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NGOs push for talks with Beijing on dam impact
Bangkok Post. 23 February 2010.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/33343/ngos-push-for-talks-with-beijing-on-dam-impact
The government has been urged to hold talks with Beijing on the impact
of Chinese dams on the upper Mekong River following recent sharp drops
in the river's water flow.
The Save the Mekong Coalition - an alliance of environmental groups
and riverside communities monitoring ecological changes in the Mekong
River - believes the unusually low level of the river is caused by
Chinese dams.
"It's time for the Thai government to look into the impact of
[Chinese] dams on downstream communities," the group said in a
statement issued yesterday.
The group said a large number of people had been affected by the
unusual river flow patterns since 1993 when Manwan, the first dam
built on the upper Mekong, began to operate.
The Chinese government has built four mega-dams on the Mekong. The
fourth - Xiaowan, which is the world's highest arch dam and the second
largest hydroelectric power station in China after the Three Gorges
Dam - was completed and began to store water last October.
Peerasak Intayos, of the Chiang Rai-based Mekong Conservation Group,
said water levels in the Mekong had dropped sharply since Saturday,
prompting tour boat operators to suspend services such as those
between Chiang Rai and Luang Prabang in Laos.
The Royal Irrigation Department yesterday reported that water levels
measured in Loei, Nong Khai and Nakhon Phanom provinces were at a
"critical low".
Pianporn Deetes, of the Southeast Asia Rivers Network, urged the
government to hold talks with Beijing on the situation.
"The Thai authorities must ask Beijing to disclose the amount of water
stored by the dams to see if the water shortage has been caused by the
dams' operations," she said.
"The government must also work with other Mekong countries to map out
measures to help riverside folk."
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