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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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