Concerned residents have delivered a petition to four Asian governments, calling for a halt to hydroelectricity projects along the Mekong River.
The “Save the Mekong” petition, containing 16,000 signatures from residents of the six nations the Mekong River flows through, was hand-delivered to Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in Bangkok on Thursday and sent to the leaders of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Most of the petitioners are from fishing and farming families who live along the Mekong and its tributaries, as well as monks, students, city-folk and even some of the region’s well-known celebrities.
Another 5,000 people around the world joined the “Save the Mekong” campaign by signing postcards and an online petition.
The petition, in seven languages, states that 16 existing and planned dams along the Mekong River will impede fish migration and upset the rivers’ ecosystem.
The petition calls on governments to seek more environmentally-friendly power sources.
The Mekong, the world’s 10th longest river, provides food and an income for millions of people who live along the waterway and its tributaries.
It is estimated dams will reduce the commercial fishing catch from the river by 70 percent. The river is estimated to generate a total income of US$3 billion a year for those involved in the fishery industry.
For years, civil society groups in the Mekong region and around the world have been sounding the alarm about plans to build 11 hydro dams on the Lower Mekong River in Thailand and Laos.
The construction of dams in China along the Upper Mekong, known as Lancang, has already caused serious environmental problems, with fish stocks declining, riverbanks eroding and water levels fluctuating downstream in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.
The “Save the Mekong” coalition and those who signed the petition also raised concerns about the environmental impacts of the Ban Koum and Pak Chom dams on the Thai-Laos border.
Experience around the world demonstrated there is no way to mitigate the damage to fisheries caused by such large dams, said Premrudee Daoroung, co-director of the Towards Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance project, run by the Bangkok-based non-profit Foundation for Ecological Recovery.
Premrudee said the consequences of the dams were already being seen in northern Thailand and Laos, with reduced water flows and eroded river banks.(Tuoitre)
