Lao Dams: Near A Dam, But No Power

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2012-06-14

The reservoir of the Nam Theun 2 reservoir in a handout photo from the power company, Oct. 23, 2010.

Some of the thousands who made way for Laos’s Nam Theun 2 hydropower project have no electricity.

Villagers living near Laos’s largest hydro-electric dam and who were resettled to make room for it are languishing without a power supply of their own.

The Nam Theun 2, a 1,070-megawatt dam on a tributary of the Mekong River in Khammouane province, has been producing electricity for Laos’s power grid since March 2010.

But with over 90 percent of the dam’s electricity sold to neighboring Thailand, some of the thousands who moved to make way for the project are living nearby without power.

One man who was relocated from the Nakai Plateau to Nhommalat district said his new village, Ban Sang, lacks electricity and water supply.

“What has happened to us from the Nam Theun 2 is that we are now living near the dam but we have no electricity, no clean water,” he said, speaking to RFA on condition of anonymity.

The man is one of 6,300 villagers, according to government statistics, who were relocated since 2005 to make room for the dam, which diverts water from the Nam Theun River to the Xe Bang Fai River.

He appealed to local authorities to give the village access to water and electricity.

“The reservoir’s water level is above our heads, but we have no water to use in our daily lives,” he said.

He added that sometimes Ban Sang residents’ homes are flooded because they are not given an announcement before the dam’s gates are opened to release excess water.

Everyday life is different for the villagers since relocation because they could not bring their livestock with them and had to find new land to farm in the new village, he said.

‘Battery’ of Southeast Asia

The U.S. $1.25 billion hydropower project was financed by international institutions including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and seen as a way for Laos to generate revenue and reduce reliance on foreign aid.

But green groups including International Rivers said the dam could affect the livelihoods of not only those relocated, but also some 100,000 people who had relied on fisheries downstream on the Xe Bang Fai River.

With plans to export electricity to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and China, Laos has said it hopes to become the “battery” of Southeast Asia, as only around half of its own population has access to electricity.

As of the beginning of this year, Laos had 14 operational hydropower dams, 10 under construction, and 56 proposed or in planning stages, according to an online government report.

Among these is the controversial Xayaburi dam, which would be the first on the mainstream Lower Mekong. Green groups say the dam could have a major impact on the regional environment and threaten Southeast Asia’s food security.

Reported by Nontarat Phaicharoen for RFA’s Lao service. Translated by Somnet Inthapannha. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.

Copyright © 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.

Lao Dams ‘Not Well Designed’

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2012-06-13

Hydropower projects on Laos’s rivers have reservoirs that are too small and cause an unsteady water flow, a researcher says.

The Nam Theun 2 power dam under construction in Laos’ Nakai plateau, June 28, 2007.

Dams that have been built on the Mekong River’s tributaries in Laos are inadequately designed, causing an irregular water flow that damages river ecosystems, a Lao researcher who studies dams in the hydropower-driven country says.

The sudden changes in the volume of water flowing downstream have a negative impact on fish and other aquatic life, he told RFA’s Lao service, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The reservoir[s] [are] small and not able to store a large quantity of water. The release of water is not regular, which has an impact on the river[s’] ecosystems, on biodiversity,” he explained.

If a dam’s reservoir is too small, when there is a heavy rainfall, water must be released from the reservoir. The sudden release of water floods the area below the dam and causes a rapid change in river flow, he explained.

“The area downstream from the dam[s], is no longer the same. Sometimes there is the erosion of the riverbanks and a loss of aquatic life,” he said.

The researcher said his observations were based on his research on the Nam Lik, Nam Mang 3, and Nam Ngum 2 dams, hydropower projects built on rivers in the southern part of northern Laos.

Most of Laos’s dams have a similar design, rendering them unable to store large enough volumes of water, he said.

Hydropower plans

With plans to export most of the power from the dams to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, or China, Laos has said it hopes to become the “battery” of Southeast Asia.

Less than half of Laos’s population has access to electricity, and the country has embraced hydropower as part of its poverty reduction plans.

As of the beginning of this year, Laos had 14 operational hydropower dams, 10 under construction, and 56 proposed or in planning stages, according to an online government report.

The most controversial one is the proposed Xayaburi dam which studies show could have a major impact on the regional environment and threaten food security.

Environmental groups have opposed the dam, saying it would block fish migration and sediment flow on the Lower Mekong, affecting the millions of people in Southeast Asia who rely on the river’s ecosystem for their food and livelihoods.

The Mekong River originates in China and flows through Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Reported by Nontarat Phaicharoen for RFA’s Lao service. Translated by Somnet Inthapannha. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.

Copyright © 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.