The Sunday Times (Britain)
May 6, 2001

A giant Chinese project to build up to nine dams on the Mekong River poses a threat to people, wildlife and water systems across southeast Asia, according to a draft report prepared for the Asian Development Bank.

Governments down-river in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam are said to be too fearful of China to make any public protest over the plans.

The draft report gives a warning that the Chinese dams could cause intensified flooding, wreck fisheries, damage the environment and disrupt transport links.

The Mekong supports more than 100m people on its course from the Tibetan plateau to the South China Sea. Floods claimed more than 500 lives last year, a toll which experts say is certain to rise as the water flow changes.

The worst effects could come in Laos and Cambodia, two desperately poor countries that have become dependent on Chinese investment and aid. Both recently hosted fraternal visits from Chinese leaders.

The draft report was prepared by the Stockholm Environment Institute for the Asian Development Bank, a financial institution with more than 45 member nations and a mission to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life in the region.

It singles out as the prime problem a cluster of dams along the twisting course of the river in China’s Yunnan province. Chinese planners aim to generate huge amounts of hydroelectric power to be transmitted to booming cities in the country’s southwest region. They portray this gargantuan effort as second only to the controversial Three Gorges project along the Yangtze River.

The first big dam at Manwan, south of the city of Dali, was completed in 1996. The Dachaoshan dam will be operational in 2003. Construction of the vast Xiaowan dam is expected to begin next year. Thai and Chinese companies are planning another big dam at Jinghong to generate electricity for sale to both countries.

Chinese officials respond to criticism of the Three Gorges and the Mekong projects by saying the dams will improve safety by managing the water flow in times of flood and drought. But the report says that China should agree to a full study of the effects of the entire project before building starts on the Xiaowan dam. China is likely to regard such observations as interference in its internal affairs.

Chinese influence is strongest in the impoverished and landlocked nation of Laos. Ravaged by the wars that engulfed Indochina, this tranquil Buddhist country of just 5.5m people is under the rule of a secretive Communist party that is seeking any means to boost the economy and stay in power.

Grant Evans, an expert on Laotian politics at the University of Hong Kong, said: “The big problem for Laos is that it is becoming increasingly dependent on China for military and financial support.”

In Cambodia, Hun Sen, the ruling strongman, has eagerly courted the Chinese as he grows increasingly impatient with western aid donors and their endless questions about human rights and environmental concerns. He is not likely to annoy Beijing over the issue of dams.