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dam-l LS: Solution to Pak Mun proposed
The Nation, June 7, 2000
Solution to Pak Mool conflict proposed
THE Pak Mool Dam's gates would be opened at
least three months a year, and protesters would
immediately allow maintenance to the dam under
a proposal offered yesterday by a committee
seeking solutions to the conflict.
The proposal was announced in Bangkok following
a meeting of the neutral committee established by
the government to find a solution to the
three-week-long stand-off.
Protesters and officials from the Electricity
Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) will
discuss the proposal on Monday, committee head
Banthorn Ondum said.
"Both sides have to take one step backward on
their demands," said committee spokesman
Anuchart Puangsamlee, dean of Mahidol
University's faculty of environment and natural
resources.
The protesters have demanded that the dam
gates be opened all year to let fish swim upstream
and spawn. Mostly fish farmers, the protesters
claim the dam has disrupted the migration and
spawning of fish in the Pak Mool River since its
completion in 1994.
However, Egat has refused their demands, and
insisted the impact on the river's fish has been
minimal.
If the compromise solution is agreed to by both
sides, the protesters must allow Egat workers into
the dam site for maintenance and the operation of
its power generator, Anuchart said. The protesters
seized the dam's power plant on May 15.
In return, Egat must open all of the dam's gates
during the rainy season, when most fish migrate to
the area.
In addition, both sides must refrain from escalating
the conflict in any way. Egat has been accused of
conducting a smear campaign against the
protesters in the media, and of trying to rally other
villagers to confront the protesters at the dam.
However, the government will have the final say on
whether any solution is accepted or rejected,
Banthorn said. The committee's authority is limited
to suggesting solutions to the government, he
said.
The committee was established on Friday by the
order of Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister
Banyat Banthadthan. It must deliver a progress
report to Banyat within five days of its
establishment.
The committee was given the responsibility of
reviewing all 16 mega-development projects which
might have adversely affected residents, including
dams and forestry projects.
To respond to the most urgent cases, three
sub-committees were established yesterday to
work on specific cases: the Pak Mool, Rasi Salai
and Hua Na dams.
Another committee member, water-resource
management expert Prakob Virojkut of Ubon
Ratchathani University, said there is no proof that
opening the Pak Mool Dam's gates will enable fish
to migrate upstream to spawn.
"But I personally believed that the fish can go
upstream if we allow them," he said.
In any case, opening the gates will be a valuable
experiment for the country, Anuchart said.
"This case will be a big learning step for our
society. We are trying to seek a way out of the
structural problems, not only the dam problem," he
said.
BY PENNAPA HONGTHONG,
PONGSAK BAI-NGERN and
PIYANART SRIVALO
The Nation
LAST MODIFIED: Tuesday, 06-Jun-00 11:49:22
EDT
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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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