Untitled Document

120102 INTL-- BKKPost - Blasting the mighty Mekong

http://www.bangkokpost.com/011202_Perspective/01Dec2002_pers41.html

RIVER PROJECT: China is leading the way in `regulating' some parts of the
4,480-km-long Mekong River with explosives in order to export more goods.
Almost all approve of increased trade, but many oppose removing the river's
natural features

PERSPECTIVE NEWS - Sunday 01 December 2002

Blasting the mighty Mekong

Poona Antaseeda
The mighty Mekong River.
Two rapids on the Laos-Burma border were completely blasted in April this
year. - Photo Courtesy of www.chaingrai.com

During the colonial period a French plan to sail trading ships from Vietnam
to Luang Prabang in northern Laos failed because of the Khone Falls in the
Siphandone wetlands of southern Laos, also known as the "area of 4,000
islands." Attempts to run large ships along the entire length of the Mekong
river were doomed because the riverbed is dotted with rocks, reefs, rapids,
shoals and sandbars.

In June of this year, reports sandgravel.com, the Chinese newspaper
People's Daily ran a story saying that Chinese authorities plan to dredge
the Lancang-Mekong, starting in the spring of 2003, at a cost of US$18
million. A 158-km section of the river will be dredged, from the minor
tributary Ganlanba in Yunnan to the Sino-Burma border.

China, Thailand, Laos and Burma seem to be united in their decision to tame
the mighty river. The four countries plan to blast the river's rocks and
rapids to create a channel deep enough for 500-tonne cargo ships. At least
70 rapids and shoals, and an 886-kilometre stretch of the Mekong, will be
subjected to explosives.

However, insiders say the whole river-blasting project has become a Chinese
show, with neighbouring countries and organisations just trying not to rock
the boat.

PUTTING THE MEKONG TO WORK

Early last month, China and five other Asian nations _ Thailand, Laos,
Burma, Cambodia and Vietnam _ as members of the Greater Mekong Sub-region
(GMS), endorsed plans worth about US$4.5 billion for highways, power grids
and telecommunications along the Mekong River, including an agreement to
connect Chinese, Burmese, and Laotian hydropower dams to power grids in
Vietnam and Thailand, who will purchase power.

Despite criticism by environmentalists and local residents, officials of
the five Southeast Asian countries are downplaying any objections to the
Chinese-led project. The Association of Southeast Asia Nations (Asean)
tries to avoid, as much as possible, any direct confrontation with China.
"The project is very important for China to export goods to Southeast
Asia," Southeast Asia River Network (SEARIN) Thailand director Chainarong
Srettachua explains. "China also supports many development projects in
Burma and Laos. These two countries do not want any conflict with China."

None of the signatory countries brought up the question of why Beijing
refuses to be part of the regional commission set up to manage development
projects along the Mekong, despite its logical position of control: the
Mekong originates inside China, at the 5224-metre high Za A Qu (Zayaqu)
tributary flowing from the north. Below Ga Na Song Duo, the river is called
Za Qu. It becomes the Lancang near Qamdo, and the Mekong after it leaves China.

Meanwhile, being the richest nation in the Mekong River Commission (MRC),
Thailand dominates decisions in the MRC. Thailand has temporarily halted
all plans for rock blasting on its section of the Mekong River in order to
settle a water boundary dispute with Laos first.

A RIVER OF OBJECTIONS

The Chinese-sponsored Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) claims the
project will not cause flooding, will have little effect on fish, the
removal of rapids and shoals will not cause soil erosion and shores and
boundary lines will remain the same. Therefore, it finds the project is
environmentally feasible. There are many environmentalists and locals along
the Mekong region who oppose the project, however.

Yu Xiaogang of the environmental organisation Green Watershed in Yunnan
says that the EIA of the project has been "quite accurately criticised for
not assessing the project's potential impact on the river's fisheries and
the food supply, and the economies of hundreds of fishing communities lying
along this stretch of the Mekong."

A report from www.irn.org claims that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and
the GMS led China, Laos, Burma, and Thailand to sign a navigational
agreement with China in 2000 "without a genuine assessment of the project's
social and environmental impacts."

Both ADB and GMS have been criticised for past and present programmes that
affect over 65 million people. "Despite all the claims, the GMS programmes
have brought little benefit to local people, but massive advantages to
consultants, corporations and local elites," says the website.

And now the Navigation Channel Improvement Project is adding to the already
considerable discontent over how Mekong developments have been
administered. Chiang Rai residents and non-government organisations in
Thailand claim no public involvement in either the decision-making or in
the EIA for the project.
Locals said they knew nothing of the project, although the four countries
signed the agreement in April two years ago.

"We heard nothing of this project until April this year," says Somkiat
Khuenchiangsa, head of the Chiang Rai-based Chiang Khong Conservation
Group. "How come the government _ and not us _ made the decision? Why did
it do so without our knowledge?"
Worker load boxes of goods from a boat landing at Chiang Saen in Chiang
Rai, onto a ferry. - Tawatchai Kemgumnerd

At a training course called Man and the Mighty Mekong River held by the
Indochina Media Memorial Foundation (IMMF), SEARIN director Chainarong
said, "We knew about the project only after it was implemented. Two rapids
bordering Laos-Myanmar were completely blasted in April."

Chiang Rai residents complained to the Senate Environmental Committee as
they gathered signatures to oppose the project. As a result, the Senate
Environment Committee and Public Participation Committee yesterday started
talks with Laos, as a member of the Mekong River Commission (MRC), to
discuss the controversy.

Meanwhile, SEARIN members and officers, as well as riverside community
residents, continue to send messages to the four countries to halt the
project and conduct a new EIA according to international standards.

An internal MRC memo states that while "the scheduled removal of 21
upstream shoals and reefs will cause limited impact on the environment, no
further stages of this project should be permitted until a comprehensive
environmental-impact assessment is completed to international standards,"
reports Asia Times Online.

"We are now dealing with one of the most important river basins in the
world, and we need to be accountable for the injustices and damages done to
this precious river system over the past 45 years," said MRC chief
executive officer Joern Christensen.

The Chiang Khong Conservation Group's Somkiat protested that local
residents were left out of the decision-making process. "We want the EIA to
be reviewed and a public hearing organised," he said.
SEARIN head Chainarong confirms that the project has been closed to the
public and the riverside residents in the four riparian countries.

"In Burma, the people are not consulted for state projects, yet the
project's EIA says it is acceptable to all countries," said Chainarong. The
Laos government has not consulted its people either, and Laotians are not
likely to benefit from the project.

"The project EIA wasn't carried out as specified by Thai law. It was
conducted only by hydroengineers; no fishery or social experts
participated." added Chainarong.

THE SHOW GOES ON

Asia Times Online reports on the blasting of Mekong channel that:
"Marine scientific evidence suggests that the clearing away of rocks and
sandbars leads to increased river flow and with it dramatic erosion."
Despite all objections, China is continuing with the project.

"Development of resources helps and harms the people," said director Zhang
Zhiyong of the Bureau of Fisheries Management in Yunnan. "The (Chinese)
government wants to develop navigation and tourism for its benefits and
will limit the destruction of the environment," he said in a regional
gathering of Mekong fishermen in Phnom Penh in late April.

Residents in districts of Chiang Rai lodged their complaints with the
Harbour Department _ which is Thailand's project coordinator for the river
blasting_ at a meeting in late October.

"Most of the residents understand the matter and we have received no order
from anybody to halt the project," says Lt Preecha Phetwong, director of
the Marine Safety and Environmental Protection Bureau of the Harbour Department
Lt Preecha confirmed to residents of Chiang Khong, Chiang Saen, and Wiang
Kaen that blasting will begin on nine more rapids on December 15: eight on
the Lao-Myanmar border and one, the Kon Pi Luang rapids in Chiang Rai,
which lies on the Thai-Laotian border.

The project calls for this to be followed by the explosion of 51 more
rapids and shoals, mostly on the Lao-Burma border. (See graphic on Page 6).
No dates have been set.

CHINA'S AGENDA

China wants to open the Mekong waterway so that it can export goods from
Simao Port in southern China to Luang Prabang in northern Laos, as well as
to the Chiang Khong and Chiang Saen ports in northern Thailand. The
project's entire budget of 220 million baht comes from the Chinese government.

China conducted the project EIA and sent it to the three other countries
for improvements. The Thai cabinet approved the EIA late in January of this
year.
Speaking at the First China-Asean Transport Ministers' Meeting on September
20 in Jakarta, Chinese Minister of Communications Huang Zhendong said that
"the Mekong River development has achieved substantive progress."

He said China provided US$5 million "to help regulate some sections of the
navigation channel" within Laos and Burma for the purpose of ensuring safe
navigation and minimising deaths and loss of property.

He said the blasting of the Mekong River will be done while strictly
protecting the ecology of the environment, strictly keeping national
boundary lines intact, and only with the approval of the various governments.

He also said that in early April three rapids and 10 reefs "that seriously
hinder safe navigation were `regulated' under the close supervision of
experts from the four countries."

Zhendong explained that it was "carried out by a Chinese construction team
strictly under the requirements of the EIA report approved by the four
countries."
He also pointed out that China has entered into various agreements for
river transport with most of the Asean countries. Thus, he says, China will
seek full waterway access "to tap the potential of maritime transport and
ports to meet the development needs of the China - Asean free trade area."

"China's central government is also recognising that it needs to be
accepted as a good neighbour in the Mekong Region," writes director Yu
Xiaogang of Green Watershed, an NGO working on environmental protection in
Yunnan, China.

After the blasting, the river will be deepened and widened to allow
500-tonne ships to pass through.

KEEPING THE RAPIDS

Project opponents say that removing the rapids will cause stronger water
currents, making fishing difficult for small fishing boats, increase
flooding downstream and create big waves.

Kaew Pothisan, captain of the Vat Phou, the only 300-tonne barge in
southern Laos, said that rapids are not a problem. "They serve as `stairs'
and they store water upstream."

He said blasting the rocks in the Mekong for the purpose of tourism and
trading is not acceptable. "We can do business, but if the business means
destroying the environment, that is not an option."

Ian Baird, a Canadian fish conservationist based in Pakse, Laos, said rapid
blasting will greatly harm fish populations and habitats.
On a Mekong River cruise organised by the Indochina Media Memorial
Foundation, Baird explained that deep-water pools and rapids are the way a
river should be.

"If you remove the rapids, the deep water pools are flooded. When you flood
the deep areas, the fish are carried away, and you destroy their homes,"
Baird said .

Environmentalists and local residents fear the blasting of the river's
rocks and rapids will affect fish habitats, the livelihood of fishermen and
riverside residents, and also cause soil erosion.

Erosion is already a destroyer along the river. This year, Somkiat said,
113 families in Don Sawan village in Laos (opposite the Chiang Saen
district of Thailand) lost their houses to soil erosion.

However, Lt Preecha of the Harbour Department explained that "We will not
remove all the rapids from the river; we will only remove some."
For instance, he said, in Kon Pi Luang area the Mekong River is up to 700
metres wide, but only 22 metres will be channelled, and only three rocks
will be removed. Furthermore, soil erosion is a natural phenomenon.
"Without the project, the riverbanks still erode naturally," said Lt. Preecha.

He also explained that after the rapids are gone the river will be wider,
so the water will flow slower. He said that the rock explosions will be
done in the dry season when the fish are not spawning. He said small bombs
will be used to scare the fish away from the blasting sites.

SHIPPING THE MEKONG

Chiang Rai Chamber of Commerce chairman Sroemchai Kitirattanapaiboon says
that because of China's entry into the World Trade Organisation, it has to
export as many goods as possible, "and the route from Yunnan to Chiang Rai
is the shortest route."

However, he said it is not in everyone's interest. "Thailand does not need
to blast rocks in the river at all."

He explained that being able to navigate from Yunnan to Chiang Saen is good
enough for trade between the 2 countries. "There's no need to navigate
boats from Yunnan to Chiang Khong. Goods can be unloaded at Chiang Saen
Port, which is upstream, and loaded onto trucks. "

Chainarong adds that there is little need to deepen channels because
Chinese barges from 80 to 100 tonnes already travel from Simao Port to
Chiang Saen Port. "Smaller Laotian barges up to 60 tonnes run from Chiang
Saen to Luang Prabang all year round. Small boats commonly trade along the
Thai-Lao border. Moreover, highways connecting China to Thailand, Laos and
Burma are under construction."

A survey made by Chiang Rai Province officials found that last year there
were over 2,400 cargo boat trips from China, Laos, and Burma to Chiang Saen
Port. Of these 1,865 boats came from China. Also last year, the
Thai-Chinese commercial exchange via the Chiang Saen Port alone was worth
about five billion baht, said Sroemchai. He also said that trade between
southern China and northern Thailand at Chiang Saen has been increasing
without water channel improvements.

Actually, 100-tonne barges can sail on the Mekong most of the year. In the
dry season, only 70-tonne barges are able to make the trip. In the rainy
season, Chinese barges up to 200-tonnes commonly travel in the river. China
wants to make the Mekong navigable to bigger ships all year round.

But Chiang Khong Conservation Group leader Somkiat observed that this year
alone, three fishing boats were overturned by waves from big ships.
"Fishing will be much more difficult if 500 tonne-ships sail in the river."

TRUE BENEFICIARIES

Chiang Khong resident Niwat looks at the human side of the picture: "Who
will lose most _ or gain most _ from the project? What do we, the local
residents, gain? What do we lose? How do we live after the rapids are gone,
and the big ships come to run in the river?

"These are the questions we asked the Harbour Department during the October
meeting in Chiang Rai, but the officials did not give us any answers,"
Niwat said.

Baird claims that the new navigation channel will only help big business,
not the locals. "The locals have small boats, they don't need big boats to
sail the river. So, if you want to help the rich and hurt the locals,
that's a very good project."
Somkiat claims that the four-country agreement bans fishermen from the
improved water channel.

The country that will gain the highest benefit from the water channel
improvement is China, said Sroemchai.

A RIVER OF MANY RETURNS

Meanwhile, AP's Denis Gray reports of criticism from inside China. Chinese
academic and environmental activist Xu Xioagang said: "On an international
river, no one country should be selfish. It should consider impacts on
other countries and the whole river."

But Chinese authorities continue to maintain that reshaping the Mekong
River will have little downstream effects _ and perhaps even be beneficial.
"Deeper navigation channels are sure to foster regional trade and help
alleviate poverty," Gray quotes Chinese officials saying.

Asia-Inc's Ron Corben reports that the Chinese maintain that "fears for the
Mekong's future are exaggerated."

"All countries will prosper equally from the increased trade," says Mei
Ruichang, spokesman of the Navigation Affairs Bureau in Yunnan and head of
the river-clearing work, reports Corben.
Gray quotes Deng Jiarong, the Yunnan-based chief of Mekong River Affairs,
as saying: "The development of the Mekong River is a joint decision of all
the related countries. Damage and negative impacts are much less than the
benefits to the larger population."

113002 INTL-- BKKPost - Concern grows over Mekong river project

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/30Nov2002_news20.html

Cambodian and Lao officials yesterday expressed serious concern about the
possible negative impacts from the Mekong River navigation improvement
project being spearheaded by China.

GENERAL NEWS - Saturday 30 November 2002

TRANSPORT
Concern grows over Mekong river project

Reef blasting may upset eco-system

Kultida Samabuddhi

Cambodian and Lao officials yesterday expressed serious concern about the
possible negative impacts from the Mekong River navigation improvement
project being spearheaded by China.

They demanded that a new environmental impact study, which meets
international standards, be conducted before the implementation of the
project's second phase.

Thongphou Vongsriprasom, a senior official of Laos' Ministry of Agriculture
and Forestry, even suggested that the project be shelved after the
completion of the first phase, which allows upto 150-tonne ships to
navigate on the Mekong.

The Chinese plan calls for the clearing of 11 sets of rapids and shoals in
the first phase and more in the later stages to make way for up to
500-tonne-gross ships. Mr Thongphou, who took part in a seminar on the
Regional Dialogue on Water Governance organised by the Global Water
Partnership and the Cambodia-based Mekong River Commission, said the Lao
government needs to consider an in-depth environmental impact assessment
(EIA) of the project before agreeing to let the second phase to kick-start.
``Our government is worried about the adverse impact from reef blasting.
Without the reefs, the flow in the Mekong is likely to be much stronger and
big waves caused by huge ships would destroy the country's river banks,''
said Mr Thongphou.

Burma, China, Laos, and Thailand signed the commercial navigation
improvement project agreement last year.

In April, China started blasting some of the rapids and shoals lying
upstream in the river's shipping channel.

Thailand plans to begin blasting some of the rapids and shoals on its side
of the river in Chiang Rai province in mid-December. A senior official of
Laos' national river committee, who declined to be named, said three rapids
in Laotian waters have already been blasted.

``Laos would only allow up to 150-tonne-gross vessels to pass through. If
China wants bigger ships in the river, they must conduct a new EIA because
clearing the river for such large ships would have an unacceptable impact
on the river's eco-system,'' said the official.

Cambodian delegate Tara Theng, director of the Department of Water
Resources Management and Conservation, agreed that a more standardised EIA
was needed.

He also urged members of the Greater Mekong Sub-region to hold more
discussions before any further development moves. The outcome and case
studies presented at the two-day seminar which ended yesterday would be
forwarded to the countries' environment ministers, who are to take part in
the Third World Water Forum Ministerial Meeting in Kyoto, Japan, next March.