Opinion piece from Socheata Sim, Oxfam’s Mekong regional water governance program manager.

Dams need thorough assessment
27 August 2018
The collapse of a dam at the Xe Pian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower project was tragic. Immediate assessments say that 39 people died, with many others suffering injuries, and thousands were left homeless, with their means of income lost for the foreseeable future.

However, beyond these numbers, we’re yet to find out the real damage. The government of Lao PDR will investigate what led to this calamity, and we urge them to present the findings to the people of Laos.

Going a step further, the Lao government announced a review of all dams – both fully operational and those still under construction, suspending plans for new hydro-dam projects, and committing to re-examining their hydropower strategy.

We commend these decisions by the government. However, this step in the right direction lost some of its shine due to the plans to continue with the assessments for the proposed Pak Lay dam, and it leaves us worried as previously many evaluations have failed to identify the risks correctly.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/opinion/d ... assessment

MRC urged to settle dam issues
September 11, 2018
Twenty civil society organisations in Cambodia have called on the Mekong River Commission to delay a regional forum to discuss the building of the Pak Lay hydropower dam in Laos.

The collapse of Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Hydropower Dam in July prompted the group to issue a joint statement yesterday calling on the MRC to delay the forum planned for September 20 to 21.

The statement said that there are outstanding concerns that must be addressed by the MRC, such as issues regarding the Xayaburi, Don Sahong and Pak Beng hyropower dams in Laos.

The group said that the most notable concern is the collapse of the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy hydropower dam that resulted in extensive deaths and the displacement of thousands of people in Laos and Cambodia.

“This tragedy has led to further major concerns over the standards and safeguard mechanisms of hydropower projects in Laos and the accountability of developers and investors that need to be comprehensively reviewed before any further hydropower construction continues in the lower Mekong basin,” the statement said.

In response, the MRC said that discussions can be held during the forum scheduled for later this month, noting it will not delay the talks.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50532399/m ... am-issues/

Cambodian NGOs Reject Invitation to Regional Forum on Proposed Lao Dams
2018-09-13
A Cambodian coalition of NGOs dedicated to raising public awareness about the risks associated with dams on the Mekong River said Thursday that it will boycott a regional stakeholder forum for two proposed hydropower projects in Laos because its concerns were ignored by the organizing body.

The Mekong River Commission (MRC)—a regional body established by Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand to cooperate on development of the key waterway—is holding the Sept. 20-21 forum to “share information on the Pak Lay project” as well as “updates and discussions on a joint action plan for the Pak Beng hydropower project” and other topics on an agenda that “highly involves stakeholders’ interest.”

The MRC has said it will support “open and inclusive participation from stakeholders from communities, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academia, and the private sector” at the gathering in the Lao capital Vientiane.

On Thursday, the Cambodia Mekong Alliance (CMA) consisting of 52 NGOs, said it will not take part in the forum after its request to convey concerns over the potential impacts of the Pak Lay and Pak Beng dams on the Mekong River in Laos to the MRC’s representative body in Cambodia was ignored.

CMA representative Leang Bunleap told RFA’s Khmer Service that the Cambodia Mekong Commission’s failure to respond to his coalition’s request shows that the MRC only pays lip service to creating an all-inclusive consultative process on dam development.

“There was no response to our request,” he said.

“The forum will be held and the planned construction [on the Pak Lay and Pak Beng dams] will proceed anyway, so we decided not to take part in the forum.”
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambod ... 60330.html

January 18, 2019
Laos urged to conduct impact studies
Member countries of the Mekong River Commission have sent a request to the Lao government to carry out thorough impact studies prior to the construction of the Pak Lay hydropower dam in order to minimise risks in the future.

Last year, the Lao government suspended the approval of new dams after the collapse of the Se-Pian Se Nam Noi hydropower dam caused dozens of deaths and left scores missing.

Watt Botkosal, deputy secretary-general of the Cambodia National Mekong Committee, yesterday said during an MRC forum in Luang Probang, Laos, that the proposed dam is about 1,000 kilometres away from Cambodia and that the Lao government needs to conduct thorough assessments with MRC member countries before breaking ground.

“When there’s a dam being constructed there will be a cut off of fish migration, which is important for agriculture and biodiversity,” Mr Botkosal said. “Changes to the nature of the river affect social economy and livelihoods of people living along the river.”

“A dam sometimes poses a risk when it collapses because it would bring raging water downstream,” he added.

He noted that before proceeding, the Lao government and its development partners must avoid all potential disasters, such as the collapse of the dam last year.

“We have to work together and have technical and scientific mechanisms to jointly check and monitor the flow of water, the quality of water and the potential loss of fish,” Mr Botkosal said. “The construction of a dam has to be based on the principle of coordination for common interest and the reduction of vulnerabilities caused by the losses.”

Satit Phiromchai, a representative of the Thai National Mekong Committee Secretariat, yesterday said the Thai government is also concerned about the impacts of the dam on fish, agriculture and Thailand’s economy.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50570250/l ... t-studies/