Extensive rapids and large areas of flooded forest predominate around Stung Treng. About a thousand species of fish living in the river require diverse habitats such as these to ensure their breeding, feeding and migratory cycles are able to be maintained. Other wildlife abounds in the Mekong basin, including the rare and endangered Irrawaddy dolphin. Any change to this river system will have major consequences for both people and the environment. Yet the plans of the Asian Development Bank, if realised, will drastically alter the flows of the river system.
Power generation brings money into government coffers and give jobs to a few.
There are no welfare schemes and little, if any, compensation to cushion the loss. Elsewhere in the world we have evidence of the drastic consequences of similar mega-projects. In China, the Three Gorges Dam, funded by the World Bank, is going to displace 1.3 million people. In India, around thirty-three million people have been displaced by the building of large dams. The Indian government is not legally bound to provide a displaced person anything but a cash compensation.