Mekong Public Forum in Can Tho, Vietnam

On March 20th, 2018, International Rivers, PanNature, Mekong Environment Forum, and Save the Mekong Coalition co-organized the forum “The Mekong Under Threat: Protecting People and Ecosystems in a Fast-Changing Basin” in Can Tho, Vietnam. The forum is to facilitate a public platform for exchanging information and perspectives on existing challenges for the Mekong basin.

This event  provided space for community representatives from Lower Mekong basin countries to share their views on changes to the river ecosystems, impacts on their livelihoods and everyday life, as well as express their concerns and recommendations to policy-makers in the region. On the other hand, relevant agencies and scientists joined the forum to respond to voices of local communities and share their perspectives on impacts of climate change and hydropower development on the Mekong basin. Forum discussions included alternatives for energy demand and proposals for ways toward sustainable and fair development at basin-scale for countries to realize UN SDGs.

More than 150 representatives from government agencies, civil society organizations  and communities from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam participated in this forum.

Forum agenda and presentations of guest speakers in the Forum are as below:

Agenda 

The study on Sustainable Management and Development of the Mekong River Including Impacts by Mainstream Hydropower Projects (Council study)

Dr. Naruepon Sukumasavin, Mekong River Commission Secretariat

Hydropower Dams, Water Governance, and Impacts on The Lower Mekong Basin

Dr. Le Viet Phu, Lower Mekong Public Policy Initiative (LMPPI), Fulbright University Vietnam

The Challenges in Mekong Basin

Dr. Duong Van Ni, Can Tho University

Alternative Visions for the Mekong Development and the Basin – National and Regional Energy Development 

Mr. Tran Dinh Sinh, Vice Director of GreenID

Vietnam River Network and its Achievement in Sustainable Development Goals

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Van, Vietnam Rivers Network

Save the Mekong Coalition Statement on the Occasion of World Water Day

Save the Mekong Coalition Statement on the Occasion of World Water Day

On the occasion of World Water Day, the Save the Mekong Coalition, together with civil society and community partners from Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam, make this statement to express our concern for the Mekong River and the communities our river supports.

The series of eleven large hydropower dams planned on the Mekong River’s lower mainstream, along with over a hundred dams planned on Mekong tributaries, pose a major threat to the ecological health and economic vitality of the region. These dams place the livelihoods and food security of millions of people at risk. We are extremely  concerned by plans for extensive hydropower construction, which fail to consider the knowledge, cultures, and voices of the Mekong Basin peoples whose livelihoods and beliefs are deeply connected with the Mekong River.

Planning and decision-making processes for hydropower and other developments on the Mekong River lack public participation, transparency and accountability. The Xayaburi and Don Sahong Dams, under construction on the Lower Mekong mainstream, are now nearing completion, yet comprehensive information on these projects has not been made public despite repeated requests from communities, civil society and other stakeholders. This includes details of project design and assessments demonstrating how mitigation measures such as fish passages will prevent the destruction of Mekong basin fisheries and other impacts on the river ecosystem. Despite this lack of transparency, the Xayaburi Dam is being touted as a model for other mainstream Mekong dams.

Decision-making on hydropower projects is made on a project-by-project basis, ignoring cumulative and basin-wide impacts. We call on the Lower Mekong governments and the Mekong River Commission to ensure that the findings of the MRC Council Study and other basin-wide studies, which provide assessment of the losses and trade-offs inherent in these projects, meaningfully inform decisions on individual dam projects.

We call into question the need for destructive hydropower development in the Mekong Basin to meet the region’s energy and development needs. Renewable energy technologies, demand-side management and energy  efficiency measures should be fully considered in assessing alternatives to destructive hydropower projects on the Lower Mekong mainstream and within the basin. We urge regional governments to prioritize introduction of renewable and decentralized electricity technologies that are increasingly available and cost-competitive, without the harmful social and environmental impacts of large-scale hydropower dams.

Current proposals for regional energy trade from hydropower development must not proceed without considering the lack of protection and accountability to affected communities. Plans to import energy from hydropower in Laos and Cambodia risk exacerbating human rights violations and environmental degradation
where public participation and free, prior informed consent are weak or nonexistent. Mekong citizens must be meaningfully involved in the development of national power development plans and proposals for regional energy trade.

The Mekong region needs leadership and vision to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) while preserving the region’s rich fisheries and water resources that are essential to poverty alleviation and development for current and future generations. By adopting national and regional energy policies that
encourage investment in renewable energy, the Mekong region could enjoy an era of truly sustainable growth without losing the benefits that healthy rivers bring.

Statement to the Lower Mekong Governments On the occasion of the 24th Mekong River Commission Council Meeting

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