AUGUST - OCTOBER 2000, VOL. 8.
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Contents:
1.
CONTROVERSY DOGS
2.
ARMY WIPING OUT
POPULATION IN THE FLOOD AREA OF THE DAM PROJECT, SAY VILLAGERS. Shan Herald Agency for News,
3. WAS APPLYING FOR LOGGING CONCESSION IN THE
4.
5.
6.
IRRIGATION DAM
CAUSES DISPOSSESSION OF
7.
PAK MOOL COST
MORE THAN IT'S WORTH, The Nation -
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1. CONTROVERSY DOGS
Mainichi Daily
News,
By Richard
Humphries, Contributing Writer
In the
— Indian author Arundhati
Roy.
Harn Yawnghwe was just 13 when the soldiers came to his house. It
was
Harn and his surviving family members had to flee their homeland.
Nonetheless, he remains deeply committed to
On May 30, Harn accompanied Dr. Thaung Htun, the prodemocracy
movement’s U.N. representative, to
At a subsequent professional dinner in
The
The project dam site is at Ta Sarng, a river crossing in southern
Shan state, some 80 kilometers north from Thai border. As
Greed is paramount but regional politics and the role of
environmental activism have played some role. In the developed world, with a
few exceptions, large dam building has declined. There has been more
transparency and debate about hypothetical projects and sometimes even
ridicule (“a boondoggle visible from Mars”) has been enough to
stifle the more absurd notions. Dam builders have shifted their attention to
the developing world.
Even there, resistance has flared. Attempts in the 1980s to build
a dam at Nam Choan on
INVESTORS LONG FOR
For years potential builders and founders have eyed the
On its English Internet site, the EPDC announced that it “will
give great respect to the natural environment and regional communities and
strive to construct and operate power generation facilities in a manner that
harmonizes with the natural environment and communities”.
Boilerplate statements such as those can ring hollow. When asked
if the EPDC had spoken with him or with local communities in
A response was sought from the EPDC but it was not able to provide
a comment as of the time of the story going to print.
As for the company’s communications with the people at the dam
site, not just the EPDC but of all companies involved there seem to avoid the
locals. According to monitoring groups such as Salween Watch, the Shan Herald
Agency for News, and TERRA (Towards Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance),
a Thai environmental nongovernmental organization, some 400 to 500 Burmese
troops are along the
The main company involved is Thai, the GMS public Power Co. Ltd.
It hopes to sell the electricity to EGAT, the Electricity Generating Authority
of Thailand. GMS is part of
The logistics of such a project would be immense, as would the
cost, at least 3 billion dollars by one estimate. By no means does GMS have the
financial wherewithal to undertake the project. It is effectively bankrupt, but
no without influential friends on its board and abroad. Rumors abound of
funding interests from Japanese sources, perhaps via a third country, but they
are as yet unconfirmed.
Proponents of big dams will of course point to their benefits. It
can’t be denied that dams supply a significant amount of the world’s present
energy needs --- 20 percent by some accounts. Large dams typically generate far
more electricity than nuclear or coal-fired plants. Dams can also be used to
regulate river flow, divert that flow
elsewhere, manage water demand, and by dampening rapids they can
assist navigation.
But, like the pawn taken without sufficient forethought in a chess
match, disadvantages have proved overwhelming with the passage of time.
Frequent cost overruns detract from energy savings and sedimentation can ruin
efficiency. Worse, tens of millions of people worldwide, very often helpless
indigenous minorities, have been forced off their lands.
The
Ironically, some members of those regional communities have
managed to escape the terror by rafting down the
DISEASE THREAT
In tropical area, dams can increase the outbreak of deadly
disease.
“The fishes of the
Building the dam itself would probably add to
When Arundhati Roy made her quote on big dam, she was speaking
about the furor surrounding
Opponents of the
There may be a further incentive for companies and governments to
rethink investing
(Richard
Humphries is a free-lance journalist living in
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2. ARMY WIPING OUT POPULATION IN THE FLOOD AREA
OF THE DAM PROJECT, SAY VILLAGERS
Shan Herald Agency for News,
Villagers
in southern
The
letter, written on 10 July, that took more than a month to reach S.H.A.N, said
that since 1997, villages in
Altogether
12 tracts consisting of 175 villages, 4,018 households and 3,312 acres of
fields in Kunhing township alone are in fear of
inundation when the dam is being built, According to the list provided, they
are Hsai Mong, Wan Hpai, Wan Tong, Kenglom, Wianghpui, Hoyarn, Keng Kham, Nawng
Kham, Mong Khong, Pakuey, Takaw and Hsenmawng.
Altogether,
11 townships are reported to be in the flood area, namely, Kunhing,
Mong Hsu (Gemland), Mong Pan, Tangyan, Mong Yai and Hsenwi
on the west bank, and Kunlong, Man Hpang, Pangyang, Mong Piang and Mong Ton on the east bank.
The dam
site is in Ta Sang, north of the newly inaugurated Ta Sang Bridge, between Mong Ton and Mong Ton and Mong Pan townships. "Final studies" are being
conducted by the GMS Power, a Thai company.
///END\\\
For
further information, please contact S.H.A.N. at:
Shan
Herald Agency for News, P.O. Box. 15, Nonghoi P.O.,
50007,
e-mail:
[email protected] Website: http://www.shanland.org
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It was
learned recently that the "Red Was" had applied for logging
concession in the Ta Sang dam project area in return for the cost incurred in
road construction in eastern
Wei Hsaitang, the commander of the Wa
Special Brigade in Mong Hsat,
had, on
In his
application, Wei stated that his brigade had been spending
"considerable amount of funds" for the construction of Hsaikhao and Mongkied concrete
bridges, the rehabilitation of the Mong Hsat – Mong Yang -- Nawng Khio – Mong
Piang road and the preparation to build the Loikha – Mong Pulong
road.
He also
stated that the brigade would need to get back some of the funds in order to
use in the development of Loisarmsao (headquarters of
the southern command) and Banhoong (Wei Xuegarg's HQ) in Mong Hsat.
Accordingly,
he asked Gen Thein Sein to approve the logging of
10,000 tons of hard wood in Mong Pulong.
According
to the documents in possession of S.H.A.N., the UWSA received permission on 20
February to cut 500 tons of hard wood.
Both
the local people and the environmentalists fear destruction of the remaining
forests and more forced relocations of the people in the area.
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4.
Xinhua News Agency:
The
loan undertaken between the Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise and the Yunnan Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Co. (YMEC)
in southwest
Prior
to this, Eximbank has approved 60 million yuan (7.2 million US dollars) of loans for the project. To
be installed with 280,000 kilowatts of generating capacity, the Panglang power station will be responsible for one-third of
the electricity supplied to
A 160
million-US dollar contract was clinched by the YMEC with the
[Salween
Watch note: Panglang is more commonly spelt Paung Laung. The Paung Laung Dam is located on the
river of the same name that flows out of south-western
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5.
Introduction
The Japanese government may
become the main source of funds for the construction of a highly controversial
dam on
Development Plans for
Þ
Þ
Lahmeyer International (
Þ
The potential political,
environmental, and social consequences of building the Tasang
Dam make it extremely controversial. The
military regime also makes it impossible for populations to be affected by the
dam to be consulted. Local participation
and contribution to any stage of planning is limited to what is forced upon
them by the military, such as provision of labor and supplies.
Political Factors: The military
regime refuses to dialogue with the National League for Democracy (which won
81% of seats in parliament during general elections in 1990), and has not taken
necessary steps towards democratization.
The regime has continually failed to heed recommendations from the
international community, including
Environmental Impacts: The dam’s construction could result in a significant
change in river flow and ecological balance, leading to possible extinction of
species downstream and in the reservoir area.
It is also possible that increased salinity in the delta region would
result from a greater inflow of sea water due to the decreased intensity of the
river’s current. Fertility of the soil
in the delta region would therefore be affected. An environmental impact assessment
has yet to be done, but environmental impacts of a dam of the scale of the Tasang, with an anticipated reservoir of 530 square
kilometers (80% the size of
Social Consequences: Social impacts of the Tasang
Dam can already be seen. Even preliminary and feasibility studies required an
increased military presence at and around the proposed dam site. Examination of past development projects in
Forced Labor is routine in militarized areas, as villagers are
required to become porters, build barracks for soldiers or perform other
related tasks. There have already been
reports, for
example,
of people from four villages being forced to split rocks near the Tasang crossing of the Salween River for up to two weeks at
a time.[1] During periods of forced labor, violence by
soldiers is commonplace, often resulting in injury, sometimes death.
Forced Relocation: Forced
relocation is also already occurring in areas where feasibility studies have
begun. Compensation is insufficient if
given at all. Villages are usually
looted and torched after their residents have been forced to leave. This provides food and other goods for the
often ill-equipped soldiers as well as acts as a deterrent against villagers
returning to their homes. Since 1996, up
to 761 villages from six townships around the dam’s projected flood area have
already been subject to forced relocation, affecting up to 28,097 households.[2]
Other Human Rights Violations: Relocated areas often become free-fire zones, putting
any villager who attempts to return home at risk of being shot, with or without
questioning. Even before or during
relocation, villagers may be arbitrarily killed to “become examples” of what
happens to those who do not follow orders.
Torture often comes before the extrajudicial killing. Women are also vulnerable to rape by soldiers. Villagers’ belongings are often taken or
destroyed by soldiers. When communities
are as highly disrupted as those which are relocated, fundamental human rights
including adequate food, housing and education are essentially impossible to
fulfill. In Kun Hing
township, which is within the projected flood area, nearly 400 people have been
recorded as victims of extrajudicial killing between the years 1996 and 1998.[3]
Will
Reasons
to believe
1.
2.
The Asian Development Bank continues
to include development of the
3.
In September 1999, plans for the
4.
At present, most industrialized nations and
international organizations are limiting any assistance to
5.
6.
This past year, there have been several high
level exchanges between
Should
1.
There is insufficient transparency and
accountability in the Burmese military regime, making it impossible to
guarantee that funds from
2.
Under the Burmese military regime, there is no
mechanism by which populations affected by development plans can voice concerns
or demand compensation. It is therefore
impossible to adequately monitor the project for environmental impacts or human
rights violations.
3.
Even prior to the completion of the feasibility
study, various human rights violations have been attributed to the Ta Sang Dam
project.
4.
If construction of the Ta Sang Dam were to
commence, it is clearly foreseeable that the human rights situation, including
forced labor and forced relocation, would become even more severe.
5.
Dams of the scale of the Ta Sang are
fundamentally environmentally unsound.
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6. IRRIGATION DAM CAUSES DISPOSSESSION OF
Reported
as “Breaking Human Rights in
Date:
The
farmers in Setthwal village lost their paddy fields
because of Winphanon Dam and its canals. Winphanon Dam Project was accomplished in
Yoma3
Information Service
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7. PAK MOOL COST MORE THAN IT'S
WORTH
The Nation -
By Gráinne Ryder and Wayne
White.
EARLIER this year, the World
Commission on Dams (WCD) published its performance review of
A central question now, and
one that the WCD sidesteps: Is it even worth operating the dam for electricity
production? Or, would electricity ratepayers - not to mention the dam's
countless victims - be better off if the dam's turbines were shut down and the
gates opened so that fish could return to the
As part of the commission's
global review of dams, the study found that the 136-megawatt Pak Mool dam is barely generating 40 megawatts in the
high-demand months of April and May.
Even in the rainy season,
when water levels are very high, the dam's owner, the Electricity Generating
Authority of Thailand (EGAT), has to shut the power plant down because there
isn't enough head to drive the turbines.
Completed in 1994, the dam
cost US$233 million (Bt8.85 billion), almost twice as much as originally
estimated. Today it isn't generating enough electricity to recover its
investment costs. The dam was supposed to have a return on investment of 12 per
cent, but the actual return is closer to 4 per cent, WCD reports.
As for irrigation - EGAT
initially claimed that the dam's reservoir could irrigate up to 25,000 hectares
of farmland in the dry season - the WCD found that the dam is useless, its
"actual benefits are zero".
Meanwhile, the cost of
maintenance, mitigating damage to fisheries, and compensation awarded to people
suffering economic losses keeps going up. The WCD study found that "the total
annual income from fisheries over the long-term is worth more than the cash and
credit compensation" provided to affected households by EGAT. Efforts to
mitigate damages to fisheries haven't succeeded and, as a result, the
government is "saddled with ever-increasing claims for compensation".
Had EGAT done an honest
cost-benefit calculation, based on the dam's actual benefits and costs, the WCD
concludes "it is unlikely that the project would have been built".
The extent of the utility's
financial miscalculation is evident in the full report that was produced for
the WCD by the Bangkok-based Thai Development Research Institute. For example,
if the Pak Mool dam's dependable capacity is 16 MW,
as cited by the institute, the dam earned an average of about $7 million in the
last two years. This figure could be even lower still, depending on when the
dam generates electricity.
Assuming the dam generates $7
million annually over its 25-year life, then its present worth is only $56
million. For Pak Mool to be a viable investment, it
would have had to generate $28 million (12 per cent of $233 million) annually
in electricity sales. As it is, EGAT has lost $177 million on its investment.
Put another way, EGAT has spent roughly four times more on the Pak Mool dam than it can ever earn in electricity sales. This
cost will likely get passed on to electricity ratepayers in their electricity
bill.
If the dam is kept in
operation, EGAT will also have to pay the rising cost of maintenance and
long-term compensation for damages.
Thousands of uncompensated
families would continue to face economic hardship, even hunger and
malnutrition, having lost their daily source of food and income.
Fish migrations would stay
blocked and, with every passing year, the potential for recovering the river's
fish species and habitat would diminish.
A decision to shut down the
turbines and open the gates, on the other hand, would spare ratepayers the
dam's future operating expenses as well as the cost of unpaid compensation
provided that fisheries and fishing livelihoods are restored.
The idea isn't as radical as
some people might think. A growing number of uneconomic dams are successfully
retired each year in
Now that the WDC has exposed
Pak Mool as a money-losing and unreliable power
provider, people harmed by the dam are owed a fair chance at economic recovery.
GRÁINNE RYDER investigates
the impact of aid-financed development projects with
Wayne
White is a US-based power and
infrastructure economist.
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[1]
January 1999 report submitted to the UN
Commission on Human Rights by Special Rapporteur, Mr. Rajsoomer
Lallah.
[2]
Data from Salween Watch and the Shan Human Rights Foundation, both based in
[3]
Salween
Watch submission to the World Commission on Dams, “From Scorched Earth to
Flooded Earth: The Generals’ Dam on