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FAST TIMES

JONATHAN HOPFNER examines the upheaval that loomsover the Mekong -- and one Thai town along its banks

By JONATHAN HOPFNER    Saturday, January 10, 2004 - Page T1  The Globe and Mail:    http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040110/ MEKONGMAIN/TPTravel/TopStories Globe and Mail, Canada's largest daily newspaper. CHIANG SAEN, THAILAND -- Like the Ganges in India, the Mekong River is inexorably linked with divinity. Sustaining more than 60 million people on its 4,900-kilometre journey from its source in the glacial heights of the Tibetan Plateau to the South China Sea, it is known in Thai and Lao as "the mother of all waters," and those who live and work on the river stage elaborate ceremonies to appease the spirit that inhabits it, ensuring ample catches of fish or safety for the vessels that skim its surface. Legends concerning the Mekong, both comforting and terrifying, abound: Fire-breathing serpents are rumoured to inhabit its depths, and its water is believed by many to have healing properties. But while the Mekong does present the people who inhabit its banks with the occasional hazard, man stages a far more serious threat to the river and its fragile ecosystem. In 2001, with little public fanfare, the governments of China, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar inked an agreement to transform the upper stretches of the river into a shipping hub. Under the first phase of the initiative, which is already under way, more than 20 rapids, reefs and islets will be destroyed to open the route from China's Yunnan province to Luang Prabang, Laos, for cargo ships of up to 150 tonnes. If the project is completed, 51 more reefs will be dynamited so ships of up to 500 tonnes can make the same journey. China is shouldering the entire cost of the project, an estimated $5.3-million (all amounts in U.S. dollars). Villagers on the banks of the Mekong already complain of diminished fish stocks -- the rapids served as important breeding grounds -- and land degradation if the river ascends to dangerous heights. But the greatest impacts of the project may yet be seen in Chiang Saen, a sleepy, historic town once the hub of the Lanna Kingdom. The town, which attracts travellers looking to venture off the Thai tourist trail or connect with boat trips to Laos and China, is undergoing a transformation. Officials recently constructed a state-of-the-art port to accommodate the burgeoning numbers of ships that arrive daily. Large vessels emblazoned with angular Chinese characters now crowd the port and landings leading to Chiang Saen. A riverfront promenade, once a place for old men to rest and young lovers to meet, has been swallowed up by a bustling market, home to vendors hawking Chinese toys and electronics and serving up rice-and-noodle dishes to the sailors and labourers -- many recent immigrants from Myanmar or Thailand's impoverished northeast. Trucks, belching exhaust, barrel down Chiang Saen's formerly tranquil streets, lining up at the port to ferry shipments to Bangkok. Despite all the changes, traces of Chiang Saen's days at the helm of a kingdom remain. Intact sections of the red-brick city walls poke from clumps of vegetation and local archeologists continue to unearth ancient Buddhist images and temple remains from an ever-expanding number of construction sites. Many of their discoveries are housed in Chiang Saen's cavernous museum, which contains some of the finest examples of Lanna religious iconography in the country. Its collection includes burnished Buddha statues, cylindrical offering containers, stone temple guardians and delicate ivory shrines. Time and neglect have rendered many of the temple ruins in Chiang Saen little more than piles of rubble, but there are exceptions. At Wat Pa Sak, located in a grassy compound near the city gate, for example, newer buildings surround a largely intact 14th-century stupa, its thick base wrapped in votive silk banners and ascending to a graceful point that juts skyward. As the gateway to the infamous Golden Triangle, where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar converge, Chiang Saen is also renowned for the less spiritual aspects of its history. The trade in opium and heroin once dominated the economy of the area, though tourism has long since replaced narcotics as its main income earner. Its illicit heritage is celebrated, however, at the House of Opium and Opium Exhibition Hall, which display poppy-harvesting tools and elaborate opium pipes that drug farmers and users employed in centuries past. Now, with the river development, some locals are concerned Chiang Saen's historical heritage is under threat. "This is an ancient city, but there are plans to build warehouses over several important archeological sites," says Boonrat Wirai, a soft-spoken, elderly man who heads a citizens group. "The increased traffic is bringing the problem of dust and noise pollution, and with the population increasing, waste and sewage disposal are under strain." Wirai is not the only person voicing concerns. In fact, the future of the entire Mekong River development project now seems to be in some doubt. Officials from Cambodia and Vietnam, worried about the effects the project could have on countries downstream, have registered their concerns with the Mekong River Commission, a Phnom Penh-based organization that works with the region's governments on social and environmental issues affecting the river. In April last year, Joern Kristensen, the MRC's chief executive, announced that Chinese officials had pledged in talks with the MRC to halt the project after the completion of the first phase, which is expected this year. But environmental groups have greeted the news with caution, noting that much of the damage that will result from the initiative has already been done. And many officials remain strongly in favour of the project, which they believe will provide Thailand, Laos and Cambodia with better access to China's billion-strong market. "The environmental impacts of the project will be minimal as we'll only destroy a few rapids," says an official from Thailand's Harbour Department, which is working with Chinese teams on the blasting of the river. "We need to continue with this for the good of the country and the increased prosperity that will result from expanded trade with China."

Under the guises of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) development program, multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are funding a host of hydroelectric power projects on the Mekong and its tributaries that they hope will culminate in a regional power grid. With the ADB already having pumped about $700-million into GMS-related projects and the governments of the region squarely behind the effort, the river is certain to undergo a transformation in the coming years.

After centuries as a key source of food and fresh water, the Mekong will soon be providing for the people of the region in an entirely different fashion. The next few years could be the last in which the river's spirit lies undisturbed, its waters flowing free.


 
 

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