Cook Suriyashotichyangkul's blog

Last week Bobbie and I had the opportunity to observe the filing of a case in the Administrative Court of Thailand by affected villagers downstream from the Xayaburi dam in Laos. We were informed by the villagers’ lawyer, Ms. Sor. Rattanamanee Polkla, that there would be 80 villagers submitting the lawsuit, travelling to Bangkok from the eight Mekong River provinces of Thailand. These 80 villagers were armed with a further 1,000 signatures of Thai villagers supporting the case. Last year the Save the Mekong Coalition submitted a petition, signed by over 20,000 people against the damming of the Mekong, to the Thai Prime Minister (Thailand will purchase 95% of the electricity produced by the dam). The villagers’ case will challenge the decision of the National Energy Policy Council and Thai Cabinet to approve the Power Purchase Agreement between the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and the Xayaburi Power Company Limited, the project’s operator. The villagers argue that this approval was given without conducting an environmental and health impact assessment of the dam in Thailand along with public consultation, both of which are required under the Thai Constitution for activities that will significantly affect a community’s natural environment.

The villagers started their campaign with a walking rally to the Administrative court at 10 in the morning. During the march, they carried placards with strong anti-dam messages. They also loudly called for justice from the Government. The march was conducted peacefully, and in fact staff and security helped the villagers find space in front of the court to worship the spirits of the Mekong before filing.

There was a moment of silence to start the worship ceremony. The villagers kneeled down; paid their respects to the Mekong and chanted together. The words of the chant were about how the “Mother River” played a vital role in their lives and this is why they respected the Mekong. At the end, they cast a fishing net in front of the court, a symbol of their traditional livelihoods that depend on fish, which are at risk with the construction of the dam.

Recently, Bobbie and I went with Sor Rattana, a Thai lawyer and member of the Mekong Legal Network (MLN), to several provinces along the Mekong river in the Isan region (the northeastern part of Thailand) to observe her consultations and information sharing with communities on the proposed Xayaburi dam in Laos. The controversial project, which is yet to be completed, would be the first dam on the lower Mekong River, and is the result of a power purchase agreement between the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand - EGAT (the buyer), the Lao government (the seller), and Xayaburi Power Company (the generator).

Sor's consultations were aimed at advising the communities and villagers on the current situation of the Xayaburi dam, and preparing for litigation as requested by the potentially affected communities. Sor’s organization, the Community Resources Centre, is preparing a case against EGAT in the Thai administrative court. As Bobbie previously noted, there are numerous concerns about the potential impacts of this project, including transboundary environmental impacts in Thailand, and a lack of public information disclosure, consultation and participation before the agreement was made.

Construction on the controversial US$11 billion Xingu River dam construction project — the so-called Belo Monte dam — was temporarily halted by a Brazilian federal judge last month due to concerns over the impact on local fisheries. The judge ruled the dam’s environmental license violates the constitutional rights of indigenous communities and is therefore illegal. An appeal is expected in the case.

Then last week, hundreds of indigenous people, fishermen and riverine community members began to occupy the dam site, located in Para state in northern Brazil, forcing the suspension of construction. Protesters said they would permanently occupy the site and called on allies to join them. After 15 hours, lawyers from Norte Energia and justice officials informed the protesters that a different federal court in Brazil ordered the immediate removal of protestors and prohibited any actions that disrupt Belo Monte's construction; and they informed the protestors that troops were in the area and prepared to act. Our friends at Amazon Watch, who are campaigning to stop the dam, have noted that the risk of a violent confrontation between security forces and indigenous protestors is very high.

The 11,000-plus megawatt (MW) project is the largest hydropower project under construction in the world and will be the world’s third largest if completed under its current design. The project is supported by the Brazilian government, constructed by Norte Energia, a consortium of Brazilin state-owned and private companies, and funded by Brazil’s development bank BNDES. It is widely seen as a major threat to the Amazon and the local indigenous peoples.