SALWEEN DAM PROPOSALS GENERATE ALARM

UNCLAS CHIANG MAI 000051 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM SENV PREF PREL TH BM SUBJECT: SALWEEN DAM PROPOSALS GENERATE ALARM REF: BANGKOK 00113 Summary: The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT)'s December contract with the Government of Burma to conduct a feasibility study for a dam on the Salween River in Burma brought into focus the whole issue of constructing dams on this 2,800-kilometer river. The environmental impact of the dams in both Thailand and Burma and the likelihood of human rights violations are major concerns. End Summary. The last undammed river in Southeast Asia, the Salween River flows from its headwaters in the UNESCO World Heritage-designated "Three Parallel Rivers Region" in China south through Burma, with one 156-kilometer section forming the Thai-Burma border near Mae Sariang in Thailand's Mae Hong Son province. Thailand's participation in damming the river is not new; the Royal Thai Government (RTG) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Burma in 1997 to build the Ta Sang dam in Burma's Shan State. If completed according to schedule in 2010, Thailand's MDX Company-constructed Ta Sang dam will be the largest in Southeast Asia. Thailand has plans with Burma for five Salween dam projects. During a March 3 conference organized by the Southeast Asia Rivers Network (SEARIN) in the border town of Mae Hong Son, participants expressed strong concern about the human rights impact of damming the Salween, saying the Ta Sang project sets a bad precedent. According to a representative from environmental NGO Salween Watch, the Burmese Army has already forced thousands of Shan out of their homes, even before construction of the actual dam has begun. Notorious for using forced labor, the Burmese Army's incursions into territories inhabited by ethnic minorities to clear them out of dam sites has produced widespread violations of human rights, according to NGO workers. Thai officials are also worried about human rights issues. Mae Hong Son Mayor Suthep Nutsrueng told conference participants that the influx of refugees from projects already underway is overloading the border province's limited arable land. According to a report by the Karenni Development Research Group, the Wei Gyi dam project alone will flood 1000 square kilometers of land, affecting over 30,000 villagers. Suthep also predicted flood problems, saying more dams would have to be built inside Mae Hong Son province to control water release from the larger Burmese dams. Opponents to damming the Salween railed at the conference against the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT)'s plans to build a new dam at Hat Gyi, located in the Karen State of Burma across from the Mae Sariang district of Thailand's Mae Hong Son province (Reftel). Thai media have also reported on these issues and criticized EGAT's refusal to answer Parliamentary questions about the December 2005 MOA. EGAT Environmental Division Vice President Rewat Suwanakitti defended the plans by saying that imports from the Burma dams are critical to Thailand's energy security. None of the proposals for dams inside Burma includes an environmental impact assessment, said Dr. Chavalit Vidthayanon, Head of Marine and Freshwater Unit of the World Wildlife Fund International's Thailand Program. The high elevation and deep gorges of the Salween make the ecosystem in the region particularly fragile, he said, and, once damaged, almost impossible to restore. The potential impacts on biodiversity from dam construction include a decreased river flow while dams first fill up as well as changes to seasonal flow patterns afterwards, stressing aquatic life downstream. The river's diverse fish and turtle fauna will be endangered by disruption of migratory patterns and habitat destruction. National Environmental Committee geologist Dr. Prinya Nutalai joined in the calls for an environmental assessment, adding the fact that the dams are to be built on two active fault lines. Comment: Although the first MOA on damming the Salween was signed in 1997, so far not a single dam has been built. Meanwhile, resistance to the proposed dam projects is building among not just NGO activists but government officials as well. The Ta Sang project provides a cautionary example for Salween dams, showing that even pre-build site preparation can lead to environmental damage and human rights violations. CAMP