Climate change and increasing consumption versus a thinning oil resource, these are but only a few of the reasons behind the growing clamour in countries of the world to explore alternative energy sources. In Asia with its diverse natural environment, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric power are being tapped extensively as alternative power sources. Indeed, compared to nuclear power, these are healthier for the environment, safer for individuals and friendlier for local communities.
But sometimes, it isn’t always the case.This is the argument in the ongoing debate over the hydropower projects in the Mekong River.
Weighing the good and bad
The Mekong River is not just home to a diverse aquatic life; it also plays an integral role in the economy of the six countries where it runs through. Many fishing families and communities in Vietnam and Cambodia, for example, rely on the river's aquatic resource. The river’s flood and dry seasons also impacts farms from Myanmar, Thailand, down to Cambodia and the tip of Vietnam. And of course, there is the potential of the river as a hydropower source.
But of all these, the construction of the dams in the Mekong is one of the most heavily contested activities because of its severe adverse impacts on the river's natural ecosystem. Foremost is the change in the migration of fish species which can affect fishers whose livelihood depend solely on the fish catch from the river. The dams can also change the established flood and dry seasons of the river, affecting farming communities relying on it for irrigation.
While dams have been built over the years in the upper stream of the river in China, the construction of the Xayaburi Dam in Northern Laos in 2010 has raised much furor and debate over the benefits and environmental impacts of hydropower plants in the Mekong. Cambodia and Vietnam are vehemently against the construction of the Xayaburi Dam and have called for an investigation of its construction, citing that it was done without the requisite transboundary impact assessment and public disclosure and consultation.
Non-government organizations, scientists and other concerned agencies have also called for a review of the 11 other proposed dams for construction that are targeted to run through Laos, the Thai-Laos border, and Cambodia.
Pursuing sustainable hydropower energy
But the challenge to tap and explore alternative green energy sources, not to mention the apparent potential of the Mekong River as a major hydropower source cannot be ignored. The Mekong River Commission’s creation of the Initiative on Sustainable Hydropower (ISH) in 2008 is a start in ensuring, at the very least, regional cooperation in the management of hydropower projects in the Mekong.
A workshop in 2012, initiated by the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ), explored how sustainable planning, design and implementation of hydropower projects in the Mekong can be better carried out. It yielded a number of key points including the need to use more advanced hydrological and socioeconomic modelling for plotting the costs and gains of hydropower projects in the Mekong.
But such recommendations and the ongoing discussions seem moot and academic as the real issues at hand are not addressed: What are the options for sustainable hydropower and how can these be done? At the very least, what other sustainable energy options can be explored if adverse environmental impacts on the river far outweigh the benefits and gains?
Meanwhile, as regional discussions and consultations continue, preparations are already underway for the construction of a second dam in Laos, the Don Sahong dam. Experts say that the dam’s construction will not only damage KhonePhapeng waterfalls, one of Southeast Asia’s widest waterfalls, but it can also negatively impact food production of neighboring countries, Vietnam and Cambodia.
And so the question still remains: How do we make sustainable hydropower possible?
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