Policy Dialogue & Influencing(NGO Forum) The NGO Forum on Cambodia has been working on the issue of hydropower since the late 1990s. Various NGOs formed the Sesan Working Group in 2003 (only dams along Sesan River), then the 3S Working Group in 2005 (dams on Sesan, Sekong, and Srepok Rivers). Through the addition of new CSOs and an expansion of geographical scope to the whole of Cambodia, the coalition changed its name to the RiversCoalition in Cambodia (RCC) in early 2007. NGO Forum#s Rivers Coalition in Cambodia Project has undertaken a vital role to facilitate RCC members and other stakeholders including youth group, academics, lawyers and other interest groups to work with and for dam #affected communities, both men and women, to address issues arising from an increase in the number of dams on the Mekong mainstreaming and its tributaries. We aim to intervene to enforce / influence the progress of dialogue and discussion on regional solutions for good water governance in the Mekong river basin. In this regard, the RCC has been addressing the issues through working with its network members and other partners to implement activities of the Rivers Coalition in Cambodia Project.
The Oxfam Water Governance funded project for NGO Forum-RCC 2018-2019 will enhance the functioning of RCC that align with its action plan 2018 to 2020, which is part of NGO Forum new strategic plan 2018-2023 that was developed with participation of RCC members and affected community. This project supports RCC to function its roles on key activities on promoting policydialogue and influencing on hydropower dam development to hold the government and developers accountable, awareness raising and capacity building for its members, supporting research, producing influencing materials on hydro-power projects and its impacts. This aligns with objective number 2 of Oxfam Mekong Regional Water Governance Program and Inclusion Project to hold infrastructure developers to account and promoting standard, and consistent with Oxfam in Cambodia Natural Resources Governance Program objective number 2 to improve and enforce government relevant law and policies in accordance to international principles and standards related to natural resources governance.
This project enables RCC and its members to actively engage with sub-national,national and regional partners to influence Cambodia and transboundary policy improvement on water governance in the Mekong Cambodia and the region and ensure meaningful engagement and participation of community in the policy development consultation process. The RCC is also contributing to awareness raising and advocacy on gender issues in response to Cambodia#s energy planning and hydropower development into its project planning and implementation. For instance, a Lower Sesan 2 dam resolution committeehas been formed by engaging both sub-national and national government, NGOs, affected communities, and private companies to address dam affected issues to local people, especially women and vulnerable people.
In addition, The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has recently announced the proposed Sambor hydropower development on the Mekong mainstream (RGC, 2016). Itwill be the largest hydropower dam in Cambodia and the Mekong Lower Basin. If the dam is constructed, it would have a negative impact on society, fish migration and vital ecological linkage between the Mekong upstream, the Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia and the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. The evidence from the feasibility study report of Sambor Hydropower Station indicated that the proposed Sambor dam will directly impact 19,034 people. They will need to be resettled to other places because their current habitats and natural resources will be permanently flooded in the dam reservoir (Liu, 2008). A scientific study predicted that fish yields will reduceby 16%- 30% or 98,000 # 182,000 tons and there will be reductions in other aquatic animals if the proposed Sambor dam is developed, (IFReDI, 2012). Water flow from the Mekong River will change which will have an extreme impact on the water level in Tonle Sap Lake. It is also predicted that the water level will increase by 1.2 m in the dry season and decrease by 1.0 m in the rainy season (Sushu et al, 2010). This proposed dam which has been known negatively impactful on fishery sector, local livelihoods and biodiversity in the Mekong, is a key advocacy issue for NGO Forum-RCC to take lead and coordinate with other stakeholders for policy influencing.
This reflect the important role of RCC to effectively influence hydropower policy processes to ensuresustainability and full participation of affected communities. In this regard, affected communities are empowered and play the role as active change agents of decision making process on hydro-power policy and regulation.