The Bui Dam in Ghana and the Kamchay Dam in Cambodia

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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 hydropower 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 hydropower 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 (Boström 2012, p. 5). and Development 1987, p. 43). The peak of The focus on distribution has often been sustainability was in the 1990s, sparked by the expanded upon with other dimensions, such as United Nations Conference on Sustainable participation, recognition and capabilities. Development in Rio de Janeiro. Twenty years Pulido (1996), Faber (2005) and Schlosberg later, the Rio+20 summit put sustainable (2007) have highlighted the importance of development back onto the agenda. This will process and production in environmental be followed by the sustainable development justice. There is an overarching perception that goals (SDGs), which will build upon the Mil- most pollution and degradation are caused by lennium Development Goals and be in line the more affluent and powerful, and the envi- with the post-2015 international development ronmental consequences hit the poor dispro- agenda. While environmental and economic portionately. It is therefore important that the development will be at the forefront of many decision-making process in environmental of the goals, social goals are also firmly policy and particular projects are transparent, embedded in the SDGs. just and participative. The importance lies in There has been an attempt to link social creating fair processes for environmental sustainability to the concept of environmental policy-making and policy implementation. justice. This makes sense as environmental There is a perception that if the policy-making justice has a more developed social justice and implementation have been fair, participat- perspective compared with the original envi- ing parties tend to accept a disliked outcome ronmental pillar in sustainable development. (Deutsch 2000). Procedural justice is less This article suggests that such a discourse about equal distribution and more about the helps strengthen social sustainability and direct empowerment and participation of dif- gives body to an analysis of hydropower dam ferent stakeholders in environmental processes projects in low and middle income countries. (Boström 2012, p. 5). Environmental justice differs from other envi- Schlosberg discusses the links between ronmental discourses by defining the environ- political participation and recognition, draw- ment as the set of linked places ‘where we ing upon the discussion by both Young and live, work and play’ (Turner & Wu 2002, Fraser. The overall argument is that one needs p. 4). to acknowledge that a lack of respect and The environmental justice framework origi- recognition could lead to a ‘decline in a per- nated from a US context that focused around son’s membership and participation in the

© 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 576 Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies September 2015 greater community, including the political and tion, participation and power distribution)’ institutional order’ (Schlosberg 2004, p. 519). (Karjalainen & Järvikoski 2010). Schlosberg also argues that we also need to add a capability dimension to environmental justice that ‘enrich conceptions of environ- 2.1 Analytical Framework mental and climate justice by bringing recognition to the functioning of these systems, in In this study we focus on looking at distribu- addition to those who live within and depend tive and procedural dimensions as a way to on them’ (Schlosberg 2013, p. 44). This understand how socially sustainable a hydro- approach has created an attempt to include power dam project is (see Table 1). We work environmental concerns into a movement that with Boström’s (2012) conceptualisation has often been perceived to be anthropocentric of social sustainability. His ‘what’ category (Shrader-Frechette 2002). ‘When we interrupt, covers substantive aspects of social sustain- corrupt, or defile the potential functioning of ability, hence covering the distributive dimen- ecological support systems, we do an injustice sion. His ‘how’ category covers procedural not only to human beings, but also to all of aspects of social sustainability. This article those non-humans that depend on the integrity examines how substantive the social sustain- of the system for their own functioning’ ability of Chinese overseas dams is. The (Schlosberg 2013, p. 44). research thereby questions if the large dam Over the decades, environmental justice projects can sustain stakeholders’ basic needs, has expanded both in theory and in geo- support local stakeholders’ livelihoods and graphical application. The interplay between also provide them with basic services. This global and local manifestations and agendas looks at the redistributive aspect of corporate has become more important (Walker & Bulkeley 2006; Schlosberg 2007; Carruthers 2008; Schroeder et al. 2008; Sze & London Table 1 Adapted Social Sustainability Framework 2008). Sze and London suggest that the envi- for Hydropower Dams, Derived and Amended from Boström (2012) ronmental justice framework is today used at a global scale, incorporating both global and Substantive social sustainability for hydropower dams local concerns on an interdisciplinary basis Basic needs such as sufficient food, adequate housing, (Sze & London 2008). Walker (2009) sees income and extended needs this development as a horizontal diffusion of Employment and opportunities for learning and environmental justice ideas, topical and geo- self-development graphic scope. Provision of basic services such as clean water supply, sanitation, reliable electricity supply, Agyeman and Evans (2004) argue that ‘just schooling/education, health services, sustainability’ needs a clear linkage between mobility/transportation sustainable development and environmental Fair distribution of environmental ‘bads’ and justice to prevent that the social pillar becomes ‘goods’/equality of rights, including human rights, one-sided. Harvey points out that environmen- land user and tenure rights, and Indigenous people’s rights tal injustices need to be a first priority on the sustainability agenda (Harvey 1996, p. 385). Procedural social sustainability for hydropower dams The links between environmental justice and Accountable governance and management of the policy, social sustainability have become more impor- planning, and standard-setting process and its tant to enrich the classical understanding of implementation; including holding actors accountable impact assessments and conflicts in the light of for fulfilling their promises and pledges Social monitoring of the policy, planning, large infrastructural projects, such as hydro- standard-setting process and its implementation power dams. The importance of these concepts Access to participation and decision-making in different in looking at social impacts tends to focus stages of the process and over time/proactive on ‘distributive (fair allocation of resources) stakeholder communication and consultation and especially procedural justice (recogni- throughout the process

© 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 577 citizenship. The second aspect that we look at 3. Case Studies is the procedural aspect to analyse how accountable the processes are, and whether China has become the most dominant interna- transparent information, communication and tional actor for international hydropower proj- participation is happening. In this article we ects in recent years. While China has a long will look at the substantive and procedural history of domestic dam building, Chinese dimensions of Chinese hydropower dams in dam builders are relatively new to the interna- Ghana and Cambodia (see the case study tional dam industry and have had a rapid selection criteria in Section 3 below). With increase in activity in recent years. China is substantive dimensions, we have adapted today the world’s largest hydropower devel- Boström’s (2012) categories for analysing oper. Chinese dam builders differ from other social impacts on the local population directly dam builders due to the role of SOEs that are affected by the dams. Substantive dimension backed by abundant state funding; their own here means researching how the affected distinctive way of handling (and not seldom, people have been able to meet basic needs and disregarding) social and environmental have access to basic service, and to analyse if impacts; and their pragmatic approach to their burden is just and fair. regional politics and political alliances and The first part of the empirical section there- their need for access to natural resources fore compares the substantive dimension of the (Hensengerth 2013; Urban et al. 2013), as well Bui Dam in Ghana and the Kamchay Dam in as their low costs that make them outcompete Cambodia. The focus is on people who either OECD competitors. In addition, the Chinese experienced losses/declines to their liveli- government incentivises the bundling of aid, hoods and/or had to relocate to new areas to trade and investments, also for overseas hydro- live. The overall research question is how power dam projects (Urban et al. 2013). do Chinese hydropower projects built by Chinese dam builders tend to invest in coun- Sinohydro and financed by ExIm Bank ensure tries and regions where the World Bank, the social sustainability towards the local affected Asian Development Bank and other multilat- population? The subquestion for this part is: eral organisations usually tend to shy away how do hydropower dam projects impact the from investing in hydropower developments, social welfare of the affected population, and such as in Myanmar, Borneo and Sudan. With which policies have been in place to mitigate regard to Chinese overseas dam projects, there possible substantive injustice towards the are currently more than 300 Chinese overseas affected population? dams of all sizes, most of them in Southeast With procedural dimensions, we have Asia (38 per cent) and Africa (27 per cent) adapted Boström’s (2012) categories to under- (Urban & Nordensvard 2014). Of these more stand whether the projects have been empow- than 170 are large dams already completed or ering or disempowering towards the local currently under construction (International affected population. This means explicitly to Rivers 2014). The largest hydropower dam research whether the hydropower dam projects building company in China is the SOE have been accountable in both governing and Sinohydro Corporation, which is subject to the managing the process of building a hydro- rules and regulations of State-owned Assets power dam and involving the local population. Supervision and Administration Committee The second part of the empirical study will of the State Council (International Rivers look at the procedural aspect of the two 2008). Financial institutions like ExIm selected dams. The subquestion for this part is: Bank and Sinosure also have a significant how have the developers and builders imple- interest in hydropower development and are mented principles to make the governance involved in the majority of China’s overseas process transparent, accountable, accessible investments (Heinrich Böll Stiftung 2008). and open to the participation of the local An estimated 60 per cent of Sinosure’s affected population? medium- and long-term loan activity is for

© 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 578 Asia & the Paciﬁc Policy Studies September 2015

China ExIm Bank transactions (McDonald Asia, where most of the Chinese overseas et al. 2009). dams are located. Each dam involves the Depending on the national circumstances, Chinese as dam developers and focuses on dam builders such as Sinohydro may in some large dams of more than 50 MW (which tends cases have influence on decisions regarding to be the main size Chinese dam builders are where a dam should be built, as they can be investing in), where construction has recently involved in initiating surveys and planning the been completed and where access to the dam dam, and how it should be designed, engi- sites, to local communities and national and neered and constructed, which often includes local governments is favourable, hence allow- major decisions about size of the dam, gener- ing independent fieldwork. ating capacity, size of the reservoir that will Choosing two dams in two different coun- flood the area etc. However often dam builders tries enables us to assess whether there is a are asked by governments to build a dam at a common approach to social sustainability of certain location under certain conditions, Chinese overseas hydropower dams such as hence limiting their decision-making power implicit social standards or effective measures and making them only the executers of a dam to remedy issues of substantive and procedural project. In some cases, Sinohydro has acted as dimensions. the project developer for Build-Own-Transfer The Bui Dam in Ghana has a power genera- projects. Developers are usually involved to tion capacity of 400 MW and a net average some extent in the environmental impact energy production of 980 gigawatt hours/year. assessment (EIA)/environmental and social It costs an estimated US$621 million (Intern- impact assessment (ESIA) so that the environ- ational Rivers 2014). The dam started operation mental and social impacts of the dams are in 2013 (Environmental Resources Manage- evaluated and mitigation measures are devel- ment (ERM) 2007). The financiers are China’s oped (such as resettlements and compensation, Export Import (ExIm) Bank and the Ghana rescue missions for animals before the reser- Government, while the builder is Sinohydro voir flooding, planting new trees after the and the developer is Ghana’s government flooding etc.). Compared with project contrac- (International Rivers 2014). The Bui Dam is the tors and builders, developers are therefore well second largest dam in Ghana. It is located in the aware of the full extent of the dam building Northern/Brong-Ahafo Region on the Black and its impacts, and can make informed deci- Volta River at the Bui Gorge. Parts of the dam sions about its sustainability and whether or are located within the Bui National Park. The not a project should go ahead. However, many dam includes a reservoir occupying 440 km2 of of these decisions may also be taken by the the Bui Gorge, which flooded 21 per cent of the national government and then requested to total area of the Bui National Park. be implemented by a developer, such as The Kamchay Dam in Cambodia has a gen- Sinohydro. Sinohydro is usually the builder of erating capacity of 193 MW and costs an esti- dams, but in increasing number of projects mated US$280 million (International Rivers Sinohydro is also the project developer. In 2013), which was part of a bundled US$600 some cases, such as for the Kamchay Dam in million aid and investment package from Cambodia, Sinohydro was the builder, con- China to Cambodia. This bundling of aid is tractor and developer. unusual for OECD financiers, but common for We have chosen two dam projects that are Chinese financiers. The financiers are China’s built by Sinohydro and financed by ExIm ExIm Bank, while the builders, developers and Bank. This covers the largest builder and contractors are Sinohydro. Sinohydro started financier of Chinese overseas hydropower building the Kamchay Dam in Kampot Prov- dams. These two dams have been chosen ince, Southern Cambodia in 2006. The dam because they each represent a specific started operation in late 2011. The dam is approach to Chinese dam building. We have located in Bokor National Park (Middleton chosen one dam in Africa and one in Southeast 2008; Grimsditch 2012).

The project involves an interdisciplinary, data about the dam, (ii) social and environmen- multi-sited, comparative case-study approach tal impact data, and (iii) guidelines, standards, that reflects the international scope of the strategies and legal papers relating to the complex interconnections between Chinese dam builders. For example, we used quantita- dam builders and low and middle income tive secondary data from International countries. River’s extensive database, which includes comprehensive up-to-date data about each 3.1 Data Collection of China’s hydropower projects worldwide (for example, information about which We first conducted a multilevel stakeholder organisations are the dam’s contractor, devel- mapping to identify key stakeholders engaged oper, financier, costs of the dam, size, location, in Chinese overseas hydropower projects for environmental, and social implications). We each of the host countries. The outcome was further used technical dam details from the used to guide the date collection. The field- GEO database. We also compiled secondary work was conducted between 2012 and 2014 data to assess the environmental impacts of in Ghana and Cambodia. We first conducted a dams and their governance implications by pilot study, then the fieldwork with local com- examining the EIA reports of the dams. We munities, followed by the fieldwork with local also analysed dam project documentation and national government authorities. This took and firm strategies, such as Sinohydro’s envi- about a year and a half for each dam, including ronmental and social guidelines outlined in conducting the pilot study. their handbook. This secondary data include For the Bui and Kamchay dams, we carried information about Sinohydro’s approach to out in-depth interviews and focus groups with social and environmental impacts, how they affected communities, local stakeholders and align themselves with the standards of other Chinese actors, for a total of 78 interviews and dam funders such as the World Bank, what they 20 focus group discussions (see Table 2 for care about, and what is only mentioned on the details). margins (or not at all). In addition to primary data that we collected We coded the interview and focus group throughout the fieldwork, we used supple- consultation data and used the Nvivo 10 soft- mentary data from secondary sources. The ware (QSR International, Melbourne, Austra- selection of the secondary data was based on lia) to analyse. These were analysed using the following selection categories: (i) technical narrative analysis (Wiles et al. 2005), which

Table 2 Interview Set-Up

Targets Methods No. of interviews Further details Affected communities Focus groups 10 for Bui, 10 for Kamchay: 50% women; Bui Dam project: (Bator, Bui, Gyama and 20 in total (5–10 people 50% men Dokokyina) each; 150 people in total) Kamchay Dam project: (Bat Kbal Damrey, Moat Peam, Ou Touch, Snam Prampir, Tvi Khan Cheung) Affected individuals Semi-structured 46 (Bui: 25, Kamchay 21) Institutional actors Semi-structured 21 National/local interviews government, NGOs Chinese actors Semi-structured 11 Sinohydro, regulators interviews and ﬁnanciers Total Semi-structured 78 interviews Focus group 20 discussions

© 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 580 Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies September 2015 allows us to compare several cases to be able to boats fishermen were using to fish in the river draw parallels from similar findings and flag have problems of stability in the reservoir. up any differences (Yin 2009). These new circumstances have caused several incidents, and some cases of death were 4. Results reported. It has also been reported by the interviewees 4.1 Substantive Dimension that a number of the fishermen had been arrested because they are not allowed to fish in The main social impacts of the Bui Dam in parts of the river, which falls within a protected Ghana were the impacts on livelihoods, the loss game reserve in Bui National Park. Those who of land and the resettlement of the affected were collecting forest products, such as people. The construction of the Bui Dam in women collecting shea nuts for sale, are not Ghana caused the inundation of six villages. As able to engage in these activities effectively a result, 1,216 people were relocated from their post-resettlement because of the distance to old villages to new settlements. In addition, the forest area. The reduced activities have a 7,500 people from four villages lost access to negative impact on the livelihoods of the local farmland and forests (ERM 2007). Villages rely population and even affect food security. Most on farmland for crops and grazing mainly for of the affected people are subsistence farmers. subsistence. In the low season, fish is for sub- They do not know exactly how much of their sistence; in the high season, fish is also sold on livelihoods decreased as they only farm for the market. Other livelihoods activities include their own use. They find it hard to quantify the hunting and gathering, and trading. After the changes, but they report that the quality of the construction of the dam livelihood, losses con- new land is low and the soil is rather infertile, cerning farming and fishing activities have been which makes agriculture difficult and affects reported by local residents. their food security. Declines in livelihoods of Most of the resettled people interviewed the resettled communities are therefore a reported losses of yields due to poor fertility of major negative impact of the dam. the soil of the new farming land provided to Regarding land compensation, since them by the Ghanaian government in the farming is not allowed in a national park in resettlement areas. Fishing activities have also Ghana, monetary compensation for the loss of decreased due to difficulties to access the river, land due to inundation has been provided only which is far away from the new settlement to chiefs and families who lose farming land sites compared with previous settlements. that was located outside of the Bui National Moreover, even though fishing communities Park or to those with land titles or registration. have now access to the reservoir for fishing, The interviewees reported that those who local people stated that they do not have the farmed on land within the national park bound- necessary skills to fish in the lake. They also aries did not receive monetary compensation reported that some people died during fishing for loss of land. Cash compensation for crops in the reservoir due to the lack of experience. has been paid according to the harvest or To be more specific, the interviewed fishermen market value for lost cash crops, based on the at the Bui Dam site reported that fishing in the average annual market value over crops for the lake is more dangerous than fishing in the river previous 3 years. This is, however, a problem due to the presence of strong winds and the as monetary compensation of crops is only a formation of big waves and currents. The res- one-off payment, while the loss of the crops is ervoir is in fact less protected by vegetation being felt year after year and means families from winds than the river, partially due to the have instable food arrangements year after clearance of the forest for the construction of year. the dam. Fishermen do not have the required According to the Bui Dam Resettlement skills and knowledge to fish in the lake under Planning Framework (RPF), ‘land for land’ these new conditions also because the old compensation must be provided based on the

© 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 581 principle of equivalent land productivity and interviewed in different resettled communities, the size of the land (ERM 2007). However, namely Battor, Bui, Jama and Dokokyina. communities’ members received very small Field evidence, however, shows that overall sizes of the land after resettlement, which are adequate housing facilities have been pro- less fertile. The land was measured by Ghana- vided, and residents in the resettled areas ian government agencies before the resettle- stated to be generally satisfied with the new ment. After the resettlement, the affected houses. people got a different plot of land as a com- The construction of the Kamchay Dam in pensation for the land taken from them. The Cambodia has a series of severe impacts on the government agencies said they measured the local population. There are approximately new land, and it has the same size as the old 22,000 people living in the rural area that is land, but the affected people reported during directly affected by the dam in Kampot prov- the fieldwork that the land is smaller; however ince (NGO Forum Cambodia 2013). However, they have not measured either land sizes. The different from the Bui Dam, no resettlements main issue at the Bui Dam resettlement sites is, have taken place to date. The reservoir has however, not the land size, but the fertility of been filled in an area that was not inhabited, the soil, which is reported to be of much lower located in Bokor National Park, which was fertility than the old land. Crops do, therefore, used by the locals for income-generating not grow as well as they did before, affecting activities, mostly to collect bamboo for food security and incomes for resettled fami- making baskets and selling them on the local lies. Households who lost farmland due to the market. dam flooding were entitled to receive cash The bamboo collectors are the biggest group payments for crops and trees, and they were that has been adversely affected by the dam. also eligible for livelihood and rehabilitation They depend on bamboo collection for their programs in case they lost more than 20 livelihoods as they collect bamboo to make per cent of their land. An example of this is baskets. Most of the bamboo collectors do not Livelihoods Enhancement Programme, which have any other sources of income, many of provides a safety net for households directly them do not own any land nor have any assets, impacted by the project through assistant pro- and most of them have very low literacy rates grams including microcredits, and training and can therefore not easily move on to more programs (RPF 2007). While social protection skilled jobs. The dam has flooded the bamboo measures exist in theory, the resettled people forest area that the villagers used for bamboo are still waiting for these measures to be collection. The dam, therefore, meant a loss of implemented, as no formal social protection livelihoods for many bamboo collectors. While programs have been implemented yet. the main bamboo collection area is flooded, Our interviews reveal that the following the villagers have found another smaller measures were part of the compensation bamboo forest site that is further away and program: new housing facilities in the new now belongs to the land owned by Sinohydro. settlement area; replacement compensation for Our interviews reveal that occasionally fixed assets, such as schools, clinics and com- Sinohydro puts a ban on bamboo collection munity centres; and water and sanitation facili- and closes off access to the area completely, ties. After the construction of the dam, sometimes up to 2 weeks at a time. This means resettled communities were provided with that the villagers do not have any income for 2 electricity, sanitation and water facilities. weeks and have instead started borrowing However, the interviews revealed that the money from microcredit institutions. With no quality of some of the facilities provided has other income sources, the local people are been questioned by resettled people. Sanitary however not able to repay the loans. Our field- facilities, such as toilets, are not used by the work revealed that many of the villagers are majority of the households due to malfunction- therefore experiencing extreme financial hard- ing, as was reported by some of the villagers ship, are experiencing adverse impacts on food

© 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 582 Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies September 2015 security, and are considering options such as sion from the dam to urban areas. Our moving to Phnom Penh or even Thailand as interviewees report that these people were sup- migrant workers to secure their livelihoods. posed to be resettled; however, this has not The second group of people who are happed yet, and it is not clear yet how and affected by the dam are the fuel wood collec- when they will be compensated and relocated. tors. They face a similar situation to the No other resettlement took place; hence, bamboo collectors, although access to parts of housing and relocation are not an issue. the forest areas is currently banned by the Regarding fishing, only a few people fish Cambodian government for fuel wood collec- near the Kamchay Dam, most of them prefer tors due to forest conservation efforts, and fishing in the nearby sea. Two major ecological there is a ban on trucks and engine boats on the changes are occurring due to the dam blocking reservoir. the natural flow of the water. First, as the The third group of people who are nega- Kamchay Dam is located close to the sea, it tively affected by the dam are the fruit sellers blocks the Kamchay river’s freshwater flow at Teuk Chhu riverside resort who are depen- upstream, which means that downstream the dent on income from tourism. As the river is river’s water is much saltier than before the often dry since the dam construction, the dam construction. This has a negative impact tourist numbers have declined by about 80 on fish and other aquatic species as freshwater per cent in 2013 as the affected locals’ report, species cannot inhabit this salty, altered river- which is being confirmed by other reports ine ecosystem. Second, every year in the (NGO Forum Cambodia 2013). The sellers monsoon season, Cambodia experiences the who depend on tourism also mentioned that reversal of the water flow from the sea inland their incomes have declined by about 80 due to heavy rains. This is exemplified at Tonlé per cent compared with before the dam, Sap lake, which expands and shrinks signifi- making it very difficult to provide an income cantly with the seasons as the water flow for their families. Unlike in the Bui Dam case, changes directions. This phenomenon is far there are no schemes for training/livelihood/ less pronounced at the Kamchay river, other employment options for the people although the local population told us during adversely affected by the Kamchay Dam. the fieldwork that the water flow does reverse The fourth group of people who are to some extent. This is now not happening as impacted by the dam are the durian growers the dam is blocking the river. Hence, fish and and other plantation owners. Some of them other aquatic organisms cannot migrate up the received compensation by Sinohydro for land river in the rainy season. For these two that was lost due to the construction of the reasons, the abundance and diversity of fish dam. Rather than compensating for the land, and other aquatic organisms has decreased; Sinohydro compensated the affected families hence, river fishing has become less desirable for the lost trees. The villagers reported that a than before for the local population. lost banana tree was compensated at US$10, a Ironically, many of the people living next to mango tree at US$30, a durian tree at $100– the Kamchay hydroelectric dam do not have 500 depending on size and age. Compensation access to electricity. The fieldwork reveals that was paid to villagers who lost their rice fields, only about a third of villages around the however only at US$3 per square metre, which Kamchay Dam have access to electricity from the villagers considered too low. Rice was only the dam, and out of these villages only about planted for subsistence by the local population, 15–20 per cent of households have access to not for commercial purposes. As rice paddies electricity. Nevertheless, for those who have have been lost, the affected families now need access to electricity, the price of electricity has to purchase rice rather than grow their own. been reduced from 1,800 Riel per kWh to 920 This has had adverse effects on food security. Riel per kWh. This is, however, higher than Several families live under the power lines the initially mentioned 500–600 Riel per kWh that were constructed for electricity transmis- that was promised by Sinohydro, as our

© 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 583 interviewees report. Even though electricity tion of the dam, the construction of the trans- has become more affordable, many people do mission lines and system, the supply of the not have the financial means to connect to the electrical power generated at the dam, the pro- grid as it requires a connection fee of US$160 vision of facilities and assistance for the use of per household, as the villagers report. the lake created by the construction of the dam, as well as the development of activities at the 4.2 Procedural Dimension dam area. The interviewees mentioned that the social Most of the procedural aspect of the Bui Dam monitoring has been delegated to the project project has focused on creating accountable owner BPA, and since above permits are governance and management. This includes granted to BPA it also has the responsibility to the management and implementation of the monitor Sinohydro’s adherence to permits’ ESIA of the dam, the RPF, and the mitigation conditions. Obligations of the contractor (in plan that details measures for reducing the this case Sinohydro) is the implementation of a environmental and social implications of construction management plan, including the dam. According to government officials, dealing with the workforce and local residents, the ESIA was commissioned before the con- ensuring health and safety, and ‘good house- struction of the dam by the Ministry of Energy keeping’ (ERM 2007, p. 1). Finally, Sinohydro of the Ghanaian government and carried out by was involved in some of the monitoring activi- the UK firm Environmental Resources Man- ties together with several governmental agen- agement (ERM). The contract with Sinohydro cies. Local people affected by the dam, such as was a turnkey contract or EPC contract (engi- those who were later resettled, were invited to neering, procurement, construction). attend consultation meetings. However, not all According to the environmental regulations relevant issues were discussed at the consulta- in Ghana, before a development project tion meetings. Some of the affected people receives an approved environmental permit, regretted in the interviews the fact that they the ESIA has to be issued and presented to the were not consulted regarding decisions about Environment Protection Agency. Only when the resettlement site, which is less diverse in the environmental permit is obtained the loan terms of vegetation and lower in soil quality agreement with the project funder, in this case than the location of the previous villages. Nev- China ExIm Bank, can be signed (Hensengerth ertheless, the respondents indicated that most 2011). Environmental regulations and stan- of them took part in consultation meetings that dards in Ghana are relatively strong, and they addressed the impacts of the dam, the upcom- reflect international standards, particularly ing need for resettlement and compensation those developed by the World Bank, and stan- measures. However, the lack of a consultation dards of the International Organisation for process to identify challenges and post-project Standardisation (Hensengerth 2011). construction issues and claims has been The Chinese are neither directly involved in reported by interviewees and in other recent the ESIA nor the resettlement of the local studies (Doh & Andoh 2014). The actors who population. Instead, a new local authority was conducted the consultation meetings were Gha- created by the Ghanaian government for the naians, not Chinese stakeholders, as the management of the dam and its impacts, interviewees report. including the implementation of the resettle- The governance and management process in ment plan, namely the Bui Power Authority the Kamchay Dam project have been markedly (BPA 2007). The BPA was established by an different from the Bui Dam. The Kamchay Act of Parliament, BPA Act 740, in 2007 by Dam contract between Sinohydro and the the Ghanaian Government for the planning, Cambodian government is a build, operate, execution and management of the Bui Dam transfer contract (BOT). Sinohydro will trans- project. The main functions of the BPA include fer the ownership of the dam to the Cambodian the generation of electrical power, the opera- government after 44 years, in 2050.

© 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 584 Asia & the Paciﬁc Policy Studies September 2015

The government authorities that are respon- ernment officials, locals and civil society that sible for dams in Cambodia are the Ministry of Sinohydro has not implemented any mitigation Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME), the Min- measures. Sinohydro is said to have set aside a istry of Water Resources and Meteorology so-far untouched budget of US$5 million for (MOWRAM) and the Ministry of Environ- implementing mitigating measures; however, ment (MoE). MIME is the government author- even government officials are criticising ity that makes the main decisions for dam Sinohydro for its inaction. building in Cambodia and the authority that The consultation processes before the dam deals directly with the dam builders. construction were patchy and ad hoc with little All BOT projects, such as the Kamchay local participation as our fieldwork finds and Dam, have to be approved by the Council for other reports confirm (International Rivers the Development of Cambodia. There is a Law 2013). Many villagers were not invited to con- on Water Resource Management, and all sultation processes and became only aware of hydropower projects require a water use the dam once construction had started. There licence from MOWRAM (Grimsditch 2012). are also a range of unresolved complaints from The main legal framework for the EIA is the the local population, for example due to the sub-decree on EIA passed by MoE in 1999. closure of the bamboo forest area. The local The EIA has to be approved by several minis- villagers have complained against Sinohydro tries, including those mentioned above. in various forms (petitions, mass demonstra- According to the interviewees, the MoE is pri- tions, filing individual complaints). Neverthe- marily responsible for organising the conduc- less, they had to follow a strict hierarchy tion of the EIA, reviewing the report and addressing first the village chief, then the monitoring compliance with environmental commune authority, then the district authority, legislation. Accountability is generally weak then the provincial authority, and from there for failings related to the dam. There have been on the complaints are said to be taken to the serious shortcomings with regard to the Envi- appropriate ministries in Phnom Penh ronmental and Social Impacts Assessment (mainly MIME), who then establishes a com- (ESIA). By Cambodian law, development munication with Sinohydro. This is despite projects such as dams are required to have an Sinohydro’s offices being based at the dam EIA in place and approved before the construc- site, in very close proximity to the affected tion process begins. Cambodian law also pre- villages. scribed that the EIA process should be transparent, the decision-making should be 5. Discussion and Conclusion accountable, and a wide consultation process should involve affected local communities and Our research findings suggest that both the Bui civil society organisations (Middleton 2008; and Kamchay dams have disparate social NGO Forum Cambodia 2013). However, at the implications for the local population. Kamchay Dam, the EIA process was seriously However, the mechanisms that are designed to flawed. The EIA process started late, and the handle these social implications are very dif- EIA approval was in fact granted 7 months ferent in Ghana and Cambodia. This implies after the inauguration of the dam, as inter- that one cannot generalise that Chinese dam viewees point out. Overall, the implementation building is standardised or normalised. The of environmental and social safeguards is research concludes that Chinese builder minimal and not in line with Cambodian leg- Sinohydro and financier ExIm Bank can islation, as the interviews revealed. In addition, follow social standards for planning and the Environmental Management Plan (MEP), implementing hydropower dams, if requested which aims to implement mitigation measures to do so by the national government. If to reduce the negative effects of the dam, was however the national government does not not in place until the late stages of the dam request social standards, dam builders can cir- construction. It is also being reported by gov- cumvent them.

The comparison highlights that there is no and the provincial Department for the Environ- standard procedure for handling the social ment have less decision power over the implications of Sinohydro’s dam projects. The dam and are expecting Sinohydro to fully take Bui Dam is an Engineering, Procurement, up its contractual responsibilities, such as Construction (EPC) contract, which is a paying the outstanding payments for mitigat- turnkey contract in which the Chinese dam ing measures. While a BOT contract techni- builders Sinohydro are the contractors who cally makes the contractor, builder and build the dam and then transfer the ownership operator (in this case Sinohydro) in charge of and daily management of the dam to Ghana’s the dam and its social and environmental government. This makes Ghana’s government impacts, some of these cumbersome tasks in charge of the resettlement process, of com- seem to be left to the Cambodian authorities pensating the affected local people, of imple- to deal with at the Kamchay Dam, such as menting mitigating measures to reduce the in relation to the complaints from affected adverse environmental and social impacts of communities. the dam, and of managing the dam and its The case studies highlight that the dam proj- impacts on a daily basis. In 2007, the BPA was ects could improve their social sustainability established to plan, implement and manage the framework in practice and theory, and that dam. Once the dam had been built, the owner- social policies need to be improved for Chinese ship of the dam was transferred from overseas dams to be in line with international Sinohydro to the Ghanaian government, with social standards on hydropower projects. The the BPA being the main dam authority. Some research finds reluctance by the dam builders social safeguard programs are in place, at least and its financiers to implement important in theory, although their actual implementation aspects of substantive justice, such as setting a remains weak. minimum standard for social protection of the The Kamchay Dam on the other hand is a local communities. This may be seen in contrast Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) contract, to international attempts to create guidelines which means that the Cambodian government and social performance standards. The WCD grants a concession to Sinohydro for recover- attempted in 2000 to develop a framework ing its investment by allowing the dam builder entitled Dams and Development: A New to own and operate the dam for 44 years and to Framework for Decision-Making that could sell electricity to the grid. After the 44 years facilitate the planning, implementation and of ownership by Sinohydro, the dam owner- operation of dams. The International Hydro- ship will be transferred to the Cambodian gov- power Association (IHA) launched their own ernment, albeit after the peaking of the sustainability guidelines in 2004, which was economic lifetime of the dam. Technically, this followed by their Hydropower Sustain- makes the dam builder Sinohydro in charge of ability Assessment Protocol in 2006, which has either finding a contractor or dealing with criti- also been translated into Chinese. There has cal issues themselves, such as the resettle- also been a rise in assessment techniques, ment process (which was not needed at the such as social impact assessment, multi- Kamchay Dam), of compensating the affected stakeholders platforms and transboundary local people, of implementing mitigating mea- environmental impact assessments (Mirumachi sures to reduce the adverse environmental and & Torriti 2012) The International Finance Cor- social impacts of the dam, and of managing the poration (IFC) has, as a part of the World Bank dam and its impacts on a daily basis. In reality Group, created Environmental and Social Per- however, Sinohydro operates and manages the formance Standards and Guidance Notes for dam, but leaves dealing with the social and investment that have been regularly updated environmental impacts of the dam largely and have become a norm for large overseas to the local authorities. MIME is the main investment. For example, IFC’s sustainability Cambodian authority responsible for dam framework includes performance standards building and for dealing with Sinohydro. MoE that apply to all investment and advisory clients

© 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 586 Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies September 2015 whose projects go through IFC’s initial credit concluded that social sustainability varies review (IFC 2012). from dam to dam as Chinese dam builders lack Interestingly, Sinohydro was about to imple- an overall standardised code of conduct ment a minimum standard in their Policy regarding social impacts. This also means the Framework for Sustainable Development in degree to which the social rights of the affected 2011, which outlined a catalogue of commit- communities are ensured is rather variable. ments for social sustainability. The resettle- The individual hydropower project is depen- ment commitments were, for example, dent on the local conditions of governance, as influenced by World Bank-related documents, well as on the type of contract. There seems to such as the IFC performance standard docu- be a reluctance to implement a minimum ments, and also contained legal compliance social standard for hydropower dams built and and environmental assessment policies driven financed by Sinohydro and ExIm Bank. Our by Sinohydro’s own policy documents. The research analysed the impacts on the social policy also mentioned no dams should be built welfare of the affected population and how in national parks. This policy was, however, these impacts had been mitigated, as well superseded by weaker and vaguer policy docu- as how the dam builders implemented an ments in 2013 and 2014. At the moment, accountable and participatory governance Chinese dam builders do not seem to shy away process. The impacts with regard to liveli- from investing in environmentally protected hoods and social welfare were severe in both areas, such as national parks, as is the case both dam cases. Most strikingly, we found differ- in Ghana (Bui National Park) and Cambodia ences between the governance process in (Bokor National Park). Hensengerth (2013) Ghana, which was more accountable and par- indicates that no investors and dam builders ticipatory, versus Cambodia, which was less from the OECD dared to finance and build the accountable and participatory. Bui Dam due to its major environmental and To conclude, we suggest that there needs to social impacts. Attempts from OECD compa- be a global benchmark system that ranks nies such as Halliburton fell short, and in the hydropower firms and investors according to end the Ghanaian government opted for their social and environmental performance. In Chinese funders and dam builders, namely addition, a global code of conduct for social ExIm Bank and Sinohydro. There is a lack of and environmental sustainability for interna- political will to implement minimal standards tional hydropower projects should be followed to prevent cases of procedural and substantive by all hydropower firms and investors. A wide environmental injustice. This might highlight range of different regulatory bodies and guide- that corporative self-regulation has met its lines already exist for large infrastructure greatest challenge in Chinese corporations, investments and dam building; however, none such as Sinohydro and ExIm Bank. Some aca- of these are standardised across the hydro- demics argue further that a new approach to the power industry. The most well-regarded and regulation of corporate social responsibility is widely accepted guideline today is the IHA’s needed (Altman & Vidaver-Cohen 2000; Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Proto- Waddock & Smith 2000). col, which we suggest should be implemented The main research question of this article by Chinese dam builders too. In addition, a was to evaluate how Chinese hydropower proj- global benchmarking system could review ects built by Sinohydro and financed by ExIm large dam builders and their social impact per- Bank ensure social sustainability towards the formance on a regular basis. This would evalu- local affected population. This was done by ate and rank the social performance of analysing the social sustainability of two Chinese, OECD, Brazilian, Thai and any other Chinese hydropower dams in Ghana (Bui dam builder. This may require the active role Dam) and Cambodia (Kamchay Dam), of the civil society, which has already in the drawing on 78 interviews, 20 focus group dis- past flagged up many grievances and which cussions and document analysis. The research actively monitors the dam industry and its

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