Laos Pushes Plan to Dam the Mekong River
Xayaburi projects threatens people and the environment in four countries
A critical river in danger
The scenic rapids, strong currents, and complex ecosystems of the mighty Mekong River in the remote province of Xayaburi in Northern Laos are the spawning grounds of rich migratory fisheries that feed millions of people in four different countries who fish, farm, and live along the entire length of the river.
The Xayaburi Dam proposed by the government of Laos is the single greatest threat currently facing the Mekong River and its people. The project would force the resettlement of 2,000 people and directly affect another 200,000 people living near the dam due to impacts on the river’s ecology and fisheries. The dam threatens forty-one fish species with extinction, including the critically endangered Mekong Giant Catfish, as well as threatening dozens of migratory species.
Scientists and regional experts agree that the dam- the first of twelve planned for the Mekong- would be disastrous for the Mekong River’s rich fisheries, and that the Environmental Impact Assessment and other studies prepared for the project are hopelessly inadequate in assessing the project’s risks and potential mitigation measures. There has been widespread public opposition to the project both regionally and internationally, including criticism of the flawed decision-making process. Vietnamese experts have concluded that Vietnam alone stands to suffer one billion dollars in annual losses due to impacts on the productive Mekong delta, should the entire series of dams be constructed.
An international process ignored
In September 2010, the Lao government submitted the Xayaburi Dam to the Mekong River Commission for a regional decision-making process, pursuant to the 1995 Mekong Agreement between Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Agreement states that intra-basin use of the mainstream Mekong River during the dry season “shall be subject to prior consultation which aims at arriving at an agreement by the Joint Committee.” The process, known as PNPCA, was supposed to be completed within six months.
On April 19, 2011, government representatives from Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia met to conclude the PNPCA. While Laos proposed to proceed with the dam, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam called for an extension to the decision-making process, citing concerns over transboundary impacts and knowledge gaps that require further study and public consultation. The four countries ultimately agreed that the decision on the Xayaburi Dam be deferred and elevated to a Ministerial level meeting to take place in late 2011.
Law firm provides expert analysis
International Rivers, the leading non-governmental organization in the world working on megadam issues, asked EDLC to obtain an expert legal analysis of the government of Laos’ compliance with both the 1995 Mekong Agreement, and international environmental and human rights law. Lawyers at the highly-regarded Perkins Coie law firm agreed to undertake such analyses.
Shortly thereafter, and despite Laos’ commitments, reports immediately emerged that construction of the dam had already commenced, in blatant violation of the agreement just made and the 1995 Mekong Agreement itself. Moreover, the government of Laos issued a statement in June 2011 proclaiming that the PNPCA process had been completed.
As to the Lao government’s unilateral action to terminate the PNPCA process without allowing its neighbor countries to conclude that process, the firm found a clear violation of the Mekong Agreement and international law. This finding was conveyed to the various governments, and to the Mekong River Commission. The firm’s extensive work on the larger analysis of whether the project itself complies with international law was recently completed, and similarly found numerous legal violations. Hopefully the government of Laos will heed these findings and the views of its neighboring countries.
A reprieve for the Mekong?
On December 8, 2011, the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam agreed to delay the Xayaburi Dam pending further study on the impacts of the proposed Mekong mainstream dams. Japan and other international donors will be asked to assist in conducting the studies. No timetable for the delay was announced.
Warnings about the Xayaburi dam have come from far and wide… Even Vietnam broke the solidarity of silence that typically precludes public criticism between the fellow communist states, running articles that sounded alarms against its neighbor's hydropower plans… The evidence behind their concerns is hard to ignore. A several-hundred-page report published last year said the proposed cascade of mainstream dams through Laos would cause a ‘fundamental break’ in the Mekong's ‘equilibrium.’
- Time magazine article of August 12, 2011