Mekong Watch CATFISH TALES
TOPIC: 27 JAPANESE MPs OPPOSE NAM THEUN 2 DAM PROJECT--DEMANDING
JAPANESE GOVERNMENT TO SAY "NO"
Date: 31 MARCH 2004
27 JAPANESE MPs OPPOSE NAM THEUN 2 DAM PROJECT (Laos)--DEMANDING
JAPANESE GOVERNMENT TO SAY "NO"
Twenty-seven Members of Parliament from the Democratic Party submitted
a petition today directly to Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki
demanding that the Japanese Government refrain from supporting aid for
the Nam Theun 2 Dam. This comes immediately before the World Bank Group
is slated to make a decision on whether or not to provide 170 million
dollars in guarantees and loans for this controversial dam project in
Laos at its meeting of the Board of Directors on 31 March 2005 in
Washington. The Japanese MPs are demanding that the Japanese Executive
Director say "NO."
Ten of the signatory MPs went at 2:30pm Japan time to meet Finance
Minister Tanigaki to submit the petition. There, they explained that the
project risks outweigh the possible benefits, and demanded that the
Japanese Government take a position against the project. In the
petition and at the meeting, they raised questions along the following
lines:
- Severity of social and environmental impacts
- Questionable economic viability of the project considering the fact
that it depends on Thailand's purchase of electricity, and that Thailand
may not need NT2's electricity
- Timing of the project: especially considering the degree of
controversy, this project should be discussed by the World Bank Board
after April 1st (from April 1st, minutes of Board meetings will be
disclosed)
- There are many presidents where projects looked good in the planning
stage but were not successful once implemented
To these comments, the Finance Minister explained that he understood
there were many risks, but believed this project would contribute to
reduction of poverty in Laos. He also explained, however, that in order
for the project to contribute to poverty reduction, it would require
very strict and long-term supervision on the part of the World Bank
because of serious problems with lack of transparency and capacity in
Laos. In regard to whether or not Thailand would actually purchase
electricity, he said it would be necessary for this to be guaranteed in
the Power Purchase Agreement.
UNSATISFACTORY RESONSE
Mekong Watch is very disappointed with the position of the Japanese
government on the Nam Theun 2 Dam project. In spite of "sharing" our
concerns regarding the severity of the impacts this dam would have, the
Finance Ministry seems to be choosing to place its faith in the World
Bank's ability to monitor the project's implementation. Considering the
record of large dams both is Laos and other countries, this faith seems
unfounded. The World Commission on Dams review of large dams has shown
that many project create more problems then they have been worth, and if
implemented, the Nam Theun 2 will probably become another example of a
project gone wrong.
The World Bank and the Japanese Government have both said that they
"recognize" various problems. They recognize that freedom of expression
in Laos is suppressed, making it difficult for people there to speak out
against the project. They recognize that there are problems with
governance in Laos. They recognize that the capacity of the Lao
government to implement such a project is still limited. They recognize
that there are immense social and environmental risks. They recognize
that the land resettled villagers will be moved to is not very fertile.
They recognize that many dam projects in the past have failed. All of
these things, they recognize. But, because the project has been studied
for the past 10 years, and that there has been unprecedented information
disclosure and public debate on this project (not to mention that a
large proportion of public debate has been critical of the project), and
because they are somehow going to mitigate all these immense problems,
we should be reassured that the problems are manageable and that this
project will indeed be the best option for the people of Laos.
We wish we could be reassured by all the "recognitions," the massive
quantities of paper used during these 10 years of studies, and the
extensive letters that the World Bank staff have indeed taken the time
to write in response to NGO concerns. We cannot help but question,
however, if this project would even make it to the Board level if it
were the very foundations of the livelihoods of the investors that were
at sake, and not that of the 100,000 villagers in the project area in
Laos.
DESCRIPTION OF NAM THEUN 2 DAM PROJECT
The Nam Theun 2 Dam in Laos has been a topic of controversy since
planning began some 10 years ago. Planned for construction in the Nakai
Plateau, this dam will affect more than 100,000 people, including the
6,000 indigenous people to be displaced by the dam's reservoir. The
reservoir will also flood important habitat for endangered species such
as the Asian elephant and white-winged duck. This project will cost 1.2
billion dollars, approximately 70% of the GDP of Laos, and of this, more
than 70% will be covered in loans from foreign banks and investors.
While the stated purpose of this dam is to generate funds for poverty
reduction by selling electricity to Thailand, corruption and problems of
governance in Laos raise serious questions about whether or not the
revenue (after loans are finally repaid) will actually be used for
poverty reduction.
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