Laos pushes ahead with Mekong dams despite

environmental risks

Man on a boat at Don Det, Laos. Source: Robert Metz/Unsplash

By Michael Hart | 24th January 2018

AS PART of an ambitious bid to boost its hydropower output and become the
‘battery’ of Southeast Asia, the landlocked communist state of Laos now has three
dam projects underway along the vast stretches of the Mekong river that wind
through its rugged mountainous landscape.
The dams being built at Xayaburi, Don Sahong and Pak Beng will likely be joined
by others in the near future, with plans for a further six being mooted despite
years of sustained activism from concerned international NGOs, regional multi-
national bodies and local community groups.
The proponents of the dams emphasise their potential positive impacts in terms
of increased clean energy production in the region, as well as expanded electricity
access and faster economic growth within the host country, Laos.

Yet critics have sought to draw attention to the potential for negative long-term
environmental consequences such as declining fish stocks, reduced sediment
loads and the substantial threat to rice-growing downstream. These could be
compounded by negative social impacts such as the loss of traditional livelihoods
and the cultural identity of river communities.

SEE ALSO: Vietnam: Climate change, dams will drastically impact Mekong region

Boat on the Mekong River in Laos. Source: Tom Roche/Shutterstock

Whatever the eventual outcome, the current and proposed hydropower projects
along the Mekong are certain to have a lasting impact on Laos and its nearest
neighbours, by permanently altering the landscape of a region which has for
generations been defined by its famous waterway.

The new dams will add to seven already built on the Mekong’s upper reaches –
otherwise known as the Lancang river – across Laos’ northern border in China, in
addition to the Nam Theun II Dam, built in the late-2000s on a Mekong tributary
in Laos.

The dams are part of a wider infrastructure project being undertaken by Laos’
government, which aims for the isolated country to become ‘land-linked’ through
the construction of a Chinese-funded railroad, as well as becoming Southeast
Asia’s primary hydropower hub through the mass construction of dams. The three
currently under construction are set to be joined by another six in Laos, in
addition to two proposed dams in neighbouring Cambodia.

Source: International Rivers

Construction of the latest dam at Pak Beng was approved in February last year,
becoming the third project to be started by Laos on the Lower Mekong’s
mainstream channel, after other projects had got underway at Xayaburi in the
north and Don Sahong in the south.

The 1.3-gigawatt Xayaburi dam is expected to cost US$2 billion and is being
constructed by a company based in Thailand, whilst building of the US$300
million 260-megawatt Don Sahong dam is being undertaken by a Malaysian firm.

The Pak Beng dam in the northern Oudomxay province is expected to cost US$2.3
billion and is being built with Chinese support. Work is expected to be completed
by 2024, with up to 90 percent of electricity generated set to be exported to
Thailand. The remaining 10 percent will be held back to meet domestic demand.

SEE ALSO: Decades after America’s ‘secret war’, unexploded bombs still hinder
development in Laos

Advocates say the dams will help Laos fulfil its potential as a nation perfectly
placed for hydropower development, taking advantage of its mountainous terrain
and monsoon climate combined with a low population density, which limits the
need for human resettlement.
Laos is also set to benefit from sizeable revenue streams maintained through
selling the electricity to its neighbours, enabling the country to sustain its high
annual rate of economic growth which has averaged around 7 percent over the
past decade. The government says the extra income will be directed towards
alleviating poverty, helping what is one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries
climb toward middle-income status in the coming decades. The new dams will
also facilitate the construction of better roads providing access to remote areas
along the riverbank, as well as providing jobs for Laotians with the required skills.
(L-R) Thailand’s Prime Minster Prayuth Chan-ocha, Vietnam’s Prime Minister
Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun
Sen, Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and Myanmar’s Vice President Myint
Swe pose during the second Mekong-Lancang Cooperation leaders meeting, under
the theme “Our River of Peace and Sustainable Development”, in Phnom Penh,
Cambodia January 10, 2018. Source: Reuters/Samrang Pring

There may also be benefits at the regional level, as the growth of the hydropower
sector will allow states to meet a higher proportion of their electricity needs
through a renewable source of energy. Hydropower would serve as a cleaner and
cheaper alternative to fossil fuels, enabling the region to achieve a higher degree
of energy security whilst contributing to meeting its climate change targets.
Yet the construction of multiple dams on the Lower Mekong also poses serious
risks to the natural environment. These risks were outlined by the multi-national
Mekong River Commission (MRC) as far back as 2010, before any of the three
projects currently underway in Laos were given the go-ahead by the government
in Vientiane. The MRC published an in-depth Strategic Environmental Assessment
(SEA) report outlining the ecological dangers of damming the Mekong.

The SEA report concluded that the natural flow of the river would be drastically
altered and more than 50 percent of it would be turned into ‘stagnant reservoirs’,
blocking vital fish migration routes and resulting in the loss of between 26-42
percent of annual fish stocks, costing up to US$500m per year in downstream
countries. The MRC added that reduced sediment loads of up to 50 percent would
lead to lower agricultural production, hitting Vietnam’s fertile Mekong Delta rice-
growing region particularly hard. In addition, the report said biodiversity losses
would be so great that iconic and endangered species such as the giant Mekong
catfish and Irrawaddy dolphin could be driven to extinction.
An Irrawaddy dolphin swims in the Mekong River at Boloven Plateau, Champasak
Province, Laos. Source: Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay

These potential environmental impacts could be compounded by equally-

devastating social costs. The Mekong holds great economic and cultural
significance for the more than 60 million people who depend on it to sustain their
livelihoods, with many families downstream still reliant on subsistence fishing and
farming along its nutrient-rich banks.

SEE ALSO: Cash and chemicals: For Laos, Chinese banana boom a blessing and
curse

When the dams are built, traditional livelihoods are likely to be significantly
altered or even lost. Those living in the immediate vicinity of the Pak Beng dam –
around 6,700 residents located in 25 villages – will be partially compensated and
resettled by the Laotian authorities, yet the dam’s wider impacts will stretch for
thousands of kilometres and affect the livelihoods of millions in the downstream
nations of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The MRC has warned of ‘‘permanent and irreversible’’ damage to the

environment if multiple dam projects on the Lower Mekong proceed, stating that
the associated risks cannot be fully mitigated. After releasing its SEA report in
2010 the MRC called for a ten-year deferral on damming the Lower Mekong’s
main channel; yet eight years later with three dams under construction, it is clear
that the MRC has been unable to exert any form of meaningful influence.
Woman paddles a canoe in the Mekong River delta, Vietnam. Source: Guadalupe
Polito/Shutterstock

A major problem is that the MRC –an inter-governmental forum which includes
Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam – lacks any real power on the issues it is
concerned with, serving in a purely advisory rather than regulatory capacity.
Whilst the MRC does have discussion and consultation mechanisms in place, it
lacks the authority to force any one of its member states to delay or halt
construction on any given project.
Where multilateral mechanisms have failed, non-government organisations have
stepped in to try and exert pressure on Laos. International Rivers has been at the
forefront of a regionwide advocacy campaign, releasing a report in May
2017 which labelled the environmental impact assessment and mitigation
measures put in place for the Pak Beng dam as ‘‘inadequate’’, whilst concluding
that the official project documents provide only an ‘‘extremely limited picture’’ of
the dam’s ‘‘environmental and social impacts, especially the trans-boundary and
cumulative impacts of the project’’. Multiple NGOs in the downstream states have
also voiced their opposition, arguing there is a need for wider public consultations
and in-depth scientific studies to be carried out before work moves forward.
Despite facing opposition and pressure from within the region, Laos appears
determined to push ahead with its large-scale dam-building projects on the Lower
Mekong river.
SEE ALSO: Australia must tackle ‘dire’ situation in human rights talks with Laos

Rice paddies along the MeKong River in China. Source: Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay
With Laos’ first three hydropower projects on the road to completion, the efforts
of the MRC and campaign groups have proved fruitless in the face of national
economic interests, the allure of foreign investment, and market forces driven by
the burgeoning energy needs of Southeast Asia’s mainland states.

The new dams – when complete – will certainly bring much-needed revenue to
Laos, but whether this will translate into equitable development in one of the
region’s poorest states remains questionable.

At the regional level, achieving a balance between new and old economic
interests will be key. The dams will provide new opportunities in terms of
electricity production and will advance Southeast Asia’s energy security, yet these
gains may be outweighed by the depletion of traditional livelihoods and industries
– such as fishing and rice-growing – which have flourished for centuries and
served as the foundation of economic progress in the region.

If a sustainable balance is not found, the thriving ecosystem of the Lower

Mekong, along with the river’s economic and cultural significance sustained over
generations, may be damaged beyond repair.
Posted by Thavam