Xayaburi Dam on hold!
The Xayaburi Dam, which seriously threatens the ecological integrity of the Mekong River and the livelihoods of millions who depend upon her, has been put on hold by the Government of Laos. The Prime Minister of Laos announced this on May 7 during his meeting with the Vietnamese PM on the sidelines of the 18th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia. While there are no gurarantees about the future, the 'postponement' of Xayaburi represents an important reprieve for the river and her people.
The Lao Government's decision follows a failure to reach a consensus about Xayaburi with her fellow members of the Mekong River Commission - Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam - during a joint-review of the project. The tireless work of the Save the Mekong Campaign, an international coalition of organisations, played an important role in this outcome by raising awareness in the region and internationally about the devastating impacts of damming the Mekong.
In Australia, Manna Gum, members of the public, some prominent academics and a host of Australian development NGOs (including Oxfam, TEAR, World Vision, Plan, CARE and more) wrote to Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd asking that the Australian Government do its utmost to ensure that the review of the Xayaburi Dam (which was funded by Australian aid money) was fair and transparent. We are pleased to report that the Australian Government played a lead role in organising other international donors to the Mekong River Commission to make a strong statement about the need for good process in decision-making around the proposed Xayaburi Dam. Thank you to all those who wrote letters!
What is the future of the proposed Xayaburi Dam? That is not yet clear, but it is not yet time to rest from the work in building awareness and concern about the immense value of the Mekong River.
More on the proposed Xayaburi Dam
The Government of Laos is seeking to build the first of the proposed mainstream dams blocking the Mekong River south of the Chinese border, in the province of Xayaburi. If approved, the dam would create serious environmental damage to the river’s aquatic resources and fisheries both locally and basin-wide. Around 2,100 people would be resettled by the project, and more than 202,000 people living near the dam would suffer impacts to their livelihoods, income and food security. The changes caused by the dam to the river’s biodiversity and fisheries would be felt throughout the river basin, affecting millions of people.
A major study of the Mekong River Commission, the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), has recommended that all plans to dam the mainstream of the Mekong be suspended for ten years due to the enormous risks involved.
Nevertheless, lured by export revenue, the Lao Government is pressing ahead. But first, it is bound by international treaty (the 1995 Mekong Agreement) to review the project with the governments of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, under the guidance of the Mekong River Commission. This review process, called the Procedures of Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA) is being funded by the Australian aid program, and it is the first time this procedure has ever been used.
There were many who fears about the quality of the PNPCA process. The public consultation phase took place rapidly in January and February, with invitation only meetings in Vietnam and Cambodia, and public meetings in Thailand. There was no public consultations in Laos, where the dam is being built. Furthermore, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the critical document for understanding the impacts of the dam, were not made public until after the public consultation phase had finished.
Due to these deficiencies of process, donors to the Mekong River Commission (including the Australian Government) issued a strong statement calling for an extension of the public consultation process, release of the EIA, and consideration of the recommendations of the Strategic Environmental Assesment to postpone any decision for ten years.
On April 19, represenatives from Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam announced that they had failed to come to agreement about the Xayaburi Dam. Vietnam and Cambodia both voiced strong concerns about the project and called for more studies, with Vietnam asking for a ten year postponement of any decision on the dam. It is believed that a Ministerial level meeting of these four countries will further discuss options in October or November 2011.
Read a letter from Manna Gum, TEAR Australia, AidWatch and Mekong Monitor to Foreign Minister Rudd.
Download a Factsheet on the Xayaburi Dam prepared by International Rivers.