External report

More than 3,500 dam-affected people in northeastern Cambodia have abandoned their riverside villages and moved upland, according to research conducted by 17 community-based researchers with technical support by the 3S Rivers Protection Network (3SPN) in Ratanakiri province. 3SPN researchers found that 722 households from 17 villages along the Se San River have resettled upland – without government or donor assistance – to escape damaging floods and erratic river conditions caused by upstream dam operations in Vietnam. “We published this study to educate government authorities and interna

Tropical Storm Causes the Srepok River to Flood... Sesan EIA Meeting Held despite Local Complaints... 3S Rivers Celebration... 3S Rivers Forum... Other News on 3S Hydropower Developments... Read the newsletter.

This report assesses Vietnam's electricity Master Plan VI (2006-2015). It offers a critical analysis of the load forecasts and the computer program applied. The study examines in detail the proposed role of hydropower and renewable energy sources within the plan. (English / Vietnamese). 

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 exp

This report put forward a vision of a clean and profitable Power Dvelopment Plan (PDP) for Thailand. It demonstrates that Thailand's potential for meeting its future growth in energy demand through a decentralized energy mix of energy efficiency, renewable energy and Combined Heat and Power is large enough to negate the need for the new non-committed centralized coal and gas generation capacity and hydropower imports specified in the government's PDP.

Hoa Binh Dam is of national importance as the country's principal source of electrical energy, but it has also resulted in massive social and environmental impacts at a more local level. A field study of one commune indicates the extent of disruption of local livelihoods caused by the dam. Displaced farmers are having to adapt to new agro-ecological conditions and a constrained resource situation, as well as the changes brought about by the restructuring of the rural economy that is part of the country's economic reform program. Unsustainable patterns of resource use result, with implications

EGAT's Power Development Plan (PDP) 2004, which was approved by the Thailand Cabinet, is based on an unrealistically high peak demand forecast. In addition, less expensive, environmentally or socially superior alternatives are not taken into consideration. The PDP is thus likely to lead to both over investment and misallocated investment. The failings of the PDP indicate that the narrow criteria that EGAT employs for planning are inadequate for the critical task of determining Thailand's power sector investment priorities in a way that is best for the country. The PDP should be revised and the

In January 2007, following prolonged calls by Cambodian civil society groups, an official consultation was held on the likely environmental and social impacts to the Srepok River in Cambodia from a cascade of dams under development in Vietnam. Despite the lack of concrete changes resulting from the meeting, many villagers felt the consultation was a step in the right direction.The meeting was, however, unable to dispel many Srepok villagers’ fears that the dams will cause more harm than good. “Chances are you won't pick up a hydro-related publication these days that doesn't feature news o

Large stingray found in Srepok River... The Sesan River dries... Vietnamese Authorities Meet with Downstream Cambodians to Discuss Srepok EIA Report... Other News on 3S Hydropower Developments... Read the newsletter.

An analysis of the Asian Development Bank-funded Khulna Jessore Drainage Rehabilitation Project by the Bangladeshi NGO Uttaran.