MEKONG RIVER: Border issue with Laos needs to be settled first
Supalak Ganjanakhundee, THE NATION
Aug 1, 2002

Thailand will not clear rapids and shoals in its navigable section of the
Mekong River until border demarcation with Laos is resolved, amid concerns
that the destruction could alter the borderline, a senior official said
yesterday.

The Defence Ministry was reviewing a plan to blast the Mekong's rapids and
shoals in the Kon Pi Luang area of Chiang Rai's Chiang Khong district, said
Preecha Phetwong, director of the Waterway Transport Inspection Division of
the Transport Ministry's Harbour Department.

The Thai-Lao Joint Border Committee is scheduled to complete the 976
kilometre-boundary demarcation of the Mekong by the end of next year.

The plan to clear the river is a part of an agreement between Burma, China,
Laos and Thailand, signed in April 2000, to facilitate commercial navigation.

In an effort to allow 100 tonne to 150 tonne vessels to travel along the
Mekong River between China and Luang Prabang in Laos for at least 11 months
a year, the four nations need to deepen 11 sections of the river.

With a US$5 million (Bt209 million) outlay from China, two out of 11
sections along the river had been cleared in a Burma-Laos section, said
Preecha who is also the secretary-general of the Joint Committee on
Coordination for Commercial Navigation in the Lancang-Mekong River.

The last portion between Thailand and Laos at Kon Pi Luang would not be
blasted until 2004, a year after the boundary demarcation between the two
countries had been settled, he said.

The Defence Ministry wants to make sure that the rapid clearance would not
affect the boundary, Preecha said. Stronger and faster water flow will
inevitably change the course of river, which is the border between Thailand
and Laos.

Apart from the impact on national boundaries, conservationists and local
communities have raised concerns that the river clearance will destroy
native flora and fauna and affect traditional ways of life.

Blasting the rapids could jeopardise the survival of rare species such as
the Mekong giant catfish, which spawns in the rapids, said Chavalit
Withayanond, an expert on fresh water resources.

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) does not mention any threats to
plant or animal species.

Conservationist Chainarong Sretthachau, of the Southeast Asia Rivers
Network, claimed that the EIA, carried out by officials from the four
nations, was far below international standards.

Chainarong urged the authorities to halt the project until a study on the
environment and social impact is completed.

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MEKONG RIVER
Reef blasting plan on hold for a review
Demarcation of Lao border given priority

Bangkok Post. August 1, 2002.
By Kultida Samabuddhi

The four-nation plan to clear reefs in the Mekong river to allow commercial
shipping has been put on hold after the Defence Ministry called for a
review.

The ministry said it wanted time to examine the possible impact of reef
blasting on the demarcation of the border with Laos.

``The plan to blast reefs between Chiang Khong and Chiang Saen districts in
Chiang Rai province will be suspended until the Defence Ministry has
completed defining the Thai-Laos river boundary,'' Preecha Phetwong,
director of the Harbour Department's Waterways Transport Division, said
yesterday.

Speaking at a forum on the Mekong Navigation Project organised by the Thai
Society of Environmental Journalists, he said Defence Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh recently called for a review of the Mekong Navigation Channel
Improvement Project.

The first meeting between the Defence and Transport ministries was convened
on Tuesday to examine the plan's impacts.

Initiated by the Chinese government in 1992, the project aims to improve
international trade links by enabling passage for larger cargo ships. China,
Burma, Laos, and Thailand last June signed an agreement to widen the
navigation channel of the 5,594-kilometre-long Mekong river.

Under the project, 11 reefs, including Khon Phi Luang in Thai waters, would
be blasted in the first phase. Another 51 reefs would be blasted in the
second phase so vessels of up to 500-tonnes displacement could cruise
straight from a Chinese port in Yunnan to Luang Prabang in Laos.

Environmental groups and affected villagers yesterday submitted a petition
to Gen Chavalit and transport ministers of China, Burma, Cambodia and Laos
calling for a halt to the project until comprehensive environmental and
social impact assessment studies are conducted.

``The most serious impact of the project is the clearance of many rapids,
shoals and scattered reefs to facilitate navigation. Blasting the rapids and
reefs could damage several rare species such as the Mekong giant catfish,
which spawns in the rapids,'' said Chavalit Withayanont, an ichthyologist of
the Fisheries Department.

The Mekong river is home to around 1,200 fish species, including the
critically endangered giant catfish. Around 200 fish species inhabit the
reefs in Chiang Rai province, many of which are marked to be blasted.

Niwat Roikaew, a Chiang Khong villager, said the rapids, known as Khon Phi
Luang, were the most important area for the villagers because countless fish
species spawn there.

``Blasting the islets and rapids would cause great damage to the villagers
and small fishermen because they are a source of food and income for us,''
said Mr Niwat.

He also lashed out at the Harbour Department, which is responsible for the
project, for failing to assess environmental and social impacts after the
project is completed and the river is full of large cargo vessels.

Pakorn Prasertwong, the department's environmental officer, admitted that
the project's environmental impact assessment, was not conducted
comprehensively because the Thai environmental law does not require an EIA
study of the project.