Press Release from Mekong Regional People’s Forum on 11 November

Thursday, November 12, 2015

An Giang, Vietnam- More than 100 people gathered yesterday in An
Giang, Vietnam for the historic Mekong People’s Forum: “Local
Mekong People’s Voices: the message to Mekong governments on Mekong
dams.” Participants included community members from the Tonle Sap
lake, communities along the Mekong and 3S Rivers in Cambodia, from
Northern and Northeastern Thailand’s communities along the Mekong and
from An Giang, Dak Lak and Ca Mau, Vietnam. Most people have already
experienced direct impacts from dams on the Mekong and its tributaries.
The meeting marks the first time that communities from different Mekong
countries have organized themselves to create a common platform from
which to raise their concern regarding the impacts of existing and
planned hydropower projects on the Mekong River.

At the forum, community representatives presented a statement (attached)
by local people entitled “Mekong governments: Listen to the
People!“ to regional governments, signed by more than 6,400 local
people from the Mekong River Basin, along with supporting organizations
and individuals. The statement calls for Mekong governments to urgently
listen to the concerns of the people, and to respect the rights of local
communities to make decisions about the future of their lives and able to
continue in protecting their rivers.

“Cambodia will have to the bare the most severe impacts of the Mekong
dams on fisheries, especially from the Don Sahong Dam,” said Sam At,
a fisherman from Tonle Sap, Cambodia. “ We want to know why the Don
Sahong Dam and other dams keep being pushed forward and why none of the
governments will listen to us.”

The common problems and concerns with Mekong dams and their impact to
fisheries, ecology, hydrology and the loss of land along the Mekong, have
been shared by people in Lao PDR, Thailand and Cambodia over the past two
decades, while Vietnam has expressed increasing concern over the change
in quantity and quality of water, the loss of sediment and intrusion of
saline water to agriculture land and fishery production due to both
hydropower dams and climate change. Significant impacts have been felt
since the first mega dams on the upper Mekong mainstream in China started
construction, and in other Mekong tributaries from the Pak Mun Dam in
Thailand,  Yali Fall Dam in Vietnam, and now from the first lower
Mekong mainstream dam, the Xayaburi Dam being built by Lao PDR. One of
the most pressing concerns held by Mekong people at this time is the
impending construction of the Don Sahong Dam, which will block one of the
key channels in the region for fish migration throughout the lower Mekong
Basin.

“We who have grown up with the river are able to see even the smallest
changes. Over the last ten years we have seen the water levels drop and
the fish stocks diminish. “We are worried about our future and the future
of our children.” Said Mrs Huynh Thi Kim Duyen, a community
representative from Ca mau province, Vietnam.
Mekong local people gathered in the forum were encouraged by the unity
and commitment among themselves and expressed that the local people’s
movement will continue to grow bigger and stronger. The problems related
to Mekong dams have not yet been recognized or resolved, therefore
communities commit to work together across countries, to unify the stance
and concerns of local people in countries affected by hydropower
projects.

“We have a serious question about the Mekong River Commission (MRC).
With their knowledge, they cannot make the Mekong governments consider
the true cost of these dams and the impact to us. The local Mekong people
have also now conducted many clearer assessments of the impacts to our
rivers. I therefore ask why we need to have MRC. We now propose instead
the Mekong People’s council, as a platform to reflect the real concern of
Mekong people,” Said Chirasak Inthayod, the Hug Chiang Khong Group
from Northern Thailand

The forum plans to submit the statement with around 8,000
signatures/thumbprints, in two weeks time, to all Mekong governments
through the Mekong Ministers responsible for Mekong dams.
The Mekong River belongs to all countries and all people,“ said
Amnart Trijak, a community leader from Nakornphanon Province, Thailand.
“The governments have to stop looking only at their own territory. To
do this is not reflecting the reality of our shared river. We the people
should be able to take a key part in decision-making processes over the
future of the rivers.”

Contacts:

Cambodia:   
Mr. Long Sochet, Representative of Cambodia Community Fisheries Tel:
Representative of Cambodia Community Fisheries (CCF) Tel: +855 12 989 318

Mr. Youk Senglong, Fisheries Action Coalition Team  (FAC) 
Email:
y.senglong@fact.org.kh, Tel:
+855 12 768609

Thailand:     
Mr. Channarong Vongla, Representative from Hug Chiang Khan Group,
Thailand  Tel:+66  890 212 004
Ms. Premrudee DaoroungTowards Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance
(TERRA) Email:
premrudee@terraper.org 
Tel: +66 81 4342334

Vietnam:
Mr. Vo Thanh Trang, Representative of An Giang Community,
Vietnam  Tel: +84 945 320 719
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Van, Vietnam Rivers Network (VRN)
Email: van@warecod.org.vn Tel:
+84 163 603 7853

Best regards,

Senglong
……………………………………………
Senglong YOUK (Mr.)
Cell-phone: (+855) 12 76 86 09 / 70 40 40 97
Email:senglongyouk@gmail.com
……………………………………………
Position: Program Manager
Organization: Fisheries Action Coalition Team (FACT)
Address: #57z, Str. 430, Sangkat Phsar Doeum Thkov, Khan Chamkarmon,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Tel: (+855) 23 992 044
Email: y.senglong@fact.org.kh