Thursday, March 22, 2012

Energy companies pledge to measure impacts of large dam projects


Daming the Mekong river :A beautiful view of the Khon Phapheng Falls in Laos.

Critics say new scorecard to evaluate social and environmental impacts of hydropower projects serves dam builders not local communities 

The Khone falls on the Mekong River in Champassak, Laos. Photograph: Suthep Kritsanavarin/ONASIA


Two of the world's largest energy companies committed last week to assess the impacts of their hydropower projects using new voluntary guidelines to evaluate the economic, social, and environmental consequences of big dam projects. But civil society activists denounced the protocol as an attempt to "greenwash" the industry.
Électricité de France (EDF) said on Friday it would apply the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP), a voluntary scorecard for hydropower developers, to all new projects as part of a package of commitments made at the World Water Forum (WWF) in Marseille, France. It also said it would commission a scientific evaluation of its global water footprint, and either maintain or decrease it in years to come.
The International Hydropower Association (IHA), the industry association that has spearheaded the development and implementation of the HSAP protocol, said the GDF-Suez energy company had also committed to use the protocol to evaluate its controversial Jirau dam project on Brazil's Madiera river. Survival International claims indigenous communities in the river basin were not consulted adequately about the project, as required by law.
Hundreds of large dams are expected to be built over the next decade to meet the rising demands for energy, particularly from countries like India and China.
IHA programme director Cameron Ironside said the protocol could help to assess the impacts of these projects at all stages of development and across a wide range of issues – including biodiversity, water quality, infrastructure safety, and the effect on local communities. Projects are scored by accredited assessors from one tofive across 20 indicators, with three representing "basic good practice". The result, says IHA, is a "sustainability profile" that can help different stakeholders to evaluate a project and identify weaknesses.
In addition to EDF and GDF-Suez, nine other energy companies have agreed to use the protocol in at least one project. The WWF has called for projects in at least 20 countries to be assessed using the IHA protocol by 2015.
Ironside said: "There are very few companies that can afford to ignore sustainability considerations, especially in the infrastructure sector. This may be to demonstrate steps being taken in this regard to shareholders, or to ensure that projects are given the go-ahead and support from civil society and governments (and financing bodies)."
But activists at the Alternative World Water Forum (FAME), also in Marseille, denounced the IHA protocol as an attempt to "greenwash" projects that primarily benefit manufacturers and large industries looking for cheap electricity.
Zachary Hurwitz, policy programme coordinator at International Rivers, said the protocol could create opportunities for dam builders to make sustainability claims while potentially undermining legislative and civil society-led efforts to hold them accountable for the social and environmental impacts of their projects.
"There are ways to better regulate dam building," he said. "It is by the legislative process, through harmonising-upwards country regulatory systems in order to truly come to a global binding standard, with the ability to penalise developers."
Hurwitz called on companies to adhere to the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams, which he said has "larger buy-in from civil society".
Nguyen Viet Dung, deputy director of Pan Nature, a Vietnamese civil society organisation, said the IHA protocol could put at risk the future of millions of people who rely on the Mekong river basin, and emphasised the need to strengthen accountability at the local and national level.
"We already have a huge gap between existing regulation and implementation. That's what we need to work on," he said. "If anything, we need new tools to help civil society organisations and local communities, who will be affected by large dams, to evaluate and monitor these projects."
David Harrison, senior adviser at the Nature Conservancy, said the protocol requires developers to comply with national legislation and will help foster more "adult conversations" about the impacts of dams.
"It's a measurement tool," said Harrison, who is on the protocol's governance committee. "It doesn't say whether hydropower is good or bad, or whether particular projects are good or bad. It just allows us to lay out the 'good, bad, and the ugly,' and to start conversations based on that."
Countering concerns from campaigners about the risk of corruption that might result from impact assessors being paid by the hydropower companies themselves, Harrison said all assessments will be published online and that it "will be obvious if something's going on".
The linkages between water and energy sectors were a focus of discussions at both the WWF and FAME. On Monday, the UN world water development report pointed to hydropower as a potential energy source for sub-Saharan Africa, the "under-dammed continent". The World Water Council, a key organiser of the WWF, also announced a new partnership with the World Energy Council to encourage public policy at national and international levels to focus on the "water-energy nexus" before the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development in June.


 

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Karen IDPs protest dam projects on Salween River

E-tu Hta Karen refugee camp

(Mizzima) - Hundreds of men, women and children thronged the sand bank of Salween river in the boat-stop area of E-tu Hta temporary Karen Refugee Camp. They came together on March 14 to observe the International Day of Action for Rivers and to protest against dam projects on the Salween.

People listened to speakers providing information, support and encouragement before floating a raft with a poster saying "No Dam" down the Salween. The villagers are Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) from Ho Kay, Por Ka Der and E-tu Hta refugee camp.

no-dam1
E-tu Hta temporary refugee camp lies on the banks of the Salween river, the border between Karen state in Burma and Mae Hong Son Province in Thailand. The year marks the sixth consecutive anti-dam event focused on the Salween River, coordinated by Karen Rivers Watch, a coalition of Karen social groups along with villagers. They have been organizing events annually since 2004.

“This annual event of anti-dam day aims to keep the spirit of awareness of dams on the Salween River up-to-date and show the solidarity that our Karen people have towards broader anti-dam movement (or global movement) organized by other people affected by dams. We are against mega dams; full stop”, said Saw Johnny Lay, the spokesperson for KRW and the primary event organiser.

There are three dams proposed for the Salween River - the Wei Gyi, Dagwei and Hat Gyi in a conflict zone.

Villagers are concerned that these dams will repeat the mistakes of previous dam construction projects; people being forcibly removed from their livelihood and homes; Karen people being the target of vicious assaults and random killings; destruction of the ecological balance of the area; and people’s traditional way of life. Many of them shared their bitter experience of the Law Pi Ta dam construction in Karenni State and ongoing issues.no-dam2
One day before the event, there was a women's forum with local villagers and a children's forum with basic education for students in the area organized to educate the villagers, with more than a hundred women and children participating in one day workshops. These activities included an update on the dam situation and encouraged participation in environmental protection.

Saw Lawplah, one of the organisers said, "We need a people-to-people advocating strategy--to expand our idea, and to make sure that environmental idea is in all our Karen hearts. Karen for Karen people."

This message of "No Dam" by the protesters loudly proclaims to all those people living along the Salween that there is a concerted effort to protect the Salween from dams. 

Source: http://www.mizzima.com/news/regional/3673-karen-idps-protest-dam-projects-on-salween-river.html

Push to build big dams undermines peace process in Karen State


The push by investors to proceed with large dams in Karen State areas of Burma is threatening to undermine ongoing cease-fire negotiations between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Burmese government, says Karen Rivers Watch.

The Paunglaung Dam project under construction about 50 km from Naypyitaw, the capital of Burma. Photo: KNGY
The Paunglaung Dam project under construction about 50 km from Naypyitaw, the capital of Burma. Photo: KNGY
The increased presence of Burmese troops around dam sites and “blatant disregard for concerns of impacted communities are heightening tensions, and throwing into doubt the government’s sincerity in conducting cease-fire talks,” according to a statement issued on Wednesday. Karen Rivers Watch is a coalition of community-based organizations working to promote sustainable river development.

Two months after an initial cease-fire agreement between the KNU and the government, military tensions have risen around the planned Hatgyi Dam site on the Salween River in Karen State, located 48 kilometres from the Thai border. Unusually large amounts of supplies sent in to Burmese army camps securing the dam site, and the planned deployment of a new battalion in the area, prompted the local KNU commander to reinforce troops around the Burmese bases since last month, the statement said.

Since 2009, the KNU has called for a halt to the dam project until there is a viable peace in Burma, but under pressure from China’s Sinohydro Corporation and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, the KNU agreed in December 2011 to allow further surveys for the dam.

However, they did not give approval for increased Burmese troops, the statement said. Cease-fire talks have so far failed to establish agreements regarding troop movements on both sides.

“At this fragile stage of the cease-fire process, pushing ahead with the Hatgyi Dam will reignite conflict and derail the talks,” said Saw Paul of Karen Rivers Watch. “Investors are sabotaging the hopes of Karen people for lasting peace.”

Growing local resentment against dam-builders is putting increased pressure on KNU to take protective action, irrespective of ongoing cease-fire talks, the statement said.

In February 2012, KNU troops arrested and fined workers of the Chinese-backed “Myanmar Nature Energy Wave,” demanding they stop building the Dah Thway Kyauk Dam, which will flood five Karen villages near Dawei in southern Burma.

Similar resentment is building against the Italian Thai Development Plc (ITD) for pushing ahead with the Taninthayi (Tenasserim) Dam, which will export power to Thailand, and the Ka Loat Hta Dam, which will store water for the Dawei Special Economic Zone.

Local KNU units sought to block ITD’s operations in 2011, but have since been pressured to allow them to continue survey work.

“The Burmese government should show its sincerity by halting all mega-development projects in ethnic areas until there is genuine peace and political reform which guarantees the rights of impacted communities,” Saw Paul said.

Source: http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/6758-push-to-build-big-dams-undermines-peace-process-in-karen-state.html

Friday, March 16, 2012

Recluses and reforms in Southeast Asia

When referring to mainland Southeast Asian states such as Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, journalists and scholars have often made claims about a state’s comparable reclusiveness. For example, we often hear that such-and-such a state or regime is ‘the most reclusive’ or ‘the most closed’.
Can these really be useful or valid statements?
Making claims about comparative political space may not be so easy, especially nowadays when change is occurring so obviously and rapidly, and free communication (not to mention economic integration) is a reality in most parts of the region.
In Myanmar and Vietnam change is apparently (I say ‘apparently’ to acknowledge the important arguments of Bertil Lintner) afoot. New Mandalahas provided extensive coverage of the rapid changes and increasing openness occurring in Myanmar, while for Vietnam-watchers, there has been comparatively more political change occurring there than many have noticed. This is not to say that the government in Hanoi is becoming transparent and open, but more that there has been gravitation towards reform, and thus, a change in political opportunities for citizens.
In Cambodia, too, there has gradually been an increase in political space for citizens. The government of Hun Sen is even somewhat open to being criticised in the print media, though, of course, this does not mean the government is unable to prevent criticism. For instance, the editor of one paper, Samleng Yuvachun, contentiously began working for the Cambodian People’s Party after criticising the party in the lead up to the 2008 elections. Media such as this clipof Doung Kea, an aggrieved sufferer of forced relocation in Phnom Penh, are also able to surface readily.
Even with heavy censorship, we are often able to ascertain an opposing view. I am sure we could find out if there were any consequences for Doung Kea’s vehement outrage. The ability to do so indicates that there is an openness which belies the need for labeling an entire state closed or reclusive.
*********
Not even Laos, perhaps now the most likely candidate for the ‘most closed/reclusive state’ tagline these days is exempt from Internet engendered reform. Though there have been some market-oriented reforms, perhaps, as per usual, occurring in line with those across the border in Vietnam, the Lao government in 2012 remains ‘closed off’. Nonetheless, its longstanding veil of secrecy is also beginning to fray.
A recent leak of the proceedings from the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights conference held at the ministerial meeting in Siem Reap earlier this year makes for intriguing reading. The commentary from Laos (and other states) in the proceedings is perhaps not all that revelatory to those habitually peering at these matters, but it is interesting to see the official Lao position on human rights revealed explicitly in the media:
Commenting on the duties and responsibilities of the Asean member States, Laos said the “realization of universal human rights” must be in the context of “regional and national particularities” such as political, economic, social, cultural, historical and religious backgrounds. Laos’ position is contrary to the more expansive wording drafted by the Asean Secretariat that “…it is the duty of member states, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms.”Laos is also proposing the inclusion of a “national security” and “public morality” trigger to override claims to universal human rights and freedoms, perhaps fearful of an erosion of national security and moral principles. “The exclusive insistence on rights can result in conflict, division, and endless dispute and can lead to lawlessness and chaos,” Laos said.
Another recent report from the international non-government organisation International Rivers reveals that, with Thai Banks acting as enablers, construction on the increasingly infamous Xayaburi hydropower project is continuing despite the fact that the governments of the Mekong River Commission not yet deciding whether to proceed with construction after a moratorium last year. Perhaps those in charge of making this decision have already seen the projected impact analysis before anyone else and have concluded that there would be no projected ‘conflict, division, and endless dispute’, ‘lawlessness and chaos’ leading to further human rights abuses in all four Mekong River Commission states, and have thus decided to continue with construction.


Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Thailand defies neighbors on contentious Xayaburi dam



According to an environmental green group, the government of Thailand is defying a regional decision-making process by proceeding with the implementation of a controversial USD3.8 billion hydropower dam project in northern Laos.
At a December meeting of the Mekong River Commission ministers from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam agreed to delay a decision on whether construction of the controversial Xayaburi Dam in Laos should proceed, pending further environmental impact studies. As of last month those studies had not even been funded but, according to International Rivers, the Thai Government is pushing ahead with the project.
"Recent oversight hearings by the Thai Senate and the National Human Rights Commission confirm that the government has joined Laos in concluding that the regional process is complete, thereby allowing Thai developer Ch. Karnchang to proceed with construction," the group said in a statement.
"The Thai government has ignored the agreements made last year amongst the four regional governments and the concerns expressed by Cambodia and Vietnam. With more than eight provinces in Thailand at risk from the Xayaburi Dam's transboundary impacts, the state has also disregarded its duty to protect its own people from harm.  It's irresponsible to push forward with this dam, when the project's impacts on Thailand have yet to be adequately studied," said Pianporn Deetes, Thailand campaign coordinator for International Rivers.
In a letter dated 30 January 2012, the Thai Minister of Energy Arak Cholthanon informed the Senate Committee on Corruption Investigation and Good Governance Promotion that "the Ministry of Natural Resources confirms that the Prior Consultation process has completed."
Minister Cholthanon further stated that "EGAT [the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand] and the Xayaburi project developer have signed the PPA [power purchase agreement] on 29 October 2011."
Thailand has not disclosed the power purchase agreement to the public.
On 21 February 2012, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand organized a public hearing on the Xayaburi Dam after receiving a complaint from Thai communities in eight provinces.
Several Thai government officials testified about their involvement in the project, including representatives from EGAT, the Ministry of Energy, and the Energy Regulatory Commission. Five Thai companies also testified about their involvement, including Thai project developer Ch. Karnchang and investors from Krung Thai Bank, Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn Bank, and Siam Commercial Bank.
The hearing confirmed that the four Thai banks have already provided financial support for the Xayaburi Dam.
In a resolution on 15 November 2011, the Thai Cabinet granted permission to state-owned Krung Thai Bank to invest in the project. When the Commission asked about the steps they took to examine the project's environmental and social impacts, however, the banks were not able to provide detailed information.
Although the Xayaburi Dam site is located in Laos, Thailand is building and financing the project. The Thai government plans to purchase 95 percent of the electricity, although an independent study has already concluded that the Xayaburi Dam's electricity is not needed to meet Thailand's demand for energy in the coming decades.

Source: http://www.cleanbiz.asia/story/thailand-defies-neighbors-contentious-xayaburi-dam

Mekong river power plants "catastrophic" to fish



WASHINGTON: Plans to build hydropower plants along Southeast Asia's longest river could have devastating effects on the world's largest inland fishery and should be reconsidered, scientists said on Monday.

Plenty of attention has focused on plans to develop dams along the main stem of the 4,600-kilometre Mekong River which passes through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

But the international study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined the impact of building dams on dozens of the smaller branches, known as tributaries.

Since the area is home to many species of migratory fish, the analysis found that several dam projects could block fish from swimming upstream and cause massive losses to diversity and fish supply.

This could have devastating effects on the tens of millions of rural, poor residents in the region who depend on subsistence fishing for their main source of food, said scientists from Cambodia's Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute and Stanford and Princeton University.

More than one million tons of freshwater fish are caught each year in the Cambodian and Vietnamese floodplains, and the entire Mekong River Basin is home to 65 million people, about two-thirds of whom rely on fishing to survive.

"We find that the completion of 78 dams on tributaries, which have not previously been subject to strategic analysis, would have catastrophic impacts on fish productivity and biodiversity," said the study.

"Our results argue for reassessment of several dams planned, and call for a new regional agreement on tributary development of the Mekong River Basin."

Specifically, four planned dams were found to create the largest fish biomass losses, including the Lower Se San 2 in Cambodia (9.3% drop in fish biomass basin-wide), Se Kong 3d (2.3%), Se Kong 3u (0.9%), and Se Kong 4 (0.75%) in Laos.

Those projects were among 27 dams focused on by the team because they have construction planned between 2015 and 2030 and their future remains up in the air.

In all, the researchers identified 877 fish species in the Mekong River Basin, 103 of which would be potentially blocked from making their upstream migrations by hydropower development.

Tributary dams fall under national laws and do not require international agreement, even though building these dams could have "potentially significant transboundary impacts" on fish in other countries' waters, said the study.

- AFP/wk



Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1187196/1/.html

Friday, March 2, 2012

Cambodia Set to Regulate Fishing to Save Dolphins





An Irrawaddy dolphin swims in the river at Kampi village in Cambodia's Kratie Province. (Photo: Reuters)    

PHNOM PENH — Three Cambodia ministries on Wednesday jointly proposed regulating fishing in part of the Mekong River to protect the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin.
The head of the semi-official Commission for Mekong Dolphin Conservation said the tourism, agriculture and transportation ministries will submit a decree to Cambodia's Cabinet limiting fishing activity along a 180-km stretch of the river.
Touch Sieng Tana said the rule would not prohibit all fishing, but would ban the use of floating houses, fish cages and gill nets, the large, almost invisible nets that entangle all sorts of aquatic life.
Touch Sieng Tana said he expects the Cabinet to adopt the rules in the next few weeks.
His commission believes there are up to 180 dolphins living in Cambodia's portion of the Mekong River, but the conservation group WWF-Cambodia estimates there are only 85. While the International Union for Conservation of Nature considers the worldwide population of the dolphin—estimated at more than 7,000, concentrated in Bangladesh—to be “vulnerable,” the subgroup in Cambodia is considered critically endangered.
“Banning or significantly restricting the use of gill nets in the dolphin habitat is essential if dolphins are to survive in the Mekong River,” Gordon Congdon, freshwater conservation manager of WWF-Cambodia, said in an emailed statement. “Gill nets are a major threat to dolphins in many parts of the world and similar efforts to protect dolphins by reducing gill net use are under way around the world.”
To try to reduce the threat from fishing, Cambodia in 2007 launched a US $700,000 plan in cooperation with the World Tourism Organization to increase awareness among villagers and persuade some to abandon fishing for tourism jobs.
WWF-Cambodia has also charged that pollution from pesticides and industrial waste has been killing off the dolphin population.

By: SOPHENG CHEANG / AP WRITER Thursday, March 1, 2012
 Source: http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=23126&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+irrawaddy+%28The+Irrawaddy+news+magazine%2C+Burma%2C+Southeast+Asia%29&utm_content=Google+Reader