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Statement from Vietnamese non-governmental organizations to the Mekong river commission
Re: Consultation on Management and Use of Water in the Mainstream Mekong River.
Luang Prabang, Lao PDR. February 22, 2017
On the occasion of Mekong River Commission’s (MRC)
Regional Stakeholder Forum on the Procedures for Notification, Prior
Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA) for the Pak Beng hydropower project
and MRC Council Study (CS) on February 22-23, 2017 in Luang Prabang,
Vietnamese Non-Government Organizations and individuals who are
interested in sustainable water resource management in the Mekong
region, present the following public statement to MRC:
i. CS is a cross-sectoral report which is
intended to assess the social, environmental and economic impacts from
infrastructure development in the Mekong River, including hydropower
dams, irrigation, land use and navigation projects. Besides that, the CS
should also provide important guidelines for planning and using
sustainable water resource from Mekong river. However, the CS has yet to
be completed and is currently in the consultation process. The final
report of the Strategic Environmental Assessment of Hydropower on the
Mekong Mainstream (SEA) (ICEM, 2010) found that information gaps remain
on issues critical to making responsible judgements regarding the nature
and extent of potential impacts of proposed projects. In particular
“uncertainties relating to social and environmental effects remain –
with important economic and equity implications for countries and
communities in the Mekong basin as well as for sustainable development
in the Mekong basin” (ICEM, 2010). Therefore, before the Council Study
is completed and in recognition of the expected impacts from the
Xayaburi and Don Sahong dams when in operation, the Government of Lao
needs to thoroughly study and consult about Pak Beng hydropower dam
project, as well as impliment potential solutions to minimize and
mitigate the negative impacts from hydropower dams are in place.
ii. It is necessary to reconsider the way in which
impacts are assessed and the PNPCA process is applied to each hydropower
dam, because the current process does not allow the full assessment of
overall impacts, and the cumulative impacts of all hydropower projects
on the mainstream river. The SEA report has noted that the transboundary
impacts of hydropower dams on the Mekong River mainstream to
biodiversity, fisheries and people’s livelihood sources in the lower
Mekong countries, will be irreversible. Thus, for any development
projects in the mainstream Mekong river, the transboundary and
cumulative impacts must be carefully considered.
iii. The PNPCA process for both the Xayaburi and Don
Sahong hydropower dams ended despite ongoing concerns from Vietnam and
Cambodia on the project’s transboundary impacts. The MRC also closed the
consultation process without any official announcement regarding the
final decision for these two projects. These cases show that if the Pak
Beng’s Prior Consultation Process continues in the same way as previous
cases, it will not hold any meaningful and practical significance.
Therefore, MRC should reassess the PNPCA process before making any
decisions which related to the use of water resources from the Mekong
River mainstream for any hydropower development.
iv. Currently, the information on the PNPCA process for
the Pak Beng hydropower project has been announced on the MRC’s website
in English. However, we, as well as the public at large in Vietnam, are
not provided with any information about the Pak Beng PNPCA process for
this project in Vietnamese language. This demonstrates that access to
information during preparation for the consultation process at national
level is being overlooked. There is a significant need to reform and
open up communication channels in order to involve media, and the public
and ensure that especially affected communities can access the
information and have opportunities to contributions their comments and
aspirations into the consultation process at different levels.
Participating organizations listed below hope to receive
timely information and updates from relevant agencies during the
consultation process for Pak Beng hydropower project, as well as CS. We
are willing to cooperate and provide necessary support for the Vietnam
National Mekong Committee and related agencies in the PNPCA.
This public statement is presented in the Regional
Stakeholder Forum organized by MRC in Luang Prabang (Lao PDR) in 22-23
February 2017.
Participating organizations: Vietnam Rivers Network (and
member organizations: GreenID, WARECOD, CEWAREC, CSRD), LPSD, PanNature.
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