Xayaburi opposition escalates in Thailand

Criticism of the controversial Xayaburi hydro dam project in northern Laos is mounting in Thailand – the country set to enjoy most of the electricity if the project is completed.

Representatives from 130 Thai civil-society organisations yesterday published a statement backing a report that outlines an alternative power plan to the 1,260-megawatt dam project on the Mekong River.

The Power Development Plan 2012, produced by Thai energy experts Chuenchom Sangasri Greacen and Dr Chris Greacen, was presented to the Thai government last week.

According to a statement by International Rivers, the report states that power from the Xayaburi dam is not needed to meet Thailand’s energy needs and calls for investment in renewable energy and other alternatives, which could reduce electricity bills by “12 per cent” by 2030.

“Thailand’s energy planning process is in a state of crisis. Persistent over-forecasting of energy demand has led to over-investment and onerous economic burdens on consumers,” Ms Greacen is quoted in the International Rivers statement. \

“This new power plan identifies barriers and offers realistic energy solutions, which will bring social, economic and environmental benefits to Thailand.”

Thai development firm Ch.­Karnchang announced on April 17 it had begun construction work on the dam on March 15.

This announcement came despite Mekong River Commission member states Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam agreeing in December that a study of the dam’s potential harm to the Mekong River and its communities must be carried out first.

Source: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012050155887/National-news/xayaburi-opposition-escalates-in-thailand.html

Downstream Mekong residents rally against Xayaburi Dam

Residents from eight provinces along the Mekong River gathered yesterday outside the headquarters of the construction firm Ch Karnchang and Siam Commercial Bank to protest against the companies' role in the construction of the Xayaburi Dam in Laos.

The 810metres long and 32m high dam would be located in mainstream Mekong about 150 kilometres downstream of Luang Prabang, and be capable of producing 1,260MW of electricity. It will also include a 49squarekilometre reservoir storing 225 million cubic metres of water.

Conservationists say that this dam would have a negative impact on the environment and adversely affect people's livelihoods, notable those living downstream of the river. They said the fishing industry would be badly affect as the migration of fish would be blocked and many fresh water species endangered.

After a meeting with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in Siem Reap last December, leaders of lower Mekong countries, namely Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, decided to halt the dam's construction and seek more studies on its environment and social impact.

However, Thai construction firm Ch Karnchang told the Stock Exchange of Thailand last week that it had signed a Bt 51.8billion construction contract with Xayaburi Power, a company that has obtained a concession from the Laos government.

Yesterday, civic groups and conservationists from provinces along the Mekong gathered to demand that Ch Karnchang halt its construction until the MRC completes its study.

The protesters came from Chiang Rai, Loei, Nong Khai, Beung Kan, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan and Ubon Ratchathani.

They also demanded that Siam Commercial, Krung Thai, Kasikorn and Bangkok Bank stop financing the project, and called on the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to scrap its purchasing contract with the Xayaburi project. It also wants the SET to scrutinise the deal.

The protestors said they would hold a protest against the Xayaburi project again next month in Phuket, where the MRC is scheduled to meet to discuss the management of the river. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will preside over the conference, which will include executives of rivermanagement bodies from around the world as well as experts.

The conservationists said that after holding the protest in Phuket, they would lodge a petition with the Administrative Court to demand that the project be scrapped because it would affect Thai people living along the Mekong.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Downstream-Mekong-residents-rally-against-Xayaburi-30180635.html

Mekong plans anger riverside communities

Villagers protest against Xayaburi dam in capital 

Villagers from along the Mekong River have rallied in front of giant construction firm Ch Karnchang, demanding it immediately suspend building the Xayaburi dam on the waterway.

Protesters from eight provinces along the MekongRiver rally in front of Ch Karnchang’s Din Daeng headquarters yesterday,demanding the Xayaburidam projectbesuspended. THITIWANNAMONTHA

The protest was held in front of the company's headquarters in Bangkok yesterday, coinciding with the company's shareholders meeting.

Last week CK informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand that it had signed a contract with Xayaburi Power Co to build the 51.8 billion baht dam in Laos and to purchase 1.28 gigawatts of power from the dam.

The construction commenced on March 15 and is due to be completed in eight years, according to the company's report.

Dozens of villagers and representatives from the Living River Siam organisation, which campaigns for local communities' rights to their water resources, accused CK of defying the Mekong River Commission's resolution last December that the dam needed further study over its environmental impact.

Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia are on the commission.
"We are calling for Ch Karnchang to immediately suspend the Xayaburi construction until the commission's study is completed," the protesters said in a statement.

They also claimed that the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) had signed a power purchase agreement with the Xayaburi developer even though the project has not been officially endorsed.
"We are preparing to file the petition against Egat with the Central Administrative Court soon. A petition has also been held carried out for the planned lawsuit," said protest leader Pianporn Deetes.

The demonstrators came from Chiang Rai, Loei, Nong Khai, Bung Kan, Nakhon Phanom, Amnat Charoen, Ubon Ratchathani and Mukdahan. They wore black T-shirts with the phrase "No Dam on Mekong River" written on them and carried effigies of Mekong fish species which they said would be affected by the dam.
The group also marched to the headquarters of Siam Commercial Bank, which they said is among four Thai banks providing loans to the project. The other banks involved in lending are Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank and Kasikornbank.

They called on the banks to terminate loan agreements for the project and urged the Stock Exchange of Thailand to look into good governance issues with the listed companies involved in the dam project.
"If Xayaburi leads to disputes between Thailand and neighbouring countries, do Ch Karnchang and the banks have the capacity to handle that?" Living River Siam director Teerapong Ponum asked.
CK chief executive Plew Trivisvavet said the 1,280 megawatt Xayaburi project is a run-of-river dam which will have a limited environmental impact.

The project has conducted public hearings and has been agreed upon by all Mekong nations including Vietnam, which was reported to have been strongly against the plan, he said.
"All concerns regarding the environment were taken into account in the project's design and environmental study," he said.

Xayaburi Power, in which CK holds a 30% stake, has already signed the power purchase agreement with Egat and loan agreements worth 85 billion baht with six banks, he added.
Three thousand residents at the construction site have already been relocated to a purpose-built community.

Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/290301/mekong-plans-anger-riverside-communities

Xayaburi Dam Building Pact Signed

Plans move ahead for Laos's controversial hydropower project on the Mekong.

Photo appears courtesy of International Rivers

A caterpillar works on the access road to the Xayaburi dam in Laos in an undated photo.

In a controversial move, a Thai company has signed a nearly $2 billion-dollar contract for the construction of a dam on the Mekong River in Laos even though governments in the region have not cleared the project.
Ch. Karnchang informed the Thai stock exchange Tuesday it had signed a 52 billion baht (U.S. $1.7 billion) contract with Xayaburi Power Co. Ltd., a Lao-Thai joint venture, to build the project, Thai media reported.
The Xayaburi hydropower dam would be on the lower part of the Mekong River, and environmental groups say it would affect the lives of millions in the region.
The latest contract says construction on the dam will begin on March 15 next year and be completed in eight years.
In December, Laos had shelved plans for the dam pending further environmental assessments, following a meeting by the Mekong River Commission (MRC),  a regional body of Southeast Asian countries that share the river.
Leaders from Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam agreed further study was needed on the sustainable management and development of the river before the Xayaburi project could continue.
Despite the delay, Lao energy officials have remained committed to the project, which costs a total of U.S. $3.8 billion, Bounthuang Phengthavongsa, director-general of the Energy and Mining Ministry said in January.
“We want to build this dam and we will try hard to do so. Our intention and our hope is that in the end we will be able to build it despite all opposition,” he told RFA.
Laos has planned 70 hydropower projects on its rivers and officials have said it hopes to become “the battery of Asia.”
It is not immediately known whether the Lao government had been officially informed by the companies that signed the contract.
Preliminary construction on the project, including work access roads and a work camp, has picked up in recent months, according International Rivers, a U.S.-based environmental NGO.
"Laos has not clarified if construction on the Xayaburi Dam will stop while the study takes place. Legally, Laos may not proceed with construction until all four governments have agreed. Practically, allowing construction would undermine the study," the group said.
A large number of workers have been employed for a two-year period to construct access roads and facilities for the project, it said.
High stakes
Critics of the Xayaburi dam, which would provide 95 percent of its electricity to Thailand, say that damming the Mekong threatens to destroy the ecology of the river, disrupt the livelihood of riparian communities, and jeopardize the food security throughout the region.
“The government should take care of the environment too, at the same time as developing the economy,” a resident in the Lao capital Vientiane said.
Mekong dams have faced stiff opposition from environment activists, who say the fate of the Xayaburi project will affect future decisions on the 11 other dams planned on the mainstream part of the Lower Mekong.
"The ecosystem is already changing, and now the dam will be built on Mekong River. The Xayaburi dam will be the first; of course it will affect the ecosystem the most,” a Thai resident who lives near the Mekong said.
“If the Xayaburi dam can be built, so will 12 others. I think that is a big concern," he said.
The Stimson Center, a U.S.-based think tank, applauded Laos’s postponement of the Xayaburi project last year, saying it was the first time a Mekong country had made a decision about a mainstream dam based on the impact beyond its borders.
The Xayaburi project is the Mekong River Commission’s “biggest test” since its establishment in 1995, the think tank said in a report in March, and warned that dams on the river could have a harmful impact on the entire region.
“The negative impacts on food security, livelihoods, water availability, and water quality have the potential to jeopardize the region’s hard-won peace and stability,” it said.
Reported by RFA's Lao service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.

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Source: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/xayaburi-04172012184714.html

ADB warns of massive climate change migration issues in Asia

Governments in Asia and the Pacific need to prepare for a large increase in climate-induced migration in the coming years, says a forthcoming report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Typhoons, cyclones, floods and drought are forcing more and more people to migrate. In the past year alone, extreme weather in Malaysia, Pakistan, the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka has caused temporary or longer term dislocation of millions. The bank said it expects this process to accelerate in coming decades as climate change leads to more extreme weather.
"No international co-operation mechanism has been set up to manage these migration flows, and protection and assistance schemes remain inadequate, poorly coordinated, and scattered," the report states. "National governments and the international community must urgently address this issue in a proactive manner."
ADB expects to issue the report, Climate Change and Migration in Asia and the Pacific, in early March as part of a broader ADB project aimed at increasing awareness of, and enhancing regional preparedness for, migration driven by changing weather patterns.
The report highlights specific risks confronting climate change "hotspots", including megacities in coastal areas of Asia. These hotspots of climate-induced migration face pressure from swelling populations as rural people seek new lives in cities. The problem is compounded by greater dislocation of people caused by flooding and tropical storms.
"Climate-induced migration will affect poor and vulnerable people more than others," said Bart W Édes, Director of ADB's Poverty Reduction, Gender, and Social Development Division. "In many places, those least capable of coping with severe weather and environmental degradation will be compelled to move with few assets to an uncertain future. Those who stay in their communities will struggle to maintain livelihoods in risk-prone settings at the mercy of nature's whims."
Édes recently sketched a four-part scenario for Asian hotspots:

• 1. Climate change will increase extreme weather events, causing injuries and loss of life, water contamination, infectious diseases, food shortages, and mental health problems associated with disaster and tragedy.
• 2. During drought and heavy rainfall, a reduction in crop yield and subsistence agriculture leads to malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies.
• 3. An increase in the number of very hot days in large cities will exacerbate urban air pollution, while forest fires and dust storms affect air quality over broad areas, both rural and urban.
• 4. Vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue are highly correlated with temperatures and rainfall patterns. Warmer temperature will increase the geographical habitat of vectors of diseases, such as mosquitoes and rodents.

On the positive side, the report says that if properly managed, climate-induced migration could actually facilitate human adaptation, creating new opportunities for dislocated populations in less vulnerable environments.
The ADB project, Policy Options to Support Climate-induced Migration, is the first international initiative that aims to generate policy and financing recommendations to address climate-induced migration in Asia and the Pacific.

Photo Credit: Ronn "Blue" Aldaman

source: http://www.cleanbiz.asia/story/adb-warns-massive-climate-change-migration-issues-asia

Top Ten Must-See Environmental Films

There are some fantastic films on the environment, but it can often be difficult to find the truly great ones. To make your life a little bit easier, here is a list of ten fantastic, eye-opening movies for any individual passionate about saving our planet.

10. Tapped, 2009

Director Stephanie Soechtig’s examination of the bottled water industry’s “effects on our health, climate change, pollution, and our reliance on oil.” The documentary debuted at last year’s Los Angeles United Film Festival and has yet to score major distribution, but fret not: Netflix is already offering a public queue in advance of a presumed-to-be forthcoming DVD release, so get in line for this one while it’s hot.
Why It’s Noteworthy
Tapped dares to challenge the moral and environmental efficacy of a habit all too many of us share: chronic bottled water consumption. The film deserves credit, especially, for never straying into the realm of moral high ground-itude, instead presenting a sober and earnest look at a lifestyle choice we all might behoove ourselves to rethink.

9. The 11th Hour, 2007

Narrated and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, The 11th Hour takes a holistic look at the deluge of environmental problems currently facing our planet. Perhaps more than others of its ilk, The 11th Hour concerns itself with offering practical solutions, if only in theory, to the environmental truths it confronts.
Why It’s Noteworthy
In many ways, The 11th Hour is nothing more than An Inconvenient Truth with less teeth and more star power (Roger Ebert called it a bore, urging people to rent Gore’s film instead). Still, it deserves credit for at least attempting to contribute something to the canon of 2000s-era enviro-docs, even if lacks the punch packed by certain of its contemporaries.

8. Fast Food Nation, 2006

“Do you want lies with that?” reads the tagline of Fast Food Nation, Richard Linklater’s feature-length adaptation of Eric Schlosser’s 2001 book of the same name. In the film, an ensemble cast rounded out by the likes of Greg Kinnear and Wilmer Valderrama explores the political, environmental, economical, and social ethics pursuant to fast food meat production.
Why It’s Noteworthy
Part drama, part black comedy, Fast Food Nation is one of the most gleefully subversive polemics out there. Don’t plan to hit up McDonald’s after seeing this one, though; Fast Food Nation is far from feel-good fare, featuring scenes from a real-life abattoir. Yum!

7. King Corn, 2007

King Corn is the tale of two best friends from college who travel to America’s heartland to plant and farm one of our nation’s most heavily subsidized crops: corn. In attempting to trace the path of their product from field to market, the two friends uncover shocking truths about the inner workings of an industry we as Americans are inextricably linked to.
Why It’s Noteworthy
Hailed by the Washington Post’s Ann Hornaday as “required viewing before entering a supermarket” and boasting a formidable 100% rating on RottenTomatoes.com, King Corn is easily one of the best-reviewed environmental docs out there. That, coupled with its slick production, likable characters and down-home presentation, make King Corn a documentary anyone can enjoy — regardless of political stripe or environmental proclivity.

6. Avatar, 2009

Ostensibly Fern Gully with guns and aliens, James Cameron’s 3-D blockbuster-to-end-all-blockbusters packs with its punch a surprisingly noble message: Don’t mess with nature, lest it mess back. In the film, paraplegic space marine Jake Sully is charged with infiltrating a race of blue, 10-foot-tall aliens in an effort to co-opt their resource-rich planet. New-found inter-species romance eventually intervenes, however, swaying hearts and minds while sparking interstellar war in the process. You know — that old chestnut.
Why It’s Noteworthy
Avatar is oft-interpreted as a parable for the United States’ seemingly insatiable thirst for oil, and frankly, it’s hard to walk away from the film with a reading to the contrary. Avatar deals heavily in the follies of ethnocentrism, too, and it’s for these reasons in aggregate that Cameron deserves credit: He’s crafted a film that’s at once technically stunning, hyper-mainstream, and appropriately didactic. I see you, James.

5. An Inconvenient Truth, 2006

Former Vice President Al Gore’s groundbreaking[ly infamous] foray into documentary filmmaking, An Inconvenient Truth boasts two Oscars and one of the highest-ever box office grosses for a film of its kind. The doc weaves Gore’s personal travails into a larger appeal to grassroots-level advocacy, urging its viewers to consider the mounting pile of evidence in support of climate change‘s existence.
Why It’s Noteworthy
To paraphrase a good friend of mine, “Screw the politics. What other movie in the past decade has spurred as much debate as An Inconvenient Truth?” And you know what? He’s right: Regardless of your disposition toward climate change, this documentary gets people talking. This reason alone justifies the film’s existence, and then some. See it.

4. Earthlings, 2005

Narrated by animal rights advocate, lifelong vegan, and Academy Award-nominee Joaquin Phoenix, Earthlings utilizes hidden-camera footage to chronicle “the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.” In a departure of form from similar documentaries, Earthlings opts not to focus solely on the animals-as-food controversy. Instead, Phoenix implores viewers to consider their reliance on animals for clothing, entertainment, experimentation, and companionship.
Why It’s Noteworthy
To the extent that animal consumption is linked to environmental concerns (read: wholly and as yet unalterably), this film makes a compelling, if pathos-heavy, argument. Moreover, Earthlings willfully denies its viewers the all-too-popular conceit that meat consumption is not an environmental issue. A strong word of caution to would-be viewers, though: Earthlings is not a film for the faint of heart.

3. Food, Inc., 2008

Robert Kenner’s Food, Inc. takes to task the notion that the modern-day food industry bears any resemblance to the bucolic, agrarian antecedent to which it professes kinship. In scene after stunning scene, the film deconstructs “the spinning of the pastoral fantasy,” positing instead a horrifyingly singular vision of for-profit conspiracy in which we’re all complicit.
Why It’s Noteworthy
The truths contained within Food, Inc. are truly hair-raising; for instance, who knew how nefarious an out-of-season piece of fruit could be made to seem? And yet this is the power of Food, Inc.: It can take the seemingly innocuous and impel you to reconsider its indispensability in your day-to-day life.

2. WALL-E, 2008

Academy Award-winner for Best Animated Feature in 2009, Pixar Studios’ WALL-E tells the story of a small waste-collecting robot who “inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.” For all its charming pretensions, though, WALL-E is more than just the Next Big Thing from the studio that brought the world Toy Story. Quite the opposite, WALL-E is a cautionary tale for the ages, foretelling what might be if mankind’s unsustainable habits are allowed to continue unabated.
Why It’s Noteworthy
Pixar’s depiction of a future in which Earth has been abandoned — rendered naught by environmental complacency — is simply astonishing. It’s in the conveyance of this bleak hypothetical that the film transcends its otherwise carefree ambitions, insisting instead that viewers consider the repercussions of an overly-consumptive lifestyle. As both a tool of education and a piece of entertainment, WALL-E is in a class of its own.

1. Koyaanisqatsi, 1982

Part documentary, part avant-garde concept piece, Godfrey Reggio’s 1982 opus is a work of visual and aural art unlike any other. The title, taken from the Hopi Indian language, means “life out of balance,” and it’s on this theme that the film dwells. With no characters, no plot and no dialogue to speak of, Koyaanisqatsi is 87 minutes of breathtaking imagery set to renowned composer Philip Glass’ now-famous score.
Why It’s Noteworthy
Koyaanisqatsi is the quintessence of filmmaking-as-art, functioning to simultaneously titillate, confound, and horrify its viewers into a consideration of the themes it treats. Of the films on this list, Koyaanisqatsi is among the least popular, but undoubtedly the most profound. It stands as both an exercise in and contention for environmental consciousness, and deserves to be seen without question or hesitation.

Source: http://www.blueplanetgreenliving.com/2010/05/21/top-ten-must-see-films/

PM's adviser seeks to build tunnel linking river, Tak dam

The Nation February 15, 2012 1:00 am

An adviser to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is trying to revive a Bt200-billion project to build an 88km tunnel linking Burma's Salween River and Bhumibol Dam in Thailand's Tak province.

"The investment will be well worth it," Uthen Chatpinyo said yesterday. During the 2011 flood crisis, Uthen chaired the water-drainage committee of the Flood Relief Operations Centre.

Uthen described the project as a solution to both flooding and water shortages.

He said water management at Tak's Bhumibol Dam should be adjusted and the reservoir's water level lowered in preparation for possible rainstorms throughout the year. The dam could then play a role as a water-retention area, he said.

Uthen said the tunnel, when built, would be able to send 3,000 cubic metres of water to the Bhumibol Dam per second.

The volume should be large enough to generate electricity, he said.

The tunnel project won the green light from the Cabinet in 2004 during the administration of Yingluck's brother Thaksin. But the project was scrapped after Thaksin lost power.

Uthen plans to present the project for Yingluck to consider on Wednesday.

"If we don't act fast, Burma and China may invest in the Salween River instead, and Thailand will lose many opportunities," he said.

Meanwhile, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday said he hoped the government would be able to answer his 10 questions about its water- and flood-management policies.

One of them was about the accuracy of the mathematical model being used to develop an early-warning system.

"The [government-appointed] Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management has said the system will be ready by January. I would like to ask about the system now," the Opposition leader said.

He was speaking at a seminar held by the Democrat Party, as Yingluck's administration planned a tour of many provinces to tackle flood problems.

Chamadon Chomchoengphaet, an executive at tempura-flour maker Gogi, said at the seminar that he had not yet fully repaired Gogi's factory in Ayutthaya because he was worried that more floods may come.

"I hope the government will improve the early-warning system," he said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/PMs-adviser-seeks-to-build-tunnel-linking-river-Ta-30175892.html