Leaked report warns Cambodia's biggest dam could 'literally kill' Mekong river
Government-commissioned report says proposed site at Sambor reach is the ‘worst possible place’ for hydropower due to impact on wildlife
Tom Fawthrop in Kratie, Cambodia
Wed 16 May 2018 07.00 BST
A Chinese-backed plan to build Cambodia’s biggest dam could “literally kill” the Mekong river, according to a confidential assessment seen by the Guardian which says that the proposed site at Sambor is the “worst possible place” for hydropower.

The report, which was commissioned by the government in Phnom Penh, has been kept secret since it was submitted last year, prompting concerns that ministers are inclined to push ahead regardless of the dire impact it predicts on river dolphins and one of the world’s largest migrations of freshwater fish.

The proposed hydropower plant would require a 33km-wide concrete barrier across the river at Sambor, Kratie province. This quiet rural district is best known as a place for watching Irrawaddy dolphins, whose critically low numbers have just shown their first increase in 20 years.

To examine the environmental impact of the dam and the 82km-long reservoir that would form behind it, the Cambodian government commissioned the National Heritage Institute, a US-based research and consultancy firm, to undertake a three-year study in 2014.

But it has refused to make public the results of the Sambor Hydropower Dam Alternatives Assessment, despite numerous appeals from civil society organisations. A copy has now been leaked to the Guardian.

In its key findings the report notes: “The impact on fisheries would be devastating as it would block fish migration from the Tonle Sap (Cambodia’s Great Lake), a vital tributary to the Mekong and the spawning grounds upstream.”

Full article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... kong-river

Thanks for this.

Too many humans.

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Too many brown envelopes have already been passed.

A Chinese-backed plan to build Cambodia’s biggest dam could “literally kill” the Mekong river, according to a confidential assessment seen by the Guardian which says that the proposed site at Sambor is the “worst possible place” for hydropower.

I remember the same types of dire predictions made about the Yangtze river when China was construction the 3 rivers dam near Chongqing. Seems everything turned out fine and Chongqing is booming because of that dam. In fact, they broke off from Sichuan and formed their own little province.

AmericanSteve wrote: ↑Thu May 17, 2018 9:03 am

A Chinese-backed plan to build Cambodia’s biggest dam could “literally kill” the Mekong river, according to a confidential assessment seen by the Guardian which says that the proposed site at Sambor is the “worst possible place” for hydropower.

I remember the same types of dire predictions made about the Yangtze river when China was construction the 3 rivers dam near Chongqing. Seems everything turned out fine and Chongqing is booming because of that dam. In fact, they broke off from Sichuan and formed their own little province.

Those ''dire predictions '' did not end just because the sun set,,, and everything may be fine for now, but will everything be fine in 100 years time, after the big earthquake .

Barang chgout wrote: ↑Thu May 17, 2018 7:28 am Too many humans.

Nah, the world could support 20 billion or more

Too much greed and bad management

Those ''dire predictions '' did not end just because the sun set,,, and everything may be fine for now, but will everything be fine in 100 years time, after the big earthquake .

Its mitigated risk, 100 years of it or something like that. Don't worry, they did a calculation, got an expectation value and it all works out.

I remember one dire prediction: that the Chinese just put a bulls-eye on 1/3 of their power production.

AmericanSteve wrote: ↑Thu May 17, 2018 9:03 am

A Chinese-backed plan to build Cambodia’s biggest dam could “literally kill” the Mekong river, according to a confidential assessment seen by the Guardian which says that the proposed site at Sambor is the “worst possible place” for hydropower.

I remember the same types of dire predictions made about the Yangtze river when China was construction the 3 rivers dam near Chongqing. Seems everything turned out fine and Chongqing is booming because of that dam. In fact, they broke off from Sichuan and formed their own little province.

Depends on what you mean by 'fine'.

Three Gorges Dam Utopian Vision More Like An Ecological Catastrophe
By: David Russell Schilling | May 16th, 2013
Yangtze River Has Been Crippled

According to a Chinese proverb, “flowing water is not stagnant.” Unfortunately, the once mighty Yangtze River is now stagnant in key areas making it, in many places, a mud-clogged mess. What took the natural world literally millions of years to create, in the span of a couple decades, has been permanently altered like the feet of a “foot bound” Chinese wife.

According to the Washington Post, a Chinese State Council admits the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) has led to major environmental and social problems. Geological, human and ecological catastrophes and negative impacts on downstream river transport and water supplies are just a few of those problems. The Chinese who originally opposed the project are now more vociferous than ever in their condemnation of the mammoth project.

http://www.industrytap.com/three-gorges ... rophe/5117

that genius wrote:

Barang chgout wrote: ↑Thu May 17, 2018 7:28 am Too many humans.

Nah, the world could support 20 billion or more

Too much greed and bad management

Exactly!
Human nature not accounted for ergo, too many humans.

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