Studies Find Impacts Caused by Thailand's Pak Mun Dam on River Ecology and Fish by Phairath Khampha 15 June 2002 Two major studies on the impacts of Thailand's Pak Mun dam, though still incomplete as of June 2002, agreed that the dam in Ubon Ratchathani had had a severe impact on river ecology leading to a decline in the number of fish species, thus creating serious economic difficulties for overa million Thais dependent on the river's ecology. A study by Ubon Ratchathani University found that the number of fish species in the Mun river has increased from 90 to 154 since the dam gates were opened on cabinet orders in June 2001. Decommissioning of the dam was seriously being considered as the supply could be strengthened when EGAT begins to buy 920 megawatts from the Nam Thuen 2 dam in Laos starting in 2008. Environmental science lecturer Praneet Ngamsnae said the move had enabled fish in the Mekong river to swim upstream and breed in the Mun and Chi rivers. Dam protesters said there were more than 250 fish species in the Mun river before construction of the dam. Cabinet asked the university to do the 10 million baht (1 US Dollar = 42.52 Thai Baht) study. It was expected to wrap up in August. Another study by Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR), an agency under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, confirmed the dam had adverse ecological impacts. The state research agency was commissioned by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, the dam developer, to study the dam's ecological impacts and to develop a plan to preserve the ecology and enhance the livelihood of villagers who live off the river. The study, costing 6.2 million baht, started in October 2001 and was expected wrap up in August. Chief researcher Suchart Sailamai said the research team had gathered data from 6,048 families that were supposed to have received compensation from EGAT, and 900 families which had not been paid. The team found that state pay-outs did not truly compensate villagers forced to find new places to live and change their occupations. Moreover, much of the compensation money was embezzled by officials. "We found that the majority want the dam gates to be opened during fish spawning season. They don't mind one way or another whether the dam still operates," he said. Fish spawning season runs from May to September. The studies were presented on June 10, 2002 at a public forum held by Chulalongkorn University's Social Research Institute. Meanwhile, the Ubon Ratchathani University study found that decommissioning the dam would have no effect on power supply to Ubon Ratchathani, Si Sa Ket, Yasothon, Amnat Charoen and Phibun Mangsahan provinces as feared. "Power blackouts are unlikely. Pak Mun dam has not generated power for a year and nothing has happened because the country has a huge glut of power supply in the system," Pairat Kaewsarn, an electricity engineering lecturer, told the gathering. The study would be sent to cabinet, which would decide whether to decommission the dam. It said the five provinces consume 330 megawatts of power a year while power supply to that area is 616 megawatts, and the supply could be strengthened when EGAT begins to buy 920 megawatts from Nam Thuen 2 dam in Laos starting in 2008. Mr Pairat said, however, the dam could be used as a back-up system for unexpected and severe power failures because it could supply power immediately at little cost. The various design-build contractors for the Nam Theun 2 hydropower project, of which one is Thailand's most powerful contractor-developer--Italian-Thai Development Plc--submitted their bids on June 27. Thai and Lao government officials stated that the design stage of the project was expected to start no later than the end of the summer. EGAT representatives at the forum declined to comment. EGAT to open gates for spawning The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand agreed that the Pak Mun dam sluice gates should be opened during fish spawning season every year. Chalermchai Ratnarak, EGAT deputy governor, said all eight sluice gates could be fully raised to increase the fish population in the Mekong river. Fish from the Mekong usually swim to spawn in Mun river and other tributaries from May to September. Since the dam was built in 1993, the number of fish species declined from more than 250 to 90. Mr Chalermchai said the dam gates would stay open until cabinet decided on the dam's fate. Cabinet opened them in mid-June 2001. However, he said EGAT had lost 500-million-baht worth of electricity that the dam in Ubon Ratchathani was unable to produce in the past year. Deputy Prime Minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who oversees a working team on the Pak Mun dam conflict, said cabinet would delay a decision on the dam until an Ubon Ratchathani university study on the impact of the dam was finished. Both the cabinet-sponsored study and one sponsored by EGAT, though incomplete, found that the dam obstructed fish migration and had a negative impact on the environment. Meanwhile, 500 dam protesters in Ubon Ratchathani started to mobilise public support for a campaign to demand that the dam be decommissioned. Dam Chatapan, 58, said the gates should be opened permanently since the dam has no impact on electricity supply in the region. Decommissioning the dam would restore river ecology and bring back fish and plants, he said.