WWF urges delay in Mekong River dams
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The World Wide Fund for Nature has said it supports a 10-year delay in the approval of all dams in the lower Mekong mainstream to ensure a comprehensive understanding of possible impacts from their construction and operation.
Such a deferral has recently been suggested by environmental agencies in some of the countries situated along the river.
In a statement released yesterday by its Vietnam office, the WWF warned that investors in the proposed Xayabury dam in Laos and the 11 others proposed along the river need to absorb the lessons of Thailand's Mun River dam.
The dam, constructed in the early 1990s, was a notable economic failure and the cause of massive environmental and social disruption, the WWF has been quoted in the media as saying.
Dr Suphasuk Pradubsuk, National Policy Coordinator at WWF-Thailand, said: “The lessons of Thailand’s Mun River dam are still fresh: Hasty environmental and social impact studies can lead to a lose-lose situation for both fishermen and dam owners.”
At a conference held of the Vietnam National River Committee last month, experts and authorities called on Laos to halt its plan to build the Xayabury dam since this could seriously affect Vietnam’s aquaculture and ecosystem.
The dam, to be built by a Thai company, is designed to be 820 meters long and 32.6 meter high. If built as planned, the 1,285 MW dam will be put into operation in 2019.
