With its picturesque waterfalls, tranquil waterways and a colony of the critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins, the pristine beauty of the Mekong river flowing through Siphandone (Four Thousand Islands) in southern Laos, is a magnet for tourists and an important site for international conservation.
But this unique corner of the world is threatened by a government plan to build a hydroelectric dam only a few kilometres upstream — a plan that has triggered a cascade of protests from environmental organisations and international scientists. If the dam goes ahead it will have a major impact on the Irrawaddy dolphins and another endangered species, the giant catfish. It will also severely reduce the flow to the Khone Falls, Asia's largest waterfall.
Carl Middleton, the Bangkok spokesman of International Rivers, an environmental NGO said: "This stretch of the Mekong is globally renowned for its biodiversity. Building the dam would block the massive fish migrations that help feed millions of people within the region. The stakes are huge. This is one dam that must never be built."
On the Cambodian side of the border the Mekong river is recognised internationally as a conservation site by the UN's wetland conservation body, Ramsar. There are moves to do the same on the Laos side.
In March 2006, the the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (LPDR) signed an agreement with Mega First Corporation Malaysia, to do a feasibility study to build a 240MW dam across the Mekong's Hou Sahong channel, bordering Cambodia. A Project Development Agreement was signed in 2008, but as yet no final decision has been made by the LPDR.
No construction has started on the dam yet. Tomorrow, International Rivers together with local NGO partners in Thailand and Cambodia will launch a campaign to stop the Don Sahong Dam project as part of a Save the Mekong Campaign. The launch coincides with the International Day of Action for Rivers. (the guardian's news)
No comments:
Post a Comment