Pak Mun Dam Controversy Fuelled NEWS|BRETTON WOODS PROJECT|14 JUNE 2000|UPDATE 17|URL PRINT|EMAIL|BOOKMARK The Thai authorities

and the World Bank, the main funders for the Pak Mun dam project, hailed the dam as a big success, but the World Commission on Dams (WCD) recently released a critical evaluation. The Commission, a multi-stakeholder review body, found that:

The 136 Megawatt power output target has not been realised. The actual output was about 40 MW for April and May, during which both demand and capacity for power are at their highest. The dam's Economic Rate of Return (EIRR), is about 4 to 5 per cent, well below the original estimate of 12 per cent. The dam has caused the loss of 60 to 80 per cent of the fish in the reservoir and the river upstream of the dam. Of 265 species found in the Moon river before 1994, the WCD counted only 96 species upstream of the dam. The original plan claimed that only 241 households in 11 villages would be affected. Altogether, however, 1,700 families have lost their house, land, or both. The Pak Mun dam, completed in 1991, was supposed to provide irrigation for 25,900 hectares, but the WCD found that so far, these claims have not been fulfilled. The dam has led to the loss of 40 edible plants, 10 bamboo species, and 45 species of mushroom from the area.

Hundreds of villagers have been protesting at the dam site for many weeks demanding the opening of the spillways to let fish migrate. The Bangkok Post recently described the Mun villagers as "Thailand's longest-running and most organised grass roots movement". Southeast Asia Rivers Network (SEARIN) searin@chmai.loxinfo.co.th http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/art-15585

Duurzaamlijst] re: (50 Years) Thailand: Assembly of the Poor letter to Wolfensohn

To: Soren <Soren@afgj.org>, "'stop-wb-imf@50years.org'" <stop-wbimf@50years.org>, aktielijst@antenna.nl, duurzaamlijst@ddh.nl Subject: [Duurzaamlijst] re: (50 Years) Thailand: Assembly of the Poor letter to Wolfensohn From: j.m.a.regter@chello.nl Date: 17 Jun 2000 10:19:28 +0100 Reply-To: "jose' regter" <j.m.a.regter@chello.nl> Sender: owner-duurzaamlijst@ddh.nl

** Original Subject: (50 Years) Thailand: Assembly of the Poor letter to Wolfensohn ** Original Sender: Soren <Soren@afgj.org> ** Original Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 18:20:30 +0200 ** Original Message follows...

From: DanBeeton@excite.com What follows is the text of the letter to James Wolfensohn from the Assembly of the Poor and other villagers whose livelihoods and lives have been threatened by the World Bank-sponsored Pak Mun Dam on the Mun River in Thailand. This letter was delivered to a World Bank official on Wednesday, June 14, and portions of it were read over a bullhorn outside the World Bank.

June 5, 2000 Mr. James Wolfensohn President The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. Dear Mr. Wolfensohn, We, the villagers affected by the Pak Mun Dam and Assembly of the Poor, write to you from the fenced off car park and area around the crest of the Pak Mun dam. One thousand of us have been living here since May 15, 2000 to demand the dam's flood gates be opened permanently to allow fish migrating

out of the Mekong to pass through to spawn upstream. Ten years ago the World Bank and EGAT destroyed our livelihoods through the construction of the Pak Mun dam. We were promised a better way of life but instead our fisheries were decimated and our communities destroyed. Over the past ten years we have learnt that compensation will not solve our problems and will only cause new problems. We believe that the only way forward for our communities is for the dam to be decommissioned and the river restored. The World Commission on Dams (WCD) Summary for Forum: March 24, 2000, found that "the actual [fish] catch in the reservoir and to a lesser extent also the river reach immediately upstream of the reservoir is 60% to 80% less than in the pre-dam era. The unexpected impacts of Pak Mun dam included dramatic decrease in fish species, fish abundance and productivity; lower fishing income for the households and changes in fishing occupation, fishing pattern, food expense, and the resultant social, economic and political consequences. The Pak Mun dam has affected aquatic biodiversity and relative abundance of fish populations up and down stream of the dam. The head pond has inundated and destroyed significant spawning habitat habitats such as rapids." The Summary for Forum also said "it is now clear that the fish ladder is not accommodating seasonal fish migration from the Mekong River into Mun/Chi Watershed. The Pak Mun dam, with only 136 MW installed capacity, de facto seals off a catchment area of 117,000 square km. Fish migration only takes place in flood period, usual in August and September, when the flood gates are sometimes open. However the peak fish migration period is from May to June, at the start of rainy season. Of the 265 species record in the Mun watershed before 1994, 77 species were migratory. Furthermore 35 species depended on rapid habitat by the Pak Mun reservoir. The latest survey after dam construction record only 96 species upstream of the dam. There has been an apparent impact on 169 fish species." According to the Summary Report, the 136 MW Pak Mun scheme was designed to operate as peaking plant, using the storage of the reservoir for daily operation. During wet months Pak Mun cannot turbine the whole daily in flow in the 4 hours peak demand period and must generate power in off-peak hours as well. When the water levels in the Mekong are very high, the power plant will be shutdown for lack of generating head. Inspection of Pak Mun's monthly energy generation value indicate that in April and May, which are the most critical month in terms of power system demand and hydro availability, not more than about 5 GWh is produced. If this output is spread evenly over the 4 hours peaking period, the equivalent capacity is about 40 MW.

The WCD report said that the economic rate of return of the dam is between 4.6 to 5.6%, less than the projected 12%. Moreover, the WCD found that the actual irrigations benefit are zero. Therefore, we call on the World Bank to take responsibility for the destruction you have caused to our lives and to the ecology and fisheries of the Mun River. We demand the World Bank work with the Thai government to decommission Pak Mun dam by opening the flood gates permanently and restoring the Mun River. Yours sincerely,

Affected villagers by Pak Mun Dam and Assembly of the Poor http://www.ddh.nl/duurzaam/duurzaamlijst/archief1/msg00301.html

A Thai dam, a mistake, a debt

Opinion by Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 August 2000
Having successfully weathered the storm of protests at its April meeting, World Bank officials are back to business as usual, disrupting the lives and livelihoods of some of the world's poorest citizens. The World Bank has been the largest single source of funds for large dam construction worldwide. Under its stated aim of alleviating poverty, it has promoted and funded dams that have displaced more than 10 million people, caused severe environmental damage, and pushed borrowers further into debt. Never hesitant to exact loan repayment in perpetuity for projects it has funded (even failed projects), the World Bank has never been forced to pay for the destruction it has brought to millions of people's lives and the environment. The 25,000 villagers affected by the Pak Mun Dam in northeast Thailand know all too well about the World Bank and its particular brand of poverty alleviation. The dam, which was completed in 1994, decimated the abundant fisheries of the Mun River, thereby destroying the villagers' primary source of livelihood. In protest and in a quest for justice, more than 3,000 villagers have occupied the area adjacent to the dam for more than 17 months - and moved in May to occupy the dam itself. At time of writing, 472 people are on an indefinite hunger strike outside Government House in Bangkok.

They're demanding that the Pak Mun Dam gates be permanently opened and the Mun River largest tributary of the Mekong River - be restored. Inspired in part by the growing US damdecommissioning movement, villagers believe the only way to recover their lost livelihoods is through restoring the Mun River. They want the World Bank to take responsibility for its role in promoting and funding the project. In a June letter to James Wolfensohn, World Bank president, villagers demanded the World Bank work with the Thai government to decommission Pak Mun Dam by opening the flood gates permanently and restoring the Mun River. The hydropower project was financed by the World Bank and built by the state-owned utility EGAT. It was controversial from the outset due to its predicted impacts on river fisheries. Local fisherfolk mounted an international campaign to prevent World Bank financing. EGAT and the bank dismissed the villagers' concerns, but did install a fish ladder to appease them. Ridiculously, the ladder's design was based on the habits of Pacific Salmon, not Mekong River fish, and is useless. Meanwhile, EGAT and the World Bank claim the project is a success. A 1998 World Bank report claimed the project's resettlement was satisfactory, and that compensation was exceedingly generous, making the majority better off. The report accuses villagers of having a culture of complaint and trying to win sympathy for even greater compensation claims and assistance. But each change in resettlement policy was motivated by villagers' persistent protests and demands for just compensation. After a 10-year battle, villagers now maintain they were better off before the dam, and if it were up to them, they'd remove the dam and return to their old lives. The World Commission on Dams (WCD), an independent international agency established to review the development effectiveness of large dams, recently completed its Pak Mun Dam study. The WCD recorded that 56 species of fish in the Mun River have completely disappeared since the dam was built. The WCD estimated that the actual catch in the reservoir and upstream is 60 percent to 80 percent less than in the pre-dam era, resulting in an economic loss to villagers of about $1.4 million per annum. The WCD also confirmed that the fish ladder has not been performing and is not allowing upstream fish migration. Economically, the WCD found the project isn't performing well, and that it contributes only marginal amounts of power. The dam was supposed to generate 136 megawatts, but barely generates 40 megawatts in high-demand months. There's simply insufficient water to turn the turbines in the dry season. Even in the rainy season, EGAT has to shut the plant down because high water levels upstream and downstream mean there isn't enough water pressure to drive the turbines. The WCD concludes it is unlikely that the project would have been built if actual true benefits would have been used in the economic analysis. With such evidence supporting the villagers'

claims that the project has done more harm than good, there's no good reason for the Pak Mun Dam's gates to remain closed. Removal of the dam would result in immediate benefits and no great loss to Thailand's powergeneration capacity, currently in surplus. The World Bank should own up to its mistakes. A growing movement of dam-affected communities from all over the world is demanding reparations, or retroactive compensation, for the continuing damage to their lives because of dams. It's time for the bank to pay its own debts. A contribution toward restoring the Mun River would be a good first step toward this goal. http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/25/051.html

Thai villagers affected by WB project

Date: Tue, 30 May 2000 15:34:21 -0700

TAKE ACTION TODAY TO SUPPORT THAI VILLAGERS AT RISK OF DROWNING!

Please take action to support the villagers at Pak Mun and Rasi Salai dams on Thailand's Mun River. At the World Bank-funded Pak Mun dam, more than 1,000 villagers occupied the dam crest and fish ladder on May 15 and intend to stay until their demand is met. At Rasi Salai, more than 200 people remain perched in make-shift huts as the waters of Rasi Salai reservoir rise around them. They have vowed not to move until their demands are met. Others have occupied the crest of the Rasi Salai dam. Both groups are demanding that the dam gates be permanently opened to allow the fish to migrate up the Mun river from the Mekong. Villagers are fearful of the violence that might ensue if they are forcibly removed, and are asking for letters of support to Thai Prime Minister Chuan. We are trying to bombard Chuan's office with faxes, to let him know that the international community is closely monitoring the situation, and to pressure him to respect the villager's demands. YOUR LETTER IS IMPORTANT. Please take the time to copy the letter below and fax it to Chuan's office, or even better, write your own letter. For more information about Pak Mun dam and Rasi Salai dams, see www.irn.org/programs/mekong. Please fax Chuan now and show your support for the villagers out there on the dam and in the reservoir! If you cannot fax overseas, please send a letter to the Thai Ambassador in your country. The Thai Ambassador to the US is Ambassador Nitya Pibulsonggram, Fax: 202 9443611. Thanking you in advance,

Aviva South-East International Rivers Network

Asia

Imhof Campaigner

http://nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/imf/asia/thailand.htm