PHNOM PENH (The Cambodia Herald) -- A Lao hydropower project on the Cambodian border could lead to the extinction of Irrawaddy dolphins from the Mekong River, the Worldwide Fund for Nature says.
A statement by WWF-Cambodia Wednesday called for the suspension of the Don Sahong dam to allow for decisions based on science in consultation with countries affected.
"Dam builders intend to excavate millions of tonnes of rock using explosives, creating strong sound waves that could potentially kill dolphins which have highly sensitive hearing structures," the statement said.
"Increased boat traffic, changes in water quality, and habitat degradation represent other major direct risks to the dolphins, along with the cumulative indirect effects of disturbance and stress," it added.
DOLPHINS ALREADY 'CRITICALLY ENDANGERED'
Chhith Sam Ath, director of WWF-Cambodia, said plans to construct the dam upstream from the dolphins were likely to "hasten their disappearance from the Mekong.
“The dam’s impacts on the dolphins probably cannot be mitigated, and certainly not through the limited and vague plans outlined in the project’s environmental impact assessment,” he said.
The statement noted that the dolphins were "critically endangered" in the Mekong, where numbers had dwindled to around 85 between southern Laos and northeast Cambodia.
“Pressures on the Mekong dolphins are immense, but as long as they survive there is hope,” Sam Ath said. “But the attitude implicit in the dam developer’s impact assessment – that the dolphin population is already vulnerable and therefore should not stand in the way of development – will do nothing but seal their fate.”
Laos announced last September its decision to bypass the consultation process of the Mekong River Commission’s (MRC) and proceed with the dam.
Construction of the dam is expected to start soon, putting the world’s largest inland fishery at risk by blocking the only channel suitable for year-round fish migration.
WWF said a rival project could generate about the same amount of power but at lower cost and with less impacts. But this project cannot proceed if the Don Sahong dam proceeds as they would compete for the same water.
THREAT TO CRITICAL FISHERIES
WWF technical advisor Gerry Ryan said it was "not too late to suspend the Don Sahong project and consider smarter alternatives.
“Not building the Don Sahong dam is not an irreparable blow to the development aspirations of Laos, or their ability to produce electricity," he said.
"But building it will almost certainly cause the extirpation of their dolphins and threaten critical fisheries,” he said.
Ryan noted that the dolphin-watching tours were a "major contributor to growth, bringing in much needed income to local communities." They were also an important indicator of the health and sound management of freshwater resources.
LAOS FAILS TO HONOR AGREEMENT
“Lower Mekong countries are bound by the MRC agreement to hold inter-governmental consultations before proceeding with dams that impact their neighbours,” Sam Ath said.
“Laos’ failure to honour the consultation agreement is threatening transboundary cooperation, the livelihoods and food security of millions, and critically endangered species."
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