The 260 MW Don Sahong Dam – the second dam to commence construction on the Mekong mainstream – spells disaster for Mekong fisheries. Located in the Siphandone (Khone Falls) area of southern Laos, less than two kilometers upstream of the Laos-Cambodia border, the dam will block the main channel passable year-round by fish migrating between Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, threatening vital subsistence and commercial fisheries in the Lower Mekong Basin.
In a letter of “prior notification” sent to the Mekong River Comission (MRC) in September 2013, Laos made clear its intent to build the Don Sahong Dam. On January 16, 2014 the MRC’s Joint Committee – comprised of representatives from Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos – held a special meeting to discuss the Don Sahong Dam. At the meeting, while Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam raised concern over the dam’s transboundary impacts and unproven mitigation measures and the need for the project to undergo Prior Consultation under the MRC’s Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA), Laos asserted that Notification was sufficient. Following sustained pressure from its neighbors, the Lao government agreed to resubmit the Don Sahong Dam project for Prior Consultation. However the official start date for this process, July 25, 2014, was not announced until early October, nearly three months into the six-month process.
On January 27, 2015, the Joint Committee of the MRC held a special meeting to discuss the Prior Consultation process for the Don Sahong Dam. In their formal reply forms, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam all called for an extension to the Prior Consultation process, highlighting the need for further baseline studies, greater assesment of the project’s transboundary impacts and additional consultation. Laos however insisted that the Prior Consultation process was complete. As the four countries could not reach an agreement on how to proceed with the Don Sahong Dam, the decision was deferred to Ministerial level. On June 19, 2015, the MRC announced in a statement that, following further deliberations by the MRC Council,there were still differing views among the four countries on how to proceed, and the matter would be elevated to inter-government level, to be resolved through diplomatic channels. In early January 2016, the Government of Laos announced a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start to construction of the coffer dam. Since then, construction has progressed at a rapid pace and as of June 2016, the Hou Sahong Channel is completely blocked.
The dam is being developed by Malaysia’s Mega-First Corporation Berhad with consulting services provided by Australia’s SMEC New Zealand and the USA’s AECOM. China’s Sinohydro International Corporation has been contracted to construct the project.
This Don Sahong Dam “Media Kit” is intended to help journalists and researchers who seek more detailed information about the Don Sahong controversy.
Background on the Don Sahong Dam:
- Don Sahong Dam Factsheet.
- Independent Review of the Don Sahong Dam EIA. (International Rivers, January 2014)
- The Don Sahong Dam and Mekong Fisheries. (WorldFish Center Science Brief, 2007)
- The Don Sahong Dam and the Mekong Dolphin. (WWF Science Brief, 2014)
- The Don Sahong Dam: Potential Impacts on Regional Fish Migrations, Livelihoods and Human Health. (Report by Dr. Ian Baird, 2009.)
- The MRC’s 2007 Review of the Don Sahong Dam’s Environmental Impact Assessment. (Report by the Mekong River Commission, 2007)
Prior Consultation Process for the Don Sahong Dam:
- “Further Deliberation and Study Still Needed on Don Sahong Dam.” (International Rivers PR, September 1, 2015)
- “Don Sahong Dam Construction Must Stop While Regional Deliberations Continue.” (International Rivers PR, June 21, 2015)
- “Regional Dispute Continues over Don Sahong Dam.” (International Rivers Statement, January 27, 2015)
- “MRC Must Safeguard the Mekong River as they Decide Fate of the Don Sahong Dam.”) International Rivers PR, January 26, 2015)
- “Flawed Consultation Rubber Stamp for Don Sahong Dam.” (International Rivers PR, December 11, 2014)
- “Prior Consultation for Don Sahong Dam Set to Fail Before it Has Begun.” (International Rivers PR, October 2, 2014)
- “Laos to Undergo Prior Consultation, But Continue Building Don Sahong Dam.” (International Rivers PR, June 26, 2014)
- Legal Briefing: How International Law Applies to the Don Sahong Dam. (International Rivers, March 2014)
Regional and International Concern Over the Don Sahong Dam:
- “Mekong Dam Projects Could Destroy Livelihoods, Ecology.” (June 6, 2016)
- “Right Way Forward for the Mekong” (Bangkok Post, March 5, 2016)
- “Laos Ignores Dam Flak.” (Bangkok Post, November 4, 2015)
- “Environment Group Voices Concern Over Mekong Dam.” (Eco-Business, September 22, 2015)
- “Laos Dam Risks Damaging Mekong River, Igniting Tensions With Vietnam.”( The Diplomat, December 19, 2014)
- “Lao Dam Troubles Mekong Waters.” (The Irrawaddy, May 11, 2014)
- “Vietnam Screams for Halt to Mekong Dams as Delta Silts Up.” (The Nation, April 30, 2014)
- “Nations Unite Against Dam.” (Phnom Penh Post, December 2, 2013)
News on the Don Sahong Dam:
- “Angkor Beer Maker Called Out Over Don Sahong Dam.” (The Phnom Penh Post, April 20, 2016)
- “MegaFirst awards RM1.3bil EPCC contract to China-based firm.” (The Star, October 16, 2015)
- “Activists Dismayed At Summit Outcome.” (Bangkok Post, April 6, 2014)
- “Opposition Grows to Laos’ Mega Dams Ahead of Summit.” (Cambodia Daily, 31 March 2014)
- “Proposed Laos dam on the Mekong raises ecological fears.” (South China Morning Post, November 22, 2013)
- “Laos Pushes Ahead With Second Mekong Dam Project.” (Radio Free Asia, November 12, 2013)
- “Emergency Meeting of the Mekong River Commission Urgently Needed-WWF.” (WWF Press Release October 4, 2013)
- “Laos Confirms ‘Preparatory’ Work on Controversial Dam Project.” (Radio Free Asia, 31 July 2013)
- “Laos Denies Dam Construction.” (Radio Free Asia, 4 September 2012)
What is at stake for the Mekong:
- “A Matter of Rights in the Future of the Mekong.” (International Rivers blog, December 22, 2016)
- “Regional Cooperation Needs Resuscitation at Mekong Summit.” (International Rivers Press Release, April 1, 2014)
- “Laos Holds Mekong Livelihoods in its Hands.” (Bangkok Post, Opinion, January 11, 2014)
- “The Mekong Dam Dispute: Four Trends to Watch.” (Blog, August 15, 2013)
- “Foretelling the Mekong River’s Fate.” (International Rivers Factsheet on the MRC’s Strategic Environmental Assessment report, 2011)
- “Mekong Countries at Odds Over Mega-Dams.” (Article in the Fair Observer, February 5, 2013)
- “Cambodia, Vietnam and Donors Challenge Laos on Mekong Dams.” International Rivers Press Release, 18 January 2013)
- “Mekong Mainstream Dams: Threatening Southeast Asia Food Security.” (International Rivers Factsheet, 2009)
- “Saving the Mekong.” (Documentary that portrays the lives of fishers in the Siphandone area of Southern Lao, 2009)
Photos:
- A journey through Siphandone: Microcosm of the Mekong
- Construction of the Don Sahong Dam
- Don Sahong Dam site (Flickr Gallery)
Map of the Don Sahong Dam:
