Thailand Shelves all Hated Dam Projects by Phairath Khampha 15 June 2002 Thailand's Irrigation Department said it would shelve all dam projects opposed by local people and green groups, its chief Kijja Polphasri said on June 13, 2002 in a speech marking the department's 100th anniversary. Given the huge glut of electricity in Thailand, the country's electrical authority, EGAT also announced it was considering doing the same. "If people don't want dams, we will not go ahead with them," they said. Both organisations still strongly believed dams were effective tools for water management and generation of electricity, he said. But as there were already too many conflicts over dam projects in the country and in the nearby region the two organisations thought it should avoid creating more controversies. Furthermore, the costs associated with dealing with the controversies, the compensation to affected peoples, and the specialised design and construction to minimise problems to society and the environment has made dam projects in Thailand and the region completely uneconomical. Despite consultants' claims otherwise when they do not take into account intangible costs, both organisations carried out internal reviews of existing projects and found that all but four have had an effective real internal rate of return averaging less than 7.7 percent. Usually an IRR of 12 percent is required for a project to be considered to be economically viable. Projects that would be put on hold included Kang Sue Ten in Phrae, Mae Wong in Nakhon Sawan, Thasae-Rup Raw in Chumphon and Prong Khun Petch in Chaiyaphum. EGAT was still in the process of determinig which new hydropower projects would be put on hold. It was also considering decommissioning the Pak Mun Dam even though it was relatively new and had not produced anything near the economic benefits of its life or that had been predicted by EGAT's consultants during feasibility and design stages. Mr Kijja said his department would spend more money on maintenance of its existing works than on construction of new ones. The Irrigation Department receives an annual budget of more than 30 billion baht, making it the richest of all agencies under the Agriculture Ministry and therefore making it subject to the highest level of corruption. So far, the department had built 800 large dams, 8,000 small dams and 3,000 royal-initiated dam projects. Mr Kijja said Thailand still had ample water resources, but increasing consumption, particularly in the agricultural sector, could cause a water shortage by about 2013. Water consumption would rise from 28 to 38 billion cubic metres in the following decade, while the existing dams could store only 32 billion cubic metres. This meant that building more dams in the future was unavoidable, he said. Mr Kijja also complained that many of the projects in the pipeline had been blocked by Forestry Department chief Plodprasop Suraswadi's refusal to allow their construction in forest areas. "For the benefit of the people, it is unreasonable to keep the forest untouchable," Mr Kijja said. Harnnarong Yaowalert, of Wildlife Fund Thailand, accused the Irrigation Department of turning a deaf ear to suggestions from local people and environmentalists about its dam projects. "Irrigation officials always regard dam opponents as enemies. That's why most of its irrigation projects have generated a lot of controversy," he said. Mr Harnnarong called on the department to improve efficiency in implementing its irrigation schemes, citing the collapse of 15 small dams in between 1995 and 2002. Prasittiporn Karn-onsri, adviser to the Assembly of the Poor grassroots group, lauded the the two organisations' decision to put their controversial projects on hold, and to adjust their strategies by focusing on integrated water management and taking into account petitions from opponents of its projects. But Mr Prasittiporn also said he doubted the promises made in Mr Kijja's speech would be put into practice.He called on the department to correct its past mistakes in implementing its irrigation projects and on EGAT in implemening its hydropower projects. He pointed to Bang Pakong dam which he said had been of no benefit to the local community and had also caused severe water pollution in the area. He further pointed to the Pak Mun and Rasi Sali dam fiascos and the damage to the environment and the livelihoods of nearly one million people. The irrigation department should also cancel its plan to build sluice gates across the Tha Chin river in Nakhon Prathom province. The project was being opposed by local groups who feared it would result in the degradation of the river, Mr Prasitthiporn said. Mr Harnnarong suggested that the department, instead of trying to to propagandise benefits of large dams, should work harder to get water to small-scale farmers with limited access to irrigation schemes. Currently, the department's irrigation system covers only 22 million rai (1 rai=1,600 m2) of the country's total 130 million rai of agricultural land. Mr Hannarong repeated his proposal that some ineffective dams be demolished to rehabilitate river ecology. Thai environmental NGOs in 2001 joined the International Commission on Large Dams in a campaign demanding governments free the rivers by breaking down unavailing dams worldwide.