mitigated at acceptable levels”.
In other words, the projected growth in economic terms justifies building the dam, even if the risks are not fully known. Alternatives would probably be more expensive and would require many years worth of feasibility studies, so the consensus seems to be to proceed. Collateral damage will be dealt with when it arises. After all, the protests are only from environmental activists and politically irrelevant villagers–and even ASEAN leaders are unwilling to intervene.
Photo: Mekong in Laos
