Joint Statement by the Sesan, Srepok, Sekong Community Network

Date: 
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

JOINT STATEMENT BY THE SESAN, SREPOK, SEKONG COMMUNITY NETWORK DURING THE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF THE 3S RIVERS COMMUNITY NETWORK ON 10-11 JUNE 2008, BANLUNG DISTRICT, RATTANAKIRI CONCERNING THE PLANNED CONSTRUCTION OF THE LOWER SESAN 2 HYDROPOWER DAM IN CAMBODIA TO THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT OF CAMBODIA


We, about 200 community representatives from the Sesan, Srepok and Sekong rivers have, to date, suffered from the consequences and serious impacts of the construction of hydropower dams in Vietnam. Today, we gather to express our concerns and would like to call on the Royal Government of Cambodia to take into account the following points related to the planned construction of the Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Dam.

We believe that if the Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Dam is built as planned, it will have to following impacts:

  • Natural resources on river banks, along with natural vegetation, fish varieties, and fauna dependent on the rivers will be affected and lost;
  • Social infrastructure, such as schools, roads, pagodas, health centers, etc., will be destroyed;
  • Farmland will be flooded and lost;
  • Water quality will be affected, and drinking water will be in shortage;
  • Water flow will fluctuate irregularly, interrupting people's livelihoods;
  • People living along the rivers, whose livelihoods depend largely on fishing, will lose income;
  • Fish migration will be affected, and fish varieties will disappear;
  • People's tradition and customs will be affected, and children's education will be interrupted;
  • When relocated, we are concerned that insufficient compensation will be provided, and we are worried about sustaining our livelihoods.

Having the concerns mentioned above, if the Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Dam is to be built as planned, we would like to make the following requests to the Royal Government:

  • To provide the affected communities with appropriate and acceptable compensation of farmland, plantation land, housing, and crops;
  • To restore the damaged social infrastructure and to ensure people's sustainable livelihood;
  • To provide solutions to preserving fishing resources by ensuring that fish migration is not blocked;
  • Relevant government institutions should collaborate with communities, local authorities, and civil society before deciding to build the dam;
  • To hold direct and detailed dialogues and studies with the local people, and there should be prior agreement concerning compensation;
  • To establish clear terms and procedures for providing appropriate and fair compensation for losses of property, livelihoods, environment and society;
  • To provide free electricity to the affected communities;
  • To provide lost income from daily fishing;
  • To ensure the safety and lives of the local people in case of incidents caused by the construction of the Sesan 2 dam.

We hope that all the issues and concerns mentioned above will be taken into account and properly resolved by the Royal Government of Cambodia and all stakeholders.

11 June 2008
Representatives of the Sesan, Srepok,
Sekong River Communities

More information: 

Download the community statement as a .pdf [English] [Khmer]

Read the cover letter sent to Prime Minister Hun Sen.

See list of Cambodian NGOs working on the Sesan, Srepok and Sekong Rivers.