07-Land-And-River-Grabbing-2015 Sm
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Land and River Grabbing: the Mekong’s Greatest Challenge Edited by Chayan Vaddhanaphuti Sabrina Gyorvary Center for ASEAN Studies, Chiang Mai University. The Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University 2015 Land and River Grabbing: the Mekong’s Greatest Challenge Edited by Chayan Vaddhanaphuti Sabrina Gyorvary This edition ſ rst published 2015 © Chayan Vaddhanaphuti and Sabrina Gyorvary Publisher’s editorial address Center for ASEAN Studies (CAS), Chiang Mai University The Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD) Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University 239 Huay Kaew Road, Tambon Suthep, Amphoe Muang, Chiang Mai 50200 THAILAND Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chayan Vaddhanaphuti, Sabrina Gyorvary - editors Land and River Grabbing: the Mekong’s Greatest Challenge / Chayan Vaddhanaphuti, Sabrina Gyorvary Includes bibliographical reference, Center for ASEAN Studies and The Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, Chiang Mai University, THAILAND ISBN: 978-974-672-981-9 Editorial teams: Nikki Richard Jessie Adler Billy Doerner Mat Carney All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission from author or publisher. Center for ASEAN Studies, Chiang Mai University, Thailand. Tel. +66 5394 3595-6 Fax. +66 5389 3279 E-mail : [email protected] Reginal Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University Chiang Mai 50200 THAILAND Tel. +66 5394 3595-6 Fax. +66 5389 3279 E-mail : [email protected] Website : http://rcsd.soc.cmu.ac.th EarthRights International Southeast Asia Ofſ ce P.O. Box 123 Chiang Mai University Chiang Mai, 50202, Thailand Tel. +66 81 531 1256 E-mail : [email protected] Foreword Throughout the Mekong region, large-scale development projects such as hydropower dams, mines, conventional power plants, and mono-crop plantations are displacing communities and limiting access to natural resources. Several hydropower dams have already been built on the Upper Mekong in China’s Yunnan Province, and the governments of Cambodia, Laos and Thailand are planning eleven additional large dams on the Mekong River’s mainstream. If completed, these dams would not only destroy local ecosystems, but also reduce the ƀ ow of silt throughout the Mekong River system, and block major ſ sh migrations, placing at risk over sixty million people who depend on the Mekong for their food security and income. It’s vital for citizens of all six nations who share the Mekong basin’s rich resources to work together to promote greater accountability in development planning. This is exactly what is happening among a new generation of Mekong activists. Over the past nine years, alumni from EarthRights International’s Mekong School representing communities from the source to the mouth of the Mekong have been working together to advocate for stronger human rights and environmental protection in the region. In sharing these reports from their communities, Mekong School Alumni hope to inspire citizens throughout the Mekong region to consider the social and environmental impacts of hydropower dams, mines, power plants and other large development projects and to join together to advocate for greater transparency and public participation in development planning. Chayan Vaddhanaphuti Sabrina Gyorvary i Acknowledgement We would like to thank the Foundation to Promote Open Society, ICCO, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Oxfam Australia, American Jewish World Service, the Conservation Food & Health Foundation, the Bertha Foundation, the Flora Family Foundation, the Rose Foundation (Underdog Fund), the Rosewater Fund, the Sigrid Rausing Trust, the Tikva Grassroots Empowerment Fund of Tides Foundation, the Wallace Global Fund, the Wing Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the D.N. Batten Foundation, Deitel and Wellspring, and anonymous donors for their generous support of EarthRights School-Mekong and the Mekong Alumni Program. Thank you to the staff, management, and board of directors at ERI for your inspiration and guidance. Special thanks to Mat Carney, Kanchana Kulpisithicharoen, Samak Kosem, Tom Weerachat, Nikki Richard, Jessie Adler, Billy Doerner, and Andrew Moiseff for assistance in editing. Thank you to our friends at Mekong Watch, ALTSEAN, and International Rivers, as well as our special guest presenters and network members for the time and effort you have dedicated to supporting our students and alumni. Thank you to the community members at Rasi Salai, the Loei gold mine, Mae Moh, Kaeng Seua Ten, and along the Salween River for sharing your courage and insights. Finally, thank you to all of the interviewees in the six Mekong countries who generously gave their time to assist our student researchers. ii iii Contents Foreward i Acknowledgement ii Contributors vi China Gaps in the Environmental Regulation of Transnational 1 Corporations: a Case Study of Cambodia’s Lower Sesan 2 Dam by Li Miao Miao Myanmar A Legal Analysis of the Heinda Mine and its Impact on 12 Communities in Dawei by Aye Mon Thu Livelihood and Environmental Impacts from the Shwe Gas 23 Pipeline in Nga Phe Township, Magway by Khaing Mi Phue Aung The Hatgyi Dam Project and Potential Human Rights 41 Violations in Karen State by Saw Lay Ka Paw Thailand Comparative Analysis of EIA Quality for Thai Overseas 55 Investment Projects: Dawei Special Economic Zone and Hongsa Coal Power Plant by Ashijya Otwong iv Lao PDR Potential Impacts on Women’s Livelihoods from the 68 Don Sahong Dam in Khong District, Champassak Province, Lao PDR by Dokkeo Sykham Potential Impacts of the Nam Ou 2 Dam on Local Livelihoods 99 in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR by Luuk Nam Ou Cambodia Implications of the Anti-Dam Campaign and Eco-tourism 112 Initiative in the Araeng Valley, Central Cardamom Protected Area, Cambodia by Ham Oudom Vietnam The Impacts of Dak Mi 4 Hydropower Dam on Downstream 123 Communities: Assessing the Right to Public Participation by Tran Chi Thoi The Social, Health and Environmental Impacts of Limestone 154 Mining in Kien Luong District, Kien Giang Province, Vietnam by Nguyen Khiem Asian Development Bank Safeguard Policies: Fact or Fiction? 170 The Case of the Northern Transmission Line Expansion Project by Vu Hai Linh Epilogue 190 by Mat Carney v Contributors Li Miao Miao is a Master of Law student at the Wuhan University School of Law in China. Aye Mon Thu is a member of the Dawei Lawyers Group and a volunteer lawyer at the Dawei Civil Society Group, where she works to promote the rule of law in the Dawei area. She provides legal trainings to people who are affected by the Dawei special economic zone, deep sea port, and coal/tin mining projects so that they are aware of their rights. Khaing Mi Phue Aung is coordinator of natural resource management and eco-social enterprise projects at the Kalyana Mitta Foundation in Nyaung Shwe, Shan State. Saw Lay Ka Paw is project manager for environmental conservation programs at Youth Circle in Yangon. Ashijya Otwong is a Master of Law student at the University of Oregon, with a concentration in Environmental and Natural Resources Law. Previously, she worked as an environmental lawyer for ENLAW, investigating the environmental impacts of various projects on local communities, conducting environmental law trainings, and doing media campaigning. Luuk Nam Ou is an independent researcher based in Vientiane. Dokkeo Sykham is an independent researcher based in Vientiane. vi Ham Oudom has worked as a consultant for several research projects in Cambodia on issues related to indigenous peoples, malaria, education, hygiene and sanitation. He is currently involved in human and environmental rights advocacy in connection with hydro-power dams in Cambodia and the Mekong region. Vu Hai Linh is a research and community development ofſ cer at the Center for Water Resource Conservation and Development (WARECOD) in Hanoi. He is also project coordinator of a local knowledge research and Participant Irrigation Management (PIM) project in the Mekong Delta. Tran Chi Thoi works for the Centre for Social Research and Development in Hue, Vietnam, where she conducts research on the environmental and social impacts of hydropower dams, and challenges facing women in resettled communities. Nguyen Khiem is an organizer with the Delta Youth Alliance, a Can Tho University student group aimed at increasing environmental awareness and promoting climate change adaptation. Mat Carney is a research fellow and coordinator at the Center for ASEAN Studies, Chiang Mai University. He is a masters graduate from the Australian National University, concentrating on human rights, ASEAN, international relations and sustainable development. Mat is currently working on issues related to Islamic migration throughout Southeast Asia, issues related to the Rohingya in Myanmar and domestic political issues in Thailand and Malaysia. vii I CHINA I Gaps in the Environmental Regulation of Transnational Corporations: a Case Study of Cambodia’s Lower Sesan 2 Dam Li Miao Miao Abstract: Transnational corporations (TNCs) are mainly subject to host states’ laws according to standard international practices. However, in reality, affected communities often have limited access to grievance or accountability mechanisms to voice their concerns, let alone assert their environmental rights. Taking the Lower Sesan 2 (LS2) dam project as an example, combined with international laws concerning