River Coalition of Cambodia Boycotts Meeting on Transboundary Impacts of Vietnam's Sesan Dams

On 5th July 2007, the Cambodian National Mekong Committee and Vietnamese National Mekong Committee met in Phnom Penh to review an environmental impact assessment of hydropower development on the Se San river. Several members of the Rivers Coalition of Cambodia (RCC) were invited but declined to participate because dam affected communities in northeast Cambodia were excluded, and the 187-page assessment was released only one week before the meeting, allowing no time for translation or distribution in Cambodia. The RCC issued a statement calling for a fair review process of the Sesan EIA and explaining why they did chose not to attend the meeting.

The RCC also prepared a report evaluating the Sesan EIA. It concludes that because the EIA report was prepared by consultants to the project owner in Vietnam, the report contains a number of omissions and deficiencies. It identifies that access to impartial technical expertise is required for effective joint management of the Se San River, that independent verification of a planned re-regulating dam and other mitigation strategies is needed, and a legally enforcable operation agreement is necessary.