Sambor dam should not be built on the Mekong mainstream

Since the Sambor mainstream dam was planned to build, residents of Kratie Province (Cambodia) have lived in a heaving fear of the consequences that this hydropower project could cause to fisheries and farming. along the river.

Report Resilience on the Mekong: A Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment in North-East Cambodia (recently translated: Vulnerability assessment in Northwestern Cambodia) has just been announced. The International Fund for Nature Protection (WWF) said the risks to this area are more serious than warnings.

The report focuses on 56km along the river, the area between Stung Treng and Kratie provinces. This is an ecologically important submerged forest area, where the dam is expected to be built 20km away.

Mekong River fishermen

The dam is considered a major threat to the ecosystem of this already vulnerable area.

Specifically, the dam will threaten the ecological services, livelihoods and biodiversity values ​​of the area. The quality of water resources and migration routes of fish will be affected.

The reservoir of this project will flood most of the riparian areas, losing many species and habitats.

In addition, climate change, deforestation, tree felling, illegal mining and unsustainable fishing are also hazards for this area.

Drought, flooding and changes in rainfall and temperature will reduce groundwater; the disappearance of natural ecological barriers will make the impact of extreme weather events become more serious.

In addition, the Report also provides some solutions to address this gloomy outlook, including: encouraging policy makers to better manage the region's resources, assessing risks from hydropower, improving the ground and improving the land use process.

In particular, the report recommended that Sambor dam should not be built to protect the environment of the area mentioned above.