Thailand's Pak Mun Dam - Study Brings Many Ill Effects Into Focus by Phairath Khampha 24 February 2000 Controversy loomed on the issue of economic returns as the World Commission on Dams' draft report on the successes and failures of Thailand's controversial Pak Mun Dam project was made available on February 23, 2000 to the many parties involved. Affected villagers said the draft report did not reflect the reality of the dam's impact on fishing, but many adverse findings from the Pak Mun dam construction came sharply into focus in the report. The Pak Mun report is one of the eight case studies being undertaken worldwide by the commission to break through the controversy surrounding the building of large dams and a range of other issues regarding planning, design, construction, operation and decommissioning of large dams. "Villagers have sold much of their fishing equipment because there are no longer any fish left to catch," said Thongcharoen Srihartham, a community leader who opposed the construction of the dam, which was completed in 1994. On the other hand, a researcher for the report presented figures that showed that the number of families engaged in fishery had increased. "It increased from 300 to 378 families," Sonkram Krajarngnaet of the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) told the WCD meeting on February 23. Besides the TDRI, members of other organisations including the Asian Institute of Technology, Mahidol University, Chiang Mai University, Khon Kaen University and SEATEC International Consulting Engineers were part of the WCD's research team to study the Pak Mun Dam project. Sonkram also told the meeting that the income of the affected villagers had actually increased from 10,000 Baht-plus per family per annum to about 30,000 Baht (1 $US=38 Baht). These figures were questioned by Phasuk Pongpaijit of Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Economics. Phasuk, who was not a member of the research team, said that even with the construction of the dam, "economists would wonder how income could have jumped so much over the past four years". "Ascertaining income figures is difficult and needs systematic work," Phasuk pointed out. Considering that incomes among Thailand's rural population plunged dramatically since the beginning of the 1997 Asian economic crisis, it was obvious the economic numbers had been massaged to misconstrue the people's actual economic situation resulting from the construction of the dam. Although the draft report mentioned the dam's positive impact on the lives of the villagers, it also pointed out failures of the project, particularly the fact that the actual economic returns were considerably lower than those expected by Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). A researcher said EGAT had arrived at a wrong figure, since it calculated the Economic Internal Rate of Return (EIRR) on the basis of the installed capacity of the dam, instead of basing it on the minimum capacity, which is the way it is supposed to be done and is the accepted practice internationally.The report stated that if the correct figures were used to calculate the dam's economic returns, it would have been shown to be a rather unsound investment and should not have been built. However, as such projects provide opportunties for massive graft among venal officials and politicians, environmental and economic analyses in Thailand invariably are carried out in such a way to indicate viability of such projects, even when it is clear they are very unsound propositions. Ammar Siamwala, former president of the TDRI, asked EGAT representatives who were present at the meeting why the proper figures were not used in calculating the viability of the project. None of them were able to answer the question and stared fixedly down at the floor like school boys caught out playing a bad prank.. The draft report made mention of several developments considered to be "unexpected impact". These include: * Despite compensations made for the effect on fishery due to the project, the dam has undeniably interfered with fish migration and breeding patterns, the long-term consequences of which were being monitored, but would remain unknown for some time * The permanent loss of rapids upstream of the dam due to the reservoir water level, and which were known to be the habitat of some species of fish, is ecologically significant. * The cost of compensation for lost or diminished livelihood from fishery, resettlement and environmental impact mitigation was originally estimated at 231.6 million Baht. In fact, more than 1,000 million Baht had been paid out for all these expenses with the balance having "disappeared. WCD commissioner Medha Patkar said the report was not the commission's conclusion; it was prepared only as part of the WCD's information-gathering activity. She said the commissioners would consider the report and all recommendations made at the presentation to reach a final conclusion. The Pak Mun report is one of the eight case studies that was being undertaken worldwide by the commission to break through the controversy surrounding the building of large dams and a range of other issues regarding planning, design, construction, operation and decommissioning of large dams. Non-governmental organisations and villagers affected by the dam construction were also invited to the meeting to listen to the presentation of the findings and discuss the draft report before its finalisation. The study was divided into five major aspects: hydrology and water quality, fishery, social, environmental, and the project's economic value and the living standards of people affected by the dam construction. Negative impacts were recorded in almost every aspect except that bordering on hydrology and water quality. A researcher said the irrigated area under cultivation in the Chi-Mun basin had not changed markedly as a result of the dam's operations and there was no improvement to irrigation as had been claimed by Thai authrorities bent on constructing the dam. Chayan Vaddhanaphuti, of the Chiang Mai University's social science faculty, who conducted a study on social aspects, said the dam was built without sufficient knowledge on the life and culture of Pak Mun villagers. When its construction was approved in 1989, there had been no in-depth studies on the project's environmental and social impacts, and the affected population had never been informed of its possible benefits and losses. Scores of villagers lost their land which was inundated by the dam. Only part of the compensation was paid to them after long court battles. The project also reduced the fish population and made it difficult to access the region's natural resources. Roel Schouten a researcher on fisheries who had worked for Thailand's premier engineering consulting firm, SEATEC International, said it was clear the project had led to ecological destruction, resulting in the decline of fish population. The traditional fishing methods and tools have disappeared although they were once in wide use. Before the Pak Mun dam was built, there were 265 different fish species in the watershed area. However, after its construction only 96 species could be found upstream with an apparent loss of 196 species. Wanpen Wirojanagud, of Khon Kaen University's engineering faculty, cited negative environmental impacts from the destruction of natural rapids. Her study revealed that among 57 natural rapids in the Chi-Mun basin, 51 were now permanently submerged. The loss of these natural rapids has affected not only the fish population but also tourism as these rapids were once regarded as major tourist attractions. The number of tourists in the area declined from 248,516 in 1991 to 142,123 in 1998. Another study on the project's economic value and justification done by the Thailand Development Research Institute showed that the economic gains from the dam were not as high as expected by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand. Thongcharoen Sihatham, a villager, said it had finally been proven the dam construction was to blame for the destruction of natural resources. The World Commission on Dams is an independent body assessing the impact and effectiveness of dam construction projects. Its study is sponsored by international donors including the World Bank. One of the commissioners said the report would be finalised with some recommendations before its publication on the Internet. Opponents lay siege to Interior Ministry In the meantime, Rasi Salai dam opponents on February 24 blocked the entrance and exit gates of the Interior Ministry in a protest against the ministry's failure to hold a meeting with local authorities to hear their grievances. The blockage ended after an hour, but the protesters threatened to lay siege to the ministry's canteen and the gates if their demand was not met by the next day. No violence was reported. Sources said about 200 angry villagers blocked the gate at about 11.15 a.m. after the ministry failed to call a meeting with provincial and district authorities from Si Sa Ket, Roi-Et and Surin. The group earlier demanded the meeting be held at the ministry between February 23 and February 24. The blockage prevented ministry officials from going out for lunch, said the sources. Deputy Interior Minister Pinit Charusombat was in the ministry building during the incident. The sources said leading protesting members took turns to criticise the ministry for turning a blind eye on dam-affected villagers. The protesters were among 800 dam-affected villagers who have staged a sit-in protest at the footpath in front of the ministry since February 22. The group want the ministry to order local provincial authorities to speed up compensation for the loss of farmland. The dam, which was built across the Mun River in Si Sa Ket's Rasi Salai district in 1993, inundated thousands of rai of farmland. Most people were not compensated properly because compensation funds were diverted by corrupt officials. Rasi Salai settlement near Thailand's Interior Ministry took a crucial step towards a permanent settlement of the Rasi Salai dam compensation dispute. A high-level meeting held on February 25 to discuss the issue was attended by Veerachai Naewboonnian, deputy interior permanent secretary, Akarapong Payakaman, Roi Et governor, Kosin Kesathong, Si Sa Ket governor, Kasemsak Saenpotch, Surin governor and five chiefs of the districts affected by the Rasi Salai dam construction. The hour-long meeting, the most conclusive so far, was chaired by Chanasak Yuwaboon, the interior permanent secretary. The meeting was also joined by some 30 representatives of villagers made homeless by the dam. Mr Kosin said it was agreed the concerned provinces would order district-level authorities to examine land ownerships of affected villagers to see who was entitled to compensation. The villagers promised to end their months of protest the following day if the authorities honoured their word and offer appropriate compensation. They rallied peacefully outside the Interior Ministry's compound. Mr Kosin said a district-level working group would be assigned to handle the land ownership examination and this should serve to reinforce the government's commitment to solving the villagers' plight. He said the meeting was certain to produce a satisfactory result as it had been conducted in the presence of the permanent secretary. The Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives would be consulted on forest encroachment by the villagers.