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The Bui Dam in Ghana and the Kamchay Dam in Cambodia

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The Bui Dam in Ghana and the Kamchay Dam in Cambodia bs_bs_banner Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 573–589 doi: 10.1002/app5.103 Original Article Chinese Overseas Hydropower Dams and Social Sustainability: The Bui Dam in Ghana and the Kamchay Dam in Cambodia Frauke Urban, Johan Nordensvard, Giuseppina Siciliano and Bingqin Li* Abstract introduced and social policies need to be improved to be in line with international social There is a shortage of empirical studies on the standards on hydropower projects. relationship between Chinese hydropower Key words: social sustainability, hydro- dams and social sustainability. Comparative power, China, Ghana, Cambodia research on Chinese-funded and Chinese-built hydropower projects is rare. This article aims to fill parts of this gap by discussing these 1. Introduction issues in relation to Chinese overseas hydro- power dams in Ghana (Bui Dam) and Cambo- Hydropower dams are experiencing a new dia (Kamchay Dam). Both projects are built by renaissance in many parts of the world, par- Sinohydro and financed by ExIm Bank. This ticularly in low and middle income countries, article draws on in-depths interviews and where most of the hydropower potential focus group discussions with local communi- remains at relatively low levels of exploitation. ties affected by the dams, institutional actors These countries have weak formal social in Ghana and Cambodia, Chinese actors, and policy to remedy some of the social implica- dam builders. The article uses an environ- tions of large infrastructure projects. Often mental justice perspective as an analytical these countries are therefore dependent that framework. The article concludes that the hydropower projects include social sustain- dam projects could improve their social ability to mitigate some of the worst social sustainability framework in practice and implications. The social implications of hydro- theory; social benchmarking should be power dams often include resettlement of affected individuals and communities, psycho- logical stress, loss or declines of livelihood, * Urban and Siciliano: Centre for Development, changes to lifestyles and traditions, impacts on Environment and Policy (CeDEP), School of Ori- fishing and agricultural activities as well as ental and African Studies (SOAS), University of food security, impacts on access to and quality London, 36 Gordon Square, London WC1H of water and land, as well as a range of envi- 0PD, United Kingdom; Nordensvard: Sociology, ronmental adverse effects (Urban et al. 2013). Social Policy and Criminology, University of Large dams have been controversially debated Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, for several decades due to their large-scale and United Kingdom; Li: Crawford School of Public Policy, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Austra- often irreversible social and environmental lian National University, Canberra, Australian impacts (World Commission on Dams (WCD) Capital Territory 0200, Australia. Corresponding 2000). author: Nordensvard, email Ͻj.o.nordensvard@ The controversial nature of hydropower soton.ac.ukϾ. projects forced the World Bank to introduce © 2015 The Authors. Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies published by Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 574 Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies September 2015 safeguard policies in the 1980s to protect local Later these documents by Sinohydro were populations from the consequences of dams. superseded with much weaker and vaguer poli- Examples of safeguard policies are involved cies like the Occupational Health, Safety and with issues such as ‘environmental assess- Environmental Policy (Sinohydro 2013), ment, natural habitats, pest management, Statement of Ethical Principle (Sinohydro compensation for involuntary resettlement, 2014a), and Sustainable Development Policy indigenous peoples, forests, safety of dams, (Sinohydro 2014b). These policy documents cultural property, projects in international focus far less on the social implications of the waterways and projects in disputed areas’ local stakeholders. As China has become the (Hall 2007, p. 170). Project such as the Sardar largest investor and builder of hydropower Sarovar Dam Projects in India, the Chonoy dams, it is of importance to do more compara- dam in Guatemala and the Itaparica hydro- tive research on the practical implications of power scheme became pivotal to the changes corporate social responsibility of Chinese of the World Bank’s approach to hydropower hydropower dam projects. (Hall 2007). This article aims to analyse social sustain- At the forefront of the renaissance of hydro- ability in two case studies of Chinese hydro- power today is not the World Bank but Chinese power dams in Ghana (Bui Dam) and Cambo- developers, first and foremost the world’s dia (Kamchay Dam), which are both built by largest overseas dam builder Sinohydro. Sinohydro. The case studies are based on Sinohydro, a Chinese state-owned enterprise in-depths interviews and focus group discus- (SOE), is leading the global hydropower sector sions with local communities, institutional in terms of number and size of dams built, actors in Ghana and Cambodia, Chinese investment sums, and global coverage. This is actors, and dam builders. The article uses a only being rivalled to a similar extent by the social sustainability/environmental justice lens China Three Gorges Corporation. While China to look at both the substantive and procedural has a long history of domestic dam building, dimension of the social impacts of hydropower recent developments have led to rising dams. The article concludes that the Sinohydro numbers of Chinese overseas hydropower dam projects could improve their social dams, particularly in low and middle income sustainability framework in practice and countries in Asia and Africa (Bosshard 2009; theory; social benchmarking should be intro- McDonald et al. 2009; International Rivers duced and social policies need to be improved 2012). Power generation equipment is now to be in line with international social standards China’s second largest export earner after elec- on hydropower projects. trical appliances (Bosshard 2009). Despite the rise of Chinese overseas hydropower dam 2. Theoretical Framework projects, the development and application of social standards for hydropower dam projects The main research question of this article is: have been slow. how do Chinese hydropower projects built Nordensvard et al. (2015) found that by Sinohydro and financed by ExIm Bank Sinohydro’s attempts to improve their social ensure social sustainability towards the local records have resulted in rather vague policy affected population? This is being examined recommendations and a lack of enforceable by analysing the social sustainability of two social standards. In 2011 Sinohydro released Chinese hydropower dams, one in Ghana (Bui its policy commitments entitled ‘Policy Dam) and one in Cambodia (Kamchay Dam). Framework for Sustainable Development’ This section discusses the theoretical frame- (Sinohydro 2011; Decarboni.se 2014), which work on which the article is based. Key was very closely linked to World Bank Stan- theories are social sustainability, sustainable dards. Eight policy commitments from overall development and environmental justice. 12 policy commitments were matching with Social sustainability has become an increas- World Bank-related performance standards. ingly important part of hydropower dam proj- © 2015 The Authors. Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies published by Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd Urban et al.: Chinese Overseas Hydropower Dams 575 ects as they are increasingly built in countries issues of race and ethnicity and how these that struggle to cope with the social implica- were intertwined with the distributions of envi- tions of these large projects. Sustainability was ronmental ‘bads’, such as pollution and tech- popularised by the Brundtland Report in 1987 nological risk (Bullard 1999). Environmental and became synonymous with ‘development justice became the concept for describing that meets the needs of the present without political activism in the United States to ‘resist compromising the ability of future generations the imposition of toxic and polluting facilities to meet their own needs’’ (World Commission in minority and poor communities’ (Walker on Environment and Development 1987, p. 2009, p. 356). Distributive justice became a 43). There was an interest of integrating the focal point in framing how communities of social, economic and environmental dimen- colour have been exposed to environmental sions of development. These dimensions were hazards, such as toxic waste or other environ- seen as the core pillars of sustainable develop- mental issues. Categories such as gender, race ment. The original Brundtland Report sig- and class and impact of environmental ‘bads’ nalled an interest in social issues. It was and access to environmental ‘goods’ such as important to incorporate needs, and the report quality of life, natural resources and a clean stipulated that ‘the essential needs of the environment became the heart of discussing world’s poor’ should be given an ‘overriding distributive justice and the environment priority’ (World Commission on Environment
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