Rough waters
Cambodians fear the impact of a dam now being
built. The problem is, the dam is in Vietnam
PHNOM PENH - The impoverished fishermen and
farmers of Cambodia's wild northeast are all too
familiar with the impact of Vietnam's Yali Falls dam, 70
kilometres up the Se San River from the Cambodian
border. First, when major water releases from the dam
began in 1996, water levels downstream started
fluctuating strangely, killing fish and wildlife and
damaging riverfront farms. Then the water turned
muddy, and villagers who drank it fell sick. Then came
the flash floods, which were blamed for 32 deaths in
1999 and 2000, according to researchers.
Upwards of 50,000 villagers living near the river in
Cambodia are suffering because of the dam, according
to two joint studies conducted by environmental groups
and the Cambodian government. A study on the
Vietnam side of the border found similar problems.
So when Cambodian villagers heard that Vietnam was
planning a smaller dam on the same river, 20 kilometres
closer to Cambodia, many were outraged. "One dam
has caused enough problems," one man told a gathering
of Cambodian officials and environmental activists in
Stung Treng province in June, according to an aid
worker who attended. "I have lost my rice fields, some
of my animals, and there are less fish to catch in the
river. Do they want us all to die?"
Vietnam's announcement in June that construction had
begun surprised Cambodian officials who are still
discussing with Vietnam how to conduct an
environmental impact assessment of the new dam, the
Se San 3. "If we haven't started the EIA, why has
Vietnam started to implement the project?" asks Sin
Niny of the Cambodia National Mekong Committee,
which is handling negotiations with Vietnam.
Why? "Vietnam wants to implement the project as soon
as possible to meet our increased demand," says a
Vietnamese National Mekong Committee official, who
spoke on condition of anonymity. He says that
Cambodia had been slow in replying to Vietnam's
proposals for an EIA, and argued that in any case the
dam will lessen flooding and drought.
Indeed, Vietnamese officials are under considerable
political pressure to build quickly. Mass protests shook
Vietnam's rapidly growing Central Highlands last year,
as ethnic minorities claimed they were victims of land
theft and religious persecution. Vietnamese leaders have
blamed foreign agents for stirring unrest, but also blame
public dissatisfaction with slow development in the area.
The 720-megawatt, $273-million Se San 3 promises to
supply electricity to about 3 million people in the
Central Highlands, official Vietnamese media report.
Vietnam would like to build six dams on the Se San and
its tributaries; Cambodia has sought funding for two.
The environmental study for Yali Falls, conducted in the
early 1990s, ignored downstream effects beyond a few
kilometres of the dam site. A 1999 feasibility study on
the Se San 3 by a Swedish firm, Sweco, did not cross
into Cambodia. In late July, Vietnam ordered a study
for a Se San 4 dam, a few kilometres from the
Cambodian border.
Vietnam is well aware of the politics of dam-building, as
it is already coping with the damming of the Mekong
River upstream in China. Some see the fact that
environmental impact studies are being planned as a
sign of progress in relations between two uneasy
neighbours. Vietnam is paying for the studies, and the
two countries are planning to conduct them jointly.
But given the lessons of the Yali dam, environmentalists
expect the studies will make little difference. They are
being started too late to have an impact on the new
dam's design, says Wayne White, a natural resource
economist who has done an independent review of the
Se San 3 dam. And under its current design, the new
dam will only "push the problems downstream," White
said in an e-mail.
Sten Palmer, chief engineer of Sweco in Hanoi, said
that while the Yali dam had negative impact, the
damage has already been done. "We don't believe there
will be any impact at all in Cambodia" from the Se San
3. "There will be no changes in the water discharge."
But environmentalists are sceptical about Vietnam's
priorities. Using the second dam to lessen the impact,
as the Vietnamese official suggests, would also reduce
power output. "I don't think they're going to spend so
much money on Se San 3 just to mitigate the effects of
the Yali dam," says Gordon Paterson, a resource
consultant based in Cambodia's northeast.
By Richard Sine - The Far Eastern Economic Review - August 15, 2002.
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