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Appendix G
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.