Environmental Group Urges Termination of 11 Dams in Mekong River

Save the Mekong Coalition, an environmental group, has sent a letter to government leaders of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, calling for the cancellation of hydropower dams on the Lower Mekong mainstream. In its letter, the group expressed its concern over the current state of the Mekong River due to the impacts of existing and planned hydropower projects and the failure of regional cooperation in decision-making around hydropower on the Mekong mainstream.
“The current trajectory of dam building in the Mekong River Basin undermines the commitments and spirit of the 1995 Mekong Agreement, most critically the Principles of Cooperation, under which parties agree to protect the environment, natural recourses, aquatic life and ecological balance of the Mekong River Basin,” it said in the letter. The eleven dams planned on the Lower Mekong mainstream would fundamentally undermine the abundance, productivity and diversity of fish resources in the Mekong; and block critical fish migration routes, leading to a substantial loss to fish resources, the group noted.
“If all 11 dams are built, the result would be an estimated 550,000-880,000 tons - equivalent to 26%-42% loss of fish resources. Fisheries experts have stated that there is currently no technology that exists to mitigate the impacts these dams would have to fisheries,” it said.
The mainstream dams will have significant effects on riparian communities, disrupting their way of life, cultures, sense of community and food security, while affecting approximately 40 million people in the Lower Mekong Basin. The impacts would be directly felt by more than 106,000 people, who face relocation and are likely to be forced into a life of greater poverty, the group said.(Sai Gon Tiep Thi – Saigon Marketing April 8 p3, savethemekong.org)