June 5, 2000
Mr. James Wolfensohn
President
The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr. Wolfensohn,
We, the villagers affected by the Pak Mun Dam and Assembly of the Poor,
write to you from the fenced off car park and area around the crest of the
Pak Mun dam. One thousand of us have been living here since May 15, 2000 to
demand the dam’s flood gates be opened permanently to allow fish migrating
out of the Mekong to pass through to spawn upstream.
Ten years ago the World Bank and EGAT destroyed our livelihoods through the
construction of the Pak Mun dam. We were promised a better way of life but instead our fisheries were decimated and our communities destroyed. Over the past ten years we have learnt that compensation will not solve our problems and will only cause new problems. We believe that the only way forward for our communities is for the dam to be decommissioned and the river restored.
The World Commission on Dams (WCD) Summary for Forum: March 24, 2000, found that “the actual [fish] catch in the reservoir and to a lesser extent also the river reach immediately upstream of the reservoir is 60% to 80% less than in the pre-dam era. The unexpected impacts of Pak Mun dam included dramatic decrease in fish species, fish abundance and productivity; lower fishing income for the households and changes in fishing occupation, fishing pattern, food expense, and the resultant social, economic and political consequences. The Pak Mun dam has affected aquatic biodiversity and relative abundance of fish populations up and down stream of the dam. The head pond has inundated and destroyed significant spawning habitat habitats such as rapids.”
The Summary for Forum also said "it is now clear that the fish ladder is not
accommodating seasonal fish migration from the Mekong River into Mun/Chi
Watershed. The Pak Mun dam, with only 136 MW installed capacity, de facto
seals off a catchment area of 117,000 square km. Fish migration only takes
place in flood period, usual in August and September, when the flood gates
are sometimes open. However the peak fish migration period is from May to
June, at the start of rainy season. Of the 265 species record in the Mun
watershed before 1994, 77 species were migratory. Furthermore 35 species
depended on rapid habitat by the Pak Mun reservoir. The latest survey after
dam construction record only 96 species upstream of the dam. There has been
an apparent impact on 169 fish species."
According to the Summary Report, the 136 MW Pak Mun scheme was designed to operate as peaking plant, using the storage of the reservoir for daily
operation. During wet months Pak Mun cannot turbine the whole daily in flow
in the 4 hours peak demand period and must generate power in off-peak hours
as well. When the water levels in the Mekong are very high, the power plant
will be shutdown for lack of generating head.
Inspection of Pak Mun’s monthly energy generation value indicate that in
April and May, which are the most critical month in terms of power system> demand and hydro availability, not more than about 5 GWh is produced. If
this output is spread evenly over the 4 hours peaking period, the equivalent
capacity is about 40 MW.
The WCD report said that the economic rate of return of the dam is between
4.6 to 5.6%, less than the projected 12%.
Moreover, the WCD found that the actual irrigations benefit are zero.
Therefore, we call on the World Bank to take responsibility for the
destruction you have caused to our lives and to the ecology and fisheries of
the Mun River. We demand the World Bank work with the Thai government to decommission Pak Mun dam by opening the flood gates permanently and
restoring the Mun River.
Yours sincerely,
Affected villagers by Pak Mun Dam and Assembly of the Poor