THE Cambodian government, working through the Mekong River Commission (MRC), has

asked Vietnam to mitigate the devastation caused by the first in a series of six

dams proposed on the Se San River in the central highlands of Vietnam.

The Yali Falls dam, blamed for more than 30 deaths and the collapse of fish stocks

and riverbank agriculture in Stung Treng and Ratanakkiri provinces, hints at the

destruction to come if the cascade of dams proceeds as planned.

The second dam under construction, Se San 3, will be finished in 2004, one year ahead

of schedule, according to the Vietnam News. But effects from Yali Falls dam, such

as rapidly fluctuating water levels and declining water quality, still plague Cambodia.

At least 39 people in northwest Cambodia have drowned, along with thousands of livestock,

since construction began on the $1.2 billion Yali Falls dam in 1993, reported Probe

International, a Canadian NGO investigating energy projects.

Tha Thong Sanith, 54, a community representative from Stung Treng, came to Phnom

Penh with NGO Forum this October. He said the dam has dramatically changed village

life for many of the 50,000 people living along the Se San River in northeastern

Cambodia.

"Now people cannot grow vegetables along the river, people have many kinds of

disease, and the bridges and roads are broken," said Thong Sanith. "Children

living upstream cannot go to school because they are scared of the river."

So far, Vietnam has merely promised to implement the "Five Solutions" approved

by Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai to reduce impacts of the dam, according

to the minutes of a recent meeting between Cambodia and Vietnam obtained by the Post.

No compensation was offered. Proposals to alter the dam releases to protect inhabitants

and ecosystems downstream stalled, despite urging by international aid agencies and

Cambodian officials.

Theng Tara, chairman of the Cambodian delegation handling Se San River discussions,

met with the Vietnamese negotiators on November 4-8. He indicated that the talks

had only yielded pledges for cooperation on hydrological studies and early warnings

for dam releases.

But Vietnamese negotiators demanded that comments on the new dam, Se San 3, be submitted

by November 27.

"They only gave me three weeks to submit comments, otherwise they will consider

that Cambodia approves the [Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Se San 3 dam] as they

are," said Tara.

He said the countries had not yet agreed how the new dam would proceed, but another

meeting has been scheduled to ratify the TOR for the middle of 2004. Vietnam is not

required to seek approval for the dam under MRC rules since the Se San River is a

tributary of the Mekong River and not part of the mainstream.

But controversy has dogged the project since its inception.

A confidential Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded study of the Se San 3 dam, leaked

this May, blasted earlier studies downplaying the project's effects. The study called

the impact of the dam projects to Cambodia "critical to catastrophic".

The previous two reports, written by two consulting firms, SWECO International in

Sweden and the Swiss-firm Electrowatt, characterized the potential impact of the

Se San 3 project, downstream of Yali Falls dam, as slight while ignoring much of

its effect on the river basin as a whole.

The leaked report, produced by New Zealand consulting firm Worley in 2000, criticized

many of their conclusions. It stated that they "lack[ed] a sound scientific

or quantitative basis". Worley added that the earlier studies were based, at

least in part, on "bad science" and that the proposed Se San 3 dam would

exacerbate "serious conflicts between water users in Vietnam and Cambodia".

But SWECO International, which produced a 1999 feasibility study on Se San 3 dam,

responded by email that the problems in Cambodia were caused by the faulty design

and operation of the Yali Falls dam. They did not affect the validity of its study

or the Se San 3 project.

"We believe that no experienced consultant could ever have predicted that the

spillway gates at Yali would be operated in such a manner that led to the catastrophic

events in Cambodia," wrote Tina Karlberg, president of SWECO International,

on November 3.

Massive water releases during testing at the Yali Falls dam in 1999 swept away homes,

crops and people in Cambodia. SWECO now holds a consulting contract with Electricity

of Vietnam (EVN) to assist with producing the blueprints of the Se San 3 dam.

Electrowatt did not respond to requests for information.

The six dams are estimated to cost more than $2 billion by the time they are completed

over the next decade. The closest will be just 10 km from the Cambodian-Vietnamese

border.

The first, the 720-megawatt Yali Falls dam, was completed in 2002. That same year,

construction began on a second dam, Se San 3, just 20 km downstream from Yali Falls.

Planning for Se San 3 A, Se San 4, Pleik Krong and Than Ong dams has been approved.

The ADB initially floated the idea of funding the $264 million Se San 3 project,

but withheld funds following Worley's report. Vietnam reportedly later accepted financing

from Russian sources.

However, the World Bank (WB), along with the ADB, has bankrolled the Greater Mekong

Subregion Regional Power Grid which aims to string transmission power lines from

China to southern Vietnam. That project relies heavily on hydropower.

Probe International has launched a campaign to publicize the leaked report as part

of its campaign to win restitution for people affected by hydropower projects-particularly

on the Se San River.

Citing Worley's report, it has called for the two consulting companies to be prosecuted

for "professional negligence and misconduct" and halt the construction

of dams on the Se San River.

But Gráinne Ryder, policy director for Probe International, said that the

most pressing concern wasn't money. It was restoring the livelihoods of those left

destitute by the dams.

"Compensation isn't the main issue," she said. "It's restoring the

river. That's technically possible. You can change the river regime."

She proposed implementing a dam release cycle protecting residents and ecosystems

by more closely mimicking the natural river flows.

"It will take a lot of political will, but it could be a real model for the

region and not a source of conflict," she said

As part of the relief response, a consortium of NGOs has organized communities into

the Se San Protection Network in partnership with provincial governments in Ratanakkiri

and Stung Treng.

Community representatives recently came to Phnom Penh on October 20 to meet with

officials from the Swedish aid agency SIDA, which has funded dam construction in

Vietnam in the past.

They hoped to convince SIDA to apply pressure on the Vietnamese government.

Claes Leijon, head of the development cooperation section at SIDA in Cambodia, said

he was optimistic about the outcome, but noted SIDA could only "facilitate dialogue"

with the Vietnamese government.

"There have been some good results as a result of this dialogue," he said.

"They have taken action according to our discussions."

Others have been building a legal case against Vietnam and EVN.

Michael Lerner, a lawyer with Oxfam America, alleges that Vietnam breached international

law and specific commitments it made as a member in the MRC, which he said lacks

the authority or institutional capacity to enforce provisions protecting its members.

Lerner reported that construction began on Se San 3 dam before an Environmental Impact

Assessment was even approved-a clear breach of international best practice and MRC

guidelines.

Prior notification of dam releases, also a requirement of the MRC's agreement, were

often delayed. Provincial authorities in Cambodia sometimes could not prepare villagers

caught downstream in time.

So far, those living on the Se San River feel they can do little about the growing

threat from across the border.

"I think all villages along the river are concerned about the dams," said

Puoun Lieam, 40, a community leader from Ratanakkiri. "We want to demonstrate

against the dam. If we know the road to Yali Dam, we will go and break it."

But another resident from Ratanakkiri, Thong Liean, 48, only lamented the plight

of his village.

"The dam was built in Vietnam," he said. "But the impact was in Cambodia."