未来への展望～メコン・ウォッチによる政策提言活動の可能性と方向性～

A View to the Future～ Possibilities and Directionality of Policy Proposal Activities by Mekong Watch ～公益財団法人トヨタ財団助成事業

最終報告書

Final Report for a Grant Project of The Toyota Foundation

メコン・ウォッチ / Mekong Watch
October 2013

日本語 p.1 ～ p.39
English p.41 ～ p.87

、 ビルマ
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で

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環境・社会上の問題

メコン

の

・

開発・援助をめる情勢・
市民社会の特により、国内での CSO による監視活動が▽瀾滄江におけるダム開発が進行（

ム建設で環境・社会影響が発生す

大る▽周辺国（ビルマ・ラオス・カンボジア） ▽開発・環境問題に関する情報が

性が高い

・

への

・

が

・

▽政

▽メコン河上流（瀾滄江）でのダ

しい働）している▽国内の NGO は、海外の業投資が拡大している▽国内で定のダムについて、 の対

働中／建設

下流国から影響への懸念のが高まっていをにくい

監視より、政府／企業と先させている▽ NGO の働きかけで、政府が、海外事業の環境保護
などを

る

成した

▽政府・民間の海外投資によるの影響が、国内で報道されるようになってきた▽を活用した、国内での環境・公害問題への組▽計画・進行中の多数の開発事業

▽

で、環境

用などが発

資本が増

生しており、も増る見▽▽少数民族の

力地で、国

事

により

いる

との

が続いて

がある。特に、有する地域での対資がなどの開発に投・融資する海外

▽全国で

てきた

ようになってきた

資

地

や

民

化

の動きに

し、政府や国際

▽

地

用問題が表

化し、住民も業への反対を表明できるようになってきた▽環境・社会影響を▽環境・社会保護の

する

・政策的

し、

組

が

害住民に

をあ

る

地域以外では、以前と比べると、住民が開発事

機関が援助を本格的に再開しつつあるをりが活発になってきた組が整備で、活用できる手段が限られている

弱である

▽

化してい

地域の

には大きな変化がない

る▽

力発電事業の影響で、住民の

生計が
▽

開発、

よる

▽ 2020 年 ま で のD化している
市化、ダム建設に▽ GDP 成

と見られ

せている

への影響が発

▽ナムト

を支

れる
▽瀾滄江ダム建設が原る河・生▽産業用植林・
ーシ

金

物

ン、

って、住民の

地や

（プ
）によ

林が失

れ

ている
▽

・

▽住民が開発事業の

が国

することが

る海外投資がつが化している▽住民・企業・政府関係者による（ 特 に、 ロ ーった運動には結実していない

地

▽

を深刻化さ

地で活動する多くの NGO は、政府のン 2（NT2）以降、ダム建設が目

▽

・弾圧を

地・

林問題では、NGO と政府関係者の対の機会が拡大しつつあったが、2012 年、スイス NGO

査で成（E A）や住民移

した環境影

政策などが

さ

の国外強制
に

▽ 2012 年▽中国・ベトナム・タイなどの資金でイン▽フラ、プラン▽ NPA（Nーシン開発が拡大していおよび社会活動

の

事

表

、急

してしまったれていない

以降、政府が CSO への監視を強化した

の相

助が減

P

しつつある

A

）の認証

数が増加

している

る

ウ ッ ド ） ▽日本の民間企業が

力発電

に投資を

▽ NPA が、タイのダム反対運動の中で始まったによる調査が拡大している

開始した

▽政府が強

▽政府が、下流本流ダム（サイヤブリダム、 心を化しているがあがるようになったが、まとま持する一方で、成して自重することが多い。

▽ NT2 の計画・
響の影響に関する情報にアクセス

しい▽影響住民からの以上をしとなっている

生している
ラン

上 国（

DC）

となっている

害が懸念さ

・

発開発

C

ドンサ

ンダム）を強力に推進している▽植林事業など、REDD ＋に関連する援助が増大している
▽援助
▽自
ら

資

・

体

が

の生活に

、開発の影響が

が

延している
にもかか

されない

と類

している

の調査を実

住民

することに、強い関▽タクシン政

をめ

▽民間
でいる

続いている

い

▽日本の民間企業が、電力開発事業に資本▽市民社会の関心が、政の住民▽タイ発電公社（EGAT）が、電力にが懸念を表明している▽工業団地の拡大や力発電建設が、地域住民の
段に

の

や生計手

影響をもたらしている▽工業化に伴う
る

や

地をめ

る

・制

が

化している

が、十分に機しているとは言

ない
▽

や

つが

化・

化し

▽

の

▽強力なリーダーにが増加しているし、住民がいられた住民団体が、NGO や解決を引き出す活動戦略が

している

▽

が高い

ネル

ーの新規開発が

増し

▽官民をあ
資金・

化の

手段による解決への期て、周辺国の大規模開発への

援助が目

業など、

資

開発事業が

事

活して

す役割を

▽本流中・下流ダムに対して市民社会の懸念が高まり、▽政府・民間の海外投資に対する市民社会の関心・懸念が高まっている▽環境保全に関いるの、住民の要分開や民間銀行への働きかけも始まっている

つの影響で、流域間

の

流・協働を

、

っている

力が高い

▽ 2011 年の大が深刻化している

けながら、政府に圧力を加▽ NGO が流域の市民社会間の
ー効

する問題を

っている

している

ネル

が

対策に向いてい機関の支援を

▽アジア

ている

や

▽政府が、原子力発電計画を推進しようとているは比較的整っている関係者が NGO と連解決する役割の一端を▽周辺国からの電力輸▽住民と政府・民間企業との間で、 ▽
▽

▽大

要を

している

▽再生

をめ

が発生している対り、市民社会に対る

加している▽本流上・中流開発による環境・社会影響に対して、（ PP など）の大規模開発が進へのの大規模開発が引き起こした環境・社会影響が解決していな▽のによるダムの（パクムンダム）が実る住民団体が多民組織に、地方

市中間化している（

が加

るなど）

してい

る

▽大規模開発、
ンセッシ

ン）、

投機目的の

地

地

（コ

▽フンセン政などに伴う▽ 2013 年

きで、全国的に、多くの住民
が住や生計手段を喪失している

▽政府が

地・

企業に

することで、住民が自資による市民活動

市化と再開発、 ナリストなどへの弾圧が

林

用

を海外

へのアクセスや生計手段を

の総

、ジャー
民党が

▽ NGO やメディアによる政府批判は
定的である

党／

の

が

性がある一方、めのために強織全体に全を起こし、国民の制

手

▽

に対する

であるが、限地 NGO は、開発機関を自国政府に圧力をかける手段として認識している

性もある
し、

体

が組

延している

ャンネルを持っている▽政府と NGO との間に

事上の

がある

▽開発機関と国間援助により、通事業が進行している▽政府が国民に対して提すべき周辺の開発が進行していNGO が開発事業として実する傾向が強い地域）で、ベトナム

内の力発▽トンレサップ

成・改定のプロセスに関与する

▽東北

の建設・改

地で

▽ NGO が、政府・国際機関による援助政策

喪失しているのメコン河支流上流（3S

信

延している

ら

で、

▽政府は開発援助にが機が進した。フンセン政
段をとる

▽

化している

本的なサービスを、る▽ NGO 間のセクター

ネットワークがの環境・社会上の問題が解決して▽下流セサン 2 ダムなど、中国・ベトナム▽大規模開発への対においては、NGO より住民の方がいないの援助・投資により大規模開発（特に先電開発による▽国内外でのや化など▽外国資本による

環境・社会影響が発生している
▽

資

（

地

ス、 物） ▽開発事業に限ら、が増加している

、政府の意

決定（外

いる

響の懸念が高まっている▽インフラ開発、用などに▽国内でも、本流ダム計画が進行する

よって、トンレサップ

の

産資

性がある

産資

の減

▽

化している。

少や

が、

原での

、

を助

▽先住・少数民族、
性の世帯
を

分が

開発の影響があまり

している

に

らし、自

でいるにも関ら

資、されていない、 害者、 ▽政府が、サイヤブリダム建設に対して、などの社会的弱者が多く、開発による

口の大

型の生活を

業、

害のし

的な
に

政策など）に中国が強い影響力を持って開発の加速により、環境・社会影

が

力

力発電開発により、 発電）が進行している

公式に懸念・反対を表明している

せ

けている

8

場をとることが多く、NGO の

題がある

している
・戦略

ベトナム

▽大規模開発により住民（特に先▽国内資金によるインフラ整備が増加して▽本流ダム開発に関する批判、アドボカシーに強い関心が住・少数民族）が生計手段を喪失いるあるする問題が深刻化している▽日本などが原発建設計画を支援している▽ベトナム政府・民間が引き起こす国内外での問題に対す▽産業用植林が増大している▽日本政府の電力セクターへの援助の割合

るアドボカシーはそれほど活発ではない▽デルタ地帯での塩害が拡大してが高い▽研究者は、開発問題への関心が高く、NGO とも協働している▽日本の民間企業（銀行など）の電力セクいる▽著しい報道規制があり、集会・

ター投資への関心が高い▽共産党関係のメディアでも、ダムの問題点が報じられる

言論の自由が規制・弾圧されてい▽ベトナム電力総公社（EVN）やベトナム民▽市民がブログを通して情報を活発に発信するる間企業による周辺国の電力セクターへの投資が旺盛である▽植林事業など、REDD ＋に関連する援助が増大している▽政府が、サイヤブリダム建設に対して、公式に懸念・反対を表明している

流
域
／
越
境
問

▽瀾滄江ダム建設・上流浚渫に伴▽ 2015 年の ASEAN 共同体（AEC）結成を前に、 ▽ 3S（セサン川・スレポック川・セコン川）問題を発端に、う下流への影響が懸念される

ヒトとモノの移動が加速し、域内投資が活国際 NGO・カンボジア政府・3S 地域の NGO と住民との間で▽ベトナム・ラオスでの支流ダム

発化しているネットワークができたが、問題解決には結びついていない

開発によるカンボジアへの影響が▽メコン河委員会（MRC）の調査には重要な▽北タイの住民グループが、中国／下流本流ダムの影響を懸念されるものもあるが、流域管理に果たす役割は限継続的に監視し、東北タイの住民とネットワークを拡大し▽怒江／サルウィン川流域開発に

定的である

ている

よる下流への影響が懸念される▽ MRC が委託した戦略的環境アセスメント▽タイ・カンボジア・ベトナムの NGO と国際 NGO が中心と▽本流中・下流でのダム建設によ （SEA）において、本流ダム建設の 10 年延期

なり、本流中・下流ダム開発監視・反対キャンペーンを開る流域全体への影響が懸念されるが提言され、世界銀行や米国政府が支持を始・継続している▽流域全体の魚類や希少生物が減表明した▽タイの NGO が、タイの開発資金によって周辺国で発生す少している▽タイ電力公社（EGAT）はサルウィン川ダる環境・社会影響（本流下流ダム以外）の監視を本格化さ▽中国・ベトナム・タイからの開ム開発を積極的に推進している

せている

発資金・投資による流域国での環▽本流中・下流ダム計画が急速に進行し、 ▽中国の NGO は、海外での自国の開発資金の流れに関心を境・社会影響が発生している

ラオス政府がサイヤブリダム建設に着工し持ちはじめたが、継続的に活動できる団体が見あたらない

た▽中国・ベトナムの開発が下流に及ぼす影響について、両▽新興援助国への対抗を口実に、開発機関

国の NGO と認識が十分に共有されていないや先進工業国政府が、環境・社会保護政策▽以前と比べると、開発機関を監視してきた国際 NGO の中の運用を弱めようとする動きがある国に対する関心が低下した。一方で、ビルマへの関心が高▽タイ発電公社の子会社やタイの民間銀行

まったが、流域国のダム開発に活発に出資してい▽政府機関の環境・社会保護政策の活用・有効性や政策改る定への関与に疑問を持つ住民組織・NGO も多く、政策を活▽アジア開発銀行がアジア債券市場を拡大用するケースが限定的である

題することや通貨統合に積極的である

該当項目なし日本（メコン河流域に対して）▽原発やパッケージ型インフラ輸出に対して懸念を持つ▽ ODA が日本企業への支援を強める傾向にNGO・市民が比較的多いある（海外投融資の再開、官民パートナー▽公的資金の無駄に対する批判的検証が定着している

シップ（PPP）型協力準備調査など）▽ ODA に対して批判的な見方がある一方で、国益重視の意▽インフラの海外輸出、原発輸出政策が継見も強い続されている▽東日本大震災・原発事故以降、海外の問題への関心が低▽気候変動問題に対する ODA・公的資金が増

下している

大している
▽メコン首脳・外相会議が定例化している▽メコン河流域開発における日本政府の関心／プレゼンスが相対的に低下している

1

1

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18

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【脚注】
1

開
ン（

には

な

林）の

など、大

業

がある。

ekong River Commission
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た

な開
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事業を
Overvie

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とする

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所の

といった

や

大な

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す。
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httpmekonginfo org assetsof the hydrology of the mekong asin pdf

International Center for nvironmental
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が活動対anagement IC
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1

ekong River Commission

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trategic nvironmental

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NTF Use andevelopment Organization

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Vientiane ao

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http

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を

く

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ない森林

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で、人

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mekonginfo org mrc en docli nsf

BCgriculture and Forestry Research Institute N FRI National

National University of ao

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National

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1

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griculture and Forestry

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ekong Watch

ivelihoods and nvironmental Issues in Vietnam’s
11ekong River elta （日本httpmekong atch org

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11

Chinese investment rises in aos Vientiane Times

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環境社会配

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いては、

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いては、http

業の

など参

の

らのメコン・

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と。

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イトなどを参のと。httpmekong atch org

activity policy html
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メコン・

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として、

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report cam odia G
1

1

http
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する

改

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は、大

と NGO

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acses org sdap mof を参
メコン・ッチの活動の全

しくは、http
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民）と NGO のでに対する働きけがある。

しくは、http

mekong atch org

、メコン

や

で

の

した
を

会合。主な目的は、多国

開

行や

国

める

とにある。

進し、政

による政策

の

を

言

している

活動

を参

O

の事業や政

。

に

いては、

mekong atch org a out report html で、
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事業の

mekong atch org a out vision html を参Rail ay html 参、策に関し、日本政

ンには、http、日・で公mekong atch org english a out inde html

。日本は、httpC で、

savethemekong org を参のなどをに、ラオス、タイ、カンボジア、ベトナムの国がは、 sta lishing ast sia Civil ociety Net ork to iscuss ustaina le Natural Resources

1した政
anagement in

機関
ekong

しくは、

1

1
8
1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

* なお参加団体については巻末付録を参照。

1
2
3
4

1

1
1

1
1

1
2
3

1

1

1

1
1

1

1

RC が、日本政内セに対して、

ナー・メコン

11

1

の

開

の現

と

メコンと

アジアの

。外

らは、南

アジア

org events lecture 1

1 1 1 html を参が名参加した。

。

民も

提言の全

（

全体で
ydropo er in the）は、httpが事会で合mekong atch org
するとのekong River Basin

N

がある。
1

1

した本

ダムの

FC O

調査への

政支援を

している。

民ネットワークと日本の
、国際

力

http
の

mekong atch
（い

も

）

ekong am etter to GoJ pdf を参

しくは、Guy iv et al
1 を参

1

1

Trading o Fish Biodiversity Food ecurity and

1
1

1
1

1

1

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

1

18
1

1

1

1

国
・The nergy and Climate olicy Institute for Just Transition（ C I）
・O

Watch

カンボジア
・ merican Friends ervice Committee（ F C）カンボジア事
タイ
・

北タイ

民ネットワーク

国・Cai inedia

・The Center for egal ssistance to ollution Victims（C

V）

1

所

北タイ・ムン

民の

行動（

ンコク、

11

）

1

1
1

リントンダム（

）と
18

大な

水

（

）

パクムンダム

1

水

（

）と開

（

）

1

8

1

11

1

北

カンボジア・セ

ン

、スレ

ック

、セコン

1

1
1

8

1

1

1
1

1

1

1

8

いの

1
1

8

と

の

1

1

1

1
2
3

1

1

1

1

【脚注】
1

国名をあいうえお順に並べ、各国内で団体名をアルファベット順に並べた。
コーン・チー・ムン

水にいては、http

は、 ラムドム

イ水力

ダム

の

に

いては、

ダム

民の

internationalrivers org logs
民の
て

が多く、

mekong atch org report t channel html を参

と

たが、
を参

の

、タイ国

。http

の名を

して

リントンダムと改名している。

mekong atch org report thailand sirinthorn html（日本sirindhorn dam a ected communities still seeking ustice and compensation（

の

ルー

が

在し、

、

行の日本

は

行き

を

する

たっていない。フィールド調査

、

民の

の

に

）http

）
運動は

とし

い合

たが、

いていた。
メコン・
は

ッチは、

っていない

との

を

Recentperience

World Bank 1
en 1とで生態系に多大なタイで、民による調査

1

で実

http

）に、 の

いて

ak

un http

documents

orld ank org curated

水

を持た

に、

を利

して

するため環境にしいとるが、実際には、をもたらす。

のた調査は、タイの NGO、 iving River iam の

に掲

ている（本

は、タイ

。

に

の

があり）。

ルで開

した

1

livingriversiam org en t r htm を参
カンボジア

1

で、

の

会

民とメコン

民による調査がい

1の日

ith Involuntary Resettlement Thailand（run of river）のダムとは、大きな

める

1

は、大

けた。

き

11

（

recent e perience involuntary resettlement thailand pak mun
み

を

事

1 日
（1
開

th

も

1 日、

orea River
の現

や

で
国

の
るため、
水

・

る。

ネットワーク（ orea Net ork for River and Watershed）が、

ay eoul Conference

国政

と

業の関

に

1 ）では、
いてN とメコン・し合う機会があった。

ッチら

各 1 名が

、参加した

国の

1

1
1

1

1

1

1
2
3

11
1

1

8

1

1

2
3

4
1
5

6

7

8
9

10

1
2

3

8

【脚注】
1
最

にあたって、

や

では、

る

ンの運

、

水力

所の

をめ

の

大気、水、

の

、

の水

ー

ワディ）

、

うした

に

り組む人

ととも

最

ル

では、環境や人権の保

外

（

の

a）

（http
外

の

（IWR ）のア
外

（

1

利

な

民

も、

ィン（タンル

ィン）

といった大

働する

がある

える人

の水

とが

イニ

、

の

進

） 日メコン、

力 、メコン

に関する行動

に言

している。

力のための

をめ

る

に

でいる、

となっている。

ている。

では、

環境・

には、

の

の

して

に

な

する

業化がもたらす

オ

に

ラ

らす

ー

、イラ

民も多い。

も多い。

めら

のための

た、大

ていると言える。

たなパートナーッts ka html）を参

水・ 水

mekong k s kaigi

mekongしている。 た、外（和 に言では、 メコン
メコンには、チ、参加の機会はむし

）

ランテー

が

mofa go p mofa area

環として

ンによる大

らに、メコンする

mekong

の

1 （

対的

を生

に

言（

）（http

保全の

対・

る事件が目

会

多

コンセッ

にあげた提言の内mekong k s kaigi
（

アティ
の生

で、

国

進に向けた

支援 、 メコンーチのす日本・メコン

リーン・メコンに向けた 1

の変化、

き

とも

） 日メコン行動

ka html）では、メコン

や

ける人

を

1

は、民

を

mofa go p mofa area

（

クトの実

や大

化しており、

ワディ（

した。

となっている。

農業などが

大な

が

を変

が大きな

の
による

など

会（ RC）による
水イルカ保）（http水、 メコン

mofa go p mofa area

1）

水対策に関する
会を

て

ジ

合水

mekong k s kaigi

ointstatement p html）を参
は、

ecisions on mainstream dams should e deferred for a period of ten years

essential deferment

period activities are eing conducted e ectively （International Centre for nvironmental

trategic nvironmental ssessment of ydropo er on the
cdri org kh shdmekong
、事
1

の

における開

メコン

ith revie s every three years to ensure that、合

trategicekong

nvironmental

ssessment

き （ rocedures for Noti cation（ ekong greement）

事業に関して、 RC に条にもとしたうえで、合は、 RC rocedures for Noti cation

で

ainstream Final Report
Final

査・

Report1
httpRC pdf）
る

きは、

国に

た

き

の

である。加

国は、メコン

本

を行い、

の事業の実

およ

実

いて合

する。

rior Consultation and greement httprocedures Noti cation rior Consultation greement pdf を参

ekong River Commission、rior Consultation and greement ＝ N C ）とき、加anagement

条件にを

mrcmekong org assets u lications policies

1

8

1

1
1
1
1





1




1

1

1









1

1




1

orea International Cooperation gency のと。

しくは、http

koica go kr main html を参

1

アメリカ合

国

merican Friends ervice Committee（ F C）
国に本

を

く、

平和と

展を目

す国際 NGO。メコン

をあて活動している。主な活動は、調査研究、

国では、開

民と政策

者との対

事業が

の

き

、

す対

に

の

り組む

に

団体への

支援である。
International Rivers（IR）
IR は、

の保全と

的なダム開

に

に

めを

って

らす人

け、水や

ネル

との権利を

る国際 NGO である。持

ー

を目

の

な

の実現のため、している。

オーストラリアオクスファム・オーストラリア（O fam ustralia）
O fam ustralia は、オックスファム国際連合のすとのできる公正なた、うした活動のを目し、として、メコンの人との環として、 メコンの人とがらの生活に関るを本的な権利の実現、環境の維持を目的として活動している。

の水と

のガ

ナンス・

ラム

を実

している。

国
nergy and Climate olicy Institute for Just Transition（ C I）
C I は、ネル

ー政策センター C

ー政策を、
社会正

に

といった

を

の

がりと

のもとに

く民主的なものに変え、調査研究を

りを目

し、

た NGO

する

調査研究所である。現在主とを目的としている。活動のして、気候変動の社会的

うした

に関する

や

を、社会正

ネル

本に、

ー

の

の
、

機に対
ら

ネル
、連

するための社会的な

し

展

る

力を

けて

いる。
O

ッチ（O

O

Watch）

Watch は、人権、平活動と政策提言を行う

、連合の

に

、開

のある

に関

した活動を行う民の力向民団体である。
を目

した

国政

のO

政策に関してなどを行っている。

カンボジア
保全ネットワーク（
N は、カンボジア北たダムによってワーク（をN） として

活動

をスレ

へと

大した。

ック

Rivers rotection Net ork ＝
ラタナ

けた、

リ

を

く

カンボジアのセン

た。

民とともに政へとNGO である。セや事業者に対してアドボカ
セmerican Friends ervice Committee（ F C）カンボジア事

所＊

所は、カンボジアへの

げ、

国

ン

本の

のベトナム

民を支援するため、、

F C カンボジア事

、セコン

に

N）

が、持

ン、スレ

1

、 セ

ン

保全ネット

ー活動を行っている。

ック、セコン

で社会的

内に

を

、

保全ネットワーク

たすものとなるよう、現調査の実、カンボジアの

民と

国

や

国ジ

ーナリストとの対

などを

て、

を

め

る活動を行っている。

タイCommunity Resource Centre（CRC）
CRC は、ンコクに本いる。ラオス・をイ

く NGO である。環境権や人権をリダムのように国境をえてekong u region ocial Research Center（
RC は、タイの者による大メコン

ボンラチ

機関との連

に関する研究の

進、
リ

北タイ

タニ大学教

ている人

生する

に

いても、

を

的な支援を行っていた支援活動を行っている。

RC）
学

励、

に

する、メコン

に関する調査研究機関である。

の学者や研究者、学生

ースセンターを活

とに対して

したメコン

における

に関する

の学

の

進と

化、

の教育

向

などを目

している。

へのアクセス

民ネットワーク

メコン

いの

北タイ

U onratchathani）のの内の（ oei、Nhongkhai、Buengkarn、Nakhon hanom、 ukdaharn、 mna chareon、

民によって

、

た

のネットワーク化

民組

ネットワーク。メコン

進により、メコン本

いにダムに対する民らす人らのとの生活調査や提供を行うとに提言活動も行っている。

国Cai inedia（财新网）＊Cai inedia は、北

うメディア
が

に本社を

ルー

く

である。

国の大

の

を

社の
する

と

力があり、

V は、環境保
を

組

国の

国

・

なら

事業に関するに社会変化に

や
した

を

に

として

い。

The Center for egal ssistance to ollution Victims（C
C

で、

ける

や公

に

ットラインを開

である。所

り組む

した

国の NGO である。1

、

ら活動を

国政

と

する

V）＊

が、

め、現在では、

国国内の環境

や公

を目

各

人の

国人

と

が

国政

大学

に対して、

民の環境公
ら

民に

た
の支援を行っている。
オクスファム（O fam ong ong）

オックスファムは、
緊急のい、より公平なへの対応、（ ）国内外でのアドボカ

ong ong は、し、ー、（ ）国内での啓蒙

国を支援するオックスファム国際連合の

の

で、
（1）
の

として 1

国の持

な開

への支援、
（ ）

の活動に

り組

でいる。O famに、体の NGO としては、を支援している。

日本
国

環境研究所（NI

NI

は、

ン

における環境

と
の

）

の生態系に
とダムによるに加えて国際的な

をあてた
の

は、

生態系機
の

も

う日本の主

研究

ラム を

の事業の主
8

な目的の

な環境研究機関である。現在は、メコ
くむ 1 件の研究事業を実
と

である。

している。

日本国際ボランティアセンター（Japan Volunteer Center ＝ JVC）
JVC は、農業、水供給、森林保全、子どもの教育、平和構築、緊急支援など多くの事業を行っている。活動を展開するのは、カンボジア、ラオス、タイ、南アフリカ、イラク、パレスチナ、アフガニスタン、北朝鮮、スーダンである。日本では、公正な社会の実現に向けた政策提言や啓蒙活動と国内外の NGO とのネットワーク化を進めている。

ビルマ
Federation of Workers’ Union of the Burmese Citizens（FWUBC）
FWUBC は、在日ビルマ人による労働組合連合である。日本で働くビルマ人労働者の労働条件や生活環境の改善、労働者としての権利の獲得、ビルマ国内で支配的な軍事政権勢力に苦しむ労働者への激励と支援、ビルマの民主化運動の支援を目標に掲げ活動している。

ベトナム
カントー大学・気候変動研究所（Research Institute for Climate Change）
Research Institute for Climate Change は、ベトナム・カントー大学（Can Tho University）にあり、メコンデルタが、気候変動に対応しながら健全な生態系を維持できるよう調査・研究を行うベトナム最大の研究機関である。

【脚注】
1

国名をあいうえお順に並べ、各国内で団体名をアルファベット順に並べた。団体名の＊は、フィールド調査のみに参加した団体を示す。

A View to the Future～ Possibilities and Directionality of Policy Proposal Activities by Mekong Watch ～1

I ntroduction
In Asia, particularly the six countries of the Mekong B asin, i.e., China, B urma/ Myanmar1, L aos, Thailand,
Cambodia and V ietnam, development and investment for acquisition of natural resources including water, soil,
forests and minerals by public institutions and the private sector are ourishing more and more. The government
and private sector of Japan have also been attaching more importance to the Mekong B asin as an area providing
resources, production bases and markets, and government and corporate strength is being employed to promoteestablishment of infrastructure, particularly in the fields of transportation and electric power.
In the shadow of this lively economic activity, though, deterioration of the environment and natural
resources is advancing. It is those rural people who depend to a high degree on natural resources that became
more impoverished and the gap between them and the middle class in the cities, who benefit from economic
development, is increasing. The backlash has been increasing from people whose livelihoods are threatened, aided
by increased critical awareness worldwide of environmental destruction and economic inequalities, so disputes
between the government private sector and local inhabitants over the use of water, forests and soil have intensified.
In the Mekong Basin, environmental protection has become a bigger issue than ever, along with how the profits
from economic development can be distributed fairly among the countries of the basin.
To prevent negative effects of development on the environment and society, and to deal with the resulting
damage, the governments and international institutions of advanced industrial nations have established various
standards and policies 2 to protect the environment and society. This has been the combined result of civilsociety organizations (CSO s) and researchers teaming up to analyze painful experiences of people affected bydevelopment thus far, relay and debate them, and work out solutions.
In the case of development proj ects in the Mekong B asin, however, those standards have generally remained
weak in the face of the sudden, huge influence brought to bear by the newly aiding and investing countries
like China, South K orea, Thailand and V ietnam. There is room for improvement even in the standards forenvironmental and social protection in the advanced industrial countries, and their implementation is not sufficient,however currently, in order to withstand the lively economic activities of developing countries, there is growingpressure on advanced industrialized nations to relax their own standards, which had been strengthening until now.
While there are growing concerns about global scale environmental destruction on the one hand, where actual
individual cases of development are taking place, there is still a strong tendency to put economic growth andcorporate profits before considerations of the projects’ impact on the environment and society. If this continues,
the knowledge accumulated by people for the realization of sustainable development and the efforts to popularize
it could end in failure.
This report, “A V iew to the Future
Watch

Possibilities and Directionality of Policy Proposal Activities by Mekong,” is a compilation of information recorded while discussing the current status and future of the Mekong

B asin with people in civil society in the basin and East Asia through two activities. The first activity was aninternational workshop held in Tokyo for exchanges among researchers and NG O s active in East Asia, for the
purpose of strengthening the civil society network involved with the basin and the second activity was a fieldsurvey conducted with the collaboration of NG O s, j ournalists and legal experts in China and South K orea, inwhich we interviewed inhabitants being affected by development proj ects in Thailand and Cambodia.
We invited many mentors and friends from Asia, Europe and America with much experience and knowledge,
and working j ointly with them on proposal activities and surveys, we considered the current status and futureof the Mekong B asin and the organization “Mekong Watch”. Such an extravagant proj ect would never havematerialized without the generous support and encouragement of The Toyota Foundation. We take this opportunity
to express our profound appreciation. We also received aid from the Mitsui &Co., L td. Environment Fund forconducting the survey and holding the meetings for compiling the knowledge presented in this report. The views
and assertions expressed herein, however, are all those of Mekong Watch, and we give notice that they have noconnection with the foundations providing aid. The workshop and field survey would not have been possible
without the cooperation of many people. In particular, we received considerable help from the villagers affectedby the Pak Mun Dam in Thailand and the people who helped coordinate our activities there, the villagers affectedby the L ower Sesan 2 Dam and L ower Srepok 3 Dam in Cambodia and the people of the 3S Rivers Protection
Network, all of whom shared their time with us while making a living and fighting difficult battles. We feel wehave received favors in the course of our activities that can never be repaid, but we will nonetheless try to repay
them little by little through our future activities.

E ndnotes
1 B elow, standardized as “B urma.”
2 The obj ect of “environmental protection” includes human beings, but below it will be called “environmental and social protection”
so as to correspond to “environmental and social impacts.” H ere, the term “social protection” will be in the general sense and notnecessarily consistent with social protection in the field of development.

C ontents
I ntroduction
C hapter 1

The N atural E nvironment and S ocial C onditions in the Mekong Basin - - 4 5

1 . 1 . C haracteristics of the Mekong R iver—

Biological Diversity - - 4 5

1 . 2 . L ivelihood of C ommunities R ely ing on N atural R esources - - 4 5
1 . 3 . C onnections to J apan - - - 4 7
1 . 4 . C hanging F ocus of Development - - - 4 7
1 . 5 . A Bird’ s- E y e V iew of C onditions in the Basin - - - 4 8
1 . 6 . Mekong W atch’ s E fforts S o F ar - - - 5 2
1 . 7 . Tow ard N ew E fforts - - - 5 3
C hapter 2

R eport on I nternational W orkshop and S trategy Meeting - - - 5 6

2 . 1 . I ssues C onfronting the Mekong Basin - - - 5 6
2 . 2 . Discussion at the S trategy Meeting and P roposals to the Ministry of F oreign Affairs - - - 5 7
2 . 3 . R esults and L essons - - - 5 8
C hapter 3

R esults and L essons from the F ield S urvey s - - - 6 0

3 . 1 . P rogram and P articipating O rganiz ations - - - 6 0
3 . 2 . S ites V isited - - - 6 2
Mun R iver b asin in northeastern Thailand - - - 6 2
S esan, S repok and S ekong river b asins in northeastern C amb odia - - - 6 4. . e ections Thai an Sve

.4. e ectionsveao ia S3 . 5 . C onclusions - - - 7 2
C hapter 4W

hat Development P olicies W ould E nsure the Management and U tiliz ation of

N atural R esources b y the P eople L iving in the Mekong Basin?
～ P rob lems w ith Developmental Aid P olicies and P roposals from C ivil S ociety--- 7 4w ith R egard to the Mekong Basin
C hapter 5 Aiming for C oordination among C ivil S ocieties of E ast Asian and Mekong Basin C ountries
A Staff o n Ta e Tafo

e ection tochangee iences--- 7 85 . 1 . P roj ect Achievements - - - 7 8
5 . 2 . C hallenges R evealed b y the P roj ect - - - 7 9
5. . ss es

e iniffic t to nence

5.4. The Significance of the Activities
5.5. A ie to the
A

t e

hat

i

e Ai

fo

en i
L ist of O rganiz ations P articipating in the I nternational W orkshop and F ield S urvey - - - 8 5
The V oice ～ A video recording of remarks b y people living in the Mekong Basin
n o T

e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR0Dja9PIdw( I n N ortheastern Thai w ith J apanese S ub title)C hapter 1

N atural E nvironment and S ocial C onditions in the Mekong BasinAt the NPO

Mekong Watch, we have engaged in activities limited to the Mekong B asin. There are two

reasons for this, one is to ascertain the value of the Mekong River’s rich natural resources and environment insupporting people’s livelihood and the other is because Japan has had deep connections to development proj ects1
in this region geographically and historically. This chapter provides an outline of basic information on the
Mekong B asin, where we are conducting our activities, the connections between Japan and the basin, and thecurrent state of each country of the basin. Additionally, in the context of the situation and trends, we provide a
simple summary of what we are aiming for and how we are conducting our activities.
1 . 1 . C haracteristics of the Mekong R iver—

Biological Diversity

The Mekong is an international river,flowing through six countries, China(Q inghai and Y unnan provinces), B urma,
L aos, Thailand, Cambodia and V ietnam,
on its way to the sea. The basin covers an
area of 795,000 km2, which is more than
twice the size of Japan’s territory (377,947
km2), and the river stretches for a lengthof 4,909 km in total2. The upper reaches ofthe Mekong lie in China, where it is called" L ancang Jiang." After leaving China, it
ows along the border between Laos andB urma, then along the border between
Laos and Thailand. Then, it ows back into Laos, into Cambodia, and from there into Vietnam. In Cambodia, it
is connected to the country s emblematic Lake Tonle Sap. In Vietnam, it is known by a name which translates as" Nine Dragons" and forms the Mekong Delta, the world s largest rice-growing region, before finally emptying
into the South China Sea.According to data registered in Fishb ase (2009), a comprehensive database coveringrivers and,lakes of the world, the Mekong, withfish species, is second only to the Amazon, in which

species have been confirmed, so it boasts a worldwide number two ranking in terms of fish biodiversity.

According to a World Wildlife und WW

report,new fish species have been discovered during the lastten years in the Mekong Basin. At one time, it looked likely that the number of fish species in the Mekong Riverwould reach ,, but currently it is e pected that

freshwater fish species inhabit the river, with oceanic

fish which occupy the Mekong near its mouth part of the time bringing the total to as many as ,In addition to these fish species, it has,

plant,

mammal, ,bird, andspecies3.

reptile and amphibian

4

species , and is a “biodiversity hotspot.”
1 . 2 . L ivelihood of C ommunities R ely ing on N atural R esources
With the exclusion of the mountainous areas of the upper reaches, the Mekong is not a wild natural riverdifficult for people to approach, but rather e tremely intimately connected with human livelihood. The richnessof the river’s fish fauna has spawned fishing industries in many villages in the basin, and professions that
use the difference in water levels between the dry and rainy seasons under the influence of the monsoon—

riverbank farming and ranching, gathering of plants—have supported the people’s livelihood. Edible wild
plants, mushrooms, tree sap gathered in the forests of the basin have provided food fuel and medicine to thepeople. These products also provide a means for important cash income to the local communities of L aos andCambodia, as will be described below. Also, L ake Tonle Sap, which is connected to the Mekong and shows large
uctuations between the rainy and dry seasons, is a treasure trove of fish and plays an important role in both thefood supply and the economy of Cambodia. And finally, the Mekong Delta at the lowest reaches of the river is
one of the world’s foremost rice-producing regions. The population living in the basin that enj oys the MekongRiver’s benefits is said to number about

million.

Many diverse fish species live in the Mekong Basin and are abundantly used by people. The economic valueof the fish harvest taken by fishing industry is about.

.

. billion5 annually, and the retail value is about. billion. or e ample, the freshwater fish production, including farmed fish, of Cambodia is said toaccount for.

orof the country’s GD . It is hard to grasp the actual conditions of small-scale

fishers, and these figures are all estimates, but even from such insufficient data, we can understand the economic
importance of the Mekong River fisheries.
It has also been learned that about

varieties of non-timber forest products NTs 7 are used in L aotian

farming villages. Among the diverse NTFP species, aquatic animals (such as fish, frogs, shrimp, snails andshellfish and land animals birds and rodents are all regarded as forest products. These provide an importantsource of protein in the people’s daily meals8. There are 25 NTFP species that are mostly in commercial use,
and NTPF provide an important income source to the rural communities. Food products are sold in markets
domestically, while spices and medicinal plants that are used in pharmaceuticals are exported to neighboring
countries, including Thailand, China and V ietnam. B enzoin resin is exported to France as an ingredient for
perfumes, and aromatic woods are exported to Japan and Arab countries.9
Fish and forest products have value beyond economic. U ntil as late as 50 years ago, bartering of products
such as fish, rice, forest products and salt was conducted over a wide region including southern central Laosand northeastern Thailand. During times when the people lived nearly self-sufficiently, in order to ensuresufficient food, the people spent a considerable part of their time gathering it. In villages where farming was themain occupation, it could be difficult to obtain supplementary foods during busy periods such as planting andharvesting of rice fields. On the other hand, villages along rivers where many fish could be caught customarily
processed the fish in salted, fermented foods or by drying, and traded them for necessities. In times when there
was no trading on the market through the medium of cash, foods were distributed throughout the region bymeans of barter. Regional specialties were also important and were taken when visiting familiar or new places
and traded, and the broadening of knowledge achieved among the L ao peoples living in northeastern Thailandand southern central L aos was considered socially and culturally important.
The lowest reaches of the Mekong, where it fans out at the mouth in the Mekong Delta, form a vast, fertile
wetland. The delta spansprovinces, and includes a population of

total population of Vietnam. It has an area of about,. million people, which is

km in total, about 2 million hectares of which is usedas farmland. The main crop produced in the delta is rice, and it accounts for
In addition,of Vietnam’s fish catch andof the2of Vietnam’s grain production.

of its fruit production comes from the delta, and it provides

not only a food supply domestically, but also plays an important role in exports.10
In these ways, the environment of the Mekong Basin is closely tied with and supports the livelihoods of thepeople living there.
1 . 3 . C onnections to J apan
Trade has ourished between Japan and the countries of the Mekong Basin from long ago. Also, there isa history that prior to World War II, Japan, which wanted to ensure access to natural resources made militaryinroads into various countries of Southeast Asia, including those of the Mekong Basin. In connection with
its geographical location, the Mekong B asin is still an important production base and market for Japan’s
manufacturing industries, so strong ties are being maintained economically.
After peace was established in Cambodia, bringing an end to the continued war in Indochina, Japan’s
government became actively involved in the region in the field of development assistance, starting from the
1990s. Aid was provided through institutions such as the Asian Development B ank (ADB ) in the form ofmultilateral Official Development Assistance ODA , and Japan has also continued to be the biggest donor ofbilateral O DA to L aos, Cambodia and V ietnam.
L ooking back on the history of development of the Mekong B asin, one can also see Japan’s deep
involvement. It was a Japanese consulting firm, Nippon Koei Co., Ltd., that drew up plans for development of agroup of hydroelectric dams on tributaries of the Mekong River in thes. In thes tos, construction

work in accordance with those plans was executed in Thailand and L aos through Japanese O DA. Japan’s
government and private corporations have been actors with a big influence on development in the Mekong
B asin.
1 . 4 . C hanging F ocus of Development
From the outset of the 21st century, there have been big changes in the circumstances of the Mekong B asin.
This was because assistance and investment from China and ODA from South Korea came to have a big effecton the Mekong Basin. or e ample, investment from China in Laos reachedbillion in

11. The total valueof ODA from South Korea is still only around one tenth that of Japan, but it has grown from about
in

to

.

billion in

million12, and their policy is to use most of it in Asia . Moreover, investment by privatecompanies of V ietnam and Thailand in L aos and Cambodia is increasing. Construction of the X ayaburi Damon the main stream of the Mekong River is progressing with a Thai company as the implementing entity, andfinancing provided by a consortium of private Thai banks.

Such changes in the development implementers is manifesting vividly in the current conditions ofdevelopment in the middle to lower reaches of the Mekong River main stream. There are currently plans fordevelopment in twelve places (including the X ayaburi Dam in L aos, which is under construction), the blueprints
for which were drawn up in the 1950s under American and European initiatives, but among the implementing
bodies for their development are listed names of Chinese, V ietnamese and Thai public institutions and privatecompanies in place of American, European or Japanese governmental or international development agencies13.
What has led the World Bank and other development agencies to stop providing financing and aid to theproj ects that brings severe environmental and social impacts, like dams on the main stream of the MekongRiver, was that citizens from around the world lobbied the development agencies and governments to prevent
environmental and social destruction, and it can be said to be the result of efforts by the development agencies
themselves to raise their standards of environmental and social protection policies14. Now, however, the local
communities and CSO s active in the Mekong B asin are faced with the rapid rise of strong actors who have notdeveloped such policies and are inclined to avoid dialogs with civil society.
1 . 5 . A Bird’ s- E y e V iew of C onditions in the Basin
The following is a compilation of the environmental and social problems faced by each country of the
Mekong B asin, development and aid conditions that have influence on the solutions to those problems, andthe characteristics of the civil societies aiming to solve those problems. Regarding Japan, the state of affairs
regarding aid, investment and lending for development of the Mekong River and the characteristics of civilsociety are described. These observations are not based on surveys and statistics, but are mostly informationand knowledge gained through experience in the middle of Mekong Watch’s activities in the basin. Every
attempt was made to observe things from a broad point of view, but we cannot deny that there will be points
that strongly re ect our concerns and the inclinations of individuals and organizations engaged in activities orcollaboration. Nonetheless, it is useful to have a bird’s eye view of conditions in the basin from one direction.
Furthermore, since Mekong Watch use this information and knowledge as the basis in planning and executing
each activity, we thought it significant to include here.

8

Tab le: P rob lems, C onditions and C haracteristics of Mekong R iver Basin

E nvironmental andS ocial P rob lems

C onditions ofDevelopment and Aid

C haracteristics of
C ivil S ocietyHigh livelihood of environmental
and social problems arising from theconstruction of dams on the upper
reaches of the Mekong River (L ancang
Jiang in China.)

Development of dams on the Lancang Jiang
is progressing (the Manwan, Dachaoshan,
Jinghong and X iaowan dams are operating).
Agricultural investment in neighboring
countries (B urma, L aos and Cambodia) is
expanding.
Regarding dams in operation or underconstruction domestically, concerns about
impacts on downstream countries are
increasing.

Due to political circumstances, monitoringof events in the country can be difficult for
CSO s.
Information on development andenvironmental problems is hard to obtain.
NGOs within the country give priority totalks with the government and corporations
over monitoring matters abroad.
ressure from NGOs has gotten thegovernment to create environmental
protection policies for ventures abroad.
Negative impacts of public and private
overseas investments have begun to bereported in the country’s media.
Efforts to resolve the country’s
environmental and pollution problems arebeing enlivened through the application ofj udiciary law.

There are many development
proj ects underway or in planning, withenvironmental destruction and land
expropriation occurring and expected toincrease in the future.
There are states in which minority
groups dominate, where there aredisputes involving armed clashes
with government troops. Con icts are
becoming more severe, especially inareas with natural resources.

oreign capital investment and funding fordevelopment of natural resources has been
increasing.
Governments and international agencies are
resuming full-scale aid in response to moves
toward democratization.
Legal and policy frameworks forcompensating local communities incurring
damages or to prevent environmental andsocial impacts are weak.

Local communities have becomeless financially secure as a result ofhydropower proj ect impacts.
There are concerns about waterpollution and health effects from minedevelopment, urbanization and dam
construction.
Bank erosion and effects on
ecosystems are being seen as a result of
L ancang Jiang dam construction.
Industrial plantations and cash crop
agriculture have brought loss of land andforests to local communities.
loods and droughts are becoming
more common.
Illegal logging especially forrosewood) by persons connected withlocal communities, corporations and thegovernment is increasingly widespread.
The government is becoming more
powerful.

The country yearns to shake itself free of
its L east Developed Country (L DC) status by
2020.
It enjoys GD growth in e cess of,but on the other hand, the foreign investmentthat supports this growth is exacerbating land
deprivation.
Since the completion of the Nam Theun(NT2) dam, there has been a rush to construct
lots of other dams.
The environmental impact assessment drawn
up in the planning and investigation stages for
the NT2 and resettlement policies for local
communities have not been followed.
Infrastructure and plantation development
funded by China, V ietnam and Thailand isincreasing.
rivate Japanese companies have started
investing in hydropower.
The government is strongly promoting
damming of the lower reaches of the Mekong(X ayaburi Dam, Don Sahong Dam.)
Aid for plantation projects in connection
with REDD+ is increasing.
Corruption and dependence on aid areprevalent.
Although natural resources are essential torural communities’ livelihood, the effects ofdevelopment are not being considered.

C hina ( Y unnan)

Burma

L aos

Land e propriation problems have surfaced
nationwide and villagers have begun raising
their voices.
Aside from areas with con icts, local
communities have become better able toexpress opposition to development proj ects
than before.
No framework has been developed yet forenvironmental and social protection, and there
are few measures that can be taken.
There have been no big changes in areas
with con icts.
Local communities cannot easily obtain
information on the negative effects ofdevelopment proj ects.
Affected villagers have begun speaking out,
but this has not brought about any coherent
movements yet.
Many locally active NGOs are wary of
government intrusion and suppression, so they
act cautiously in many cases.
Opportunities for talks with NGOs andgovernment officials about land and forest
problems are increasing, but after incidents
such as the expulsion of the director of a
Swiss NGO and abduction of a social activist
in 2012, they were swiftly curtailed.
rom the end of, the government
stepped up its surveillance of CSO s.
Mutual assistance is decreasing in ruralvillages.
The number of certified non-profit
associations (NPA) is increasing.
In conducting investigations similar toinvestigations by local communities inThailand, which were launched by movements
protesting dams in Thailand, the NPAs areindicating strong concern.

Thailand

Environmental and social impacts ofpast large-scale development have notbeen resolved.
Rural communities are e pressing
concern about the environmental andsocial impacts of development on theupper and middle reaches of the Mekong
main stream.
E pansion of industrial parks andconstruction of thermal power stations
are having negative effects on the healthof communities in the region and theirmeans of subsistence.
Water shortages and disputes overwater are arising accompanying
industrialization.
Disputes between local communities
and the government or private companies
over land are intensifying.
Laws and institutions arecomparatively well developed, but cannot
be said to function sufficiently.
loods and droughts have become
more common and severe.
Coastal erosion is becoming more
serious.

Large-scale development by private
initiatives I s and others is advancing.
rivate Japanese companies are engaged
in financial participation in electric power
development proj ects.
The Electric Generating Authority ofThailand EGAT makes e cessive electric
power demand forecasts.
Electric power importation from neighboring
countries is increasing.
The government is trying to promote plansfor nuclear power.
New development of renewable energy isincreasing slightly.
There is high potential for further energy
efficiency.
inancial aid and technical assistance, bothpublic and private, for large-scale developmentfrom neighboring countries is prominent.
Water resource development projects of thepast, such as inter-basin diversion proj ects,
have been revived because of the effects of thegreat oods of.
Asia’s first partial opening of dam gates at
the Pak Mun Dam) was accomplished at therequest of local communities.

Due to evictions as the result oflarge-scale development, economic
land concessions, urbanization andredevelopment and speculative land
enclosures, many local communities
throughout the nation are losing theirhomes and means of subsistence.
Because the government is transferring
land and forest use rights to foreign
corporations, local communities arelosing access to natural resources andmeans of subsistence.
In the upper reaches of a tributary of
the Mekong in the northeastern part of thecountry (the 3S region), environmental
and social problems of ooding anddeteriorating water quality due to ahydroelectric dam across the border in
V ietnam have not been resolved.
Environmental and social impacts
are occurring due to hydroelectric dam
development both in and out of thecountry.
Concerns over environmental andsocial impacts from accelerating natural
resource development (petroleum, naturalgas, minerals) are increasing.
The aquatic resources of Lake Tonle
Sap are deteriorating due to infrastructuredevelopment and agricultural chemicaluse. Decreased aquatic resources andpoverty are encouraging poaching, illegal
fishing and deforestation of oodplains.
There are many socially vulnerable
people, such as indigenous minority
tribes, the poor, the disabled and womenheads of households, and the damages
from development get foisted onto them.

Suppression of citizen activists andjournalists by the Hun Sen regime isintensifying.
In the general election of July
, theopposition Cambodian National Rescue Party
made gains. While this may cause the base of
Hun Sen regime to waver, it may take strong
measures to bolster its base on the other hand.
The government depends on development
aid, and corruption is prevalent throughout thesystem.
Bilateral aid from development agencies is
promoting proj ects to construct or repair thetransportation network in all areas.
Development around Lake Tonle Sap isadvancing.
Large-scale development particularlyhydroelectric dams), such as the L ower Sesan
2 Dam, is advancing with aid and investment
from China and V ietnam.
Land acquisitions by foreign capital are
increasing.
China has strong in uence in thegovernment’s decision-making (foreign policy,etc.), not limited to development proj ects.
lans for dams on the Mekong main stream
within the country may go forward.
Most of the population lives in rural areas,
and although they lead lives dependent
on natural resources, there are not muchcosideration on the impacts of development.
The government has been e pressing official
concerns and opposition to the construction of
the X ayaburi Dam.

C amb odia

Civil society confrontations continue,
revolving around opinions on the Thaksin
administration.
Civil society concerns are directed toward
the political stand-off and economic measures.
eople at universities are teaming up with
NGOs and playing a role in solving problems
the local communities are facing.
Villager organizations headed by strong
leaders put pressure on the government while
receiving aid from NGOs and independentagencies, and are establishing strategies
for activities that result in concessions andsolutions to problems.
There are strong e pectations of solutions
through j udiciary means.
NGOs are playing a role in urging
interaction and cooperation between civilsociety and the NGOs of the Mekong Basin.
Civil society concerns about the dams on
the middle and lower reaches of the Mekong
main stream are rising, and they are starting to
put pressure on private banks.
Civil society concerns and fears over public
and private foreign investment are increasing.
Villager organizations involved inenvironmental protection are diversifying(including the region’s urban middle classin addition to the former agriculturalorganizations, for example.)
The judiciary is dysfunctional, and there
is widespread mistrust of the system among
citizens.
It is possible for NGOs and the media tocriticize the government, but this freedom islimited.
Local NGOs are aware of development
agencies as a means of putting pressure on
their own country’s government.
The NGOs have channels for participatingin aid policy drafting and revision by
government and international agencies.
ersonnel e changes occur between thegovernment and NGOs.
There is a strong tendency for NGOs toenforce basic services that the government
is supposed to provide its citizens as part ofdevelopment proj ects.
Networks have been established among
NGOs sector by sector.
In response to large-scale development,
local communities often take a more radical
stance than NGOs, and there are issues with
NGOs’ strategic planning and grasp of the realsituation.

V ietnam

roblems of local communities(especially indigenous and minority
tribes) losing their means of subsistence
due to large-scale development arebecoming more serious.
Industrial plantations are e panding.
Salt damage in the delta region isincreasing.
There are notable press restrictions,with freedom of assembly and speech
restricted and suppressed.

Establishment of infrastructure throughdomestic funding is increasing.
lans for nuclear power plant construction
are supported by Japan and other countries.
The Japanese government accounts for alarge percentage of aid to the electric power
sector.
rivate corporations from Japan banks andothers) are showing a high degree of interest in
the electric power sector.
Vietnam’s largest electric power Electricity
V ietnam (EV N) and private V ietnamesecompanies are investing abundantly in theelectric power sector in neighboring countries.
Aid for plantation projects in connection
with REDD+ is increasing.
The government has officially e pressed
concerns and opposition to construction of the
X ayaburi Dam.

There are concerns about downstream
effects of dam construction on the
L ancang Jiang and upstream dredging.
There are concerns about effects on
Cambodia from development of dams on
tributaries in V ietnam and L aos.
There are concerns about downstream
effects from development in the Nuj iang/
Thanlwin B asin.
There are concerns about effects on theentire basin from construction of damsin the middle to lower reaches of the
Mekong main stream.
ish and rare plants and animals havebeen decreasing throughout the basin.
Environmental and social impacts haveoccurred in the countries of the basin asa result of investment and funding fordevelopment from China, V ietnam andThailand.

The movement of people and goods isaccelerating and investment in the region
is becoming more lively in anticipation of
the inauguration of the ASEAN Economic
Community (AEC) in 2015.
The surveys by the Mekong River
Committee (MRC) are important, but the role
they play in the administration of the basin islimited.
In the Strategic Environmental Assessment(SEA) commissioned by the MRC, there was a
proposal to delay construction of dams on themain stream for ten years, and the World B ank
and U S government expressed their support forit.
The Electricity Generating Authority ofThailand EGAT is actively promoting
development of dams on the Thanlwin River.
lans for dams on the middle and lower
reaches of the Mekong main stream are
advancing rapidly, and the L aotian government
has started construction of the X ayaburi Dam.
nder the prete t of confronting emerging
donor countries, there is a movement amongdevelopment agencies and the governmentsof advanced industrial nations to weaken theenforcement of environmental and social
protection policies.
A subsidiary of EGAT and a private Thaibank are actively funding the development ofdams in the basin.
The Asian Development Bank is proactively
expanding the Asian bond market and working
toward a common currency.

Basin/ Trans- b oundary I ssues

1

There is strong interest on criticism andadvocacy about dam construction on the
Mekong main stream.
Advocacy regarding the problems the
V ietnamese public and private sectors are
causing at home and abroad is not very active.
Researchers have strong concern aboutdevelopment issues and are cooperating withNGOs.
Even the Communist arty-related media
are reporting on problems with dams.
The citizens are actively sharing
information through blogs.

A network has been formed amonginternational NGOs, the Cambodian
government, S region NGOs and local
communities to deal with 3S (Sesan, Srepok
and Sekong rivers) issues, but it has notbrought about solutions to the problems.
A villagers group in northern Thailand has
been continuously monitoring the effects ofdams in China and on the lower reaches ofthe Mekong main stream, and it is expanding
a network among local communities innortheastern Thailand.
A campaign to monitor and oppose dams on
the middle and lower reaches of the Mekong
main stream has been launched and iscontinuing, centered around Thai, Cambodianand Vietnamese NGOs and international
NGOs.
Thai NGOs are stepping up theirmonitoring of environmental and social
effects of development in neighboring
countries (aside from dams on the lower
reaches of the Mekong main stream) resulting
from development funding from Thailand.
Chinese NGOs have begun to be concerned
about the ow of development funding fromtheir country abroad, but no organizations canbe seen that can keep up continued activity.
Regarding downstream effects ofdevelopment in China and Vietnam, the NGOsof both countries fail to share their awarenesssufficiently.
International NGOs, which have beenmonitoring development agencies, are lessconcerned about China than before. O n
the other hand, their interest in B urma has
increased.
There are many villager organizations andNGOs that have doubts about the utilizationand validity of government agencies’environmental and social protection policies
and their ability to participate in revisionof these policies, and cases in which thesepolicies have been utilized are limited.

NA

J apan(with regard to the Mekong B asin)
There is an increasing tendency for ODA to
supply aid to Japanese companies (resumptionof foreign investment and lending, publicprivate partnership (PPP) cooperative
preparatory surveys, etc.)
Infrastructure e port and nuclear power
export policies are being continued.
ODA and public funding with regard toclimate change issues is increasing.
Mekong summit meetings and foreign
ministers’ conferences are becoming routine.
The Japanese government’s interest andpresence in Mekong B asin development isdecreasing relatively.

There are relatively many NGOs andcitizens that feel concerned about exportationof nuclear power and package-type
infrastructure.
Critical inspections revealing waste inpublic funding have taken root.
While there are opinions critical of
O DA, there are also strong opinions on theimportance of national interests.
Since the Great East Japan Earthquake andTsunami and nuclear accident, concern about
overseas issues has decreased.

1 . 6 . Mekong W atch’ s E fforts S o F ar
Mekong Watch conducts activities with the aim of “enabling the people living in the countries of the
Mekong B asin to enj oy the richness of the region’s natural environment and a way of life deeply rooted init, without being subj ected to the adverse effects of development15. In order to achieve this vision, we have
implemented the following: (1) a survey proj ect to investigate the relationship between the people of the
Mekong B asin and its natural resources, (2) monitoring of economic cooperation and investment that has a bad
effect on local communities’ livelihood and access to natural resources, (3) awareness raising and provisionof information to the people of Japan on issues related to the environment and development of countries in
the Mekong Basin, andproposal of policies to government agencies, multilateral financial institutions andprivate companies.
Although the conditions in each country of the Mekong B asin differ, requiring different approaches andoutput in accordance with the characteristics of civil society, there was a basic pattern to our activities. This
was to gain understanding and record information through first-hand investigation of the lifestyles and use ofnatural resources in local communities; and in cases where development proj ects had gotten fully underway,
causing damage to the environment or society, to cooperate with the affected communities or NGOs andresearchers, both in the country and abroad, who were assisting the communities in order to analyze the proj ect
and its impact on the environment and society, the developing entities and flow of funding, and applicable
environmental and social protection policies and their infringement; and then using the results of these analyses
to put pressure on the Japanese government, aid agencies, private companies and other involved organizations.
There were differences in our approaches and output, for example, in Thailand, where it is possible for local
communities and NGOs to apply pressure by themselves on their own country’s public and private sector. In
such cases, we conducted local surveys on development issues, held various talks with villagers and supportive
NGOs, transmitted locally obtained information in Japanese, deepened the understanding of the people
involved in Japan, and put pressure on the government agencies, corporations or other developing entities.
In Laos, we collaborated with regional administrators and researchers, inputted the results of the surveys
and research into the central government’s development policies, or we recorded on video or in writing theactual state of omnipresent rich natural environments or sustainable resource management, and by transmitting
a positive message that L aos should cherish the richness it possesses, we aroused concerns about effects on
the environment and society. In Cambodia, in the conte t of the increase in NGO activities to proactively
hold discussions with international agencies, Mekong Watch has provided information and suggestions to
the assisting NGOs and the communities impacted by the development promoted by the ADB or Japan

International Cooperation Agency
JICA , so that they could request theagencies to abide by the environmental
and social protection policies . At
the same time, Mekong Watch has
informed the Japanese Ministry of
Finance, who have j urisdiction over thedevelopment agencies, about problems
with the proj ects via forums for regular
discussions 17, and have spent much
effort urging for improvements andsolutions.
In Japan, we have drawn lessons from our e periences in the countries of the Mekong Basin and worked
toward improvement of policies for considering the environment and society that govern O DA policies andpublic aid for corporate activities. We have also conveyed information and analyses on development in thebasin to civil society via public seminars or electronic media, and are striving to encourage awareness among
citizens. What we give the highest priority to, however, is the reduction or avoidance of environmental, societal
and human rights problems.
The visions, activities and approaches summarized here are valid as of this time, and we believe they
will be the nucleus of our future activities18. At the same time, how to advance our strategies and methods ofactivities, taking into account the situation in the basin in recent years, especially the radical changes in thedeveloping entities, is becoming an urgent issue for reducing or avoiding problems on the scene. This is where
the motivation for putting together our “V iew to the Future” resides.
1 . 7 . Tow ard N ew E fforts
For the past several years, Mekong Watch has made efforts with its traditional activities, and has also
been actively participating in the activities of the Mekong B asin civil society network called Save the Mekong
Coalition (StM)19. StM is an easy-going network of people aiming for sustainable development of the Mekong,and it includes NGOs, communities of the basin, researchers, journalists, and artists and other creative people.
An issue of particular importance to this network is how to deal with the plans for construction of dams on themain stream of the Mekong. Thus it has been conducting a variety of activities for the purpose of preventing
hasty dam construction, by holding regular meetings to exchange information and analyze conditions, creating
j oint activities and strategies, putting pressure on the Mekong River Commission (MRC)20, holding events suchas photographic displays to raise citizen awareness, collecting signatures for petitions, etc..
Regarding plans for dam construction on the main stream, no direct involvement of international
institutions, i.e., the World B ank and ADB , or the government and corporations of Japan is known, and themain developing entities are the governments of countries in the basin and corporations and banking groupsof developing countries. Therefore, by participating in StM’s activities, we believe Mekong Watch’s activities
can make clear progress in new directions. The activities Mekong Watch has proactively led as a member of
StM include the international workshop, “Establishing East-Asia Civil Society Network to Discuss Sustainable
Natural Resources Management in Mekong,” held in Tokyo in December 2012, to which we invited thecommunity organizations, NGOs and researchers participating in StM to hold lively discussions on efforts todeal with main stream dams. The contents of the discussions will be introduced in the next chapter (Chapter 2)

of this report, and are also re ected in the proposals in Chapter , The Mekong’s uture, Our uture
a Strengthened East Asian Citizens Network for Discussing Development of the Mekong B asin

Toward.” We also

conducted joint field surveys, visiting the sites of development in Thailand and Cambodia together with Chineseand South Korean NGOs, legal specialists and journalists, particularly as part of the network formed among East
Asian civil society. In Chapter , we will present the results of this survey.

E ndnotes
1 The term “development” has various possible meanings. “Development” as the focus of our activities refers to large-scale
development proj ects such as creation of large plantations or establishment of infrastructure through construction of hydroelectricdams.
2 Mekong River Commission (MRC). 2005. O verview of the Hydrology of the Mekong B asin. 5 pp. http: / / www.mekonginfo.org/
assets midocs-inland-waters-overview-of-the-hydrology-of-the-mekong-basin.pdf

International Center for Environmental Management ICEM .

. Mekong River Commission ( MRC) Strategic Environmental

Assessment ( SEA) for Hydropower on the Mekong Mainstream: Fisheries B aseline Assessment W orking P aper. V ientiane, L ao
PDR: MRC.
4 Thompson, C. 2008. First Contact in the G reater Mekong. World Wildlife und WW

Greater Mekong rogramme.

Herein all dollar figures indicate S dollars.
Ibid. ICEM.

.

There have been various debates on the definition of NT, but here it indicates products derived from forests, not including

wood, that people use.
oppes, J., and S. Ketphanh.

. N T FP U se and Hou sehold Food Secu rity in L ao P D R. Forest Research Centre (FRC) and

SNV Netherlands Development O rganization. http www.mekonginfo.org mrc en doclib.nsf
AC

ILE

BC D

B CAB

LLTE T.pdf

National Agriculture and orestry Research Institute NA RI , National Agriculture and orestry E tension Service NA ES ,and National U niversity of L ao PDR (NU O L ). 2005. I mproving L ivelihoods in the U plands of the L ao P D R, V olu me 2 : O ptions
and O pportu nities. Vientiane, Lao DR NA RI.
10 Mekong Watch. L ivelihoods and Environmental I ssu es in V ietnam’ s Mekong River D elta.

http: / / www.mekongwatch.org/

platform/ bp/ j apanese2-7.pdf (in Japanese) or http: / / www.mekongwatch.org/ platform/ bp/ english2-7.pdf (in English)
11 “Chinese investment rises in L aos”. V ientiane T imes. 2013/ 1/ 24
12 Japan External Trade O rganization (JETRO ). Sou th K orean O D A P olicies and Sou th K orean Corporate O verseas CSR
P olicies. (in Japanese, year of publication unknown)
13 See http: / / www.mekongwatch.org/ report/ tb/ lower.html and other reports.
14 For guidelines on environmental and social consideration, see the Mekong Watch website: http: / / www.mekongwatch.org/
activity/ policy.html
15 For more on Mekong Watch’s vision, see http: / / www.mekongwatch.org/ about/ vision.html
or e ample, Mekong Watch has put pressure on the ADB over the issue of resettlement of local communities due to a railway
renovation project funded by them. or details, see http www.mekongwatch.org report cambodia GMSRailway.html
In April, the Ministry of inance started a regular meeting with NGOs. The main purposes are to promote the e change

of information and opinions between the Japanese government and NGOs citizens regarding the projects and policies ofmultilateral development banks and bilateral O DA, and to enhance the transparency of policy making by the government. For
details, see http: / / www.j acses.org/ sdap/ mof/
18 See Mekong Watch’s annual activities reports, put out each year in both Japanese and English, which provide a full picture

of our activities. For Japanese, see http: / / www.mekongwatch.org/ about/ report.html and English http: / / www.mekongwatch.org/
english about inde .html SEC
19 For details, see http: / / www.savethemekong.org/
20 An inter-governmental agency established in 1995 by the four downstream countries of L aos, Thailand, Cambodia andV ietnam, entrusted with j oint management of the Mekong River.

C hapter 2

R eport on I nternational W orkshop and S trategy Meeting

In December 2012 in Tokyo, we held the international workshop titled “Establishing East-Asia Civil Society
Network to Discuss Sustainable Natural Resources Management in Mekong.” NG O

members, community

representatives, researchers and j ournalists were invited from 8 countries (China, South K orea, countries of the
Mekong B asin, the U S, Australia and Japan) to hold discussions and exchange information, with three main
goals: (1) strengthening citizen networks among the countries of the basin, Japan, China, South K orea, Europe
and America, (2) sharing lessons from Japan’s economic “development” and what roles the public and private
sector and civil society should take in the basin’s development, and (3) clarifying the issues the citizens of eachcountry should be tackling with regard to sustainable natural resource use in the basin and factors hindering
it. We also held a strategy meeting to consider issues centered on dam development in the Mekong B asin. The
conclusions of that together with the results of the workshop were presented as proposals from citizens to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
P rograms
W ednesday , Decemb er 1 2 , 2 0 1 2International Workshop “Establishing East-Asia Civil Society Network to Discuss Sustainable Natural
Resources Management in Mekong”
Thursday , Decemb er 1 3 , 2 0 1 2Strategy Meetings and Policy Dialogues “H ydropower Development in Mekong Mainstream andTributaries and O ur Response”
F riday , Decemb er 1 4 , 2 0 1 2Strategy Meetings and Policy Dialogues “H ydropower Development in Mekong Mainstream andTributaries and O ur Response” (continued from the day before)
Seminar at the H ouse of Councillors, the National Diet of Japan “Current Conditions and Future ofDevelopment in the Mekong B asin

Citizen’s Networks of the Mekong and East Asia and the Role ofJapan” (supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan)* O rganiz ations that have participated are as listed in the Appendix of this report.

2 . 1 . I ssues C onfronting the Mekong BasinAt the workshop, first, participants from Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam gave reports on sustainable
natural resource use in the basin and factors hindering it, the impacts river development is having on people’s
lives, and efforts by civil society to tackle these issues. Next, reports were heard from an NG O
on trends in China’s investment in countries of the Mekong B asin, and an NG O

active in China

from South K orea on actions

regarding South K orean O DA and the role of NG O s. Mekong Watch reported on its investigations into theimpacts of proj ects supported by the Asian Development B ank (ADB ) and the results of the approaches theJapan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan B ank for International Cooperation (JB IC) has
taken for the improvement of their standards for environmental and social consideration, and we presented one
example of advocacy activities to donor country governments.
Small group discussions were held to receive reports from different countries and sort out the problems

confronting each country of the basin and the basin overall, and to share ideas and deepen understanding on
what civil society should do regarding the following questions.
1) What are the issues confronting each country of the Mekong B asin and the basin overall? What are theprimary factors causing them?
2) In order to achieve natural resource management that respects the livelihoods of local communities, what
does civil society need to do?
3) Regarding trans-boundary impacts on the environment and society, what can be done to deal with themeffectively?
4) What is needed in order to strengthen civil society networks in and outside of the basin?
Among the issues each country of the basin and the basin overall confront, it was indicated that the knowledge
held by local communities using the natural resources is not being re ected in development policy. One way
for civil society to handle this that was brought up was teaming up with researchers to gather information thatprovides a scientific basis, conduct activities like those done in northeastern Thailand to gather information andwisdom conveyed in the region through surveys conducted by the communities themselves, and then discuss
the results of the survey in a public forum and convey them to policy makers. Another, which many participants
proposed, was to make active use of new means of communication, i.e., video and social media. Some pointed
out that consideration needs to be given to which media have an in uence in each country, such as Twitter in
China and Facebook in Thailand.
Regarding countermeasures to trans-boundary impacts on the environment and society, ideas brought up
included making surveys on trans-boundary impacts an obligatory part of procedures and existing legal systems,pressing for the creation of international laws to form a basis for resolution when problems occur, and building a
reliable network between the civil societies of the country causing the impact and the country receiving it, thenworking together to tackle the problems. Further, in order to strengthen such a network, a j oint survey should
be made in areas where impacts are apparent. O ther ideas proposed included sharing information on natural
resource utilization and development problems, translating information into various languages and distributing
it, and creating a database to facilitate sharing of information.
2 . 2 . Discussion at the S trategy Meeting and P roposals to the Ministry of F oreign Affairs
The strategy meeting was held over a two-day period, and the discussion revolved around dam construction
on the main stream and tributaries of the Mekong River, which was the biggest concern to the participants, withfocuses on (1) schemes to strengthen or develop campaigns by Save the Mekong Coalition (StM), (2) activities
to protect the environment and livelihoods of the people in the basin, and (3) the Japanese government’s policies
in support of development in the Mekong Basin, particularly the Green Mekong Initiative and financial aid
to the Mekong River Commission (MRC)1. An especially large number of people expressed concern abouttheayaburi Dam in Laos, construction work on which has already begun. The results of the discussion were

presented to representatives of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in charge of development aid to the Mekong
B asin and participants at a public meeting held on December 14, and opinions were exchanged on the contents2.
The details of the discussion were documented as proposals and presented to the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Fumio K ishida3 (as of then). The main points of the proposals were as follows.
1

Construction of dams on the main stream of the Mekong River fundamentally destroys the livelihoods ofthe basin’s communities which depend on natural resources derived from the river, and in particular, since itthreatens the economic activities and food security of the poorest segment of the population, a fundamental
rethinking is needed.
2

The discussion procedures for member countries stipulated by the MRC do not function sufficiently well, so
there is a need to draw lessons from the sequence of events so far and improve the procedures themselves.

3

At the MRC conference held in Laos on January

andactive role in problem solving. Specifically, the MRC should,, Japan’s government should play anwhen providing financial aid for additional

impact assessments of main stream dams, a) allow communities and civil society to participate in talks on
the assessments, b) let the member countries be useful and effective in policy making for the dam plans,and c) make it a condition that until the additional assessments are completed, discussions of other mainstream dams are not to be initiated andhave the Laotian government immediately halt construction

work on the X ayaburi Dam and urge the member countries to reopen talks for the purpose of forming anagreement.
2 . 3 . R esults and L essons
The reports by participants from countries of the basin further confirmed the impacts of planned dam
construction on the Mekong main stream, particularly that of the X ayaburi Dam, which is now underconstruction, and that countermeasures are a common topic of discussion in civil society. Concern is also being
drawn to how to respond to the state of progress of other dams on the main stream or tributaries. Regarding
development on the tributaries, there are reports from Cambodian NG O s and local community leaders of impacts
from the plans for the Lower Sesan

Dam, which are progressing in the northeastern part of that country, andbecause it will have an immense impact on the Mekong B asin overall4, the need for civil society’s inclusion inserious talks from now on is being stressed.
Among the issues affecting the entire basin, decreased numbers of fish species due to habitat destruction
caused by dam construction, and damage to agriculture from salt intrusion aggravated by the greater difficulty ofobtaining water and nutrient in u to the Mekong Delta are emphasized and a new problem that is frequently
noted is land expropriation and disputes over land due to farm development, contract agriculture, and economic
land concessions. An additional problem pointed out is that governments and corporations of developing nations,which increase their in uence through the development of the basin, are more reluctant to hold talks with civilsociety than are governments and corporations of advanced industrialized nations or international institutions.
As a country which will be affected by the dam development on the main stream, Vietnam is becoming an
aggressor itself by threatening the livelihoods of local communities in northeastern Cambodia through thedevelopment of a dam in the Central H ighlands within its own borders. As has become apparent here, in orderto solve such problems, education for “identity as citizens with regional and inter-generational sensitivities,
responsibilities, and visions,” surpassing the short-term profits or interests of each country/ government
against those of the others, is essential. Cultivating identities like this is a potential with a higher possibility ofachievement through the connections among civil society in each country than through governments or private
corporations. During our meeting, there were also offers from Vietnamese participants for cooperation toward
problem solving in response to reports from Cambodia. Many individual instances of such cooperation could
add up to synergy throughout the basin.
The participation of China and South K orea has expanded the network and led to actual j oint action (proposals
to Japan’s Ministry of oreign Affairs and a joint survey in the region . Voices were heard from the SouthK orean participants that they are considering such j oint efforts in their own country too, tangential to efforts by
8

Japanese NG O s to hold discussions with the Japanese government and strengthen development agency standards
for environmental and social protection. The South K orean government is fashioning its own O DA after Japan’s,and fields in which the citizens of both countries can share knowledge and cooperate is e panding. Regarding
the impact on countries downstream from dam development on the upper reaches of the Mekong Lancang Jiangin China, on the other hand, conditions in China are making it more difficult even to hold discussions with thegovernment. In the opinion of the Chinese participants, although the creation of more chances for talks among
the government, corporations and NG O s of China on themes that are easy for China to handle, not limited to thehydropower sector, seems useless at first glance, it will have effects over the long term.
Regarding Japan, it is fruitful to convey the voices of the basin’s local communities and NG O s directly to thepersons in charge in Japan’s government through the forum of public discussions with the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. Previously, it has been noted that making proposals for roles that the Japanese government ought to be
actively fulfilling gets more attention than criticizing Japan’s ODA policies, which occupy the mainstream. A
classic example of this is that when the Japanese government decided to provide funding for impact assessments
by the MRC of main stream dams, it requested that local communities be ensured adequate participation, that
the Laotian government suspend construction work on the ayaburi Dam, and that the MRC not initiate talks onplans for other main stream dams.

E ndnotes

1

The MRC is requesting financial aid from the Japanese government for a survey on the impacts of a dam on the main stream

which was agreed to at a board of directors meeting in December 2011.
2

See “Seminar at the H ouse of Councillors, the National Diet of Japan; Current Conditions and Future of Development in the

Mekong B asin

Citizen’s Networks of the Mekong and East Asia and the Role of Japan

http: / / www.mekongwatch.org/ events/ lecture01/ 20121214.html
Takahiro Shiota, Southeast Asia Section Chief; and Ryo K uroishi of the International Cooperation B ureau (both as of then)attended from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. About 30 general citizens also attended.
3

See http www.mekongwatch.org D CSO MekongDamLetter to GoJ.pdf for the complete proposals document inEnglish).
4

It is estimated that the number of fish species in the basin overall would decrease by .

.

or more information, see Guy

Z iv et al. (2012) Trading-off Fish B iodiversity, Food Security, and H ydropower in the Mekong River B asin. P N AS-

C hapter 3

R esults and L essons from the F ield S urvey s

In March 2013, we conducted field surveys j ointly with participants from South K orea and China in thenortheastern part of Thailand and northeastern part of Cambodia. The core participants comprised of SouthK orean NG O

members, Chinese j ournalists and lawyers, Mekong Watch staff, and a L aotian media member.

In addition, Thai community activists who had also come to Japan in December 2012 participated in the Thai
surveys, and Cambodian NG O members participated in the Cambodian surveys.
In northeastern Thailand, we visited communities affected by the Sirindhorn Dam, a Japanese- governmentaided proj ect in the 1960s, and the Pak Mun Dam, funded by aid from the World B ank in the 1990s. In
northeastern Cambodia, we visited the sites of the L ower Sesan 2 Dam j ust prior to commencement of its
construction (funded j ointly by Cambodian, Chinese and V ietnamese companies), and the L ower Srepok 3 Dam,
which was being surveyed by a Chinese company.
O ne of the aims of the surveys was to have the South K orean and Chinese participants gain a deep
understanding of the effects of development, particularly the negative impacts of hydroelectric dams on natural
resources. O ther aims were to strengthen Mekong River development monitoring activities by South K orean,Chinese and Japanese citizens, consider assistance to the affected communities, and seek cooperative relationships
between the civil societies of countries of the basin and those of South K orea and China. The anticipations of
the participants at the preparatory meeting j ust prior to getting started are as follows.
1) Seek for the ways the local communities affected by the dams could solve the problems by utilizing laws.
2) There would be conversations with civil society of the basin which could be relayed as lessons to Chinese
civil society. They would come to understand the downstream effects of China’s upstream dams.
3) They would come to understand how the local communities downstream in Cambodia see the effects of adam in L aos being supported by aid from South K orea’s public and private sectors.
4) They would compare the cases of the Pak Mun Dam, which continued to have an impact many years after it
was constructed, with the L ower Sesan 2 Dam, on which construction will get fully underway in the future.
They would find a message for South Korean society, where advocacy activities are rarely seen, regarding
development of the Mekong River.
6) They would learn what people think about the matter called “development.”
7) B y going together with people from the donor nations of South K orea, China and Japan to visit sites ofdevelopment in the basin receiving aid from those nations, they would find means of mutual understanding.
8) They would learn about cooperation within the region regarding aquatic resources of the Mekong River, suchas whether the MRC was functioning.
3 . 1 . P rogram and P articipating O rganiz ations
P rogram
Mun River B asin in Northeastern Thailand
March 18, 2013 (Mon)
Meeting up in B angkok, Thailand
March 19 (Tue)Self introductions and identifying participant anticipations
Transferring to U bon Ratchathani Province (by air)
Joining up with other participants, transferring to Phibun Mangsahan District (by land). Meeting with local

community affected by the Pak Mun Dam.
O utline of the Pak Mun Dam issues given by Mekong Watch. V ideo viewing (lodging in K hong Chiam District
during stay in northeastern Thailand).
March 20 (Wed)
V isiting the Pak Mun Dam and Sirindhorn Dam
Transferring to a village affected by the Sirindhorn Dam. Meeting with affected community.
March 21 (Thu)
L istening to a talk by Ms. K ampui (one of the villagers affected by the Pak Mun Dam) in Nachumchon V illage.
Meeting for re ection
Sesan, Srepok and Sekong River B asins in Northeastern Cambodia
March 22 (Fri)Transferring from Chong Mek, U bon Ratchathani Province to L aos (by land)
H iking to K hone Phapheng Falls, followed by entry to Cambodia through Stung Treng Province (by land)
Meeting up with 3S Rivers Protection Network (3SPN) staff, followed by visiting the planned construction
site of the L ower Sesan 2 Dam and Srekor V illage (an affected village). Social gathering with community
representatives (lodging in Srekor V illage).
March 23 (Sat)L istening to accounts by the people of Srekor V illage of problems with deforestation in the vicinity of theplanned construction. Taking a walk through the village and observing the community’s way of life.
Transferring to Ratanakiri Province. V isiting an area affected by economic land concessions (lodging in
B anlung).
March 24 (Sun)Travelling up the Srepok River by boat.
L istening to accounts by inhabitants of Thmei V illage which is being relocated due to the L ower Srepok 3Dam.
V isiting the planned construction site and a small shrine for the spirits.
Transferring to Lumphat Village. articipating in a viewing of a video film about the ak Mun Dam somelodging in L umphat V illage, some in B anlung).
March 25 (Mon)Social gathering with the community in L umphat V illage hosted by 3SPN and others.
Transferring to B anlung.
Meeting for re ection. Social dinner party lodging in Banlung .
March 26 (Tue)Main group returning to U bon Ratchathani Province (by land), then home (by air).
Some members transferring to Phnom Penh (by land) and returning home the next day (by air).
P articipating O rganiz ations
The participating organizations were as follows1. An introduction to each of these organizations is included in
the appendix at the end of this report.
C amb odia
American riends Service Committee A SC , Cambodia Office1

C hina
Caixin MediaThe Center for L egal Assistance to Pollution V ictims (CL APV )S outh K orea
The Energy and Climate Policy Institute for Just Transition (ECPI)O DA Watch
ThailandNortheast Community Network of 7 Provinces in Mekong River
3 . 2 . S ites V isited
Mun River basin in northeastern Thailand
O f all the Mekong’s tributaries within Thailand, the Mun River has the largest watershed area. Together with
the Chi River, a tributary of the Mun River, it is the main sphere of Mekong River development within Thailand.
In the past, there were plans for construction of several dams and large-scale river diversion as part of theK hong-Chi-Mun Proj ect for large-scale irrigation in northeastern Thailand2, but opposition movements by local
communities that would have been affected by the environmental and social effects of the dam have resulted inlong-term suspension of the plans.

P rotest activities b y local community memb ers ( Bangkok, 2 0 1 1 )The Sirindhorn Dam3 was constructed in the 1960s on the L am Dom Noi River, a tributary of the Mun
River, and was the Japanese government’s first international yen loan proj ect in Thailand. At the time of its
construction, the main purpose was hydropower, but since it created a vast reservoir, the water came to be used
for irrigation as well. Currently double-cropping and dry-season vegetable farming are widely practiced nearby,
but many communities living where the reservoir would exist were forced to relocate or lost their farmland. Atthat time, Thailand was under a military dictatorship, and in order to guard against communist in uence fromneighboring countries, citizens were subj ected to a regimen of strict surveillance, especially in farming areas
near the country’s borders. For that reason, the local communities were relocated without ever being given
access to information on the dam’s plans or any chance to express their opinions on the proj ect. The places thegovernment had prepared for their relocation, however, were barren land, so many communities abandoned
those, some emigrating to B angkok to look for work, and inevitably wound up impoverished4. L ater, when themovement for propagation of the 1997 Constitution, which was born in response to the “B lack May” incidentof 1992, reached the area affected by the Sirindhorn Dam, the local communities realized that they had a rightto obtain fair compensation from the government, and they launched a movement seeking compensation thirty
years after the dam’s construction5. There are many lessons that can be learned from the case of the Sirindhorn
Dam about how much damage an area can suffer over the long term from misbegotten development.

S irindhorn Dam ( left) and its ex tensive reservoir ( right)

The Pak Mun Dam is a proj ect that received World B ank aid, and its case is known worldwide as a maj orbattlefield where opinions for and against large-scale hydropower dams compete fiercely. The lower reachesof the Mun River are one of several places in the Mekong B asin with abundant fish. B ecause the dam wasconstructed there, the ecosystem was destroyed, and local communities of the basin who had been making theirliving by fishing were thrust into poverty with no warning. rior to its construction, only the dam’s benefits were
widely discussed, and its effects were underestimated, so few of the communities opposed it. After the dam
started operation, however, and the damage became apparent, a large-scale movement seeking compensation
arose, which later evolved into a movement seeking the dam’s removal, and that movement continues even now.

The P ak Mun Dam W

hen the gates are closed ( left) and opened ( right)

In 1991, the World B ank made the decision to fund the Pak Mun Dam proj ect at a meeting of the B oard of
Directors. At that time, the Executive Director representing America, which had already conducted its own
environmental impact assessment, opposed funding it, together with the Executive Directors from G ermany
and Australia. Canada’s abstained from voting, but Japan’s is said to have expressed strong agreement6. Also,in a later assessment of the proj ect, the World B ank insisted against reason that the original plans called forresettlement of 25,000 people, but it was a relatively good proj ect in which “social and environmental effects
were considered and damage was kept to a minimum7.” At the time, there was heated debate worldwide on theenvironmental and social impacts of large dams, so this kind of opinion from the World B ank was met withsevere criticism from NG O s struggling with dam issues. Moreover, though it was widely known that the Pak
Mun Dam did not have a large reservoir and was a run-of-river type dam that was environmentally friendly8,
in reality, it brought on a decline in fish numbers due to deterioration of the river’s ecosystem, with riverbank
farming and gathering activities near the river impacted, and cultural value connected with the river destroyed. A
detailed investigation by researchers and NG O s into these problems made it clear that intake-type dams plannedin various places in the Mekong River basin had a high risk of causing environmental and social problems.
The communities opposing the dams and the NG O s, researchers and artists supporting these communities
are conducting activities such as investigative research, video production and songwriting. In addition, thecommunity members are becoming investigators themselves, surveying the effects of the dams on their own
livelihoods, and gathering knowledge by means of having NG O

staff and college students record it as their“assistants.” This investigative method is widely known as “Thai B aan Research9, 10.” It is likely that Thai B aan
Research will help the local communities, who have been unilaterally subj ected to investigation or development,
become the investigators and authors of their own tales. It is the first case of the Thai people appealing theircauses to society on the basis of their own research results, and they are strongly supported by some in
the academic world, not to mention Thailand’s local community movements. Thai B aan Research is being
welcomed by civil society of the basin, and similar research is being conducted in the Thanlwin B asin in B urma
and in Cambodia as well. In Cambodia, it is being called “Sala Phum Research11.” Recently, there is a movement
to start research using the same methods in L aos too.
Sesan, Srepok and Sekong river basins in northeastern Cambodia
Northeastern Cambodia comprises the three provinces of Stung Treng, Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri, which arecharacterized by the presence of many indigenous minority tribes which have different lifestyles, cultures andlanguages. The area is also known for the abundance of its natural resources and its biodiversity, and about 40%
of Cambodia’s natural forests are found in Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri provinces. Supporting this abundance arethree rivers, the Sesan, Srepok and Sekong rivers (3S)12. The three rivers have their headwaters in V ietnam andL aos, so they are international rivers, and at the same time, they comprise the biggest tributary system in the
Mekong B asin. Also, most of Cambodia’s indigenous and minority tribe population is concentrated in the threeriver basins, where they lead lives dependent on the rivers’ resources.
The S esan R iver: rom its headwaters in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, the Sesan ows to the southwest,
crosses Ratanakiri Province and j oins the Mekong River in Stung Treng Province. It has a total length of 462
km, of which 210 km lies within V ietnam. Its basin covers a total area of about 18,570
60%

is located in V ietnam and about 40%, of which about

in Cambodia. There are 75 villages along the river in Cambodia,

where about 30,000 people live (Ratanakiri Province has 60 villages with about 20,000 people, and Stung Treng
Province, 15 villages with about 10,000 people.)

The S repok R iver: This river also arises from the Central Highlands of Vietnam, owing through Mondulkiri,
Ratanakiri and Stung Treng provinces. The total area of its watershed is about 30,000
18,000, of which about

is in V ietnam. At the 245 km point from the border with V ietnam, it j oins the Sesan River, whichthen ows into the Mekong main stream. Within Cambodia, there arevillages along its banks, in which about

11,000 people live.
The S ekong R iver: rom the Annamite Range in Vietnam and Laos, the Sekong River ows into Stung Treng
Province. L ike the Srepok River, it j oins the Sesan River, which then j oins the Mekong River. In Stung Treng
Province, there are 31 villages along the Sekong River, where about 28,400 people live.

A stilted house on a riverside ( left) and a vegetab le garden in the village ( right)

In the 3S B asin, dam development has proceeded since the 1990s in V ietnam, causing great damage to thevillages downstream in Cambodia. Three years after construction of the ali alls Dam, the basin’s first dam,
upstream on the Sesan River in V ietnam, water releases from the dam have caused frequent unpredictable
ooding in the Sesan Basin on the Cambodian side of the border, muddying the river’s water and harming thehealth of people who rely on the river for their water. The water releases also cause bank erosion, making thecultivation of fields near the river impossible to continue, while fish numbers have declined drastically due todeterioration of the river’s ecosystems. At first, the villagers knew nothing about the construction of the ali
Falls Dam, so they thought the spirits had been angered and were causing the changes in the river. In March
2000, six villagers drowned, and damage continued to occur after that, but construction of the dam in V ietnam
continued with no consideration given to its effects downstream.
While the trans-boundary environmental and social impacts from dam development in V ietnam remainunresolved, the greatest concern currently in the 3S B asin is construction of the L ower Sesan 2 Dam, thisone in Cambodia’s territory. This dam is planned for j oint funding by Cambodia, Chinese and V ietnamesecompanies and will be located . km downstream of the con uence of the Sesan and Srepok rivers in Sesan
District, Stung Treng Province. When it is built, it will require a large-scale relocation of about 5,000 villagers
living along the banks of the two rivers. All of the land nearby, however, has been acquired by Chinese andV ietnamese companies in economic land concessions, and there are concerns that sufficient land for thecommunities’ relocation cannot be ensured. In fact, many of the relocation sites designated for the communities
are either unsuitable for agriculture or located too far away from their current homes. To begin with, most of theinformation they receive is spread by word of mouth, so the communities are not receiving information on theirrelocation or compensation in any proper form from the government or companies.
It is feared that damage may occur within Cambodia from the L ower Sesan 2 Dam, but there are extremely
big concerns about damage to the entire basin. Water would be impounded by the dam near the con uence of
the Sesan and Mekong rivers, so first of all, fish would not be able to move freely, and there are concerns that
this would result in great harm to ecosystems throughout the basin, including L ake Tonle Sap and the Mekong
Delta. O f the 27 dams planned for construction on Mekong River tributaries between 2015 and 2030, the L ower
Sesan

Dam would have the biggest impact, and there is an estimation that the number of fish living in thebasin would decrease by .

, andfish species would face the danger of e tinction.

Plans for dams on the Srepok River are also progressing. It is said that the L ower Srepok 3 Dam in L umphat
District is to be located inside a wildlife refuge, but almost no information has been released. Regarding
preliminary surveys to be conducted, the local authorities have not been informed of any, much less theaffected communities. In late 2010, the inhabitants of Thmei V illage in L umphat District observed Chinese
workers engaged in soil testing of the site, and through laborious communications with no common language,
they learned from these workers that they would soon be forced to relocate due to the dam’s construction. In
addition, plans for construction of the Sepian-Senam Noi Dam are in progress in L aos on the Sekong River.
B ecause a South K orean company is involved in this, the South K orean government might also be providing
public financing. The South Korean NGOs who participated in the field survey are trying to launch full- edged
monitoring activities.
Activities of Chinese companies in the 3S B asin stand out and are not limited to the L ower Sesan 2 Dam andeconomic land concessions. Chinese companies have taken on the j ob of constructing and paving roads throughthe villages, and Chinese workers are frequently seen in the vicinity. According to the villagers, the workers
themselves are being supervised, and there are limited numbers of interpreters, so their interaction with the local
people can be said to be practically nil, and it is difficult to have contact with them. In addition, local NGO staff
say that compared to V ietnamese, South K orean, Japanese and other countries’ companies, Chinese companies
give less consideration to environmental and social impacts, and they are unmotivated to reveal information or
hold discussions with local communities.
. . e ections Thai an Sve

At the end of our visit to sites in Thailand, Mekong Watch and the Northeast Community Network of 7
Provinces in Mekong River gave their respective reports and overall impressions, the former on the dams on thelower reaches of the Mekong main stream, and the latter on the administrative litigation in Thailand regarding
the Sirindhorn Dam. After that, the activities of each of the participating organizations were introduced, andeveryone re ected on the field survey activities in Thailand. During these re ections, the participants gave theirrespective opinions on the following three questions.
1) What lessons did you learn from the cases of the Pak Mun Dam and the Sirindhorn Dam?
2) H ow will you make use of these lessons in your future activities?
3) What proposals can you give regarding the role Mekong Watch can play in development issues in the Mekong
B asin?
The participants gave their opinions as follows.
――What lessons did you learn from the cases of the ak Mun Dam and the Sirindhorn Dam?

L aotian participant: The development problems of each country need to be taken up as international issues.
This is particularly needed for L aos (where freedom of speech is restricted internally).
S outh K orean participant A: It made me wonder, “Development for whom and by whom? ” Development
divides people into two groups, the powerful and the powerless. The two cases of the Pak Mun Dam andSirindhorn Dam are not over with yet. Meanwhile, the same thing is happening in L aos.
C hinese participant A: I met many people (during our visit) and learned two things. First, the government
made the decision to build the two dams, and showed no concern about the local communities or theirlivelihoods. The communities sought ways to resolve the problems by themselves, but there was nocommunication with the policy makers. Communication is necessary during both the policy planning process
and the compensation process. Second, in order to prevent or resolve disputes, a better system is needed, andmethods for this need to be discussed. Even from the government’s standpoint, in order to govern the country,
they need to talk with the stakeholders.
――How will you make use of these lessons in your future activities?
C hinese participant B: I will write an article about my experiences here, and tell Chinese readers what thepeople of Southeast Asia think about dam development in the Mekong B asin.
S outh K orean participant B: We will strengthen our network with Mekong Watch and engage in j oint
activities. All of the participants from South K orea are discussing posting (articles on Mekong issues) in our
on-line media. Regarding development problems in the Mekong B asin, we will carry out activities to raiseawareness of citizens in South K orea. We will participate in international campaign through StM.
S outh K orean participant C : We will make use of our experience here to monitor the development programsof the South K orean government and corporations.
S outh K orean participant A: We need to speak out more. We shouldn’t let the history of the Pak Mun Dam
and Sirindhorn Dam be relegated to “the past”; we need to relay their current stories.
S outh K orean participant C : I want to write a report on this field survey. I cannot watch all of the development
proj ects in the Mekong B asin, so I want to concentrate on the ones South K orea is involved in and monitor
them. There are problems with South K orea’s energy policies, so I will continue researching policy matters.
Also, regarding energy problems, it is necessary to point out alternatives. I will write my observations of thistrip in an article and tell them to South K orea’s citizens.
L aotian participant: To avoid or mitigate the effects of large-scale development in the Mekong B asin, we needto build and strengthen our own network.
Thai participant: Regarding policies to mitigate the effects of large-scale development and local communities’
struggles, we need to bring together our experiences thus far. In addition, we need to strengthen our network.
We must sacrifice our time and work harder for that purpose. We need to make the local communities’ struggles
an issue of international concern.
C hinese participant A: I felt that the local communities’ strength was divided. They should get together
more. B y linking various groups together, they can make their voices bigger. (We only heard from the affectedvillagers this time, but) I would like to know what other actors, for instance, lawyers and legal experts, think.
I have heard that lawyers are also assisting the local communities in Thailand. I think they should also contact
lawyers in other countries.
――What proposals can you give regarding the role Mekong Watch can play in development issues in theMekong B asin?
C hinese participant A: Shouldn’t you investigate the law more? I think the Thai people should resort more tolegal means. If you don’t use the law, the system will not improve. H ow about if Mekong Watch improved thedaily lives of the local communities, for example, by cooperating to raise their level of education?
Thai participant: I am asking this more of the other groups rather than Mekong Watch, but I would like you
to aid the local communities more, including those in Cambodia and L aos, in their battles for equality. The
reports (on our visits this time) need to be translated into each of the languages in order to make the effort moreinternational.
S outh K orean participant C : This is my advice without a deep understanding of Mekong Watch, but the
government is announcing that there is not enough electricity. The citizens are running campaigns saying“We don’t need dams,” but I think you need to indicate alternatives. In South K orea, a small village with
about 2,000 people achieved energy independence. It is j ust a small example, but this small example is being
noticed all around the world. O ur organization is taking this kind of approach. If we oppose a dam, no one will
listen, but by pointing out alternatives, people living in cities can get a deeper understanding of “why the local
communities are opposed to dams.”
L aotian participant: Mekong Watch should engage in activities related to other energy problems, not only
dams, such as nuclear energy, for example. I would like you to continue working in this region and strengthen
your network with China and South K orea.
S outh K orean participant A: I want you to continue your activities. There are things the villagers cannot
say out of fear, but they are encouraged by people visiting from outside. Small NG O s like Mekong Watch are
limited in what they can do, but I would like you to continue walking together with the villagers.
S outh K orean participant B: I have respect for Mekong Watch’s activities because you are able to investigate
local conditions on your own terms. I know you already have a lot of work to do, so I will not propose that you
increase your work beyond that. B y working in a place near the local communities, Mekong Watch encourages
the villagers. The local ladies we met today had pride in what they were saying. B y working near the people, I
think you empower the people.
C hinese participant B: Y ou need to create a platform and send more sweeping messages on the various issues.
If you do that, I think it will have appeal for the media.
.4. e ectionsao ia Sve

The results of the field survey in Cambodia and issues it brought up were compiled through a conversation
between two of our staff (Mr. Doi and Ms. Takahashi), who had participated in the survey, on the basis of therecorded re ections by all participants on the final day of the schedule. or their conversation, five questions
had been prepared beforehand, and they were asked to think of responses to them. B elow is a summary of theirconversation.
――Was the gravity of the damage from dam development to the livelihoods of people dependent on natural
resources conveyed to the participants from South K orea and China? What basis is there to j udge that it wasconveyed? If it was not conveyed, what was the reason for that?
Takahashi: I felt it was conveyed to some degree. The South K orean participants were members of an NG O
that thinks about environmental and social impacts of development, so they already had background knowledge8and experience. Even if the details of the problems facing Cambodia did not come across, the gist was conveyed.
Perhaps the Chinese participants have had few opportunities to observe livelihoods of people dependent onrivers and natural resources, but it looked like they were struggling in understanding the thoughts of villagers
who said they didn’t need development or electricity. I think, though, they were trying to understand.
Doi: I had the same feeling as you about the South K orean participants. They are already coming from aviewpoint in common with Mekong Watch. I found it impressive that one of the South K orean participants
remarked, “South K orean people visiting L aos, which they think is ‘ the poorest country,’ are surprised when
they see L aotian people living happily.” In their remarks, the topic of natural resources does not come up
directly, but they were similar to what we had intended, as we tried to convey to the participants the point ofview, if paraphrased in the South K orean context, that South K orea is an economically advanced country andL aos is a “poor” country, yet in terms of happiness and wealth, the reverse might be true, or the viewpoint that
it is L aos that has wealth. Also, compared to the Chinese participants, the South K orean participants are looking
more critically at the state of their own country’s development. When they look at L aos as the opposite of SouthK orea with its problems, they come to see L aos in a positive light.
In contrast, although of course the Chinese participants do not think their own country has no problems, I feelthey haven’t contrasted China’s problems with the richness of L aos and Cambodia. It looked like they were notconsidering whether L aos and Cambodia might provide clues to solve the problems China faces. The Chineseparticipants repeatedly asked the villagers in Srekor V illage, “Don’t you want money or electricity or cars? ”
While they agreed with the villagers that dams were not good, by proposing things like solar power generation
as a solution to villagers who maintained that they didn’t need electricity and the river was more important,
I get the impression they were not completely assimilating what the villagers were saying. They came withthe assumption that electricity and cash were absolute necessities, and they kept pestering the villagers withquestions like, “If you keep living like you currently do in the village, you won’t obtain anything, will you?
What will you do? ” I think the participants this time were better able to see the problems and consider them
relative to the current situation in China than the average person in China would have been, but even so, they
thought something was missing in the life of the village. I feel that I faced the “stubbornness” of the general
sense of values regarding development in China currently.
O n the other hand, the Chinese participants tried to understand what the villagers were saying. During there ections, they asserted that they had tried to understand, and while referring to their e periences in Africa,
one of them said there was a gap between what Chinese people were saying and the way of thinking of the local
people, and that they understood what both sides were saying. They also enj oyed swimming in the river. I hada really good feeling from that. It may be j ust having them enj oy a way of life that they don’t have in China’s
cities, but in enj oying it, perhaps they can understand the value of that way of life.
Takahashi: It is true that the Chinese participants tried to understand the villagers. In particular, I think it wasthat our visit to Srekor Village came on the first day of the survey. When the villagers said, Compared to theriver, electricity is unnecessary,” at the same time they said, “We don’t know how to use electricity except forlighting, and perhaps television at the most,” so it seems the Chinese participants came to the conclusion thatthe villagers j ust thought they didn’t need electricity because they didn’t know how to make convenient use of
it. I thought we could have them see a place where they could really experience the richness of the village, andnot a village lacking things, and have them listen to what the villagers said, but I was unable to get convincing
information.
Doi: Anybody who might be deprived of their own way of life and what they were doing until now will resist
and try to protect it. That they are trying to guard it means they see value in it, but in the case of Cambodian
villagers, they give the impression that they are not so much making a proactive choice for their current lifestyleas passively hoping to keep their lifestyle, which had been stable until now, or j ust to leave everything as it
always has been. It is striking in contrast to the Thai villagers, that the villagers in Cambodia are appealing withregard to the distress of being deprived of their traditional lifestyle, but we don’t hear them appeal very much to
the wonderful things they have that they want people to see. Either they have not discovered the positive values
they can advocate to visitors from outside, or they j ust haven’t found a way to express them? I couldn’t tell. If
you cannot state your case clearly, it is hard to fill the gap between your awareness of the value of a lifestyledependent on natural resources and the perceptions of people who haven’t discovered it. The villagers mustassert to outsiders the value of what they are defending from development being brought in from the outside. In
order to do that, it will be necessary to some extent to devise ways of explaining this. I would like to encouragethem to rediscover the value of things they take for granted and express that.
If the graveness of the damage to lifestyles dependent on natural resources is not conveyed to the participantsof field surveys, it is perhaps due to an overwhelmingly affirmative view of development to people in modern
China, and because the Cambodian villagers have not found the words to explain to outsiders the value of theirlifestyle dependent on natural resources.
Takahashi: To sum up, the participants from South K orea were already coming from a point of view inwhich they understood the value of lifestyles dependent on natural resources. It was more difficult for the
Chinese participants to understand that point, but they made an effort to understand it. The reason the Chineseparticipants had difficulty understanding the value of lifestyles dependent on natural resources would be that in
China an affirmative view of development is e cessively dominant, and it may also be because the Cambodian
villagers could not rediscover and express the value of their own lifestyles.
――With which of the communities’ assertions did the South Korean and Chinese participants sympathize themost?
Takahashi: It would be that “(large-scale) dam development is causing problems.” As came up in ourconversation about the previous question, it was difficult to convey the communities’ assertion that they weresatisfied with their current lifestyle and did not need electricity that much, especially to the Chinese participants,
but we got shared recognition that growth in the form of dam development which results in environmental
destruction is not good. H owever, as seen in the proposal for a solution by using solar energy, they started withthe premise that “development and electricity are necessities,” so if the communities had not been opposed tothe dams, we don’t know whether they would have seen the problem with those tranquil villages and abundantnature being submerged by a dam.
Doi: Problems with dams were one of the things mentioned when we invited them to j oin our field survey.
Could it have been that the Chinese participants became more clearly aware of problems being caused locally by
Chinese companies? During the re ections, one of the problems they brought up was the Chinese governmentand companies do not try to listen to the voices of the local communities.”――With what did they sympathize the least?
Doi: Regarding the spirits, the Chinese participants at out said, Chinese do not believe in spirits. We thought
they would be interested in what the villagers believed in, but it was completely the opposite. They themselves
do not believe in spirits, so they cannot understand the villagers’ faith, and they were at a loss to try to explain it
to the Chinese.
Takahashi: I think we obtained sympathy for the points that dams were having a bad effect on the environment

and society and that China is the source of various problems locally, but regarding talk about spirits in theforests that the local communities view as important in their lives, it looks like we have to conclude that it gives
rise to more bewilderment than sympathy.
――Did the South Korean and Chinese participants commit themselves to any definite future activities? If they
did not, what was the reason?
Takahashi: The Chinese participants promised to look into laws in China that could be applied and to play
an intermediary role in talks with Chinese companies when we undertake similar activities in the future. They
also said they would document and share their experiences this time through a blog as it has few restrictions.
Meanwhile, although the South Korean participants did not mention any specific activities, since there were noclear connections between South K orea and the dams which were the theme of this survey, they did promise us
to continue to turn their attention to development problems throughout the Mekong B asin. They also proposed
to hold a j oint exhibition of photography of the Mekong B asin.
Doi: In the case of the South K orean participants, even if they do not declare anything in particular, it probably
means that they are committed to activities for monitoring development in the Mekong B asin in the future. It
might simply mean that this visit has not enlightened them to engage in any new future activities. They also
said they would link other groups in South K orea with interest in the development of the Mekong B asin with
Mekong Watch and other organizations grappling with development issues in that region13.
Takahashi: The participants made commitments or proposed activities in their respective fields of specializationand interest, such as investigating laws, writing about their experiences, holding photographic exhibitions,monitoring development plans, or promoting networking.
――What kinds of issues did we recognize in promoting networking with the civil societies of South Korea andChina?
Takahashi: Citizens organizations active in South K orea have few people with interest in happenings overseas.
In China, it is quite difficult for the average citizen to see things from the point of view of a rich life dependent
on natural resources.” Also, they face many social problems in their own country, so it is hard for them to turntheir attention to problems abroad. The younger generation, however, are not happy to see China getting a
bad image because of the behavior of their country’s government and companies in other countries, so fromthat point of view they are concerned about the behavior of China’s government and companies. It would be
difficult to get them to understand the rich life of the villages and their animistic faith, but I think we could form
networks through activities to awaken awareness among the younger generation about the conduct of China’s
government and companies.
Doi: During the reflections, the participants told us about problems and issues in their own respective civilsocieties. When one said, “In South K orea, few activists can speak English, so they don’t pay attention to
problems overseas,” that left an impression. In China, they were saying, “Few in the media criticize thegovernment,” and “Criticism in itself is difficult,” so it seems restriction of the political arena is serious. In
Mekong Watch’s activities with citizen organizations in South K orea and China, it can be said in other words
that each of these civil societies has its own characteristics, and we cannot ignore such issues.
South K orean society overall resembles that of Japan currently, in that they are quite inward-looking. Theyexperienced rapid economic development, so aging of society, suicides and other internal problems have become
evident. They also said a generation gap has become a problem among activists, with no attempt to foster1younger generation activists properly. In China, restrictions on the political arena and differences in values
regarding development are keenly felt. They had a more positive view of development overall than we had
imagined. Filling these gaps will be a future issue.
Takahashi: The issues each of the civil societies is facing were made clear. People’s concerns in both SouthK orea and China are directed toward internal problems, and this is something they have in common withJapan. In China, not only do citizens movements and the media have limited space for activities, the sense ofvalues toward development is overwhelmingly positive. In South K orea, in the process of transforming into
expansion of the NG O

sector, it seems that the historic anti-autocracy and democratization movements wound

up with a generation gap and other issues. It would be desirable to create a network which takes these different
characteristics of civil societies into account.
――What facts and opinions came up, that Mekong Watch could refer to when considering its futureorganizational structure and activities?
Takahashi: It became clear that the Cambodian villagers and 3SPN had been less experienced than we haveassessed with accepting visitors from the outside. The South K orean participants proposed dividing villagers
into groups according to the level of experience they have so that there would be a chance to hear the opinionsof villagers who have little experience in meeting outsiders. Even if we do not go as far as dividing up thevillagers, I feel it would be necessary to make an effort to consider beforehand what we would like to ask them,the content of the questions, the procedure, etc.
Doi: I think communication with outsiders is an issue both we, on the one hand, and the 3SPN and villages, on
the other, are facing. Talking of issues for Mekong Watch, we can compare the case of the Pak Mun Dam, whereas a result of our staff’s local activities for more than ten years now, we know whom and what to ask. In the
3S B asin, by contrast, we have not reached that level yet. At the root of this is the short time we’ve been there,
along with language problems. Currently there is nothing we can do about it, but if we want to increase ouractivities to the level they are in the Mun River basin, there are many things we should be doing in Ratanakiri.
Takahashi: I felt that collaboration with the Chinese and South K oreans, especially the South K orean
NG O s, regarding common issues such as strengthening policies for environmental and social considerationin connection with development funding would be significant. I think it will be necessary to support stronger
capabilities among the Cambodian villagers to effectively convey their own views to outsiders.
3 . 5 . C onclusions
irst, through the field surveys in Thailand and Cambodia, the participants were able to deepen their respective
understanding of the impacts of dam development on people’s livelihoods. In comparing the anticipations of theparticipants, elicited beforehand, with their remarks during the meetings for re ection, we think we achieved ourgoal to some degree in terms of increasing the possibility for collaboration in that (1) they learned lessons thatthey can relay to civil society in China and South K orea, (2) they learned from the experience of Mekong Watch
as an example of advocacy activities in the Mekong B asin, and (3) NG O s from South K orea, China, Japan and
the Mekong B asin could get together to visit the sites. The participants from Chinese media and NG O s fromSouth Korea were each able to think of specific activities for making use of the lessons and results of the fieldsurveys, and were able to discuss possibilities for future collaboration.
O n the other hand, we were unable to provide as much of a forum for discussion as the participants had
hoped regarding the point of view of the local communities on trans-boundary environmental problems orlocal cooperation regarding the Mekong River’s aquatic resources. Also, it is risky to conj ecture about acountry’s overall image from the remarks of a limited number of participants, but if we limit the scope to theparticipants of this field survey, the participants from South Korea came from a point of view similar to oursin that they could see the value of a life based on natural resources and were concerned about development
destructive toward that, while the participants from China tended to see the environmental and social impacts
from development proj ects but assume that development would bring economic growth, and Mekong Watch was
unable to convey to them the value of the connection between the livelihoods of the local communities and thenatural resources to the degree that we had hoped in this field survey. We want to discuss this point in greater
depth in Chapter 5’s conclusions.

E ndnotes
The order of countries and organization names is purely alphabetical, and does not re ect their relative importance.
2 For more on the K hong-Chi-Mun Proj ect, see http: / / www.mekongwatch.org/ report/ tb/ channel.html
3 During its construction, the Sirindhorn Dam was called the “L am Dom Noi H ydroelectric Dam,” but it was later renamed after
Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand.
4 For experiences of the local communities during the dam’s construction, see http: / / www.mekongwatch.org/ report/ thailand/sirinthorn.html (in Japanese),or http: / / www.internationalrivers.org/ blogs/ 294/ sirindhorn-dam-affected-communities-still-seeking-j ustice-and-compensation (inEnglish).
5 There were many local communities affected and several groups exist, but they still have not received compensation. At thetime of our field survey, movements seeking compensation for the local communities continued as actively as before.
Around the year

, Mekong Watch inquired about the record on this with the Ministry of inance, which oversaw the officeof Japan’s World B ank Executive Director, but received their reply of “the data no longer exist.”
7 World B ank (1998) Recent Experience with Involuntary Resettlement: Thailand - Pak Mun. http: / / documents.worldbank.org/
curated/ en/ 1998/ 06/ 693488/ recent-experience-involuntary-resettlement-thailand-pak-mun
8 Run-of-river dams lack a large reservoir and utilize the river flow volume to produce electricity, so they are consideredenvironmentally friendly, but in reality, by stemming the ow they have a big impact on the ecology of the river.
9 Meaning “research by the local communities” in Thai.
10 Investigations conducted to date appear on the Thai NG O , L iving River Siam’s website. See http: / / www.livingriversiam.org/
en-tbr.htm
11 Meaning “research by the local communities” in Cambodian.
12 All three rivers’ names begin with “S,” so they have been given the generic name “3S.”
13 O ne representative each from 3SPN and Mekong Watch were invited to the 12th K orea River Day Seoul Conference 2013,
which was held in Seoul by the K orea Network for River and Watershed on August 13~ 15, 2013, where they had an opportunity
to speak to the participating South K orean citizens about the contribution of South K orea’s government and companies to thecurrent status of Mekong River development.

C hapter 4W

hat Development P olicies W ould E nsure the Management and U tiliz ation of
N atural R esources b y the P eople L iving in the Mekong Basin?
～ P rob lems w ith Developmental Aid P olicies and P roposals from C ivil S ociety
w ith R egard to the Mekong Basin ～The following is a compilation of writings issued in September 2013 under the title of “The Citizens’ G reen
Mekong Initiative: The Mekong’s Future, O ur Future
for Discussing Development of the Mekong B asin

Toward a Strengthened East Asian Citizens Network,” based on discussions at the international workshop heldin December 2012, mentioned in Chapter 2 of this report, regarding the “' A Decade Toward the G reen Mekong'Initiative” announced by the Japanese government in 2010. It is being presented here as one of the results of theinternational workshop1.
+ + + + + + + + + +In the basin of the Mekong River, an international river, which ows through southeastern China, Burma
Myanmar, L ao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and V ietnam, about 60 million people make their living as they
always have, dependent on the natural resources from the river and its forests. At this time, however, the waterof the entire Mekong River System with its mainstream and tributaries is changing dramatically in terms ofboth volume and quality, its aquatic and forest resources are decreasing, and arable land is disappearing along
its banks and at its mouth. Degradation of the natural environment and resources has a direct impact on thepeople’s lives and means of livelihood, shakes their food security and can fundamentally threaten the existenceof the socially vulnerable such as indigenous or minority peoples, women, children and the economically
impoverished. Causes of the degradation of the natural environment and resources include regional integrationand large-scale development in which economic considerations are given priority; urbanization; industrialization;and mass consumption, with climate change as another factor bringing more and more complexity; but above all,the biggest problem is the construction of large-scale hydroelectric facilities, which is accelerating throughout
the entire basin2.
The following problems form the context to progress on large-scale hydroelectric power construction in the
Mekong B asin.
1) Insufficient awareness, on the part of governments and companies promoting planning and construction,of the value of lifestyles dependent on natural resources and the effect on the lives of the basin’s local
communities of the success or failure at managing natural resources.
2) The in u of large amounts of development funding, not only from industrialized nations as before, but also
from emerging powers both within and outside the basin.
3) L imited opportunities for participation by the basin’s local communities and citizens in decision-making
regarding development3.
We the local communities and citizens, both within and outside the Mekong B asin, have been striving toconserve and manage the natural environment and resources of the basin, but now there is a pressing need foraction through a continuous and closer network, which can cover a broader range. In order to deal with the
problems of in u of funds from emerging powers and the cross-border environmental and societal impacts,
the citizens of the countries involved must share their awareness and work together. V aluing the lifestyles andknowledge fostered by the people who make their living in the Mekong B asin, we must promote a dialog with

representatives of governments and the private sector and work towards shaping the future of the basin.
It was in November 2009 that as part of continuation of developmental aid to countries of the Mekong
B asin (excluding China), the Japanese government announced the ten-year “G reen Mekong Initiative4.” While
the G reen Mekong Initiative stresses the importance of maintaining the natural environment, biodiversity
and aquatic resources, it cannot be said to comprehensively capture the economic, social, cultural andspiritual benefits that the Mekong River’s natural environment and resources offer to people living in thebasin. Moreover, it does not provide a framework for participation by local communities and citizens within
and outside of the Mekong B asin in decision making with regard to development5.If left as it is, the future
outcome of the G reen Mekong Initiative, in particular, the course of development of “Actions and measures
for investigation with regard to sustainable management and development of the Mekong River, including thein uences of hydroelectric power projects on the Mekong River basin, within the framework of the MekongRiver Committee,” as stated in “Tokyo Strategies for Japan-Mekong Cooperation” (O ctober 2012) is in doubt6.
Therefore, on the basis of our talks thus far, we make the following recommendations under the name of the
Citizens’ G reen Mekong Initiative. We request that these issues be discussed in earnest in conversations withgovernments, corporations and other people involved in the development of the Mekong B asin:
1) The livelihoods, means of support, and life itself of the people living in the Mekong B asin are deeply
dependent upon natural resources provided by rivers, forests and the land. The Mekong River has economic,
societal, cultural and spiritual value in supporting tens of millions of people. This should lie at the foundation of
discussions regarding the future of the Mekong B asin.
2) The actual condition and value of the natural environment and resources of the Mekong River have notyet been fully elucidated. Areas in which knowledge and information are insufficient should be proactively
investigated, and support should be provided, particularly for independent investigations by the local
communities.
3) L arge-scale development, particularly construction of hydroelectric facilities, destroys the naturalenvironment and resources, and threatens the existence of the basin’s inhabitants, particularly indigenous andminority peoples, women, children and the economically impoverished. Such cases have already occurred in thebasin, the Pak Mun Dam in northeastern Thailand, for one. L essons should be learned from such cases.
4) As is also stated in a recommendation in the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) commissioned by
the Mekong River Committee (MRC) that decisions on dams of the mainstream should be deferred for ten
years7, construction of hydroelectric facilities on the Mekong River mainstream should be postponed until
comprehensive investigations can be implemented.
5) Trans-boundary environmental and social impacts bring enormous harm to the basin’s inhabitants, andmeasures to mitigate these effects are extremely difficult to create, agree on and enforce. In environmental
impact assessments (EIA) for hydroelectric facilities, evaluation of the long-term and cumulative effects should
be required along with assessment of cross-border effects on the environment and society, and mitigating
measures should be provided in case damage manifests.
6) In the countries of the Mekong B asin, democratic systems and procedures that are essential for decisionmaking on development are lacking; particularly, disclosure of information, freedom of expression, citizen
participation and government and corporate accountability have not been sufficiently established. Sufficient
information should be disclosed in a timely manner using appropriate methods, and systems and proceduresshould be provided so that substantive citizen participation can be achieved and so that human rights violations
such as threats or suppression of inhabitants and citizens who express various opinions do not occur.
7) The upstream countries of China and B urma are not official members of the MRC, and the consultation

procedures 8 are also insufficient in many ways. In the planning for the X ayaburi Dam, voices from thegovernments of Cambodia and V ietnam, both member nations, expressing concerns or opposition could not be
re ected, let alone the opinions of the local communities and citizens. The MRC should not be discussing plans
for further hydroelectric dams until the current problems in the consultation procedures are reviewed and themember nations agree to improvements.
8) Decision-making on development should be conducted on the basis of a proper analysis of currently existing
information and knowledge such as the inhabitants’ traditional knowledge and everyday experiences and surveys
by experts.
9) Demand for electricity—the grounds for constructing hydroelectric powers, can be predicted using proceduresthat are highly open and transparent to provide a basis for creating more realistic plans for electric power
development rather than serving the profits or intentions of particular groups of people. At the same time, plansand policies for electric power development should be drawn up based on de-centralized and renewable energy
sources and demand-side management.
10) The concepts of “transparent and sustainable” hydroelectric power and techniques such as fish ladders
are not yet clearly defined, and their effectiveness has not been sufficiently verified. Regarding fish ladders,in particular, it has become clear that at the current level of the technology they cannot preserve the MekongRiver’s rich aquatic resources. In developing the Mekong River, care should be taken to avoid using it as a testsite for concepts and technologies of dubious effectiveness.
In order to bring the above proposals to fruition, we local communities and citizens both within and outside of
the basin will proceed with the following activities:
1) Elucidate methods and strategies for making future use of the knowledge and wisdom of the people using
and managing the natural environment and resources of the Mekong B asin sustainably.
2) U se every opportunity to seek the understanding of representatives from governments and the private
sector and citizens in general, both within and outside of the basin, regarding the close connection between
the natural environment and resources and the people’s livelihoods and existence and the value of thatconnection, and on the contrary, the economic, social, cultural and spiritual damage that would occur
through degradation of the environment and resources.
3) Strengthen the network in East Asian countries for discussing and examining development problems in the
Mekong B asin, so as to deal with complex issues of environmental and societal preservation, while making
best use of the inhabitants’ and citizens’ experience, knowledge and imaginative powers.

E ndnotes
1

In transcribing this document, some of the expressions and numbers on the footnotes have been changed.

2

Recently, disputes over land have become a big problem. These are being caused by land use changes resulting from the operation oflarge-scale plantations, mono-cropping and contract farming through private investment and economic land concessions, as well as absoluteand relative shortages of land. L and disputes have also been brought about by inundation of large land areas and massive relocation of
inhabitants due to construction of large-scale hydroelectric dams. In cities, air, water and soil pollution as a result of industrialization has
become more severe, causing harm to people over extensive areas, and in the Mekong region, there are many local communities whose lives
are dependent on the natural environment and resources derived from other large rivers, including the Chaophraya, Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady)and Salween Thanlwin rivers. While there is a need to work jointly with the people tackling these issues, there are many points within therecommendations raised herein that can be applied to many of these issues.
3

Recently, there have been prominent cases in which environmentalists and human rights defenders were threatened, suppressed orassassinated, and it can be said that chances for citizens’ participation are becoming even narrower.
4

See Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan (2009a)1――(Declaration of the First Japan-Mekong Region Summit in Tokyo (provisionaltranslation) –Establishing a New Partnership for Joint Prosperity in the Future—) http www.mofa.go.jp mofaj area j mekong k s kaigi
j mekong
5

ts ka.html

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan (2009b)63

http www.mofa.go.jp mofaj area j mekong k s kaigi j mekong(Japan-Mekong Action Plan 63 (provisional translation
ka.html mentions “cooperation for promoting aquatic resource

management of the Mekong River and management and mitigation of ooding and water shortages of the Mekong River. Also, the action
plan for the Ten ears for a Green Mekong initiative by the Ministry of oreign Affairs, Japan
related to ood and drought countermeasures by the Mekong River Committee MRC ,mentions aid for e ecuting projects

Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphin protection aspart of preserving the biodiversity of the Mekong River” and “promotion of an integrated water resources management (IWRM) approach
via the Mekong River Committee.”6

See Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan (2012)

2012

Cooperation (provisional translation)) http www.mofa.go.jp mofaj area j mekong k s kaigi
7(Tokyo Strategy for Japan-Mekong
joint statement jp .html

The original text reads, “Decisions on mainstream dams should be deferred for a period of ten years…with reviews every three years toensure that essential deferment

period activities are being conducted effectively.” International Centre for Environmental Management

2010. Strategic Environmental Assessment of Hydropower on the Mekong Mainstream: Final Report, Mekong River Commission, 24 pp.,http www.cdri.org.kh shdmekong .Strategic
8

The consultation procedures, known as

Environmental

Assessment

inal

Report MRC.pdf

rocedures for Notification, rior Consultation and Agreement

duties incumbent on the member states on the basis of Articleof the Mekong Agreement of

PNPCA,” are procedural. The member states hold joint

investigations and consultations to form agreements on the e ecution of development projects on the Mekong River mainstream, orconditions for their e ecution, upon notifying the MRC of those projects. or further details, see MRC rocedures for Notification,rior Consultation and Agreement http www.mrcmekong.org assets ublications policies rocedures-Notification- rior-ConsultationAgreement.pdf

C hapter 5 Aiming for C oordination among C ivil S ocieties ofE ast Asian and Mekong Basin C ountries
A Staff o n Ta e Ta fo e ection to change
The Mekong Watch staff held a round-table talk on August,e iences, to re ect on the results of the past

year’s programs and the challenges we encountered. We would like to present our View to the uture that
resulted from our discussion at the round-table talk to conclude this report. The reason we chose to conclude with arecord of our round-table talk is that the international workshop and field survey gave us a variety of e periences,and we would not want to waste a chance to present any one of the diverse observations and ideas on them brought
up by each staff member. Also, as Mekong Watch is an action-oriented organization, we thought this opportunity
for mutual sharing of views among the staff would have more significance than summing it up in a more easily
understood way. By recording the conte t along with the content of the staff’s views, we also facilitate the use ofthis information in future discussions. Therefore, what follows is not a complete summary but we hope it will be
understood as an open record for the purpose of continuing our discussion within Mekong Watch in the future,
based on the thoughts and opinions e pressed regarding this report which will be heard soon.
P articipants ( in alphab etical order)
Doi, Toshiyuki Stationed in Bangkok, Thailand length of service,

years.

Endo, Satoko Stationed in Tokyo length of service, months.
Higashi, Satomi Stationed in Vientiane, Laos length of service,

years.

Kiguchi, uka Stationed in bon Ratchathani, Thailand length of service,

years.

Takahashi, umiko Stationed in Ratanakiri, Cambodia length of service, . years.
5 . 1 . P roj ect Achievements――What results did we obtain from the activities undertaken this time?
 Mekong W atch’ s R ole as a “Basin N G O ”
Doi: irst, I think Mekong Watch was able to contribute to the maintenance, functioning and e pansion of the StM
as a network. Though it maintains its identity as a Japanese NGO, isn’t Mekong Watch filling a role as anorganization active in the Mekong Basin? At least, aren’t such e pectations increasing from the outside?
 Building relationships w ith S outh K orean and C hinese N G O s and J ournalists
Doi: We were also able to identify organizations and individuals among South Korea’s NGOs who look like they
can collaborate with us.
Higashi: I have the same feeling. Recently, I heard from a South Korean NGO we invited to the international
workshop, who said We are visiting Vientiane and want to see you, so I linked with them as an individual
and it developed into a personal friendship. I think this is a big success. When we visited the sites inThailand, the South Korean participants were able to understand Mekong Watch’s methods of conducting
activities, particularly the emphasis we place on collaborating with local communities, as was clearlybrought up at the meeting for re ection. I think we could convey the importance of listening directly to thevoices of the communities. It is good that we could have them see the collaboration between Mekong Watch
and the local communities. What impressed me at the international workshop was when someone at the final
8

meeting for re ection remarked, I am encouraged at linking with people who have the same awareness ofproblems. Building connections between people is not a role that only Mekong Watch can perform, but
once we confirm these connections, we can progress with subsequent activities, can’t we?
Takahashi: This may be more of a challenge than a success, but we got a glimpse of viewpoints and valuesof the Chinese people from the remarks by the Chinese journalist and lawyer who participated in the site
visits. Currently, we are looking for methods and what to say when approaching the Chinese government
or companies, so this is an important point. Merely appealing to the richness of the livelihoods in the basin
is insufficient for getting the Chinese people to understand the issues.
5 . 2 . C hallenges R evealed b y the P roj ect――On the other hand, what challenges were there?
 Advocacy tow ards C hina
Higashi: I think a challenge became apparent that we face when considering approaching the Chinese
government or corporations. I wanted to ask the Chinese participants what they thought about problems
with hydropower resulting from China’s investments in countries of the Mekong Basin, but there was not
as much of an opportunity as I had hoped. erhaps we must deepen our ties with them further by holding
more discussions. Or perhaps, the Chinese civil society is too busy with problems within China to pay
attention to those facing the Mekong Basin. Of course, there’s no denying the possibility that we might
have gotten a different response if we have had contact with other organizations or individuals. Either way,ever since the Mekong Watch staff in China left, we’ve had practically no foothold in China. Because ofthat, there has been no growth in shared understanding which would lead to subsequent activities in China,
even through this project. We need to find areas where our concerns overlap with those of China’s NGOs,
but I have the feeling that would be difficult given Mekong Watch’s current human resources.

Doi: I’ve been hearing for some time that it seems to be okay to discuss environmental problems critically evenin China. Of course, this may indicate how serious environmental problems are in that country. Activities
can be done in a way that confronts China with the problems it is causing in the Mekong Basin, but I feelthat an approach that shows our concern for and understanding of problems within China would facilitate
collaboration with that country’s NGOs. Either way, for a while, many NGOs were paying attention
to trends in China and trying to form ties with Chinese NGOs, but now, efforts directed at China havebecome individuated, and it is hard to get a grasp of the situation in China.
Higashi: The American riends Service Committee A SC , an organization based in the .S. that participatedin the international workshop, has conducted field trips to the Mekong Basin for Chinese NGOs, journalists
and researchers, in an attempt to increase the number of people concerned about the occurrence andresolution of environmental and social problems in the Mekong Basin being caused by Chinese funding,and they can be referred to for ways for foreigners to conduct activities in China.
5. . ss es

e iniffic t to nence――In thinking about future activities, what challenges do you think we should be aware of that Mekong Watch
has difficulty changing?
 R apidly progressing large- scale development and limitations of civil society
Doi: I feel that the pace of large-scale development is too fast, and civil society is in retreat. Thinking back ten
years ago, the movement opposing the dams had power. Now, however, dam construction is proceeding at
a terribly fast pace. It is impossible to tell, however, what incident might provide an impetus for a change
in the course of things, but I don’t think the situation can continue forever as it is.
K iguchi: Ten years ago, there was a change in American policy to be away from dams, and that also had aneffect. The tide is turning, so from that perspective, I am sympathetic with the view that we think about
what we do now to prepare for such tide turnings.
Higashi: I think maybe the time has come for us to do what we can.
Doi: If we could tell how much the tide will turn, for e ample, predicting the outcome of the election in
Cambodia this time and considering how it might influence the country’s future, Mekong Watch could
make more progress as an organization.
E ndo: Isn’t it also necessary for us to help turn the tide through our activities?
K iguchi: I think it would be difficult to accomplish through our activities. Thinking about our e periencesin Burma recently, where there were many more restrictions on political activities, we had to conduct
activities which could convey the importance of turning their attention to environmental problems as
democratization proceeds. I don’t think we contributed to democratization, but when changes in conditionsin that country came about, I think we were able to point to directions to proceed with their efforts so as to
avoid or reduce environmental and social impacts from large-scale development in Burma.
E ndo: I wonder if those sorts of activities are possible in China. But China probably has to change itself fromwithin .
Doi: The state of Japan’s civil society is also a concern. It is hard to procure aid or funding in Japan for ourpolicy proposal activities, so Mekong Watch continues to e perience instability in its funding base foractivities. In this regard, I almost wonder if the civil societies of South Korea and China will be more
active than ours ten years from now, because I sensed that the participants in this project had awarenessand capability that were strong as individuals. I think the participants this time represent only one bit of the8latent possibilities of the civil societies of their respective countries.
5.4. The Significance of the Activities――What do we think of the significance of these activities?
 Approaching private companies, helping affected communities
Doi: Approaching private companies with regard to development of the Mekong Basin, including Japanese
private companies, is both highly possible and strongly necessary. Shouldn’t we be making more direct
efforts to take on the issues of electric power demand, investment and power grid construction, and tackle
the structure of the energy sector itself, which justifies construction of dams and other large-scale electric
power plants? Shouldn’t we be increasing our support for the affected communities more than building
networks with NGOs? I’ve thought of these things.
Takahashi: In Cambodia, local communities are networking with NGOs. I think supporting these networks
translates into support for the local communities.
Doi: Some time ago, when local Cambodian community representatives were participating in StM’s annual
general meetings in Vietnam, Mekong Watch provided quite detailed support in the preparatory stages,
such as preparing fact sheets on a problematic dam project in Vietnamese and Khmer languages. I think
we realized that the more support we provided, the more that could be accomplished. However, while I
think support is still necessary now, in other ways I have trouble judging whether Mekong Watch’s role is
to involve itself in so much detail. Even among the NGOs, I think there are some organizations that are notproperly fulfilling their original role of speaking for the local communities and using that power to change
society. This point provides food for thought on our own activities.

 Documenting the “richness” of the Mekong Basin
Doi: I wonder if Mekong Watch is spending too much of its resources on documenting the local richness.
Higashi: Documentation is an unavoidable necessity for Mekong Watch. As a number of dam development
projects have been underway, I think it is good that we could provide that much documentation on thenatural resources. Video production is also important in order to link up with the local people. Regarding
stronger direct support to the local communities, when I think about the conditions in Laos, I think weneed to consider what Mekong Watch can do about dam projects toward which Japanese companies arecontributing.
81

5 . 5 . “A V iew to the F uture”: W

hat W ill W e Aim for?

―― inally, I would like to consider what we should be aiming for in the future. The objective of the project
this time was to e change e periences, but what kind of prospects have you found anew regarding ourcollaboration as a citizens network in the future?
 C ollab oration w ith C hinese civil society
Doi: Regarding Chinese NGOs, I think there are still organizations we can link up with. Even in the government,
there are developments towards environmental and social protection, such as the announcement of
guiding principles for environmental protection by China’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of theEnvironment in ebruary of this year, and the previous establishment of green investment and funding
guidelines. I would like to consider ways Mekong Watch could make use of these kinds of guidelines, fore ample, by collaborating with Chinese NGOs.
K iguchi: How are approaches of the basin’s and international NGOs to Chinese NGOs going currently? orinstance, there have been no updates recently on the progress of dams on the upper course of the mainstream.
Higashi: reviously, seminars and meetings were held annually in Bangkok and other cities on problems with
China’s investment and funding in the Mekong region. Regarding Laos, there has been no notable activity,with the Chinese NGO, Global Environmental Institute GEI , having left.
E ndo: Activities which target only China are difficult, so I think it would also be good to include South Korea.
Doi: I think it would be difficult for South Korean NGOs to consider putting pressure on China. Some timeago, I was talking to South Korean NGOs in Seoul, but there was no mention whatever of China.

nlike

political issues such as the Si - arty Talks on North Korea, it is difficult to see collaboration with South
Korean NGOs as being important when putting pressure on China over environmental problems of the
Mekong River. On the other hand, wouldn’t it be possible to collaborate when approaching international
development institutions, especially the ADB? Still, I think it would be better to have an impetus, suchas an annual general meeting of the ADB in China or South Korea for this to work. roblems caused bybilateral aid are more serious, and Mekong Watch does not put a high priority on leading an approachto the ADB together with South Korean and Chinese NGOs. If South Korean or Chinese NGOs were to
take the lead, that might provide an incentive to collaborate with them. Or joint efforts could be madebetween Japan, China and South Korea on policy-level issues such as electric grid and energy policy, andin addition, discussions involving the ADB might be a possibility.
Higashi: If we had staff stationed in China, Mekong Watch’s activities would also change. I think it is possible
to consider the activities we were doing when we had staff stationed in China.
K iguchi: It is not absolutely necessary to have staff stationed there. I think it is okay if we are able to conduct
surveys. As something outsiders can do, by providing Chinese journalists with information on individual
projects such as dam development that Chinese companies are promoting in Cambodia, wouldn’t that leadto heightened concern within China over development problems in the Mekong Basin?
 C ollab oration w ith civil society of S outh K orea
Higashi: Regarding collaboration with South Korean NGOs, Mekong Watch could share its e periences andinvite them to events or activities.
Doi: The issues of Japanese society that Mekong Watch is dealing with as a Japanese NGO as an industriallyadvanced nation, it provides large amounts of development funding to the countries of the Mekong Basin8and has in uence over decision making but on the other hand, its civil society does not pay much attention
to happenings overseas have points in common with those of South Korea’s NGOs. JICA and KOICA1
are also a point in common. I think we could conduct activities together based on these shared points. ore ample, regarding JBIC’s or JICA’s environmental and social consideration guidelines, I think we could
share the e perience of Japan’s NGOs, including Mekong Watch, in trying to in uence these organizations.
It is proper for KOICA and the E port-Import Bank of Korea to have clear guidelines for environmental
and social consideration, and we can talk about how to share e periences on the environmental protection
guidelines of China’s overseas cooperation and investment or green investment and funding guidelines, or
how to use these tools to in uence the governments of our respective countries, or how to make use of oure perience in various countries.
――Shall we wrap this up with our prospects for the short-term future of the coming one year, and those forthe long-term?
 S hort- term prospects for activities
Doi: As mentioned earlier, I think we should have a better grasp of China’s environmental protection guidelines,
and it would be good to have a website providing quick access to the guidelines of development agencies
associated with Japan, China and South Korea. It would also be interesting to hold seminars to raiseawareness among Japan’s corporate representatives regarding the environmental and social consideration
standards of each country.
K iguchi: I would like to do further reports and e perience e changes to relay the e periences to South KoreanNGOs from our talks with the Japanese government and policy proposals Mekong Watch has made so far,and provide information on Chinese-funded development projects in countries of the Mekong Basin to theChinese media with whom we were able to establish links through the current project. I would also like toprovide information on investment and development projects by Vietnamese companies in Cambodia andLaos to the civil society of Vietnam.
 P rospects for long- term activities
Higashi: The main activities of Mekong Watch have always been monitoring projects involving Japanese publicfunding, such as bilateral aid or multilateral aid through the ADB or World Bank, and to propose policies
for the Japanese government and international funding agencies. rojects in which development funding
from Japan is not directly involved, however, have been increasing, such as planning of dams on the
Mekong main stream, which is being spearheaded by private companies.
K iguchi: or projects not involving Japanese funding, we must influence indirectly, not through the direct
activities we’ve conducted with respect to the Japanese government and companies. A need has also
arisen to organize the content of our proposals from a different point of view from before, even whenapproaching the Japanese government. On that point, through the e perience e change project this time, I
think that Mekong Watch has gotten definite results by emphasizing its role as an arranger for a stronger,e panded network, addressing issues such as the problems and effects of dams on tributaries that have notbeen taken up directly by civil society networks before. Also, in our open discussions with the Japanese
government and Ministry of oreign Affairs, by proposing a proactive role that should be fulfilled by theJapanese government at the policy level in Mekong River development, rather than confronting them withproblems in Japan’s aid policy, we achieved constructive discussions. These e periences have becomematerial for considering the future activities and roles of Mekong Watch.
8

Doi: This is putting it abstractly, but isn’t a functioning democracy what we are aiming for? In the more
concrete dimension of activities, I think it would be easier to achieve collaboration with China’s civil society,for e ample, by linking the environmental problems that China is e periencing at home with problems with
development aid and overseas investment. In order to achieve that, activities from a stance of understanding
China’s internal issues are needed. Also, when I considered what could be done for the local communitiesof the Mekong Basin that are being hurt by development aid and investment from China and South Korea,
I thought it might be significant if the local communities made use of the policies and procedures that the
governments and companies of China and South Korea are already using to raise their own voices, havetheir voices be heard by the policy makers, and create opportunities to resolve the problems. Through suchactivities, couldn’t the civil societies of each country increase their power?
Speaking of the future, some issues, most notably, the problem of climate change, have made it clearthat the unscrupulous development and industrialization of the past

years cannot continue. rom now

on, there will be an increasingly pressing need to make good use of limited resources, and for that, we mustchange so that we value inventive ideas for using limited resources as wonderful. In Japan, the phrase
natsukashii mirai fondly-remembered future

has been coined, but rather than imagining the future as aspace and time cut off from the present, I think an attitude of imagining the future generations who will beliving in place of us, who are living now, in the future is necessary. Of course, talking of such an abstract
concept does not jive with the Chinese people, who are right at the height of development. At those times, I
think the e periences, opinions and livelihoods of the people one meets throughout the Mekong Basin would
provide concrete clues and models. Thinking of that, I realize that the future, in fact, is here right now.
Thus far, Mekong Watch has emphasized sites of development projects,

sympathy and understanding forthe local people, and concrete improvement of local conditions. I think we have confirmed that this is no
mistake, so it would be good to persist with this approach, while at the same time translating the new ideas
and activities we have thought up this time into action.

E ndnotes

1

The Korea International Cooperation Agency. or further information see http www.koica.go.kr main.html

8Appendix :L ist of O rganiz ations P articipating in the I nternational W orkshop and F ield S urvey
Australia
O xfam Australia
O fam Australia is an independent, not-for-profit, secular international development agency. They are a memberof O fam International, a global confederation of
injustice in overO fams that work with others to overcome poverty andcountries around the world. O fam Australia’s vision is of a fair world in which people control

their own lives, their basic rights are achieved, and the environment is sustained. O fam runs a regional water andnatural resource governance program in the Mekong.
Burma
ederation of Workers’ nions of the Burmese Citizens in Japan
ederation of Worker’snions of the Burmese Citizens

W BC

W BC is a labor union for Burmese citizens living inJapan. It actively conducts activities to save the environment since the livelihood of the workers is strongly related
to the clean and fair environment.
C amb odia
American riends Service Committee A SC
The American riends Service Committee A SC is a peace and development organization with programs in thenited States and internationally. A SC Cambodia is focusing its scope on the Chinese investment in Cambodia,
monitoring the investment to be responsible and sustainable. It conducts and supports research, provides space andopportunities for dialogue among affected communities, the Chinese government or policy makers, and journalists,
for improving their mutual understandings.
S Rivers rotection Network
S Rivers rotection Network

S N
S N is a Cambodian local civil society organization. It was established as

the Sesan rotection Network at Banlung Town, Ratanakiri rovince inin order to assist dam-affected

communities living along the Sesan River in Cambodia after serious impacts occurred caused by the hydropower
dam construction upstream in Vietnam. The network was registered as the S Sesan, Srepok, and Sekong Rivers
rotection Network inand has e panded its activities to all villages along the Sesan, Srepok, and SekongRivers.
C hinaCai in MediaThe Cai in Media Company Limited is a Beijing-based media group dedicated to providing financial and business
news and information. It is one of China’s leading news providers. It is famous and respected for its independent
reports, professional practices, and profound understanding of China s economic and social transition.

8

The Center for Legal Assistance to ollution Victims CLA V
The Center for Legal Assistance to ollution Victims CLA V was established in October. It was started

by one Chinese lawyer, setting up a hotline for pollution victims. Now it is a non-governmental organization
focusing on environment protection and is registered with the Judicial Ministry of the eople’s Republic of China
and approved by the China niversity of olitical Science and Law.
O fam Hong Kong
O fam is dedicated to fighting poverty and inequity worldwide. This international and independent development
and humanitarian organization tackles poverty in four main ways sustainable development in poor communities,
disaster relief, local and global advocacy, and education of Hong Kong youth. Established in Hong Kong in,

O fam Hong Kong is a founding member of O fam, an international confederation that has assisted poor peopleincountries. O fam Hong Kong alone has supported poor people in overcountries regions.

J apanJapan International Volunteer Center
Japan International Volunteer Center JVC undertakes various projects such as agriculture, water provision, forest
preservation utilization, children s education, peace building, and emergency relief. Cambodia, Laos, Thailand,South Africa, Iraq, alestine, Afghanistan, D. .R.K and Sudan are the current fields of their projects. In Japan, they
are devoted to enlightenment activities toward a fair and just society through advocacy, development educationand networking.
National Institute for Environmental Studies NIESThe National Institute for Environmental Studies NIES is a leading institution for environmental research at local
to global scales. Currently a total of ten research programs are being implemented, including the Basin Ecosystem
unctions Research rogram, in which their project focuses on the Mekong Basin and its aquatic ecosystem.
Elucidation of fish migration and effects of dams on their migration is one of the main objectives of this five-year
project.
K oreaEnergy and Climate olicy Institute for Just Transition EC I
The Energy and Climate olicy Institute for Just Transition EC I is a research institute attached to the Center
for Energy olitics CE , an NGO aiming to transform the current energy politics dominated by the cartel ofcapital and the powerful, into a more democratic one, based on social justice. The three core values of the CE arecreativity,

voluntarism, and solidarity. Through its research activities, EC I is contributing to stimulating

and deepening social debates and deliberations on the political and social implications of climate change andthe energy crisis, and to searching and developing progressive alternatives to meet these challenges from theperspective of social justice.
ODA Watch
ODA Watch works on reforming aid policies and practices. It is the only CSO in Korea which e clusively focuses
its activities on monitoring and lobbying for poverty eradication policies and practices of the Korean government.
It also makes efforts for capacity building of Korean development CSOs.
8

Thailand
COMM NIT RESO RCE CENTRE CRC
The Community Resource Centre CRC is a non-governmental organization based in Bangkok, Thailand. It
provides legal aid to communities whose environmental rights or human rights are violated. It also works on legal
cases which have trans-boundary impacts in the Mekong Region such as the ayaburi Dam.
Mekong Sub-region Social Research Center MSSRC
Located at the aculty of Liberal Arts,bon Ratchathani

niversity, the Mekong Sub-region Social ResearchCenter MSSRC is a research center which mandates research on Mekong themes. It aims at encouraging learning
about and studying the Greater Mekong Sub-region, promoting and strengthening the sharing of e periences,knowledge and information on the Greater Mekong Sub-region among regional scholars, academics and students,
fostering networks and collaboration among academic and educational institutions in the region and enhancing
their research capacity and accessibility of knowledge and information.
Northeast Community Network ofrovinces in Mekong River

Northeast Community Network ofrovinces in Mekong River consists of community organizations from

Loei, Nhongkhai, Buengkarn, Nakhon hanom, Mukdaharn, Amnajchareon, andbon Ratchathani. After its

establishment, the member communities have been e changing information, conducting activities to support eachother, and trying to sort out problems.
The U nited S tates of America
American riends Service Committee A SC
The American riends Service Committee A SC is a peace and development organization with programs in thenited States and internationally. In the Asia- acific region, a key focus of the organization’s work is related to
con ict caused by development projects, particularly in the Mekong region including Burma . A SC works onthese issues by conducting and supporting research, providing space and opportunities for dialogue, and assisting
local organizations working with impacted communities.
International Rivers
International Rivers is a non-governmental organization that protects rivers and defends the rights of communities
that depend on them. International Rivers works to stop destructive dams and promote water and energy solutions
for a just and sustainable world.
V ietnamResearch Institute for Climate Change

Can Tho niversity

The Research Institute for Climate Change

Can Thoniversity is the biggest research and training institute of

the Mekong River Delta working to maintain healthy ecosystems and the sustainability of major river deltas in achanging climate.
Organizations withmarks participated in the field survey only.

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A View to the Future～ Possibilities and Directionality of Policy Proposal Activities by Mekong Watch ～Final Report for a Grant Project of The Toyota Foundation
Date of publication: October 31, 2013
Writers: Fumiko Takahashi, Satoko Endo, Satomi Higashi, Toshiyuki Doi, Yuka Kiguchi
Editing and Proofreading: Naomi Goto, Patricia Ormsby, Sayaka Hashimoto
English Translation: Patricia Ormsby
Published by Mekong Watch
3rd Fl. Aoki Bldg., 1-12-11 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0016, Japan
Tel：03-3832-5034

Fax：03-3832-5039

E-mail：info@mekongwatch.org
Website：http://www.mekongwatch.org/