Report

Independent Technical Review: NT2 Social and Environmental Management Framework for the Nakai-Nam Theun Watershed

Tuesday, February 1, 2005
IRN and Environmental Defense commissioned an independent review of the Nam Theun 2 Social and Environmental Management Framework and First Operational Plan (SEMFOP–1). Most of the watershed of the NT2 project lies within the Nakai–Nam Theun National Protected Area (NNT NPA), the largest protected area in Lao PDR. As part of the NT2 project, a government body called the Watershed Management and Protection Authority (WMPA) has been established to manage conservation in the NNT NPA. Based on the experience of other conservation and development initiatives in Lao PDR, the reviewer det

Independent Technical Review: NT2 Reservoir Fisheries Plan

Tuesday, February 1, 2005
IRN and Environmental Defense commissioned an independent review of the Nam Theun 2 reservoir fisheries predictions in the Social Development Plan (SDP) and the Environmental Assessment and Management Plan (EAMP). A reservoir fishery is one of the primary mitigation features for approximately 6,200 people which currently utilize the area to be flooded by the Nam Theun 2 reservoir. The review found that the years immediately after filling are not modeled, and the reservoir will likely be predominantly anoxic during this period. At best, a relatively simple ecosystem will develop in the long-ter

Independent Technical Review: NT2 Resettlement Plan and Proposed Livelihood Options

Wednesday, February 2, 2005
IRN and Environmental Defense commissioned two experts to review the resettlement plan and the viability of the various livelihood options proposed for the Nakai Plateau communities, as outlined in the project’s Social Development Plan (SDP). The reviewers found that many of the plans are unrealistic and that the Nam Theun 2 Power Company (NTPC) is overly optimistic about the potential productivity of the proposed livelihood options. Despite NTPC’s acknowledgement of many of these risks, the reviewers point to a high likelihood of failure that has not been addressed by the project&

Independent Technical Review: NT2 Forestry Development Program

Tuesday, February 1, 2005
IRN and Environmental Defense commissioned this independent review of the Nam Theun forestry development program for Nakai Plateau resettlers. The reviews finds that the feasibility of the forestry development program presented in the Nam Theun 2 project’s Social Development Plan (SDP) is questionable for a number of reasons. For example, past illegal logging activities have dramatically reduced the availability of quality timber in the resettlement area. The poor market for low quality timber, combined with high government taxes, makes it essential that tax concessions are secured and p

Independent Technical Review: NT2 Hydrology

Thursday, January 20, 2005
IRN and Environmental Defense commissioned an independent review of the hydrologic treatment of the Nam Theun 2 project, contained in the Environmental Assessment and Management Plan (EAMP). The reviewers conclude that the project is high risk for meeting its power generation predictions and for estimating potential project impacts.

Beyond Dams: Options & Alternatives

Saturday, May 1, 2004
By design, dams alter the natural flow regime, and with it virtually every aspect of a river ecosystem, including water quality, sediment transport and deposition, fish migrations and reproduction, and riparian and floodplain habitat and the organisms that rely on this habitat. The purpose of this report is to provide stakeholders and decision–makers with an overview of low–impact and non–structural alternatives to dams. It is designed as a reference for anyone interested in exploring options for replacing a function served by an existing dam or replacing a function to be served by a dam

Independent Technical Review: NT2 Water Quality Assessment

Saturday, January 1, 2005
IRN and Environmental Defense commissioned an independent review of the water quality assessment contained in the Nam Theun 2 Environmental Assessment and Management Plan (EAMP). The review found that the EAMP fails to accurately predict water quality impacts post–impoundment because it uses models calibrated with limited and insufficient data sets. The problems inherent in the NT2 EAMP modeling approach are amplified by a trend toward a gross oversimplification of complex aquatic ecosystem structure and function. The Nam Theun 2 Project is ecologically unsound and will cause serious and

Independent Technical Review: Compensation for Communities Living Along the Xe Bang Fai River

Saturday, January 1, 2005
IRN and Environmental Defense commissioned an indendpdent review of the proposed mitigation and compensation program for the affected villages along the mainstream Xe Bang Fai and its tributaries, as described in the Social Development Plan (SDP). The review found that the program is overly ambitious, poorly reflects actual experience in the region and leaves many questions unanswered. The programme is lacking in detail and no feasibility study has been completed to examine the various recommended options.

Independent Technical Review: NT2 Agriculture and Livestock Development Plan

Saturday, January 1, 2005
IRN and Environmental Defense commissioned an independent review of the Nam Theun 2 Social Development Plan's (SDP) program for agricultural and livestock development. This program forms one important component of the livelihood system for the 6,200 people to be displaced by Nam Theun 2. The review found that the program is unsustainable and has a high likelihood of failure. Villagers will need to sell vegetables in exchange for rice, and will need to continually make high levels of inputs into their land. If villagers suffer income reductions because of cold winters, drought, market price red

Independent Technical Review: NT2 Impacts on Xe Bang Fai Fisheries

Saturday, January 1, 2005
IRN and Environmental Defense commissioned an independent review of the NT2 Environmental Assessment and Management Plan's (EAMP) predictions of fisheries impacts in the Xe Bang Fai river. The review concludes that NT2 is likely to have multiple serious, negative impacts on the aquatic resources of the Xe Bang Fai, Nam Phit and other downstream river basins. The probable result will be, as predicted in the project’s Social Development Plan, a "collapse in the aquatic food chain" from the Nam Phit down to the Mekong confluence. Despite these dire predictions, the EAMP – the document which s

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