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Appendix G

 

Mekong Development Plans in Cambodia

 

Introduction

 

Just as the Mekong River crosses beyond the national boundaries of Cambodia, so do the plans to exploit the river's "potential" transcend national borders. The Asian Development Bank, under its Greater Mekong Subregion initiative, the Mekong River Commission, private corporations and the countries of ASEAN refer to the Mekong as a 'subregion' ripe for rapid economic growth through investment in infrastructure: ranging from telecommunications and trans-regional road and rail networks, to subregional tourism masterplanning and large-scale energy projects. The Mekong River and its watershed are viewed as an undeveloped regional resource, the potential motor of subregional economic growth, and, according to one brochure advertising a forthcoming 'growth summit' to attract private investors to the Mekong region, "a corridor of commerce in one of the world's fastest developing growth circles." In this context, the concept of 'Mekong' as river basin, with a complex and delicate natural ecosystem upon which the majority of the region's communities rely, is being submerged.

 

The subregional plans of the various actors - ADB, MRC, ASEAN etc - will have far-reaching implications for Cambodia.  Plans to encourage subregional tourism, to expand the road and rail networks, and to 'protect' the region's watershed forests by resettling forest-dwelling communities, will all impact to some degree on the lives of the rural majority in Cambodia. To discuss the potential impacts of all of these masterplans is beyond the scope of this paper, which will instead focus on only one of the aspects of subregional development proposals in the energy sector: that of hydropower, which possibly above all the other plans will have the most immediate and potentially greatest impact on the natural ecosystem and consequently rural communities' livelihoods in Cambodia.

 

While construction of hydropower projects in Cambodia may still be a couple of years away, plans are currently being formulated for many of Cambodia's rivers and proposals are awaiting the interest of bi- and multilateral agencies and private investors.  Meanwhile, upstream of Cambodia, numerous hydropower projects have gone beyond the planning stage and one after another of the Mekong's tributaries - particularly in Lao PDR - are at present being dammed, their cumulative impact on downstream Cambodia unstudied. Only a matter of three years ago in Lao PDR, the dam plans were still on the drawing board; then rapidly agreements were signed to develop 20 projects, Thailand agreed to purchase over 6,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity from the Lao government, investment and consultants began to pour in, and several dams are now under construction.

 

The aim of this paper is to raise awareness and to generate debate amongst concerned groups in Cambodia about:

- the key actors in formulating plans to exploit the Mekong river,

- proposed projects in Cambodia,

- projects upstream with potential impacts on Cambodia,

- questions and concerns about these plans as they relate to Cambodia.


 

The key actors and their roles

 

The Asian Development Bank

 

Of all the key actors promoting Mekong development, it is the Asian Development Bank which is increasingly playing a starring role.  The ADB heads two forums on the region: the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) initiative, which combines the six Mekong countries, and the Forum for the Comprehensive Development of Indochina (FCDI) which focuses on Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam.  The Bank is also seeking cooperation and coordination with the latest group to target the Mekong region: the ASEAN Mekong Basin Development Cooperation initiative.  The forums' meetings bring together leading politicians in the region - usually foreign ministers - and the Bank, other bi- and multilateral donors, and representatives of the private sector, thereby at once providing political endorsement for the Bank-commissioned masterplans for the region and mobilising potential investors. 

 

Unlike the Mekong River Commission, the ADB has from the beginning aggressively courted the private sector to co-finance projects, hosting seminars in Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul, Frankfurt and Brussels.  The Bank itself is an important backer of projects in the region: it finances and conducts feasibility studies, provides technical assistance, directly finances some projects, and mobilises resources from other multilateral and bilateral agencies and the private sector.  By creating in this way an 'enabling environment', the ADB is a major catalyst for hydropower development in the Mekong River basin. In the four years since its creation, the ADB-inspired GMS has moved rapidly from desk-level study stage to implementation of projects, for example the ADB part-financed Nam Theun Hinboun dam in Lao PDR now under construction, which was identified only in 1994 as a priority subregional hydropower project.

 

Since its formation in October 1992, the ADB's Greater Mekong Subregion initiative has produced masterplans for subregional economic cooperation in several areas: transport, energy, telecommunications, environment, human resource development, trade and investment and tourism.  The Bank commissioned Norwegian consultants, Norconsult, to prepare a subregional energy sector study.  In 1994, the study and its recommendations were endorsed by the region's governments.

 

The Subregional Energy Sector Study deals with oil, natural gas and coal, but promotes hydropower as the most environmentally benign solution to the projected demand for energy in the subregion and proposes the development of a regional grid system to integrate supply and demand for hydroelectricity in the region. The study states:

 

"... a recommended development scenario of the Mekong hydropower resources is to develop mainstream projects in the upper basin (Yunnan Province) and tributary projects with reservoirs if possible in the lower basin.  Thereafter run-of-river projects on the main stream in the lower basin are advised."

 


The study prioritises 12 energy projects for ADB assistance, which include:

·         Xe Kong and Se San basin hydropower development study in Cambodia, Lao PDR and  Vietnam, including a transmission link with Thailand (26 dams have been identified in previous studies).  The Bank last week approved funding for the US$2.5 million feasibility study.  Both the Se Kong and the Se San flow to the Mekong at Stung Treng in Cambodia; (see "Upstream projects" below)

 

·         Prefeasibility study of the Nam Tha hydropower project in Lao PDR (230 MW).  The Nam Tha River is a tributary of the Mekong in northern Lao PDR;

 

·         Nam Theun Basin hydropower development study in Lao PDR (7 dams have previously been identified).  The Nam Theun River is the largest tributary of the Mekong in Lao PDR;

 

·         Feasibility study for a transmission line from the Jinghong dam to Thailand.  The 1,500 MW Jinghong is to be built on the Mekong mainstream in Yunnan, China;

 

·         Implementation of the Nam Theun Hinboun dam, Lao PDR.  The 210 MW dam is currently under construction, part-financed by the ADB.

 

The Bank has come under criticism from aid-monitoring groups for its hydropower development plans for the Mekong region.  Australian NGO Aid/WATCH has pointed out that the energy sector study fails to conform to the Bank's 1995 'Policy for the Energy Sector' in that it lacks any mention of energy efficiency measures, demand-side management, or a comparison of alternatives as demanded by the policy, and that there was no attempt during the formulation of the masterplan to encourage public participation, again stipulated by the Bank's policy.  Other groups, such as the Manila-based NGO Working Group on the ADB, have criticised the Bank for failing to study the cumulative impact of so many dams in terms of hydrology, fisheries, and floodplain agriculture in the Mekong River basin as a whole. At the same time, individual Bank-funded hydropower projects have come under fire; for example, the Nam Theun Hinboun dam in Lao PDR, which was under construction for a year and a half before the impact assessment was completed.

 

Mekong River Commission

 

For a background to the MRC and its plans for Cambodia see "The Mekong River Commission and Cambodia: The Floodgates Open", NGO Forum, January 1996.

 

Many of the ADB's hydropower proposals for the Mekong river overlap those of the Mekong River Commission, a fact which both the ADB and the MRC acknowledge.  There are, however, important differences between the two agencies in terms of their approach to Mekong development planning.  While the ADB is aggressively pursuing and promoting private sector project financing, the MRC continues to rely, as it has since its formation in 1957, on official aid from bi- and multilateral agencies.  And while the Bank has moved rapidly from planning to implementation, the MRC is increasingly moving away from a project-based to a 'programmes' approach, such as river basin hydrology, fisheries and 'comprehensive' basin development studies. Lastly, the MRC focuses on institution-building, with a National Mekong Committee in each country, while the Bank stresses economic rather than political cooperation.

 

Yet, like the Bank, the MRC aims to create an 'enabling environment' for project development, both facilitating the institutional set-up and providing studies and data which serve as a basis for project implementation by other aid or private sector agencies. An example of cooperation between the Bank and the MRC is the recent approval by the Bank of a feasibility study for the Sekong/Sesan dams, which though financed by the Bank will be carried out under the auspices of the MRC.  When the study is completed, according to a Bank official, the ADB will provide direct project financing for the dams.

 

Royal Government of Cambodia

 

The stated aims of the RGC are somewhat contradictory and depend very much on the individual or ministry. The RGC's recent statement to the Consultative Group of May 1996, for example, makes no mention of large-scale hydropower projects or the anticipated foreign exchange earnings from the sale of electricity to neighbouring Thailand. The document forecasts that the electricity and water sectors combined will contribute only 0.4 per cent to Cambodia's GDP by the year 2000. 

 

At the same time, statements made by Cambodian representatives at the meetings of the MRC or the ADB's forums clearly identify large-scale hydropower development as an RGC priority. Foremost among those promoting hydropower development are H.E. Ing Kieth, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Cambodia National Mekong Committee (CNMC), Secretary of State Ith Praing of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, and Khy Taing Lim, Vice-Chairman of the CNMC, all of whom advocate sales of electricity to neighbouring countries as an important source of foreign exchange to foster development in Cambodia.  The Minister of Environment, Dr Mok Mareth, who is also Vice-Chairman of the CNMC, has, however, publicly opposed construction of any dams on the Mekong mainstream. The RGC's representatives have approved both the MRC 1996 Work Programme, which recommends a number of dams in Cambodia, and the ADB's Energy Sector Study.  The government's plans fall into two categories: dams to produce electricity for sale to neighbouring countries, such as Sambor dam in Kratie province and the Stung Mnam dam in Koh Kong, and multipurpose dams for domestic energy supply and irrigation.

 

There is a lack of coordination between the Cambodian representatives to Mekong development forums and meetings: the MRC meetings are attended by the CNMC, the ADB-sponsored forums by the Ministry of Planning, and the ASEAN Mekong Basin Development Cooperation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all of whom propose and endorse at times differing projects.

 

Proposed dams in Cambodia

 

Throughout the 1960s, the Mekong Committee, precursor to the MRC, financed a number of studies of dams in the Mekong region, including for almost every river in Cambodia.  With few exceptions, the dams have not been studied since, so data is scarce and may be unreliable; nevertheless, it is on the basis of these studies that projects are now being resurrected (see maps).

 

Although three dams have been proposed for the mainstream in Cambodia - Sambor, Stung Treng, and a barrage across the mouth of the Tonle Sap lake - the latter two are given such low ranking by the MRC that they are unlikely ever to reach the study stage, so a description of these projects will not be included here.

 

This listing is not comprehensive; but details only some projects which could be built in the coming years, either because they are CNMC priority projects, or have been currently resurrected for study by the MRC or the ADB.  For an idea of the number of dams proposed in earlier studies in Cambodia, refer to the attached maps taken from Dutch consultants WATCO's project compilation of 1984, Lower Mekong Water Resources Inventory: Summary of Project Possibilities.

 

Sambor dam

 

(For more information see the Phnom Penh Post, March 18-21 1996)

 

Location: Mekong mainstream, Prek Kampi, south of Sambor village, Kratie Province.

 

Description: A 30km wide, 35 metre high dam which would flood more than 800 square kilometres (sq km) to generate 3,300 MW to be sold to Thailand and/or Vietnam, cost approx. US$4 billion. The MRC states that it is a dam with "minor impacts" and estimates that 5,120 people would be displaced by the dam's reservoir, based on a 1969 survey.  However, local sources say that the population of the area which would be flooded by the dam is today over 60,000 people, including ethnic communities. The area still contains extensive forests, habitat for wildlife including hornbills, eagles, deer and tigers, although bears and elephants are disappearing from the area.  The rapids and deep pools in the Mekong upstream from Sambor provide an important habitat for many of Cambodia's 200 species of fish, and Irrawaddy dolphins and crocodiles are still regularly sighted by villagers in the area.

 

Status: The main proponent of the dam is the MRC, which included Sambor in its 1996 Work Programme and continues to keep on its books in the draft 1997 Work Programme, seeking US$910,000 for an 18-month pre-feasibility study. Of the nine Mekong mainstream dams proposed by the MRC, Sambor is given third priority ranking.  Reportedly, both the French government and the World Bank are considering funding the prefeasibility study for Sambor.  However, Cambodia's Ministry of Energy and the CNMC have proposed an alternative, smaller project, which is yet to be approved by the MRC (see below).

 

Sambor dam - alternative

 

Location: Mekong mainstream, Prek Kampi, south of Sambor village, Kratie district.

 

Description: A two metre high weir across the Mekong, diverting water into a 20 km long, 350 metre wide, 30 metre high canal running along the river bank, to generate 465 MW and costing approx. US$700 million.

 

Status: Although presented formally to the MRC for approval by the CNMC, this smaller alternative to the Sambor dam is not included in the draft 1997 MRC Work Programme, which continues to list the larger Sambor dam.

 

 

 

Prek Thnot dam

 

Location: Prek Thnot river, which flows to the Bassac south of Phnom Penh, Samrong District, Kompong Speu Province.

 

Description:  A 10 km long, 28.5 m high earthfill dam, which would flood 256 sq km and displace an estimated 15,000 people, to produce 18 MW and irrigate 70,000 hectares (ha), costing US$200 million.

 

Status: The CNMC regards Prek Thnot as one of the three "top priority" projects for Cambodia.  Australian consultants, Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC), completed a project rehabilitation study in 1990; now the MRC draft Work Programme 1997 calls for US$3.235 million for "Preparatory work for tendering the construction of the Prek Thnot dam and powerstation.  Resettlement plan for villages affected by the Prek Thnot reservoir and environmental mitigations and monitoring."  Japanese funders have reportedly informally offered support for the project under mixed grant/loan funding, while Maeda Co. - the company which originally started work on the dam in 1969 - have expressed interest in completing construction of the dam.

 

Stung Chinit dam

 

Location: Stung Chinit river, Kompong Thom, which flows to the Tonle Sap river north of Phnom Penh.

 

Description: A multipurpose project, to produce 4.5 MW and irrigate 25,400 ha, the Stung Chinit is a storage dam over one kilometre long and 22 m high.  The area to be irrigated includes 4,200 ha of fertile land already naturally irrigated by seasonal flooding of the Tonle Sap lake.  There is no data available for the reservoir size, but an earlier study states that it would store 500 million cubic metres (see map), or number of people to be displaced; nor is the importance of the Stung Chinit in terms of fisheries or fish migrations from the Tonle Sap documented.

 

Status: The Asian Development Bank are financing a feasibility study for the project, which is amongst the three priority projects of the CNMC.  As of August 1996, the ADB is selecting consultants to carry out the study.

 

Stung Battambang dam

 

Location: Stung Battambang river, east of Pailin (see map).

 

Description: There are two dams planned for the Stung Battambang, but the larger of the two, known as St. Battambang No. 1, would generate 50 MW and irrigate 50,000 ha, according to the CNMC.  There is little data available about reservoir size or number of people to be displaced.  The dam is one of three possible dams in the Stung Battambang basin; the other two would block two tributaries to the Stung Battambang: the Stung Mongkol Borey and the Stung Sangker (see map).

 

Status: The MRC's draft Work Programme 1997 seeks US$630,000 for a "Development Plan of the Stung Battambang and Stung Mongkol Borey River Basins"; the development objective, "to utilize the water resources of both the Stung Battambang (Sangker) and Stung Mongkol Borey River basins for irrigation and hydropower generation..."  The dam (or dams) is one of the three top priority projects of the CNMC.  The World Bank has expressed interest in funding the study according to the CNMC, but is awaiting "security" in the area.

 

Stung Mnam dams

 

Location: Stung Mnam river on the border of Thailand in Koh Kong province.

 

Description: The Stung Mnam project involves three dams, which together would flood 58.2 sq km of primary forest, generate 439 MW, and cost almost US$800 million.  It is not clear if all three dams will be built.  A November 1995 desk study by a Japanese consultant from JICA states that no population will be affected, according to "available" maps.  Electricity generated will be sold to Thailand - where the power stations will be situated - and water diverted for irrigation to Trat Province, Thailand.  According to H.E. Ing Kieth, the problem of Khmer Rouge in the area will be solved by employing them to build the dams.

 

Status: Earlier this year, a 'Memorandum of Understanding' was signed between the RGC and the Thai government to develop the project - the first such power purchase agreement between Thailand and Cambodia; Thai company MDX is slated to undertake the feasibility study.

 

Kamchay dam

 

Location: Stung Kaoh Sla river which flows to the sea at Kampot, Kampot Province.

 

Description: The dam would produce 120 MW; a prefeasibility study has been completed on the dam by Canadian company, Pommerleau.

 

Status: Canadian firms Hydro Quebec and Pommerleau, with support from the Canadian aid agency CIDA, were to have completed a feasibility by the onset of rainy season this year, but CIDA recently pulled out their backing, wanting assurances first that the project's construction financing is guaranteed (see Phnom Penh Post, July 26-August 8 1996).  The project developers have since requested financing for the project from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, holding meetings with the banks on 20th August and early September this year respectively - the outcome is not yet known, but the banks have reportedly shown interest in backing the project.

 

Stung Sen dam

 

Location: Stung Sen river, which originates in Preah Vihear and flows to the Tonle Sap lake in Kompong Thom, southeast of Phnom Rovieng.

 

Description: A 2.7 km long, 38 m high storage dam which would generate 40 MW and irrigate an area of 130,000 ha.  The large reservoir, which would submerge Kompong Putrea, would impound 3.7 billion cubic metres of water.  Exact data for reservoir size and number of people to be displaced is not available, nor is any information on the importance of the Stung Sen's flow to the Tonle Sap lake or to fisheries.

 

Status: The project is listed as "second phase" priority by the CNMC: i.e. to be constructed after the Prek Thnot, Stung Battambang and Stung Chinit dams.

 

Stung Pursat dams

 

Location: The Stung Pursat river and its tributaries (St. Arai and St. Santre), which flow to the Tonle Sap lake, south and southwest of Pursat town, Pursat Province.

 

Description: There are a total of five dams proposed for the Stung Pursat, which would generate 92 MW and provide irrigation to 65,000 ha.  Together they would inundate up to 200 sq km (based on a comparison of combined size with the Prek Thnot dam reservoir, as per the WATCO map).  No data regarding population to be displaced or the ecological functions of the Stung Pursat in terms of fisheries or flow.

 

Status: The project is listed as "second phase" priority by the CNMC: i.e. to be constructed after the Prek Thnot, Stung Battambang and Stung Chinit dams.

 

Upstream projects and their potential impacts

 

Of more immediate impact to Cambodia are the countless dams planned - and under construction - on the Mekong mainstream and its tributaries in Yunnan, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam (see map).  There are simply too many projects to be able to go into detail here - including 15 dams on the Mekong mainstream in Yunnan, one of which, the Manwan is already completed; over 50 dams in Lao PDR, 20 of which are to be built by early next century; and massive water diversion schemes to take water from the Mekong mainstream to Thailand: all of which, cumulatively or even individually in some cases, pose threats to the natural integrity of the free-flowing Mekong River and consequently to farming and fishing livelihoods in Cambodia.

 

Instead of an interminable listing of projects upstream of Cambodia, one river basin development proposal will be detailed to highlight some of the issues of relevance to Cambodia: the Sekong/Sesan Basin Hydropower Development Study.

 

Sekong Sesan Basin Hydropower Development Study

 

At the end of August 1996, the Asian Development Bank announced funding support (jointly with the French government) of US$2.5 million for a study to develop hydropower dams on the Sekong and Sesan rivers.  Earlier, a Bank official had told a Bangkok-based reporter that the ADB would not only fund the study, but would directly finance the hydropower dams identified in the completed study.

 

The Sekong and Sesan rivers flow to the Mekong in Cambodia at Stung Treng, where together they form the largest tributary of the Mekong River.  Together the rivers contribute 10 per cent of the flow of the Mekong at downstream Kratie.  Both rivers originate in Vietnam, but the Sekong runs for the majority of its length through Lao PDR, where it is fed by numerous smaller rivers, while the Sesan descends into Rattanakiri from Vietnam's mountainous Central Highlands.

 

There is little data about the importance of the rivers in terms of fisheries; however a recent report (A rapid study of fish and fisheries; and livelihoods and natural resources along the Sesan River, Ian Baird, December 1995) indicates that the majority of species from the Mekong mainstream migrate into the tributary rivers during the rainy season to spawn and shelter in the shallows, streams, pools and ricefields.  Here they provide an estimated 50-80 per cent of the protein food source for communities living along the rivers - an important part of their subsistence food security - as well as a limited means of cash income from selling larger fish at local markets.

 

The study proposed by the MRC, but financed by the ADB, will focus on the potential for hydropower dams on the Sekong and Sesan rivers - in Lao PDR and Vietnam, and possibly also in Cambodia.  Altogether some 26 dams have been identified for these rivers in previous studies, which are all listed in the study proposal (see map). The proposal states the rationale and objective of the study "to develop the Sekong and Sesan Basin's hydropower resources and related transmission line links between the countries in question [Lao PDR, Vietnam and Cambodia to Thailand]."  Together, the dams could produce over 3,200 MW, destined not for Cambodia and Lao PDR but for power-hungry Thailand and Vietnam.

 

Most of the possible dams are located in the upper, more mountainous sections of the rivers in Lao PDR and Vietnam.  However, three dams have been identified in Cambodia: two on the Prek Liang, a tributary of the Sesan, which together would produce some 95 MW, and one on the mainstream of the Sesan just above the town of Veune Sai, which would inundate the river and surrounding lands all the way up to the Vietnamese border (see map).  This 4.3 km long, 75 m high dam, the "Lower Sesan No. 3" project, would produce 400 MW, and possibly irrigate 57,000 ha.

 

In Vietnam, one dam has already been completed on the Sesan: the 720 MW Yali Falls, which has displaced 3,200 mainly ethnic Jarai and Bahnar people.  The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project, completed in 1993 by Swiss consultants Electrowatt, does not discuss the downstream impacts of the dam on Cambodia in any detail at all.  In fact, the EIA states that "for the purposes of this study, the downstream area has been defined as an area 8 km long and 1 km wide below the dam."  This despite the fact that the dam was predicted in the EIA to reduce the flow to the Sesan in Cambodia by 10-15 per cent, and that the dam will trap 90 per cent of the sediment load of the river, leading to additional downstream erosion. (See Watershed, Vol. 1 No. 2)

 

In Lao PDR, one dam on a tributary to the Sekong, the Se Kaman, is under construction by Australian firm, HECEC (see Watershed, Vol. 2 No. 1).  This will be the highest rockfill dam in Southeast Asia; again, there was no assessment of its impact on downstream Cambodia.  Meanwhile, two other massive dams, on the Sekong and its tributary Xe Nam Noy, have been contracted by the Lao government to Korean companies Hyundai and Dong Ah.

 

From past experience, it seems unlikely that the ADB/MRC study will consider in detail the consequences for Cambodia of massive hydropower development on Cambodia's two most important tributaries, or study adequately the livelihoods of the communities depending on the rivers, or least of all, assess the cumulative impacts of the dams on the Mekong River and downstream fisheries and farming in Cambodia.  Meaningful consultation with local potentially affected communities seems an equally remote possibility.

 

The potential impacts for Cambodia of cascades of dams on the upper reaches of the Sekong and Sesan rivers, while difficult to assess, could include amongst others:

 

- a loss of nutrient-rich alluvium delivered by the rivers for downstream agriculture as dams trap large amounts of sediment;

- increased river-bank erosion;

- disruption of the natural fisheries, as migration routes for fish become blocked and the rivers flood regime is disrupted, decreasing available spawning habitat for fish;

- destruction of the rivers' watershed forests for creation of reservoirs could alter rainfall and local climatic conditions, and increase soil erosion;

- disruption of the natural flow of the rivers and potentially of the Mekong River, impacting fishing and farming activities which have adapted to the natural hydrological cycle of the rivers;

- all the above could have negative impacts on the livelihoods and food security of local communities.

 

At the same time that the ADB approved financing for the study, the Bank announced a US$4 million package to finance the Tonle Sap management plan.  The terms of reference for this project make no mention of the potential impacts of upstream hydropower development on the Tonle Sap.

 

Additionally, the Bank announced funding for a project entitled "Poverty Alleviation in Watershed Areas in the GMS" to counter forest destruction in the region.  The majority of the blame for forest destruction is placed on the region's 60 million highland communities, their relocation and "stabilisation" is recommended.  The main purpose of the project, according to ADB Programmes Officer Noritada Morita, is to control "sedimentation".  Again, the project description makes no mention of the proposed massive hydropower development projects or their contribution to forest destruction.

 

Questions and Concerns

 

The activities of agencies planning hydropower development in the region, both at programme and project level are being monitored and questioned by NGOs both within the region and internationally.  The main concerns centre around the social and ecological impacts of the proposed projects, and the lack of NGOs', people's organisations' and communities' participation in planning and implementation.

 

NGOs in Cambodia working at the community level have the potential to raise awareness about the means of livelihood and food security needs of local communities; to question the assumptions of those promoting hydropower and other development proposals in the region; to point out the contradictions and ommissions of other development proposals, such as those for the Tonle Sap or for watershed forests; and to press for transparency, accountability and an open process on the part of those agencies.