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dam-l (Fwd) 1999 Mekong River Declaration


------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date sent:      	Mon, 14 Jun 1999 16:22:56 -0700
From:           	Aviva Imhof <aviva@irn.org>
Subject:        	1999 Mekong River Declaration
To:             	irn-mekong@igc.org

MekongForum
5235 Avenida Encinas · Suite G · 
Carlsbad · CA 92008 ·
Tel (760) 431-7178 · FAX (760) 431-7179
pop@mekongforum.org ·  http://www.mekongforum.org/index.html

June 11, 1999

Dear friends of world rivers,

MekongForum is a non-profit public interest group dedicated to the sustainable
development of the Mekong river basin, with emphasis in transparency,
accountability, and active engagement of public participation. Over a
hundred scientists, engineers, economists, natives of the Mekong River
Delta,  Cambodians and Vietnamese Americans met at the Mekong River
Conference on May 8th, 1999 in California to discuss the potential impacts
of the proposed hydropower development and diversion plans on the Mekong
River ecosystem. The Conference has produced the following document, the
1999 Mekong River Declaration, which we wish to forward to you for your
review and consideration. 

We are seeking endorsements of this Declaration. Your endorsement would
represent the heightening of public awareness of the dangers of the
development on the Mekong -the world's second richest river biota- and your
call to safeguard the food security of the millions of the poor Mekong
Delta inhabitants. 

Please visit the MekongForum homepage at http://www.mekongforum.org/ for
the abstracts of the conference presentations and other information on the
Mekong. Please send an e-mail to pop@mekongforum.org or FAX your
endorsement to: MekongForum at 1-(760) 431-7179.

Sincerely,

Long P. Pham
MekongForum

___________________________________
The 1999 Mekong River Declaration
Safeguarding the Mekong River, Her Delta, and Her People

The Mekong River, the world's 11th longest river, is also the world's 2nd
richest river in its biodiversity. Fed by the melting snows of the Tibetan
Himalayas and monsoon rains of Southeast Asia, the 4200 km Mekong is home
to thousands of rare and endangered species of plants and animals. The
river and her countless tributaries nourish and support over 90 million
people, from China in the north to Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and
finally to the millions living in Vietnam's Mekong Delta region. 

The fish in the Tonle Sap Lake, UNESCO's Biosphere Reserve and the Mekong
represent the source of 80% protein for millions of Cambodian and
Vietnamese living there. The Delta, Vietnam's "rice bowl" and its crops are
feeding and sustaining the people of many nations, making Vietnam the
second largest rice exporting country in the world. Today, the Tonle Sap
Lake and the Delta region, and all those residing in the Mekong Basin are
threatened by the reckless development and misuse of this great river and
her waters. The new threats are far greater than any drought or flood in
their history of existence. 

Water diversion and development projects along the Mekong River and her
tributaries are threats not only to the Delta inhabitants' way of life,
fisheries and agricultural productivity, but to the river and Delta
ecosystems. Scientists and engineers around the world are concerned by the
environmental damage to the Delta being caused by development projects far
upstream. These projects include large-scale hydropower developments in
Yunnan [China] and in Laos, and the massive Mekong water diversion projects
proposed by Thailand. The economic costs and environmental consequences of
the projects, however, are being borne most heavily not only by local
inhabitants but also by those living and farming far down stream in the
Mekong Delta. These people have no voice in these decisions, and reap no
benefit from these projects. 

Alarm bells are now ringing in the Tonle Sap Lake and the Delta. The fish
catch in the Tonle Sap Lake in recent years has decreased by 50%. In
November 1998, the annual flood needed by the Delta farmers to control soil
acidity and saltwater intrusion did not arrive and the water level at Tan
Chau monitoring station, at the end of the rain season, fell to a 73-year
record. Accompanying the drastic reduction in Mekong water levels are
similar reductions in fishing harvests and loss of the Mekong's
nutrient-rich river sediments essential for productive rice farming and
crucial for shore erosion control. The water table in the delta is now
falling due to the shortage of river water available to recharge the
aquifer. Saltwater has invaded up to 70 km into the Mekong delta,
threatening to contaminate existing ground water supplies and to render
million of hectares of farmland unproductive. 

Existing and proposed water-diversion and hydropower dam projects will
alter the Mekong Basin's hydrologic cycle permanently. Upstream, thousands
of square kilometers of critical forest could be inundated due to
reservoirs. Downstream, the floodplain's croplands could be deprived of the
water and fertile silt supplied by the annual floods. Some 100,000 people
could be displaced. Experts around the world have established that if one
robs a river of its waters and alters its natural cycles, that river will
die. 

The fisheries, agricultural and environmental richness of the Tonle Sap
Lake and the Mekong Delta must be protected. Not only on behalf of Cambodia
and Vietnam, but on behalf of all the people of Southeast Asia. The Mekong
river - the world's last remaining major unobstructed riverine ecosystem-
must be preserved and the food security of 100 million poor people should
be safeguarded. 

We urge action now to safeguard the Mekong River and address this
declaration and petition to:

    The governments of China, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam 
    The United Nations Development Program and The Mekong River Commission 
    The World Bank 
    The Asian Development Bank 
    Donor Countries and International Aid Agencies 
    Multinational Corporations and Investors 

We call upon all national and international stakeholders, policymakers, and
residents of the Mekong Basin and Delta region to observe and uphold these
principles for the responsible development of the Mekong River Basin:

 1.	That a moratorium be instituted immediately against further Mekong
water-diversion, damming, and hydropower projects, and that the first
priority for national and international agencies be the establishment of
scientific baseline data on the Mekong, its hydrology, and its ecosystems. 
 2.	That a comprehensive environmental impact assessment will be required
for all Mekong projects and an environmental management system in
compliance with ISO 14000 series will be required from all Mekong projects
developers. The EIA's shall consider accumulative impacts of all proposed
projects and be carried out by independent and qualified scientists, free
from any conflict of interest and from the appearance of any conflict of
interest. 
 3.	That all Mekong development and diversion projects plans, regardless of
their sources of finance and ownership, must honor and grant the "right to
be educated" along with "the right to know" for all affected populations.
Affected populations must be provided with adequate information and
knowledge necessary to understand the project's design, review the costs
and benefits, and assess for themselves the long-term impacts of the project. 
 4.	That all affected populations throughout the basin, without regard to
national borders, have the right to participate in any project's "go or no
go" decision. 
 5.	That all agencies and authorities conduct their business on the
principles of transparency and full disclosure, that all development plans,
agreements, environmental baseline data, environmental impact assessment
reports, feasibility studies be made public and available for review by the
international scientific community, non-governmental organizations, and by
individual private citizens. 
 6.	That the development of all policies and decisions, project, and rules
and regulations of the Mekong River Commission and all member nation
agencies shall include a public participation program with guaranteed
freedom of expression and freedom of press. 
 7.	That developers, owners and development agencies be held responsible
for all planned and unplanned environmental losses and damages caused by
their projects and for the losses inflicted on properties, people's income
and means of livelihood. 
 8.	That the four Lower Mekong nations: Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and
Vietnam modify the 1995 Agreement to closely follow the language of the
United Nations' Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International
Watercourses of 1997; and that China and Myanmar join the above four lower
Mekong countries, and together negotiate an agreement for the delelopment
and protection of the Mekong in the 21st Century.

Considered and endorsed at: 
 
The Mekong River at Risk
The impact of development on the river, her delta, and her people
Saturday May 8, 1999
Ramada Plaza Hotel
10022 Garden Grove Blvd. in Garden Grove, CA. USA

by representatives of:

The Vietnamese American Science & Technology Society
The Mekong Forum
The Cambodian Association of America
The United Hometown Associations of Tien Giang and Hau Giang
International Rivers Network


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Aviva Imhof
South-East Asia Campaigner
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley CA 94703 USA
Tel: + 1 510 848 1155 (ext. 312), Fax: + 1 510 848 1008
Email: aviva@irn.org, Web: http://www.irn.org
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