Press Statement Srepok EIA Workshop

PRESS STATEMENT

January 29, 2007

Vietnamese Authorities Meet Cambodians

Threatened By Srepok River Hydro Development

Villagers Fear For Their Future With Four Dams Already Under Construction

Earlier this month in Phnom Penh, villagers from northeast Cambodia met for the first time with representatives of Electricity of Vietnam and Vietnam's National Mekong Committee to express their concerns about Vietnamese hydro dams on the Srepok river.

“Dams may be good for your country,” said Sin Thong Lao, a resident of Lumphat town on the Cambodian side of the Srepok River, “but you forget the hardship of the people living downstream. And we are the ones who face the losses.”

At the meeting, EVN presented an environmental impact assessment of Srepok dams, which predicts major changes in water flow and reduced fish stocks that will affect an estimated 11,000 Cambodians living along the river's banks.

Four dams are under construction on the Srepok: 280 MW Buon Kuop, 86 MW Ban Tou Srah, 16 MW Dray Linh New, and 220 MW Srepok 3, according to Luong Van Dai, an EVN spokesperson.

Srepok villagers, who get 90 percent of their protein from the river's fish, expressed fear their river will under go the same drastic changes as the neighboring Sesan River, which has been heavily dammed, thus depriving thousands of villagers without adequate food or income.

The 500-kilometre Srepok River flows from Dak Lak province in Vietnam's central highlands through the Cambodian provinces of Mondolkiri, Ratanakiri, and Stung Treng, before joining the Mekong River at Stung Treng's provincial capital.

The 20 Srepok village representatives urged the dam developer, Electricity of Vietnam, to guarantee their safety and compensate them for any destruction of homes, crops, and livelihoods.

EVN's Vice President, Dr. Lam Du Son, responded by promising to “to find an agreement, to find solutions, and to address the damages.”

Luong Van Dai of EVN said the utility would invest in a re-regulating dam to reduce hazardous water fluctuations in Cambodia, but that would not be started until 2010.

The first of six dams planned on the Srepok is expected to begin operation by 2008.

The EIA lists a number of additional mitigation measures, from protection against oil and chemical spills during construction to restocking fish once migratory fish are killed off, and compensating villagers for damages in the event of accidental flood releases.

While Cambodian participants welcomed the opportunity for dialogue with EVN, many are skeptical about the commitments made by Vietnamese and Cambodian government officials given EVN's history along the neighbouring Sesan River.

Thousands of villagers affected by EVN's Yali Falls dam on Sesan are still waiting for compensation a decade later.

Kim Sangha of the 3S Rivers Protection Network, a group advocating for the rights of dam affected communities, said, “We appreciate the commitment and promises which were given by EVN during the meeting. But we want these promises to become reality.”

In the villagers' written statement, they urge EVN to stop dam construction until compensation, flood warning procedures, and benefit-sharing between the two countries is worked out.

“If the authorities really commit to supporting the people, then I hope things will get better in the future,” said Mrs. Po Sum of Pum Themy village of Ratanakiri province.

EVN's environmental impact assessment was prepared by SWECO Gr?ner, a Nordic engineering company that has studied Srepok and Sesan hydro development since 1999, funded by Norway and Sweden

The EIA was criticized as inadequate for decision making, lacking baseline data, cost-benefit evaluation, detailed mitigation measures, and a review of feasible “least-impact” alternatives, as required by international standards.

The January 12 th meeting, billed as “Stakeholder Meeting on EIA report of Hydropower Development in Vietnam on Cambodia Part of Srepok River” was attended by approximately 130 participants including Cambodian energy, environment and fisheries departments, Electricity of Vietnam, SWECO Gr?ner, Srepok community representatives, and several Cambodian NGOs.

No information about the dams' impacts on the Vietnamese part of the river basin was presented.

To download a copy of the report, Environmental Impact Assessment on the Cambodian part of the Srepok River due to hydropower development in Vietnam , and the Srepok Community Statement , please visit NGO Forum on Cambodia's website at http://www.ngoforum.org.kh /Environment/Docs/DOC2.htm