Dong Nai hydropower project was dissected by the scientific community

The Center for Conservation and Development of Water Resources has just submitted a request to functional agencies to study and re-evaluate the environmental impacts of two Dong Nai 6 and 6A hydropower projects before construction.

In the National Electricity Development Plan for the period of 2011-2020, considering the 2030 approved by the Prime Minister in July this year, some hydropower projects caused much controversy in the scientific community, including Dong Nai 6 and 6A hydropower projects.

According to scientists, the massive development of hydropower projects in the Dong Nai river basin in recent years has affected water resources and biodiversity of the watershed of Dong Nai river in the state. alarm. While there has not been a full assessment of the environmental impact of hydropower works here.

Therefore, scientists have sent a petition requesting a comprehensive re-evaluation of the environmental and social impacts of the two hydropower projects of Dong Nai 6 and 6A, building and completing the environmental management program. with public solutions to the public, stakeholders are known.

They also proposed to stop the activities of licensing investment in construction of Dong Nai 6 and 6A hydropower projects to wait for the results of environmental impact assessment and then decide whether to continue the deployment.

In addition, to ensure objectivity, scientists require the establishment of a national advisory council to perform the task of monitoring and evaluating the feasibility of the two Dong Nai hydropower projects.

According to scientists, Dong Nai 6 and 6A hydropower will
Great impact on Cat Tien National Park. (Photo: Luxury Travel)

In the last workshop on Integrated Watershed Management and Dong Nai River Area, most scientists agreed to consider conducting and assessing environmental impacts in an objective and scientific way.

Dr. Le Anh Tuan, Institute of Climate Change Research, Can Tho University said that Dong Nai 6 and 6A hydropower should not be built."The report on the environmental impact assessment of these two projects is Duc Long Gia Lai Group Joint Stock Company which is very sketchy, lack of grounds, and has not fully evaluated the negative impact on the environment" , Dr. Tuan to speak.

According to Dr. Tuan, the two construction projects of Dong Nai 6 and 6A hydropower will affect Bau Sau - Ramsar (submerged biosphere reserve area) in Cat Tien National Park. International organizations will consider and withdraw the decision to recognize the Ramsar site. On the other hand, the title of Cat Tien National Park Biosphere Reserve recognized by UNESCO in 2001 may also be reviewed.

Pham Thi Cam Nhung, WWF policy coordinator, said construction of Dong Nai 6 and 6A hydropower plants is a violation of Cat Tien National Park and primeval forests, disturbing the life of the species. Rare animals here.

To address the energy needs, Dr. Tuan said that it is not necessary to develop hydropower, but to use alternative sources such as nuclear power and solar energy.

In the planning of Dong Nai hydropower cascade exploitation approved by the Prime Minister since 2002, Dong Nai 6 hydropower project is expected to have an installed capacity of 180MW, an average power output of 773.6 million kWh / year, the area was nearly 2,000 ha, of which 732 ha belonged to Cat Tien National Park, the rest belonged to protection forest of Dak Nong and Binh Phuoc provinces, had to relocate 3 public works and 33 households.

In mid-2007, Duc Long Gia Lai Group asked to invest in this project. The process of researching and selecting the optimal plan has changed the project into a two-step hydropower project called Dong Nai 6 and Dong Nai 6A with a total capacity of 241 MW, total investment of nearly VND 5,700 billion, total electricity output is nearly 1 billion kWh / year.