Northern Thailand
Mekong River Commission to Take a Stand Against Xayaburi Dam in Laos
“There has never been a successful fish pass built for a dam the size of Xayaburi, anywhere in the tropics.”
HANOI – Activists have urged Cambodia and Vietnam to use the Mekong River Commission’s second high-level summit this weekend to take a stand against a controversial dam project in Laos.
The prime ministers of the four member countries – Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam – are to meet Saturday in Ho Chi Minh City to review development projects for the Mekong river, including the divisive Xayaburi dam in Laos.
Activists believe the 3.8-billion-dollar project will destabilise the river’s ecosystem. Developers say however that there are ways to mitigate the dam’s environmental impact.
Thirty-nine non-governmental organisations issued a joint declaration this week urging Thailand, which is to be the prime consumer of the dam’s electricity, to cancel the agreement under which a private Thai company is building the project.
“Laos is marching ahead with construction without agreement among its [other] neighbours,” said Kraisak Choonhavan, leading environmental activist and former Chairman of Thailand’s Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, announcing the joint declaration.
Cambodia and Vietnam have not approved the dam, which “threatens the health and productivity of the Mekong River and Delta, which could leave millions facing food insecurity,” he said.
The joint declaration said the project was “one of the potentially most damaging dams currently under construction anywhere in the world” and that an assessment looking into its environmental impact “does not meet any internationally-accepted standards.”
Countries on the Mekong are under no legal obligation to consult with the others before building dams on their territory, but the impact of hydro projects, especially downstream, is massive.
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) was designed as a forum to build consensus over management of the waterway, but objections already raised over dam projects have failed to stop them from going ahead.
Laos pushing ahead with the Xayaburi project, with Thai help, “severely weakens” the legitimacy of the MRC, Kraisak said. Laos is also going ahead with another controversial dam, the Don Sahong in the south of the country.
But this does not mean that the commission is failing in its mandate, said Hans Guttman, chief of the MRC secretariat.
“The MRC does at least provide a forum where the countries can discuss issues and express opinions even if they do not resolve everything,” he told dpa.
Matthew McCartney, principal researcher in Laos for the International Water Management Institute, concedes that the forum’s success in building consensus is lower than many donors would wish.
“But I think that without it there would almost certainly be less cooperation,” he said.
“My feeling is that the Xayaburi design was modified to mitigate some of the environmental impacts, in large part because of the MRC,” McCartney said.
Fish ladders and fish elevators are included in the dam designs.
“With the Don Sahong dam, it seems that many of the environmental impacts – including on dry season fish migration – can be mitigated,” McCartney added.
The summit at the weekend will also look at the impact of climate change on people living in the Mekong Delta, and how countries can work together to mitigate it.
Tens of millions of people risk seeing their livelihoods hit by the double risk of rapid development – including dams – and climate change, the MRC’s Guttman said.
The Lower Mekong supports nearly 60 million people with its fisheries and is home to a number of endangered species, including the Irrawaddy dolphin and the Giant Catfish. – Bangkok Post
The Governor of Mae Hong Son province in northern Thailand has sought stricter rules for tourist tubing on the Pai River, following allegations of tourists sneaking into resort areas to engage in sexual activities, which prompted police reports and considerable criticism online.
After a resort owner in Pai protested about the existing situation of tubing activities along the Pai River, the Governor became aware of the matter. According to the accusations, wine and beer are discreetly offered to tourists while disguised in plastic water bottles to prevent detection.
After their tubing adventures, these tourists, both men and women, would walk around Pai town in their swimsuits. Men often wear one pair of swim briefs, but most women wear two-piece swimsuits or bikinis.
This behavior was considered derogatory to local culture. Recently, there were instances of tourists slipping into resort areas to engage in sexual activities, which prompted police investigations and considerable online criticism.
Following the complaint, provincial governor Chuchip Pongchai requested a meeting of the police and allied authorities on July 16 to explore further tourism restrictions.
The province already restricts the selling of alcohol to tourists who go tubing, which involves floating down a river on inner tubes made of rubber tires. Most people observe the guidelines, but others, including some store owners, break them by concealing the alcohol by pouring it in water bottles.
According to TNA, Pai is one of Northern Thailand’s most popular tourist spots, attracting 40,000 visitors each year and strengthening Thailand’s economy.
Tubing in the Pai River has become a favorite activity among foreigners. However, the governor stated that the attitude of some tourists has jeopardised the province’s image.
Tourists Tubing on Pai River
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Police in northern Thailand’s Phayao province have arrested a 40-year-old pregnant mother for attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to create bodily harm.
Phayao Police report they were called after a woman and her daughter had been stabbed and beaten by a family member to a house number 206, Soi 7, Village No. 3, Ban San Nong Niao Subdistrict. Tom, Mueang District.
When officers arrived they found Ms. Chayada Chaiyawan, age 45, and her daughter Ms. Patida Chaiyawan, age 19, with injuries to their bodies and heads. Blood was spread all over the bedroom, and they found Mrs. Sakulkarn, aged 40 years, who was a relative living next door, tied up.
The police then transported all of them to Phayao Hospital for treatment. Ms. Chayada was stabbed thirteen times and her daughter twice. Both also sustained head injuries, according to Phayao police.
Ms. Chayada told police the incident occurred around 4:00 a.m. She was sleeping in the room with her young son, when she heard someone opened the bedroom door. She said at that time it was still dark and all she saw a shadow of a person lifting what she though was a hammer.
She said the got up and fought until she fell after being hit in the head and stabbed with a knife, in fear for her life she screamed for her daughter to come and help. When the daughter entered the room the assailant proceeded to hit her in the head and stabbed her also.
The assailant ran out of the room and was immediately restrained by a neighbour who heard the screaming and ran into the house to help. Mrs. Sakulkarn who was 7 months pregnant was tied up and police and rescue workers were called to the scene. The neighbour told police that all the time they were waiting for the police.
Police said Mrs. Sakulkarn is being held in Hospital and is under psychiatric care. Ms. Chayada and her daughter were treated for their injuries and sent home.
According to Thai Media, Police said charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to create bodily harm will be filed against Mrs. Sakulkarn after she is released from Hospital.
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Five people were killed and two others badly injured when a pickup truck was hit by a north-bound train at an unguarded railway crossing in Phitchit province on Monday evening.
Phitchit police reported the horrific crash occurred around 6 pm at Moo 1 village in tambon Pak Thang of Muang district of Phitchit.
Police said the 201 passenger train from Bangkok to Phitsanulok approached the crossing, which was unguarded and had no safety barriers.
A four-door pickup truck plates drove across the tracks and into the path of oncoming the train which was was unable to stop or slowdown in time to avoid hitting the pickup truck.
The force of the crash drove the pickup about 30 metres down the railway crossing and off to the side. All passengers on the pickup were thrown from the vehicle.
Three women passengers died immediately and two more passengers died later at Phichit Hospital. Two others including the driver of the pickup were seriously injured.
Police investigators said truck driver Pratya Khongthat, 40, was taking relatives, including a 14-yea-old girl, to a funeral at Wat Ratchangkhwan in tambon Pak Thang, approximately one kilometer from the accident scene.
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