Laos’ planlagte dæmningsprojekt ved Mekongfloden er tilsyneladende blevet sat på pause, efter at Vietnam, Cambodja og donorlande ved et møde har udtrykt bekymring over projektets betydning for blandt andet befolkning og biodiversitet i de berørte områder. Det skriver International Rivers i en pressemeddelelse. LUANG PRABANG, 18 January 2013 (International Rivers): At yesterday’s 19th Mekong River Commission (MRC) Council Meeting, heated debate occurred over Laos’ construction of the Xayaburi Dam and plans to build a cascade of dams on the Lower Mekong River. According to participants at the meeting, MRC governments disagreed about the prior (førudgående) consultation procedures and how they had been applied in the case of the Xayaburi Dam. The Cambodian delegation asserted (hævdede) that Laos had misinterpreted the Mekong Agreement and that the prior consultation process had never been completed. Meanwhile, Vietnam requested that no further developments on the Mekong mainstream occur until the Mekong mainstream dams study agreed upon at least year’s Council Meeting is completed. Vietnam: vigtigt at undersøge konsekvenser af projekter først In his opening statement, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment diplomatically chastised (irettesatte) the Lao government, stating that the “launching of the first mainstream hydropower (vandenergi) project recently in the Lower Mekong Basin is causing concerns of the Governments of the riparian countries (landene omkring floden) in the region and the international community about its adverse (negative) impacts on downstream areas. While we are still trying to do the research to understand its impacts, each riparian country should show their responsibility by assuring that any future development and management of water resources proposed in the basin should be considered with due (behørig) care and full precaution (forsigtighed) based on best scientific understanding of the potential impacts.” The Cambodian and Thai Council members both asked that the Mekong mainstream dams impact study be completed as soon as possible to ensure that future decisions about mainstream dams are informed by good science. Donorlande: dæmningsprojekter en udfordring for fødevaresikkerhed og biodiversitet Meanwhile, in a Joint Statement made by the MRC’s Development Partners, donor governments expressed the need for consensus amongst the MRC governments on Mekong dams due to their transboundary (på tværs af grænser) impacts and requested that the Lao government disclose the Xayaburi Dam’s project design, while taking into account the concerns of their neighbors. The statement said, “It is our consensus that building dams on the mainstream of the Mekong may irrevocably (uigenkaldeligt) change the river and hence constitute (udgør) a challenge for food security (fødevaresikkerhed), sustainable (bæredygtig) development, and biodiversity conservation (bevarelse).” Læs videre her: http://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/cambodia-vietnam-and-donors-challenge-laos-on-mekong-dams-7802 Begynd ved: ”MRC Development Partners also recommended…”
