1. First
Phase Of Salween Dam Survey
Completed
BurmaNews - BC: April 28, 1999 (based on reports from
S.H.A.N., SARN and DTS)
2. Plans to build the Salween
Dam at Ta Sang in Southern Shan State
South-East Asia Rivers Network, March 8, 1999
3. JICA
Interview Relating to the Kok-Ing-Nan Water Diversion
Project
Mekong Watch, Japan, Wednesday, May
12, 1999
4. Minutes
of Meeting with JICA on Kok-Ing-Nan
5. International Committee on
Dams, Rivers and People
WCD UPDATE
No. 2, May 1999
6. First
round of Salween Dam survey completed
S.H.A.N., April 28, 1999
7. Northern
Thai Hill People's Demonstrate for Rights to Citizenship,
and use of Traditional Lands and Resources
“Jong” [email protected]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. First Phase Of
Salween Dam Survey Completed
BurmaNews - BC: April 28, 1999 (based on reports from
S.H.A.N., SARN and DTS)
Power shortages a long way yet from
solution
CHIANG MAI -- Companies interested in
building a dam on the Salween River in southern Shan
State have completed the first round of their field studies, according to a
Shan Herald source recently returned from Shan State.
The site being surveyed is a gorge to
the north of Ta Sang Bridge, which links the roads between Mong
Pan and Mong Ton townships, 90 miles north of the
Thai border. The surveying began in October last year and ended on March 31
this year.
The survey team representing Thai,
Japanese and Burmese companies has now moved out of the area. The companies involved include Thailand's
MDX Power Co., the main Thai contractor, Japan's Electric Power Development
Corporation, and a Burmese company, Aye Chan Aye. There were several security alerts halting
activities during the survey, owing to the presence of the Shan States Army's
727th Brigade in the region.
A Southeast Asia Rivers Network
(SARN) report issued recently estimated that construction time for the dam at
this site or another possible location south of Ta Sang would be upwards of
five years. The potential generating
capacity is said to be anywhere from 2,500 to 4,000 megawatts.
Burma has chronic power shortages due
to a number of factors including rapidly expanding consumption and low water
levels at the country's largest hydro electric generating station. Official figures estimate current electricity
consumption at 750 megawatts while the maximum generating capacity is only 680
megawatts per day in the central power grid.
The Law-pi-ta
power plant has an installed capacity of 196 MW, but has been providing only 70
MW due to water shortages brought on by drought conditions and forest
devastation in the Inle Lake catchment
basin in southwestern Shan state.
In the latter part of 1998, Chinese
corporations signed loans and contracts to provide the hardware needed for
three new generating stations. The Paunglaung project in Pyinmana
township is the nearest to completion with work moving ahead on the second
penstock. Yunnan Machinery Equipment Corporation
(YMEC) inked a $US 160,000,000 contract with the state power company last
October to install generators and other equipment needed for this project. When completed, it is slated to produce 280
MW daily for the national power grid.
Dam and power station construction
projects at Thaphanseik in Sagaing
Division and Mone Creek in Magwe
Division are still at least three years away from the generation stage.
**********************************************************************
2. Plans to build the Salween Dam at Ta Sang in Southern Shan State
A translation of a report issued by
the South-East Asia River Network on March 8, 1999 (Note: In
translation from Thai to English, some details may have become unclear.)
Size and Type of Dam
The Ta Sang dam project is currently
in the pre-feasibility study stage.
According to preliminary studies, the
dam will be built on the Salween River in the
southern part of Shan State in Burma, near to Ta Sang, which lies 370 km east
of Taunggyi, and about 130 km from the BP-1
Thai-Burma border crossing.
This project will be located
somewhere between 12 km north of the Ta Sang ferry crossing and 5 km south of
the ferry crossing. This area is mountainous and the river is narrow, passing
through steep sided gorges.
The river bed consists of layers of
sandstone and siltstone, suitable for construction of either a concrete faced
rock-fill dam (CRF dam), a roller compacted concrete dam (RCC dam), a gravity
dam, or an arch-gravity dam.
The type of dam built will depend on
the land on either side of the site. The electric power generator will be at
the base of the dam.
The latest results of the survey show
that the full supply level (FSL) will be between 320-370 metres
above sea-level. At each site there can be an installed electricity production
capacity of between 1,500-5,000 megawatts. The sites have been chosen because
of their access to roads from BP-1 and the fact that they can send 500kV AC to
join the Burmese grid and 500 kV DC to Thailand.
This project will involve building
another dam downriver to control the water that is released from the turbines
16 hours a day, 6 days a week.
One cost of the project may involve
having to move the bridge at Ta Sang up to Kunhing on
Highway 4.
From the survey, the two most
interesting plans are to build an RCC and electric power generator at site 840,
6 kilometres north of Ta Sang, and at site 725, 2 kilometres south of Ta Sang. However, there is still not
sufficient geological data to make a final decision.
One plan is to build a CFR at site 840, with an underground generator (this kind of dam is very
common in Japan.) The site and type of dam will depend on the geological survey
and drilling during the feasibility study.
Level of water
The water level has been chosen at
350 meters above sea-level. The higher the level, the more
possibility for attracting investment. However, the engineering survey,
the social and environmental impact assessments and the amount of water will
all be factors affecting the chosen level.
The size of the generators
The assessment shows that the lowest
energy generation may be between 2,500 to 4,000 megawatts. A quarter of the
electricity produced will be sent to Burma. The rest will be sent to Thailand.
If there are 6 turbines, each would
produce 550 megawatts. (6x 550 = 3,300 megawatts.)
The cost and duration of the project
The CFR project at site 840 will cost
3,397 million US dollars, and take about 6 years. The RCC dam at site 840 will
cost about 3,076 million US$ and at site 725 will cost 3,316 million US$, and
will take about 5 years.
The details about the respective dams
can be summarised as follows:
Project at Project at Project at
site
840 at site 840 at site 725
Type of dam CFR dam
RCC dam RCC dam
Site in relation to Ta Sang 6 km north 6 km
north 2 km South
of Ta
Sang of Ta Sang of Ta ang
Size of catchment
area 207,000 km2
Average flow rate 2,583 cm3/sec
Full Supply Level 350 m above sea level
Max. reservoir
surface area 660 km2
Reservoir highest storage volume 36,100 km3
Highest live storage volume 14,200 km3
Max. height
of dam 188 m
193 m 190 m
Dam crest length 768 m 783 m 955 m
Rate of water flow into turbines 430.5
cm3/sec
Head of turbines 142 m 145 m 147 m
Installed capacity (in
megawatts) 3,327 3,399 3,434
including all 6
turbines
Electricity to be produced 16,076 Gw 16,136 Gw 16,307 Gw
(in gigawatts / hour) per year
at upper dam
Electricity produced 6,930 Gw 7,923 Gw 8,001 Gw
per year at
lower dam
(gigawatts/hr)
Total electricity produced 23,005 Gw 24,059 Gw 24,308 Gw
per year (Gw/hr)
Cost in US Dollars $3,397,000,000
$3,075,000,000 $3,316,000,000
Length of time to build 6 years 5
years 5 years
Note: The Electricity Generating
Authority of Thailand has been contacting academics in Thailand to conduct an
EIA for the project.
**********************************************************************
3. JICA Interview Relating to the Kok-Ing-Nan Water Diversion Project
From Mekong Watch, Japan
Sent Wednesday, May 12, 1999 128 AM
Subject: Kok-Ing-Nan JICA study
Dear friends,
We had an informal meeting with a
JICA staff in Tokyo who is responsible for the Kok-Ing-Nan
water diversion feasibility study which will be completed in coming September.
The following is a summary of his comments. Any feedback and additional
information would be appreciated.
Satoru Matsumoto,
Mekong Watch,
Tokyo, Japan
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DATE:
13 April 1999
Venue: JICA, Tokyo
Participants:
From JICA---
Mr.Masaru Nakamoto (Second Development Study Division, Social
Development Study Department), and Yasuhiro Yamaguchi (Joint Cooperation
Promotion Division, Planning Department)
From NGO's---
Hiroshi Kanda (IACOD, Mekong Watch),
Sayoko Iinuma (Independent observer in northern
Thailand)
Q. Present stage of a study project
Based on an initial proposal for the Kok-Ing-Nan (KIN) project from the government of Thailand
(GOT) in 1996, JICA sent a study team in December of that year. JICA and GOT discussed
the Scope of Work for a feasibility study which was divided into two phases.
The current study belongs to Phase 2, which may finalise
September 1999.
In principle, an implementing agency
is GOT while the Government of Japan (GOJ) is not in the position to promote
any projects.
Q. Process after this study project
It is expected that JICA write up a
draft final report in August this year and finalise
it by September. Then, they organise a technical
transfer workshop among the relevant government agencies. The final report
includes a feasibility study for engineering design but it covers only a part of EIA as a
feasibility level. The rest of EIA will be complemented by GOT. Although the
project area is very large, the study duration was short. Probably JICA's part of EIA will give some recommendations for a
further EIA. The process until a final approval of the KIN project may have two
ways.
For engineering design>
Consultant (contracted with GOT)
---> NESDB ---> Cabinet
For EIA
Consultant ---> NEB---> OEPP
---> RID ---> NESDB ---> Cabinet
It is recognised
by the National Committee that in the case of KIN, GOT should assure its
financial sources from outside the country, but JICA could not be involved in
National Committee. Therefore, JICA will
not be able to influence the final decision.
It seems very difficult to begin
construction by 2000 because of a difficulty of donors.
Q. Information disclosure and public
participation
This study project implies a
difficulty of PR or information disclosure.
If they disclose any information at the early stage, it brings about a confusion. It happened in this case. Even though a plan
was uncertain, GOT publicised the information. Since
such information would lead to an issue of compensation or speculation, I
wonder if we should disclose information at such a stage.
This is the first large scale study
project for JICA to take in public participation. But even a consultant in
charge of it does not understand it well. They organised
public workshops six times at three places by each. GOT was responsible for
them, but they also did not know how they should manage them well.
It is important to share information
among central, provincial and
district governments before disclosing for the public. Unless the
governments at the
different levels have same information, the public will be confused. In order
to avoid such misunderstanding among the governmental agencies, JICA support to organise technical seminar to share the outcomes of this
study
in Bangkok,
which will be a closed meeting only for the officials.
They plan to publish the final report
in English, and the summary both in Thai and Japanese.
Q. Study on current water use
The Operation and Maintenance
division of RID has conducted a study on current water use, especially upstream
and downstream of the Sirikit Dam. Data they use is
not newly collected one. The study is not a field-based research but rather a
desk analysis of present data concerning water use.
Q Impacts of economic crisis
The project considers an impact of
economic downturn. Since a current financial crisis push GOT back to a vision
towards an agriculture country, this economic turmoil seems to be following for
RID.
Q Water crisis in the northern
Thailand
I realise
that since the KIN divert water from 'the poor' to 'the rich', it is indispensable to obtain an
agreement from the people along Kok and Ing rivers. Because those areas have faced flood during the
rainy season and drought in the dry season, it is designed so that water will
be diverted only during the rainy season, August - October. However, an actual
operation will be decided through a discussion with the affected people.
It is important to estimate how much
water demands are expected to be. They
consider some different cases of water demands for this study.
Q. Unregistered ethnic groups which
might be affected by the KIN project
It is not the stage for the project
team to specify affected people. But the study team understands an issue relating
to ethnic groups in mountainous areas who have no legal status for land
registration. I would like to ask GO's about the
potential problems of this project when they promote tunnel type cannel to
mitigate environmental negative impacts.
Q. Impacts on the mainstream of
Mekong River
The study identified that 1-3% would
be reduced based on an estimation using the volume of diverted water.
Q Information disclosure of JICA
documents
The official document marked 'JR' can
be disclosed at any JICA offices including Bangkok.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Mekong Watch, Japan
5F, Maruko-Bldg, 1-20-6, Higashi-ueno, Taito-ku,
Tokyo 110-8605, Japan
Tel +81-3-3832-5034 Fax+81-3-5818-0520
*****************************************************************************
4. Minutes
of Meeting with JICA on Kok-Ing-Nan
From: Mihoko
Uramoto, Mekong Watch, Japan
Sent: Monday, March 8, 1999
===========Minutes
of Meeting with JICA on Kok-Ing-Nan ===========
Time:
1:30-3:00pm, Feb. 23,1999
Participants:
JICA:Mr.Nakamoto (Second Development Study
Division, Social Development Study Department), Mr.Matsushima
(Deputy Director, do)
NGO: Decharut (Kasetsart University), Tomoyo Saito (JACSES), Mihoko Uramoto (Mekong Watch, Japan)
JICA: =JICA's remarks,
NGO: =NGO's remarks
1. Process of the project
JICA: The process so far is as follows:
1995
request from the Thai Government
1996.3 contact mission (for S/W)
1997
mission by consultants
Phase I---baseline study (by the Thai Government, the study is almost completed
in Mar. 1997, some part of the study is still being implemented)
Phase
II---F/S (by JICA , the report will be prepared in
Sep. 1999)
JICA: Mekong River Commission (MRC) has already
approved the plan.
2. Outline
of the project
JICA: The purposes are:
1.) to divert the surplus water from Kok river and Ing River to Sirikit Dam so as to solve water shortage problem in Chao Phraya Basin and
2.) to control flood.
NGO: Why you can judge that the water in the Kok is surplus?
JICA: Because serious flood is caused in the Kok and Ing during the rainy
season. The basins of the Kok and Ing
will be usually flooded
surplus in the wet season according to a simulation study, even
taking account of the future development plan.
NGO: But the watershed of Kok
and Ing and that of Nan have close relationship. So
when the Kok and Ing cause
flood the Nan also have enough water, and the Kok and
Ing have a little water the Nan suffer from water
shortage. Do you know about it?
JICA: That
kind of study will be done in the Phase II.
NGO: How much 'surplus' water will be diverted?
JICA: 2
billion m3 in average and 2.8 billion m3 at the maximum.
3. EIA and
participation
JICA: EIA
will be conducted by the Thai Government after the completion of the F/S, and
JICA will only assist them by providing data, etc..
JICA: The
F/S by JICA includes the social impacts study, under which interviews to the
people in one or a few village(s) will be conducted so as to grasp what are the
problems in general.
JICA: The
workshops will be held in Bangkok and Chiengrai in
the end of Mar. 1999.
JICA: The
Thai Government has already studied about the alternatives and they selected
K-I-N, so JICA does not conduct the alternative study.
NGO: I would like you to remember the terrible
case of Puk Mun Dam.
4. Others
JICA: JICA
has no plan to be involved in the diversion project from the Salween to Bhumibol Dam.
NGO: Who will decide the water volume to be
diverted?
JICA: Royal
Irrigation Department (RID) will be in charge of operation so they do.
NGO: Will the final report be open after the
completion?
JICA: It is
also RID's decision whether the report will be made
open or not.
NGO: We can learn a lot from other similar large
diversion project. For example, there is a large-scale diversion system in
Colorado, and I have heard that it has many problems.
ends
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mekong
Watch, Japan
5F,
Maruko-Bldg, 1-20-6, Higashi-ueno, Taito-ku,
Tokyo
110-8605, Japan
Tel :
+81-3-3832-5034 Fax:+81-3-5818-0520
*****************************************************************************
May 1999
The ICDRP WCD Update is intended to
inform civil society groups about the work of the World Commission on Dams.
This update is written from the perspective of the International Committee on
Dams, Rivers and People, which is composed of NGOs,
people's movements and indigenous groups in the Americas, Europe, South Asia
and South Africa. This is not an official WCD publication.
WCD WORK PROGRAMME
The Work Programme
has been approved by the commissioners and is available on the WCD web site at
www.dams.org. The main elements of the programme are
the 7-11 "Focal Dam/River Basin Studies", the 17 "Thematic Reviews"
and the "Cross-Check Survey" of 150+ large dams.
FOCAL DAM/RIVER BASIN STUDIES
According to the Work Programme, the purpose of the focal dam/river basin studies
is to "review, assess and illustrate the past performance and development
effectiveness of a number of large dams, and to extract lessons learned."
Each study will include an "intensive study" of a single large dam
while a number of other "non-focal dams" in the basin "will be
examined for important interactive and cumulative effects." The studies
will highlight both where there is agreement among "stakeholders" on
issues relevant to the dam/basin, and where there is disagreement.
Government permission has been
obtained and preliminary work has begun on the following dam/basin studies. Press
releases on each of these cases are available on www.dams.org. (The names are
listed of WCD secretariat staff responsible for each study).
Grand Coulee Dam, Columbia River, USA
(Jamie Skinner, [email protected]; Sanjeev Khagram,
[email protected])
Tucuruí Dam, Amazon/Tocantins River, Brazil
(Elizabeth Monosowski,
[email protected]; Sanjeev Khagram,
Pak Mun
Dam, Mekong/Mun River, Thailand
(S. Parasuraman,
[email protected]; Bert Oud, [email protected])
Kariba Dam, Zambezi
River, Zambia/Zimbabwe
(Madiodio Niasse, [email protected]; Elizabeth Monosowski,
Tarbela Dam, Indus
River, Pakistan
(Jeremy Bird, [email protected]; Madiodio Niasse,
[email protected])
Raudalsvatn Dam, Glomma-Laagen basin, Norway
(Larry Haas, [email protected]; Jeremy
Bird, [email protected])
(the press
release on this study is expected to be posted mid-May)
The process for each study is:
1) WCD identifies "study
team" of consultants/experts from country in which dam is located
2) team
prepares "scoping paper" which is circulated to stakeholders (eg: affected people,
utilities, NGOs, irrigators etc.)
3) Scoping paper is discussed at
"scoping meeting" with WCD staff, study team and stakeholders
4) study
team writes report based on data from available documentation,
site visits,
interviews with stakeholders, and stakeholder submissions
5) draft
report is circulated
6) second
consultative meeting is held with stakeholders to discuss draft report
7) final
report is prepared
The process from scoping meeting to
final report is envisaged to take six months. The scoping meetings are to take
place in May and June (contact relevant staff for more details).
Studies of the Danjiangkou
Dam, Hanjiang/Yangtze River, China and Panchet Hill Dam, Damodar/Ganges
River, India have been put on hold because of problems obtaining government
permission. The fate of proposed case
studies in Turkey and Russia is uncertain because of WCD funding shortages. In
these cases where the WCD is unable to do detailed studies of specific dams,
they may attempt overviews of the experiences with dams in the relevant
countries.
A study of the Gariep
and Van der Kloof dams
(both are operated in conjunction with one another) on the Orange River in
South Africa was started in November 1998. The Orange study has been used as a
"pilot" for testing and refining the focal dam/basin study
methodology, but will also produce substantive results. The draft final report
is supposed to be ready in May after which the second consultative meeting will
take place. WCD staff contact is Jamie Skinner [email protected].
THEMATIC REVIEWS
The 17 Thematic Reviews are listed
below. Secretariat staff are currently finalizing the
scoping papers and terms of reference for each of the studies. The scoping
papers will be posted on www.dams.org.
The secretariat is contracting
individuals and teams of consultants/experts to carry out the studies and
others to act as unpaid peer reviewers of the final drafts. Depending on the
time and resources available, the WCD may establish task forces to analyze
further the most complex and controversial issues.
First drafts of the reviews are
expected between July and September 1999. Final versions are expected to be
completed by December/January 2000 after incorporating comments from peer
reviewers and other relevant comments and information, including from the case
studies.
Please contact Patrick McCully - [email protected] - if you have suggestions for
people who may be interested in helping do a peer review of the thematic
reviews, either as part of the "official" WCD process or for the
ICDRP.
List of WCD Thematic Reviews (and
secretariat staff lead coordinators)
I.
Social Issues
I.1 Social Impact of Large Dams: Equity
and Distributional Issues
(Madiodio Niasse)
I.2 Dams, Indigenous Peoples and
Ethnic Minorities (S. Parasuraman)
I.3 Displacement,
Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Reparation and Development (S. Parasuraman)
II. Environmental Issues
II.1 Dams, Ecosystem Functions and
Environmental Restoration (Jamie
Skinner)
II.2 Dams and Global Change (Jamie
Skinner)
III. Economic and Financial Issues
III.1 Economic, Financial and Distributional
Analysis (Sanjeev Khagram)
III.2 International Trends in
Project Financing (Larry Haas)
IV. Options Assessment
IV.1 Electricity Supply and
Demand Management Options (Larry Haas)
IV.2 Assessment of
Irrigation Options (Jeremy Bird)
IV.3 Assessment of Water
Supply Options (Jeremy Bird)
IV.4 Assessment of Flood
Control and Management Options (Jeremy Bird)
IV.5 Operation, Monitoring
and Decommissioning of Dams (Sanjeev Khagram)
V.
Institutional Processes
V.1 Planning Approaches (Sanjeev Khagram)
V.2 Environmental and Social
Assessment for Large Dams (Elizabeth
Monosowski)
V.3 River Basins - Institutional
Frameworks and Management Options (Jamie Skinner)
V.4 Regulation, Compliance
and Implementation (Elizabeth Monosowski)
V.5 Consultation and
Participatory Decision Making (Madiodio
Niasse)
CROSS-CHECK SURVEY
The "cross-check survey"
will include desk studies of mainly quantitative indicators (eg projected and actual power production, area irrigated,
people displaced) of around 150 projects. The dams will be selected to
represent a diversity of different purposes, ages, functions, ownership
structures, and regional locations. The cross-check survey "will have
fewer parameters, and thus provide less in-depth analysis and illustration than
the focal dam/basin case studies."
The draft list of 150 dams should be
available shortly. It will include the focal dams and around 50 non-focal dams
from the basin studies. Completed dams on which submissions have been received
but are not covered by the basin studies may be included in the cross-check
survey.
WCD FORUM
A "WCD Forum" has been
established to provide a mechanism for the WCD to consult with different
stakeholders and interest groups (the WCD describes the Forum as a
"sounding board . . . for maintaining a dialogue between the WCD and the
respective constituencies of the Forum members). The Forum is comprised of most
of the members of the old "Reference Group" which oversaw the
establishment of the commission together with a number of new members.
The first WCD Forum meeting was held
in Prague, March 25-26, immediately before the fourth meeting of the
commissioners. A list of the institutions, NGOs, companies etc. which attended
is given below. Forum members in general voiced their support for the WCD
concept and process, but reserved judgement on
whether or not they would give their approval of the Commission's final report.
Two of the main issues emphasized at
the meeting were 1) the importance of the WCD process being participative and
transparent, and 2) the importance of WCD highlighting the issues of human
rights and indigenous rights, including the issue of whether affected
communities should have the final say on whether projects should be built, and
how this principle could be realised in practice. An
important point stressed by WCD staff was that their studies would not try to
reach false consensus on issues but would try to clearly show where different
sides agreed and disagreed.
Rather surprisingly the issue of
community consent for projects was first raised by Jean-Etienne Klimpt of Hydro-Quebec who announced the company's new
policy that they will not build or even begin studies for new projects until
they have the consent of affected communities. M. Klimpt
said that H-Q recognized that their policy would likely mean they would not
build any more dams in the near future and that any future demand increases
would be met by building gas plants.
The main concern raised by hydro
industry representatives at the conference were that the WCD should not ignore
the problems caused by non-dam energy sources and in particular the supposed
role of hydropower in mitigating global warming.
Forum members were strongly
encouraged by WCD staff to get involved in implementation of the workplan by making submissions and reviewing thematic
papers. A second meeting of the Forum is planned for early 2000.
Organizations Represented at the WCD
Forum Meeting
1. Multilateral Agencies
FAO, Food and Agriculture Organisation, Rome
UNDP, United Nations Development Programme,
New York
UNEP, United Nations Environment Programme,
Nairobi
WB, World Bank, Washington
2. Affected Peoples' Groups
CODESEN, Coordination for the Senegal River Basin, Senegal
Federación de Indígenas
del Estado Bolívar/COICA, Venezuela
MAB, Movimento dos Atingidos
por Barragens, Brazil
NBA, Narmada Bachao Andolan, India
3. International Associations
ICID, International Commission for Irrigation & Drainage
ICOLD, International Commission on Large Dams, South Africa
4. Bilateral Agencies
NORAD, Norwegian Agency for International Co-operation, Norway
SIDA, Swedish International Development Agency, Sweden
5. NGOs
Berne Declaration, Switzerland
ENDA, Environmental Development Action, Senegal
Help the Volga River, Russia
IRN, International Rivers Network, United States
ITDG, Intermediate Technology Development Group, UK
IUCN, The World Conservation Union, Switzerland
Sobrevivencia-Friends of the Earth, Paraguay
WWF, World Wide Fund for Nature, Switzerland
6. Government Agencies
United States Bureau of Reclamation, United States
LHWP, Lesotho Highlands Water Project, Lesotho
Ministry of Mahaweli Development, Sri Lanka
7. Utilities
Electrobras, Brazil
Hydro-Quebec, Canada
8. Research Institutes/Resource Persons
ISPH, Institute of Hydroelectric Studies and Design, Romania
WRI, World Resources Institute, United States
Water Research Institute, Israel
Winrock International, Nepal
Focus on the Global South, Thailand
9. Private Sector Firms
Harza Engineering Firm, United States
Siemens, Germany
10. River Basin Authorities
Confederacion Hydrografica
del Ebro, Spain
Mekong River Commission, Cambodia
Volta River Authority, Ghana
11. Export Credit Guarantee Agencies
Overseas Economic Co-operation Fund, Japan
U.S. Export/Import Bank, USA
REGIONAL CONSULTATIONS (PUBLIC
HEARINGS)
The WCD has recently sent out a Call
for Submissions in English, Spanish and Portuguese for a "Regional
Consultation" on "Large Dams and Their Alternatives in Latin America:
Experiences and Lessons Learned" (available on www.dams.org). The public
consultation (previously referred to as a "public hearing") will be
held in Sao Paulo on August 12-13, 1999, immediately before the fifth meeting
of Commissioners.
A regional consultation/hearing for
South Asia was held in Sri Lanka in December 1998. Another is planned for
Africa and the Middle East in late 1999. If funding permits another may be held
in South-East or East Asia in early 2000.
Some NGOs have been exploring holding
their own regional hearings to which WCD commissioners and staff would be
invited and the results given as submissions to the WCD. Such a hearing of the
experiences of dam-affected people may be held in Southern Africa around
October 1999 (contact Liane Greef,
Environmental Monitoring Group - [email protected]). NGOs in Europe are also
interested in holding a hearing (contact Juraj Zamkovsky, FoE Slovakia - [email protected]).
SUBMISSIONS FROM NGOS
Submissions from NGOs, people's
movements, concerned academics etc. on issues related to the WCD's Work Programme will be an
essential part of ensuring that the WCD lives up to its potential.
1) General submissions related to the
Work Programme
"Guidelines for
Submissions" have been posted on www.dams.org (currently only in English;
it will soon be added in Spanish and French). The Guidelines appeal for the
submissions to be brief and focused on the areas covered by the Work Programme with a recommended length of 5-10 single spaced
pages. Background material, including photographs and videos, can be sent as
attachments/annexes. Submissions should be in English if possible, and if not
should be accompanied by a 2-page abstract in English.
The Guidelines for Submissions
includes a summary form which should be completed for each submission. The form
allows people making submissions to indicate which parts of the Work Programme the submission is most relevant for (eg particular basin studies or thematic reviews) and should
ensure that the submissions are circulated to the relevant staff.
The titles of all the submissions
received are posted on the WCD web site. The full text of most of the
presentations made at the South Asia hearing/consultation has also been posted
- as will presumably be the presentations made at the other
hearings/consultations. The web site says that the WCD will "endeavour to supply" photocopies of submissions to
those who request them (requests to [email protected]).
Because of the very short time left
for the WCD to carry out its research and write its final report and
recommendations, submissions should be sent within the next six months or
sooner to have the most impact. Submissions may be written specifically for the
WCD, or existing documents can be submitted together with the "summary form"
from the WCD web site.
Anyone can make submissions -
affected communities, environmental networks, concerned academic experts etc.
The submissions may be concerned with individual projects, regional or national
overviews of past and current experience with dam building and/or water and
land management, or relevant national or international policies and their
implementation.
The WCD should hear both the actual
record of dam-building in the past (including the impacts/results of dam
projects and the politics of decision-making) and suggestions for how water and
energy planning should be carried out in future (including examples of good
planning practices which are already being implemented). The most effective
submissions will likely be those which describe the history of one or more dams
or alternatives AND which suggest policy/political changes which could ensure
that past problems are not repeated and/or that damage caused (including damage
to communities and ecosystems) can be compensated or repaired.
The issue of
participation/consultation and transparency in the planning process for dams
and alternatives is a key issue for the WCD. Submissions which show the
problems caused by ignoring the opinions of affected people, and which suggest
how affected people should be given a meaningful role in the decision-making
process will be very useful. Also useful will be examples of legislation and
policies which ensure affected people are involved in decision-making and cases
where affected people have been listened to and where this has either stopped
destructive projects being built and/or led to better alternatives being
implemented.
It is important to note that the WCD
will not make recommendations on whether or how specific dams should be built
or removed, or on compensation for environmental damage or human rights abuses
from individual projects. However the WCD is mandated to make general
recommendations on how reparations should be provided to past dam victims and
how damaged ecosystems should be restored. Project-specific claims for
reparations and restoration will thus be useful to inform the general
recommendations on these issues. Suggestions on policies and practices which
would help provide justice for past dam victims and restore ecosystems would
similarly be very useful.
It will be very useful for the ICDRP
if we can follow who is interested in doing submissions on which issues so
please let us know (contact:
[email protected]).
1a) Submissions related to the
Thematic Reviews
As the thematic reviews cover such a
wide range of issues all submissions should probably be relevant to at least
one of the reviews. People making submissions on the thematic reviews should
read the scoping papers for the relevant reviews.
The thematic reviews will be the main
area of the Work Programme in which planned and
on-going projects are analysed.
1b) Submissions related specifically
to the Focal Dam/River Basin Studies
Before making submissions on any of
these studies it would be worthwhile checking with the relevant staff member on
whether/how the issue you are interested in is being dealt with by the
consultants working on the study.
1c) Submissions related to the
Cross-Check Survey
Submissions can be made on the record
of individual dams in the review once the final list has been made available.
Submissions may propose dams to be added to the list but whether or not these
are accepted will depend on maintaining an acceptably representative balance of
dams of different purposes, ages, sizes, regions etc.
2) Submissions associated with
Regional Consultations
The Call for Submissions for the Sao
Paulo consultation asks for people who are interested in presenting papers at
the consultation to send in two-page summaries of their presentations by June
15. Those selected to make presentations will be informed by June 30. The WCD
will pay travel and accommodation costs for presenters who need financial
assistance. For more information on making presentations for the Sao Paulo
consultation contact Selma Barros of the Brazilian
Movement of Dam-Affected People (MAB) - [email protected].
General submissions and those for
regional consultations can be sent via email to [email protected] or faxed or
mailed to
Secretary General
World Commission on Dams
PO BOX 16002 Vlaeberg
Cape Town 8018
South Africa
Fax: +27 21 426 4036
NGO ACTIVITIES
As a result of the WCD Secretariat
being based in Cape Town, South Africa, a local environmental NGO, the Environmental Monitoring Group, was contacted and asked
to monitor the progress of the WCD. Liane Greeff of EMG has taken on this role, and holds regular
meetings with Achim Steiner, the Secretary-General of
the WCD and with the rest of the Secretariat Staff. The purpose of these
meetings are to raise issues of concern, to obtain updated information, and to
explore opportunities for NGOs to provide input into the process as well as
make the submissions process as effective as possible. Her contact details are:
Liane Greeff,
Environmental Monitoring Group,
PO Box 18977,
Wynberg,
South Africa, 7824
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +27 21 761 0549
Fax: +27 21 762 2238.
A South Asia office for the ICDRP has
been established in Delhi. For more information and to get on the mailing list
for copies of the "South Asia Update on Dams, Rivers and People",
contact Himanshu Thakkar -
[email protected]. The recently formed Pakistan Network for Rivers, Dams
and Peoples (PNDRP) have recently produced a report on
the proposed Diamer (Basha)
Dam on the Indus. For more information contact Naeem Iqbal - [email protected].
A meeting of European anti-dam and
pro-river activists took place in Bielsko-Biela,
Poland in April. The meeting also included representatives from groups working in
S. America, S.E. Asia and S. Africa who gave their experience of how Northern
companies and finance can affect dam-building in their countries. Among the
results of the meeting are proposals to write reports on a) campaigns against
dams in Europe and b) European companies working on dams overseas. These
reports could feed into a Europe-wide campaign against dam-building companies,
particularly ABB and would also be submitted to the WCD. For more information
on the Bielsko-Biela meeting, contact Sally Naylor at
[email protected]. For more information on the reports, contact Nicholas Hildyard - [email protected].
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information on the ICDRP and
for copies of WCD Update No. 1, please contact Susanne Wong at [email protected].
Please send Susanne details of any other organisations/individuals
who should be on our mailing list for WCD Updates.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Susanne Wong
Campaigns Assistant
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94703
Tel: 1.510.848.1155 ext 316 email: [email protected]
Fax: 1.510.848.1008 web: www.irn.org
**************************************************************************
6. First round of Salween
Dam survey completed
April 28, 1999
The companies carrying out a survey
to build a dam on the Salween River in southern Shan
State completed their first round of field studies at the end of March,
according to a S.H.A.N. source that recently returned
from Shan State.
The site being surveyed is a gorge
about 6 km north of Ta Sarng Bridge, which links the
roads between Mong Pan and Mong
Ton townships, 90 miles north of the Thai border. The surveying began on
October 19 last year, and ended on March 31 this year.
The surveyors, including Thai,
Japanese and Burmese companies, have now moved out of the area. The rock
samples from the dam site were sent to the Thai border at Nong
Ook, northern Chiang Mai province, in a convoy of
Burma Army trucks on April 8. It is not known where the samples will be sent to
for testing.
The Thai companies involved include
MDX Power Co., the main Thai contractor, as well as AAM, which carried out the
general survey, and GMT, which drilled and collected samples of the rocks on
both sides of the Salween. The logging company Thai Sawat was also involved in transporting personnel and
equipment.
Apart from Thai companies, Japan's
Electric Power Development Corporation, and the Burmese Company Aye Chan Aye, were also involved.
During the surveying, security was
provided by the Burma Army's No. 3 Tactical Command, comprising Battalions 65,
43 and 225. Surveying was halted several times because of security alerts,
owing to the presence of the Shan States Army's 727th Brigade in the region.
/// END \\\
Shan Herald Agency for News
For further information, please
contact 053-807 121 or e-mail <[email protected]>
**********************************************************************
7. Northern Thai Hill People's Demonstrate for
Citizenship Rights and Land and Resource Use Rights
Northern Thailand is
comprised mostly of hills and mountains and has been populated by diverse
ethnic groups who have been making living from forests and have had systems for
preserving forests for a long time. Their forest management systems classify
forests into reserved forests, watershed forestry, forests for conducting
rituals, and forests from which villagers can gather forest products, including
herbal medicines. When villagers make use of forests, they have to have proper
reasons and ask for permission from the village committee. Villagers go on
patrol in the forests for violation of outsiders, conduct rituals, and
cooperated to make firebreaks.
When the Thai government
announced National Parks, many of them fell onto the forest lands which
villagers have traditionally made living from. The 6th National Economic and
Social Development Plan defined 15% of the total land for Reserved Forests and
25% for Economic Forests, but the 7th and 8th Plans defined 25% of total
national territory for Reserved Forests and increased the National Park areas
which fell onto the lands on which villagers have lived for a long time. These
state policies have caused problem of many villagers now unable to gather
forest products, make herbal medicines, or conduct farming for subsistence.
There also have been pressures from the economic sector to relocate villagers
out of forest areas on which they had been living for a long time to Degraded
Forest areas on which they can barely make living. The Northern Farmers Network
(NFN) was organized to support villagers facing these problems.
Since April 26, 1999
villagers has gathered at Chiang Mai provincial office and been appealing the
government to take quick measures to solve the problems. The government sent
Mr. Newin Chidchob, Deputy
Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, as its representative to have meeting
with villagers and NFN. However, some important agreements of the meeting had
changes later when they were brought to the Cabinet meeting
1. Citizenship problem There are now about 800,000 highland population
who have resided in the present Thai territory for many generations and are
Thai citizen according to the principle of the citizenship law. However, the
government has so far granted citizenship to only 200,000 persons, and the rest
still are denied of basic rights that the Thai citizen can enjoy, for example
public services. The meeting among representatives of the government,
villagers, and NFN on May 9, 1999 reached an agreement that a committee comprised
of representatives of the governmental organizations in charge, NFN and the
Assembly of Ethnic Minorities, scholars, and NGOs be organized to solve the
citizenship problem within 60 days from its establishment. However, the Cabinet
meeting later decided to authorize only the Ministry of Interior to organize
the committee and denied participation from the non-governmental section who know the problem well. The Cabinet Decision further deleted
the time limit clause and make it able to put off to
solve the problem.
2. Forest problem The meeting among the representatives of the
government, villagers, and NGOs reached agreements that a committee
comprised of representatives of the government, scholars, and people facing the
problem be organized in order to revise the laws and the former Cabinet
Decision concerning the forest management within 90 days from its establishment
and that villagers can retain rights to make living from forests tentatively
before the committee make new decisions. (That means,
people will not be arrested for gathering forest products for subsistence,
before the examination of their rights is completed.) However, in the agenda
and the decision of the Cabinet meeting, there were alteration (1)
"committee" was changed to "supporting committee", (2)
deletion of time limitation clause, (3) retention of the rights only for those
who have already been granted Thai citizenship. The alteration means that (1)
absence of people's participation in the committee to examine people's rights,
(2) make room for the government to put off the resolution of the problem, and
(3) denial of security in making living without being arrested for those who
have not been granted proper citizenship yet.
end.
[Note: As of 17th May the demonstrations at the Chiang Mai Provincial
Government office continue, with thousands of Karen, Lisu,
Hmong, Akha and other
ethnic peoples participating]