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<!DOCTYPE html><html xmlns:og="http://opengraphprotocol.org/schema/" lang="en-US"><head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta name="HandheldFriendly" content="True"> <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no, width=device-width"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:title" content="Sanakham Dam Sparks Fear and Anguish Along the Thai-Lao Border "><meta property="twitter:title" content="Sanakham Dam Sparks Fear and Anguish Along the Thai-Lao Border "><meta name="description" content="A long-dreaded dam project on Laos’ side of the border is moving forward, despite opposition from locals."><meta property="og:description" content="A long-dreaded dam project on Laos’ side of the border is moving forward, despite opposition from locals."><meta property="twitter:description" content="A long-dreaded dam project on Laos’ side of the border is moving forward, despite opposition from locals."><meta property="og:image"" content="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192915.jpg"><meta property="twitter:image"" content="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192915.jpg"><meta name="url" itemprop="url" content="https://thediplomat.com/2025/02/sanakham-dam-sparks-fear-and-anguish-along-the-thai-lao-border/"><meta property="og:url" content="https://thediplomat.com/2025/02/sanakham-dam-sparks-fear-and-anguish-along-the-thai-lao-border/"><meta property="twitter:url" content="https://thediplomat.com/2025/02/sanakham-dam-sparks-fear-and-anguish-along-the-thai-lao-border/"><meta name="keywords" content="Environment,Southeast Asia,Laos,Thailand,Dams in the Mekong,Laos dams,Laos Mekong,Mekong hydropower,Mekong River dams,Mekong sustainability,Sanakham dam,Thailand dams,Thailand Mekong,Xayaburi Dam"/><meta name="news_keywords" content="Environment,Southeast Asia,Laos,Thailand,Dams in the Mekong,Laos dams,Laos Mekong,Mekong hydropower,Mekong River dams,Mekong sustainability,Sanakham dam,Thailand dams,Thailand Mekong,Xayaburi Dam"/><meta property="article:tag" content="Environment"/><meta property="article:tag" content="Southeast Asia"/><meta property="article:tag" content="Laos"/><meta property="article:tag" content="Thailand"/><meta property="article:tag" content="Dams in the Mekong"/><meta property="article:tag" content="Laos dams"/><meta property="article:tag" content="Laos Mekong"/><meta property="article:tag" content="Mekong hydropower"/><meta property="article:tag" content="Mekong River dams"/><meta property="article:tag" content="Mekong sustainability"/><meta property="article:tag" content="Sanakham dam"/><meta property="article:tag" content="Thailand dams"/><meta property="article:tag" content="Thailand Mekong"/><meta property="article:tag" content="Xayaburi Dam"/><meta property="og:type" content="article"><meta property="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "NewsArticle","headline": "Sanakham Dam Sparks Fear and Anguish Along the Thai-Lao Border ","description": "A long-dreaded dam project on Laos’ side of the border is moving forward, despite opposition from locals.","image": [{"@context": "https://schema.org/","@type": "ImageObject","contentUrl":"https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192915.jpg","caption": "An anti-dam protest at the Mekong School in Chiang Khong, Thailand.","creditText": "Chiang Khong Conservation","copyrightNotice": "Chiang Khong Conservation","representativeOfPage": "True" }], "datePublished": "2025-02-14T04:23:00Z","dateModified": "2025-02-20T00:49:02Z","copyrightYear": "2025","author": [{"@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Fawthrop", "url": "https://thediplomat.com/authors/tom-fawthrop/"}],"publisher": {"@id": "https://thediplomat.com/#publisher","name": "The Diplomat","legalName": "Diplomat Media Inc.","description": "Asia-Pacific’s leading current affairs magazine.","url": "https://thediplomat.com","email": "support@thediplomat.com","logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/themes/td_theme_v3/assets/logo/diplomat_logo_amp.jpg", "width": 600, "height": 60 },"sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/diplomatmagazine", "https://twitter.com/Diplomat_APAC", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-diplomat" ]},"isAccessibleForFree": "False","hasPart": { "@type": "WebPageElement", "isAccessibleForFree": "False", "cssSelector" : ".jsonld-markup-paywall-content" },"articleBody": "In Chiang Khan, a picturesque Thai tourist town bordering the Mekong River, the new year brought dark forebodings of a hydropower project slated to be installed just 2 kilometers away in neighboring Laos. Thanusilp Inda, the head of Ban Klang village in Chiang Khan, expressed his anxiety over the future. “The Sanakham dam will be a disaster for ecology and fish, it will cause worse flooding,” he told the Diplomat. Just before Christmas, the Thai government’s Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) under the Office of the Prime Minister announced that the Mekong River Commission consultation process would suddenly go ahead, despite warnings from The Thai Human Rights Commission (THRC) to exercise caution. In a letter sent to Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in November 2024, the THRC advised against any hasty action until a thorough assessment was completed of the transboundary impacts on Thai people and their livelihoods. The report cited a wide range of impacts, including flooding and erosion of riverbanks, that will damage two important tourist sites in Thailand: Kaeng Khut Khu in Chiang Khan District and Phan Khot Saen in Nong Khai Province. [caption id=attachment_282450 align=aligncenter width=4000] A panorama of the Laos-Thailand border, looking from the Thai side of the border across the Mekong River to Laos. Photo by Tom Fawthrop.[/caption] The 684 MW Sanakham hydroelectric dam project across the Mekong River, close to the Thai-Lao border in Chiang Khan District, Loei Province, will cost an estimated $2.07 billion. The dam, if completed, will directly impact three of the eight provinces of Thailand that border the Mekong. It is listed by the Mekong River Commission as the sixth hydropower dam on the lower Mekong proposed by the Lao government. Two out of the six projects in the pipeline are now operating, and a third, the Luang Prabang Dam, is under construction. The debt-ridden government of Laos claims that their dam-building spree will boost their economy by positioning Laos as the so-called “battery of the region,” selling electricity to neighboring countries. However, Mekong scientists and fishery experts say the dams will choke the natural free-flowing currents of the river, undermining its rich biodiversity. [caption id=attachment_282447 align=alignleft width=462] A map of the Mekong River dams that are operational (in red) and in planning (yellow). Courtesy of International Rivers.[/caption] Thailand plays a pivotal role in funding and supporting nearly all these lower Mekong mainstream dams. (Separately, China has completed 12 dams on the Lancang, aka the upper Mekong.) Gulf Energy is the major Thai investor in the Sanakham and the Pak Beng dams on the lower Mekong, in a joint venture partnership with Chinese partner, Datang Investment Overseas. Civil Society Fights for a Voice On January 21, the Thai government held the third round of the dam consultation under the Mekong River Commission’s Prior Consultation mechanism. In the Sunai Hotel in Ubon Ratchachani, conservation-minded NGOs and civil society clashed with the Thai government’s commercial interests in exploiting the Mekong River’s water resources. Ubon Flood Watch and Mekong River Network groups booked a room in the same hotel, hoping to stage a parallel alternative forum. Thai government officials were not happy about the competition, and proceeded to order the hotel management to cancel the booking of the parallel Sanakham dam forum. Professor Kanokwan Manorom, the director of the Greater Mekong Subregion Social Research Center at Ubon Ratchathani University, attended the ONWR forum. She observed there was a lack of concrete data and an attempt to present the impacts on Thai people as only superficial. As Manorom told Transborder News, “The Sanakham Dam will cause severe impacts on hydrology, ecology, society, economy, culture, and livelihoods.” In addition, she noted that “68 villages in Loei Province and 47 villages in Nong Khai Province, with a population of 70,000, will be the worst affected, as they lie within a 15-kilometer radius of the project. But this was not made clear and transparent by the ONWR forum.” Neither the ONWR nor Gulf Energy responded to a request for comment from The Diplomat. After the cancellation of the parallel civil society forum, about 200 activists from Ubon Ratchachani province held a peaceful protest inside the hotel, wearing green shirts and carrying placards with messages like “Stop the Mekong River Dam, and “Stop the Fake Consultation.” [caption id=attachment_282445 align=aligncenter width=4459] An anti-dam protest outside the Mekong School in Chiang Khong, on the Thai side of the Mekong River. Courtesy of Chiang Khong Conservation Group.[/caption] Brian Eyler an expert on transboundary issues in the Mekong region at the U.S.-based Stimson Foundation, told The Diplomat, “In this case, not enough time was given to local people, and I fear this looks like a rush job that will have negative unintended consequences. So it behooves the Thai ONWR to execute a more well thought-out consultation process.” The fourth and final ONWR forum is scheduled for Bueng Kan on February 14. This will pave the way for Mekong River Commission Regional Stakeholder Forums. However, NGOs complain that all of these forums limit debate and do not permit questions about why this dam is needed, who benefits, and whether the project should be canceled. The Legacy of the Xayaburi Dam Many opponents of the new dam point to the damage already caused by the Xayaburi dam in Laos since operations started in 2019. It lies about 200 km upstream of the Lao-Thai border at Chiang Khan. The leader of the Chiang Khan Fishermen’s Group, Prayoon Saen-ae, told The Diplomat, “After the Xayaburi opened its gates [in 2019], we suffered huge impacts. The erratic ups and downs of the water, the fluctuations created confusion for the fish.” Channarong Wongla, a leader of the Rak Chiang Khan (“Love Chiang Khan”) Conservation Group, recalled, “We used to have more than 100 species of fish. Now it is reduced to 20 species in the last six years.” [caption id=attachment_282449 align=aligncenter width=5984] The Xayaburi Dam, which was completed in 2019. Photo supplied by Poyry Hydropower Company.[/caption] The 1,285 MW Xayaburi Dam was the first to be built on the lower Mekong, at a cost of $4.5 billion. It was funded by the four biggest Thai banks, and 95 percent of the electricity has been exported to Thailand since operations began in 2019. Channarong urged the ONWR-organized forum in Chiang Khan: “We must have a full accounting of the impacts of the Xayaburi dam on Thai people and their way of life first, before we consider a new dam.” He did not receive any answer. Neither the Thai National Mekong Committee (TNMC) nor the ONWR has ever called for an independent review of the damage done by the Xayaburi Dam. However, we do know that the backwater impact caused so much bank erosion around the World Heritage site of Luang Prabang that it necessitated a World Bank-funded restoration project, at the request of UNESCO. [caption id=attachment_282451 align=aligncenter width=3784] A Chiang Khan fisherman. Fish catches have already declined in the area since the completion of the Xayaburi Dam. Locals fear the additional impact of a dam at Sanakham. Photo by Saranya Aey Senaves.[/caption] Can Thailand’s Impoverished Thwart the Plan of Bangkok’s Energy Elite? In response to their critics, the Thai Government and the dam developers have defended investment in Mekong dams as part of a low carbon policy providing a “green and clean” alternatives to fossil fuels. Thailand’s National Energy Plan (NEP), a blueprint for the country’s energy strategy from 2023-2037, declares its main goal is to increase the use of clean, renewable energy and an expansion of solar energy and wind power. But in spite of increasing solar power, Thailand will still buy many more kilowatts from Mekong dams as a major component of the country’s energy mix. However the Thai government’s defence of hydropower as a source of “clean renewable energy” is challenged by U.N. climate change research that revealed large dams cause equally harmful methane gases. At COP29, the U.N. climate change conference in 2024, 159 countries signed up to the Global Methane Pledge. Thailand and Laos declined to join them. Thailand’s energy policy decisions – including its backing of hydropower projects in Laos – are made by a small group of government ministers, wealthy private investors, and energy technocrats. The Nikkei Asia Review profile of Gulf Energy’s CEO Sarath Ratanavadi depicted this corporate high-flyer as Thailand’s “energy king.” He has a net worth of $14.4 billion, according to Forbes. His company is a major investor in both the Sanakham and Pak Beng Dams. What chance do Thailand’s poor fisherfolk and low-income citizens have to influence decision-making on a dam that could damage their crops, reduce their fish catch, and erode their livelihoods? [caption id=attachment_282448 align=aligncenter width=4000] Upstream dams have drastically reduced fish catches, forcing many fisherfolk to look for work in towns. Photo by Tom Fawthrop.[/caption] Brian Eyler, author of “The Last Days of the Mighty Mekong,” acknowledges the fight over Sanakham Dam is a very unequal contest. “This indeed is a David versus Goliath story, but we all know how this story entails bravery, defiance, and strength of the underdog. Fair fight or not, it’s a fight worth standing up for.” He added, “There can be no unified Thai [national] interest in this dam or any dam, where there are divergent and conflicting interests.” Gulf’s website points to a possible solution to avoid confrontation. Thailand‘s largest energy supplier proclaims “Gulf is a leader in the solar energy business.” The company directly holds equity in solar and wind farms in Vietnam, with a total capacity of 245.8 MW. They also hold a 50 percent stake in a solar project in Borkum Riftgrund, Germany with a capacity of 464.8 MW. Why not replace plans for Mekong dam projects with much safer and more cost-effective solar energy and wind power? These energy sources are already operational in Thailand, with a total capacity of 600 kilowatts so far. That just happens to be incredibly close to the 684 KW expected from the generation of the Sanakham Dam, but without all the risks and conflict that accompany hydropower. Emeritus Professor of Human Geography Dr Philip Hirsch has concluded after 40 years of Mekong research that “big dams are obsolete. There are so many options for cheaper alternative energy. There is no reason to build a dam on the Mekong or any river these days.” But Premrudee Daoroung, the coordinator of Project Sevana Mekong’s Culture and Environment, is not optimistic that rational arguments and analysis will win the day. As she sees it, “There is more than enough science and wisdom that proves the serious damage from these transboundary impacts, but not enough political will to apply the science to stop the dams.”  ","inLanguage": "en"}</script> <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://thediplomat.com/#publisher", "name": "The Diplomat", "legalName": "Diplomat Media Inc.", "description": "Asia-Pacific’s leading current affairs magazine.", "url": "https://thediplomat.com", "email": "support@thediplomat.com", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/themes/td_theme_v3/assets/logo/diplomat_logo_amp.jpg", "width": 600, "height": 60 }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/diplomatmagazine", "https://twitter.com/Diplomat_APAC", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-diplomat" ] } </script> <title>Sanakham Dam Sparks Fear and Anguish Along the Thai-Lao Border – The Diplomat</title> <link rel='preconnect' 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id="td-story-head"> <h3 id="td-kicker"> <a href="https://thediplomat.com/category/features/"><span>Features</span></a><span> | </span><a href="https://thediplomat.com/topics/environment/" class="td-secondary">Environment</a><span> | </span><a href="https://thediplomat.com/regions/southeast-asia/" class="td-secondary">Southeast Asia</a> </h3> <h1 id="td-headline"> Sanakham Dam Sparks Fear and Anguish Along the Thai-Lao Border </h1> <div id="td-lead"><p>A long-dreaded dam project on Laos’ side of the border is moving forward, despite opposition from locals.</p> </div> <div id="td-meta"> <aside class="td-story-meta__img"> <figure class="td-img"><img alt="Tom Fawthrop" title="Tom Fawthrop" sizes="58px" srcset="https://images.thediplomat.com/v1/td-list-xs-1/2020/06/thediplomat-2020-06-04-3.jpg 58w, https://images.thediplomat.com/v1/td-list-xs-2/2020/06/thediplomat-2020-06-04-3.jpg 116w" src="https://images.thediplomat.com/v1/td-list-xs-1/2020/06/thediplomat-2020-06-04-3.jpg"></figure> </aside> <div class="td-story-meta__main"> <div class="td-author">By <a href="https://thediplomat.com/authors/tom-fawthrop/" ><span>Tom Fawthrop</span></a></div> <div class="td-date">February 14, 2025</div> </div> <aside class="td-share"> <a title="Share on LinkedIn" class="td-share__btn td-share__btn--in" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthediplomat.com%2F2025%2F02%2Fsanakham-dam-sparks-fear-and-anguish-along-the-thai-lao-border%2F&title=Sanakham+Dam+Sparks+Fear+and+Anguish+Along+the+Thai-Lao+Border%C2%A0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> <svg height="48" viewBox="0 0 48 48" width="48" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M14.2,38.9H7.1V16h7.1V38.9z M10.7,12.9c-2.3,0-4.1-1.8-4.1-4.1s1.8-4.1,4.1-4.1s4.1,1.8,4.1,4.1C14.8,11,13,12.9,10.7,12.9z M40.9,38.9h-7.1V27.8c0-2.7,0-6.1-3.7-6.1s-4.3,2.9-4.3,5.9v11.3h-7.1V16h6.8v3.1h0.1c0.9-1.8,3.3-3.7,6.7-3.7c7.2,0,8.5,4.7,8.5,10.9L40.9,38.9z"/></svg> </a> <a title="Share on Facebook" 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Thai-Lao Border " sizes="(min-width: 1320px and min-resolution: 100dpi) 1892px, (min-width: 1320px) 946px, (min-width: 1158px and min-resolution: 100dpi) 1568px, (min-width: 1158px) 784px, (min-width: 996px and min-resolution: 100dpi) 1244px, (min-width: 996px) 622px, calc(100vw - 48px)" srcset="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192915.jpg 300w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192915.jpg 300w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192915.jpg 600w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192915.jpg 622w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192915.jpg 784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192915.jpg 946w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium_large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192915.jpg 1244w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192915.jpg 1568w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-xl-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192915.jpg 1892w" src="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192915.jpg"></div><figcaption class="td-caption"><p>An anti-dam protest at the Mekong School in Chiang Khong, Thailand.</p> <span>Credit: Chiang Khong Conservation</span></figcaption></figure> <aside id="ad-publift-body-before" class="td-ad-container--labeled"> <a href="/subscriptions/" class="td-no-ad-link tda-link tda-nowrap">Subscribe for ads-free reading</a> </aside> <section id="tda-gated-body" class="td-23-story-body td-prose tda-gated tda-gated--locked" data-pid="p282444"> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Chiang Khan, a picturesque Thai tourist town bordering the Mekong River, the new year brought dark forebodings of a hydropower project slated to be installed just 2 kilometers away in neighboring Laos</span><b>.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thanusilp Inda, the head of Ban Klang village in Chiang Khan, expressed his anxiety over the future. “The Sanakham dam will be a disaster for ecology and fish, it will cause worse flooding,</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">”</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> he told the Diplomat.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just before Christmas, the Thai government’s Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) under the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_the_Prime_Minister_(Thailand)"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Office of the Prime Minister</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">announced that the Mekong River Commission consultation process would suddenly go ahead, despite warnings from</span><a href="https://www.mymekong.org/document/lettertopm/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Thai Human Rights Commission</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(THRC) to exercise caution.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a letter sent to Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in November 2024, the THRC advised against any hasty action until a thorough assessment was completed of the transboundary impacts on Thai people and their livelihoods.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The report cited a wide range of impacts, including flooding and erosion of riverbanks, that will damage two important tourist sites in Thailand: Kaeng Khut Khu in Chiang Khan District and Phan Khot Saen in Nong Khai Province.</span></p> <div id="attachment_282450" class="wp-caption aligncenter size-full wp-image-282450"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-282450" class="size-full wp-image-282450" src="https://manage.thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg" alt="" width="4000" height="3000" srcset="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 4000w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 462w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium_large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 624w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 924w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 300w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 600w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 622w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 946w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 1244w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-xl-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 4000px) 100vw, 4000px" /><p id="caption-attachment-282450" class="wp-caption-text">A panorama of the Laos-Thailand border, looking from the Thai side of the border across the Mekong River to Laos. Photo by Tom Fawthrop.</p></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 684 MW Sanakham hydroelectric dam project across the Mekong River, close to the Thai-Lao border in Chiang Khan District, Loei Province, will cost an estimated $2.07 billion. The dam, if completed, will directly impact three of the eight provinces of Thailand that border the Mekong.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is listed by the Mekong River Commission as the sixth hydropower dam on the lower Mekong proposed by the Lao government. Two out of the six projects in the pipeline are now operating, and a third,</span><a href="https://thediplomat.com/2023/03/the-last-days-of-beautiful-luang-prabang/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">the Luang Prabang Dam</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, is under construction.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The debt-ridden government of Laos claims that their dam-building spree will boost their economy by positioning Laos as the so-called “battery of the region,” selling electricity to neighboring countries.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, Mekong scientists and fishery experts say the dams will choke the natural free-flowing currents of the river, undermining its rich biodiversity. </span></p> <div id="attachment_282447" class="wp-caption alignleft wp-image-282447 size-medium"><a href="https://www.internationalrivers.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/86/2020/08/map_mekong_english_resize-scaled.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-282447" class="wp-image-282447 size-medium" src="https://manage.thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg" alt="" width="462" height="775" srcset="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 462w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium_large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 624w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 924w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 300w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 600w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 622w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 946w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 1244w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 1526w" sizes="(max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-282447" class="wp-caption-text">A map of the Mekong River dams that are operational (in red) and in planning (yellow). Courtesy of International Rivers.</p></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thailand plays a pivotal role in funding and supporting nearly all these lower Mekong mainstream dams. (Separately, China has completed 12 dams on the Lancang, aka the upper Mekong.)</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gulf Energy is the major Thai investor in the Sanakham and the Pak Beng dams on the lower Mekong, in a joint venture partnership with Chinese partner,</span><a href="https://www.china-cdt.com/dtwzen/International/2024/9/I1288553709390790656.html"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Datang Investment Overseas</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p> <p><b>Civil Society Fights for a Voice</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On January 21, the Thai government held the third round of the dam consultation under the</span><a href="https://www.mrcmekong.org/news_and_events_cat/pnpca-prior-consultations/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Mekong River Commission’s Prior Consultation mechanism.</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">In the Sunai Hotel in Ubon Ratchachani, conservation-minded NGOs and civil society clashed with the Thai government’s commercial interests in exploiting the Mekong River’s water resources.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ubon Flood Watch and Mekong River Network groups booked a room in the same hotel, hoping to stage a parallel alternative forum. Thai government officials were not happy about the competition, and proceeded to order the hotel management to</span><a href="https://transbordernews.in.th/home/?p=41122ONWR%20%20closed%20own%20venue%20of%20alternative%20forum"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">cancel the booking of the parallel Sanakham dam forum</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Professor Kanokwan Manorom, the director of the Greater Mekong Subregion Social Research Center at Ubon Ratchathani University, attended the</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">ONWR forum. She observed there was a lack of concrete data and an attempt to present the impacts on Thai people as only superficial.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As Manorom told Transborder News</span><b>,</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> “</span><a href="https://transbordernews.in.th/home/?p=41144"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Sanakham Dam</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> will cause severe impacts on hydrology, ecology, society, economy, culture, and livelihoods.” In addition, she noted that “68 villages in Loei Province and 47 villages in Nong Khai Province, with a population of 70,000, will be the worst affected, as they lie within a 15-kilometer radius of the project. But this was not made clear and transparent by the ONWR forum.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Neither the ONWR nor Gulf Energy responded to a request for comment from The Diplomat.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After the cancellation of the parallel civil society forum, about 200 activists from Ubon Ratchachani province held a peaceful protest inside the hotel, wearing green shirts and carrying placards with messages like “Stop the Mekong River Dam, and “</span><a href="https://transbordernews.in.th/home/?p=41122ONWR%20%20closed%20own%20venue%20of%20alternative%20forum"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stop the Fake Consultation.”</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p> <div id="attachment_282445" class="wp-caption aligncenter size-full wp-image-282445"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-282445" class="size-full wp-image-282445" src="https://manage.thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg" alt="" width="4459" height="2445" srcset="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 4459w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 462w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium_large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 624w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 924w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 300w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 600w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 622w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 946w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 1244w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-xl-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 4459px) 100vw, 4459px" /><p id="caption-attachment-282445" class="wp-caption-text">An anti-dam protest outside the Mekong School in Chiang Khong, on the Thai side of the Mekong River. Courtesy of Chiang Khong Conservation Group.</p></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brian Eyler an expert on transboundary issues in the Mekong region at the U.S.-based Stimson Foundation, told The Diplomat, “In this case, not enough time was given to local people, and I fear this looks like a rush job that will have negative unintended consequences. So it behooves the Thai ONWR to execute a more well thought-out consultation process.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The fourth and final ONWR forum </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">is scheduled for Bueng Kan on February 14. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">This will pave the way for Mekong River Commission Regional Stakeholder Forums. However, NGOs complain that all of these forums limit debate and do not permit questions about why this dam is needed, who benefits, and whether the project should be canceled.</span></p> <p><b>The Legacy of the Xayaburi Dam</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many opponents of the new dam point to the damage already caused by the Xayaburi dam in Laos since operations started in 2019. It lies about 200 km upstream of the Lao-Thai border at Chiang Khan. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The leader of the Chiang Khan Fishermen’s Group, Prayoon Saen-ae, told The Diplomat, “After the Xayaburi opened its gates [in 2019], we suffered huge impacts. The erratic ups and downs of the water, the fluctuations created confusion for the fish.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Channarong Wongla, a leader of the </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rak Chiang Khan</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (“Love Chiang Khan”) Conservation Group, recalled, “We used to have more than 100 species of fish. Now it is reduced to 20 species in the last six years.” </span></p> <div id="attachment_282449" class="wp-caption aligncenter size-full wp-image-282449"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-282449" class="size-full wp-image-282449" src="https://manage.thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg" alt="" width="5984" height="3993" srcset="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 5984w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 462w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium_large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 624w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 924w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 300w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 600w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 622w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 946w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 1244w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-xl-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 5984px) 100vw, 5984px" /><p id="caption-attachment-282449" class="wp-caption-text">The Xayaburi Dam, which was completed in 2019. Photo supplied by Poyry Hydropower Company.</p></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 1,285 MW </span><a href="https://thediplomat.com/tag/xayaburi-dam/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Xayaburi Dam</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> was the first to be built on the lower Mekong, at a cost of $4.5 billion. It was funded by the four biggest Thai banks, and 95 percent of the electricity has been exported to Thailand since operations began in 2019.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Channarong urged the ONWR-organized forum in Chiang Khan: “We must have a full accounting of the impacts of the Xayaburi dam on Thai people and their way of life first, before we consider a new dam.” He did not receive any answer.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Neither the Thai National Mekong Committee (TNMC) nor the ONWR has ever called for an independent review of the </span><a href="https://thediplomat.com/2024/02/where-have-all-the-mekong-rivers-fish-gone/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">damage done by the Xayaburi Dam</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, we do know that the backwater impact caused so much bank erosion around the World Heritage site of Luang Prabang that it necessitated </span><a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/532081576551721018/pdf/Lao-People-s-Democratic-Republic-Southeast-Asia-Disaster-Risk-Management-Project-Additional-Financing.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">a World Bank-funded restoration project</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, at the request of UNESCO.</span></p> <div id="attachment_282451" class="wp-caption aligncenter size-full wp-image-282451"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-282451" class="size-full wp-image-282451" src="https://manage.thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg" alt="" width="3784" height="2480" srcset="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 3784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 462w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium_large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 624w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 924w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 300w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 600w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 622w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 946w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 1244w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-xl-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 3784px) 100vw, 3784px" /><p id="caption-attachment-282451" class="wp-caption-text">A Chiang Khan fisherman. Fish catches have already declined in the area since the completion of the <span style="font-weight: 400;">Xayaburi Dam. Locals fear the additional impact of a dam at Sanakham.</span> Photo by Saranya Aey Senaves.</p></div> <p><b>Can Thailand’s Impoverished Thwart the Plan of Bangkok’s Energy Elite?</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In response to their critics, the Thai Government and the dam developers have defended investment in Mekong dams as part of a low carbon policy providing a “green and clean” alternatives to fossil fuels.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thailand’s National Energy Plan (NEP), a blueprint for the country’s energy strategy from 2023-2037, declares its main goal is to increase the use of clean, renewable energy and</span><a href="https://www.nationthailand.com/sustaination/40041788"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">an expansion of solar energy and wind power</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But in spite of increasing solar power, Thailand will still buy many more kilowatts from Mekong dams as a major component of the country’s energy mix.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However the Thai government’s defence of hydropower as a source of “clean renewable energy” is challenged by U.N. climate change research that revealed large dams cause</span><a href="https://www.mekongeye.com/2024/06/03/dams-truly-green"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">equally harmful methane gases</span></a><b>. </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">At COP29, the U.N. climate change conference in 2024, 159 countries signed up to the</span><a href="http://www.globalmethanepledge.org"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Global Methane Pledge.</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Thailand and Laos declined to join them.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thailand’s energy policy decisions – including its backing of hydropower projects in Laos – are made by a small group of government ministers, wealthy private investors, and energy technocrats.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Nikkei Asia Review profile of Gulf Energy’s CEO Sarath Ratanavadi depicted this corporate high-flyer as Thailand’s “</span><a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/Thailand-s-billionaire-boom-the-rise-of-Sarath-Ratanavadi"><span style="font-weight: 400;">energy king</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.” He has a net worth of $14.4 billion, according to</span><a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/sarath-ratanavadi/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Forbes</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. His company is a major investor in both the Sanakham and Pak Beng Dams.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What chance do Thailand’s poor fisherfolk and low-income citizens have to influence decision-making on a dam that could damage their crops, reduce their fish catch, and erode their livelihoods? </span></p> <div id="attachment_282448" class="wp-caption aligncenter size-full wp-image-282448"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-282448" class="size-full wp-image-282448" src="https://manage.thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg" alt="" width="4000" height="3000" srcset="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 4000w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 462w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium_large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 624w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 924w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 300w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 600w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 622w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 946w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 1244w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-xl-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 4000px) 100vw, 4000px" /><p id="caption-attachment-282448" class="wp-caption-text">Upstream dams have drastically reduced fish catches, forcing many fisherfolk to look for work in towns. Photo by Tom Fawthrop.</p></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brian Eyler, author of “The</span><a href="https://thediplomat.com/2019/03/are-we-seeing-the-mekong-rivers-last-days/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Last Days of the Mighty Mekong</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">,” acknowledges the fight over Sanakham Dam is a very unequal contest. “This indeed is a David versus Goliath story, but we all know how this story entails bravery, defiance, and strength of the underdog. Fair fight or not, it’s a fight worth standing up for.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He added, “There can be no unified Thai [national] interest in this dam or any dam, where there are divergent and conflicting interests.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gulf’s website points to a possible solution to avoid confrontation. Thailand‘s largest energy supplier proclaims “Gulf is a leader in the</span><a href="https://www.gulf.co.th/solar/en/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">solar energy business</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.” The company directly holds equity in solar and wind farms in Vietnam, with a total capacity of 245.8 MW. They also hold a 50 percent stake in a solar project in Borkum Riftgrund, Germany with a capacity of 464.8 MW.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why not replace plans for Mekong dam projects with much safer and more cost-effective solar energy and wind power? These energy sources are already</span><a href="https://www.gulf.co.th/en/renewables.php"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">operational in Thailand</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, with a total capacity of 600 kilowatts so far. That just happens to be incredibly close to the 684 KW expected from the generation of the Sanakham Dam, but without all the risks and conflict that accompany hydropower</span><b>.</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Emeritus Professor of Human Geography Dr Philip Hirsch has concluded after 40 years of Mekong research that “big dams are obsolete. There are so many options for cheaper alternative energy. There is no reason to build a dam on the Mekong or any river these days.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But Premrudee Daoroung, the coordinator of Project Sevana</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ProjectSEVANA"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Mekong’s Culture and Environment,</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is not optimistic that rational arguments and analysis will win the day. As</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">she sees it, “There is more than enough science and wisdom that proves the serious damage from these transboundary impacts, but not enough political will to apply the science to stop the dams.”</span></p> <p> </p> </section> <aside id="tda-gated-appendix" class="tda-gated-appendix"> <div class="tda-gated-login"><b>Already have an account? <label for="td-account-modal_trigger" class="tda-link tda-nowrap">Log in</label>.</b></div> <div class="tda-gated-box"> <div class="tda-gated-box__ribbon">You have reached the limit of <b>4 free articles</b> this month.</div> <div class="tda-gated-box__main"> <h2>Get to the bottom of the story</h2> <p>Understand the Asia-Pacific's biggest issues with a <i class="tda-nowrap">The Diplomat</i> subscription.</p> </div> <div class="tda-gated-box__footer"> <a href="/subscriptions" class="tda-button tda-width--full">Subscribe Now</a> <a href="/subscriptions" class="tda-button tda-button--ghost tda-width--full">View <span class="td-hide--m">Subscription </span>Options</a> <p class="tda-gated-login">Already have an account? <label for="td-account-modal_trigger" class="tda-link tda-nowrap">Log in</label>.</p> </div> </div> </aside> <aside id="tda-gated-counter"></aside> <aside hidden> <div data-type="text/html" id="app_story_content" class="jsonld-markup-paywall-content" style="display: none;"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Chiang Khan, a picturesque Thai tourist town bordering the Mekong River, the new year brought dark forebodings of a hydropower project slated to be installed just 2 kilometers away in neighboring Laos</span><b>.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thanusilp Inda, the head of Ban Klang village in Chiang Khan, expressed his anxiety over the future. “The Sanakham dam will be a disaster for ecology and fish, it will cause worse flooding,</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">”</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> he told the Diplomat.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just before Christmas, the Thai government’s Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) under the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_the_Prime_Minister_(Thailand)"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Office of the Prime Minister</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">announced that the Mekong River Commission consultation process would suddenly go ahead, despite warnings from</span><a href="https://www.mymekong.org/document/lettertopm/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Thai Human Rights Commission</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(THRC) to exercise caution.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a letter sent to Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in November 2024, the THRC advised against any hasty action until a thorough assessment was completed of the transboundary impacts on Thai people and their livelihoods.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The report cited a wide range of impacts, including flooding and erosion of riverbanks, that will damage two important tourist sites in Thailand: Kaeng Khut Khu in Chiang Khan District and Phan Khot Saen in Nong Khai Province.</span></p> <div id="attachment_282450" class="wp-caption aligncenter size-full wp-image-282450"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-282450" class="size-full wp-image-282450" src="https://manage.thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg" alt="" width="4000" height="3000" srcset="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 4000w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 462w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium_large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 624w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 924w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 300w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 600w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 622w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 946w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 1244w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-xl-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192934.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 4000px) 100vw, 4000px" /><p id="caption-attachment-282450" class="wp-caption-text">A panorama of the Laos-Thailand border, looking from the Thai side of the border across the Mekong River to Laos. Photo by Tom Fawthrop.</p></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 684 MW Sanakham hydroelectric dam project across the Mekong River, close to the Thai-Lao border in Chiang Khan District, Loei Province, will cost an estimated $2.07 billion. The dam, if completed, will directly impact three of the eight provinces of Thailand that border the Mekong.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is listed by the Mekong River Commission as the sixth hydropower dam on the lower Mekong proposed by the Lao government. Two out of the six projects in the pipeline are now operating, and a third,</span><a href="https://thediplomat.com/2023/03/the-last-days-of-beautiful-luang-prabang/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">the Luang Prabang Dam</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, is under construction.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The debt-ridden government of Laos claims that their dam-building spree will boost their economy by positioning Laos as the so-called “battery of the region,” selling electricity to neighboring countries.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, Mekong scientists and fishery experts say the dams will choke the natural free-flowing currents of the river, undermining its rich biodiversity. </span></p> <div id="attachment_282447" class="wp-caption alignleft wp-image-282447 size-medium"><a href="https://www.internationalrivers.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/86/2020/08/map_mekong_english_resize-scaled.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-282447" class="wp-image-282447 size-medium" src="https://manage.thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg" alt="" width="462" height="775" srcset="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 462w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium_large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 624w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 924w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 300w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 600w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 622w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 946w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 1244w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192917.jpg 1526w" sizes="(max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-282447" class="wp-caption-text">A map of the Mekong River dams that are operational (in red) and in planning (yellow). Courtesy of International Rivers.</p></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thailand plays a pivotal role in funding and supporting nearly all these lower Mekong mainstream dams. (Separately, China has completed 12 dams on the Lancang, aka the upper Mekong.)</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gulf Energy is the major Thai investor in the Sanakham and the Pak Beng dams on the lower Mekong, in a joint venture partnership with Chinese partner,</span><a href="https://www.china-cdt.com/dtwzen/International/2024/9/I1288553709390790656.html"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Datang Investment Overseas</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p> <p><b>Civil Society Fights for a Voice</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On January 21, the Thai government held the third round of the dam consultation under the</span><a href="https://www.mrcmekong.org/news_and_events_cat/pnpca-prior-consultations/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Mekong River Commission’s Prior Consultation mechanism.</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">In the Sunai Hotel in Ubon Ratchachani, conservation-minded NGOs and civil society clashed with the Thai government’s commercial interests in exploiting the Mekong River’s water resources.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ubon Flood Watch and Mekong River Network groups booked a room in the same hotel, hoping to stage a parallel alternative forum. Thai government officials were not happy about the competition, and proceeded to order the hotel management to</span><a href="https://transbordernews.in.th/home/?p=41122ONWR%20%20closed%20own%20venue%20of%20alternative%20forum"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">cancel the booking of the parallel Sanakham dam forum</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Professor Kanokwan Manorom, the director of the Greater Mekong Subregion Social Research Center at Ubon Ratchathani University, attended the</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">ONWR forum. She observed there was a lack of concrete data and an attempt to present the impacts on Thai people as only superficial.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As Manorom told Transborder News</span><b>,</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> “</span><a href="https://transbordernews.in.th/home/?p=41144"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Sanakham Dam</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> will cause severe impacts on hydrology, ecology, society, economy, culture, and livelihoods.” In addition, she noted that “68 villages in Loei Province and 47 villages in Nong Khai Province, with a population of 70,000, will be the worst affected, as they lie within a 15-kilometer radius of the project. But this was not made clear and transparent by the ONWR forum.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Neither the ONWR nor Gulf Energy responded to a request for comment from The Diplomat.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After the cancellation of the parallel civil society forum, about 200 activists from Ubon Ratchachani province held a peaceful protest inside the hotel, wearing green shirts and carrying placards with messages like “Stop the Mekong River Dam, and “</span><a href="https://transbordernews.in.th/home/?p=41122ONWR%20%20closed%20own%20venue%20of%20alternative%20forum"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stop the Fake Consultation.”</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p> <div id="attachment_282445" class="wp-caption aligncenter size-full wp-image-282445"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-282445" class="size-full wp-image-282445" src="https://manage.thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg" alt="" width="4459" height="2445" srcset="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 4459w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 462w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium_large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 624w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 924w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 300w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 600w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 622w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 946w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 1244w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-xl-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192911.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 4459px) 100vw, 4459px" /><p id="caption-attachment-282445" class="wp-caption-text">An anti-dam protest outside the Mekong School in Chiang Khong, on the Thai side of the Mekong River. Courtesy of Chiang Khong Conservation Group.</p></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brian Eyler an expert on transboundary issues in the Mekong region at the U.S.-based Stimson Foundation, told The Diplomat, “In this case, not enough time was given to local people, and I fear this looks like a rush job that will have negative unintended consequences. So it behooves the Thai ONWR to execute a more well thought-out consultation process.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The fourth and final ONWR forum </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">is scheduled for Bueng Kan on February 14. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">This will pave the way for Mekong River Commission Regional Stakeholder Forums. However, NGOs complain that all of these forums limit debate and do not permit questions about why this dam is needed, who benefits, and whether the project should be canceled.</span></p> <p><b>The Legacy of the Xayaburi Dam</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many opponents of the new dam point to the damage already caused by the Xayaburi dam in Laos since operations started in 2019. It lies about 200 km upstream of the Lao-Thai border at Chiang Khan. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The leader of the Chiang Khan Fishermen’s Group, Prayoon Saen-ae, told The Diplomat, “After the Xayaburi opened its gates [in 2019], we suffered huge impacts. The erratic ups and downs of the water, the fluctuations created confusion for the fish.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Channarong Wongla, a leader of the </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rak Chiang Khan</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (“Love Chiang Khan”) Conservation Group, recalled, “We used to have more than 100 species of fish. Now it is reduced to 20 species in the last six years.” </span></p> <div id="attachment_282449" class="wp-caption aligncenter size-full wp-image-282449"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-282449" class="size-full wp-image-282449" src="https://manage.thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg" alt="" width="5984" height="3993" srcset="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 5984w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 462w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium_large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 624w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 924w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 300w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 600w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 622w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 946w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 1244w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-xl-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192925.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 5984px) 100vw, 5984px" /><p id="caption-attachment-282449" class="wp-caption-text">The Xayaburi Dam, which was completed in 2019. Photo supplied by Poyry Hydropower Company.</p></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 1,285 MW </span><a href="https://thediplomat.com/tag/xayaburi-dam/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Xayaburi Dam</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> was the first to be built on the lower Mekong, at a cost of $4.5 billion. It was funded by the four biggest Thai banks, and 95 percent of the electricity has been exported to Thailand since operations began in 2019.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Channarong urged the ONWR-organized forum in Chiang Khan: “We must have a full accounting of the impacts of the Xayaburi dam on Thai people and their way of life first, before we consider a new dam.” He did not receive any answer.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Neither the Thai National Mekong Committee (TNMC) nor the ONWR has ever called for an independent review of the </span><a href="https://thediplomat.com/2024/02/where-have-all-the-mekong-rivers-fish-gone/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">damage done by the Xayaburi Dam</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, we do know that the backwater impact caused so much bank erosion around the World Heritage site of Luang Prabang that it necessitated </span><a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/532081576551721018/pdf/Lao-People-s-Democratic-Republic-Southeast-Asia-Disaster-Risk-Management-Project-Additional-Financing.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">a World Bank-funded restoration project</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, at the request of UNESCO.</span></p> <div id="attachment_282451" class="wp-caption aligncenter size-full wp-image-282451"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-282451" class="size-full wp-image-282451" src="https://manage.thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg" alt="" width="3784" height="2480" srcset="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 3784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 462w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium_large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 624w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 924w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 300w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 600w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 622w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 946w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 1244w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-xl-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192940.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 3784px) 100vw, 3784px" /><p id="caption-attachment-282451" class="wp-caption-text">A Chiang Khan fisherman. Fish catches have already declined in the area since the completion of the <span style="font-weight: 400;">Xayaburi Dam. Locals fear the additional impact of a dam at Sanakham.</span> Photo by Saranya Aey Senaves.</p></div> <p><b>Can Thailand’s Impoverished Thwart the Plan of Bangkok’s Energy Elite?</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In response to their critics, the Thai Government and the dam developers have defended investment in Mekong dams as part of a low carbon policy providing a “green and clean” alternatives to fossil fuels.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thailand’s National Energy Plan (NEP), a blueprint for the country’s energy strategy from 2023-2037, declares its main goal is to increase the use of clean, renewable energy and</span><a href="https://www.nationthailand.com/sustaination/40041788"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">an expansion of solar energy and wind power</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But in spite of increasing solar power, Thailand will still buy many more kilowatts from Mekong dams as a major component of the country’s energy mix.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However the Thai government’s defence of hydropower as a source of “clean renewable energy” is challenged by U.N. climate change research that revealed large dams cause</span><a href="https://www.mekongeye.com/2024/06/03/dams-truly-green"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">equally harmful methane gases</span></a><b>. </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">At COP29, the U.N. climate change conference in 2024, 159 countries signed up to the</span><a href="http://www.globalmethanepledge.org"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Global Methane Pledge.</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Thailand and Laos declined to join them.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thailand’s energy policy decisions – including its backing of hydropower projects in Laos – are made by a small group of government ministers, wealthy private investors, and energy technocrats.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Nikkei Asia Review profile of Gulf Energy’s CEO Sarath Ratanavadi depicted this corporate high-flyer as Thailand’s “</span><a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/Thailand-s-billionaire-boom-the-rise-of-Sarath-Ratanavadi"><span style="font-weight: 400;">energy king</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.” He has a net worth of $14.4 billion, according to</span><a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/sarath-ratanavadi/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Forbes</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. His company is a major investor in both the Sanakham and Pak Beng Dams.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What chance do Thailand’s poor fisherfolk and low-income citizens have to influence decision-making on a dam that could damage their crops, reduce their fish catch, and erode their livelihoods? </span></p> <div id="attachment_282448" class="wp-caption aligncenter size-full wp-image-282448"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-282448" class="size-full wp-image-282448" src="https://manage.thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg" alt="" width="4000" height="3000" srcset="https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 4000w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 462w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/medium_large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 624w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/large/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 924w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 300w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-s-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 600w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 622w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-m-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 784w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 946w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-l-2/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 1244w, https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sizes/td-story-xl-1/thediplomat_2025-02-13-192920.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 4000px) 100vw, 4000px" /><p id="caption-attachment-282448" class="wp-caption-text">Upstream dams have drastically reduced fish catches, forcing many fisherfolk to look for work in towns. Photo by Tom Fawthrop.</p></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brian Eyler, author of “The</span><a href="https://thediplomat.com/2019/03/are-we-seeing-the-mekong-rivers-last-days/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Last Days of the Mighty Mekong</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">,” acknowledges the fight over Sanakham Dam is a very unequal contest. “This indeed is a David versus Goliath story, but we all know how this story entails bravery, defiance, and strength of the underdog. Fair fight or not, it’s a fight worth standing up for.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He added, “There can be no unified Thai [national] interest in this dam or any dam, where there are divergent and conflicting interests.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gulf’s website points to a possible solution to avoid confrontation. Thailand‘s largest energy supplier proclaims “Gulf is a leader in the</span><a href="https://www.gulf.co.th/solar/en/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">solar energy business</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.” The company directly holds equity in solar and wind farms in Vietnam, with a total capacity of 245.8 MW. They also hold a 50 percent stake in a solar project in Borkum Riftgrund, Germany with a capacity of 464.8 MW.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why not replace plans for Mekong dam projects with much safer and more cost-effective solar energy and wind power? These energy sources are already</span><a href="https://www.gulf.co.th/en/renewables.php"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">operational in Thailand</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, with a total capacity of 600 kilowatts so far. That just happens to be incredibly close to the 684 KW expected from the generation of the Sanakham Dam, but without all the risks and conflict that accompany hydropower</span><b>.</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Emeritus Professor of Human Geography Dr Philip Hirsch has concluded after 40 years of Mekong research that “big dams are obsolete. There are so many options for cheaper alternative energy. There is no reason to build a dam on the Mekong or any river these days.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But Premrudee Daoroung, the coordinator of Project Sevana</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ProjectSEVANA"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Mekong’s Culture and Environment,</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is not optimistic that rational arguments and analysis will win the day. As</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">she sees it, “There is more than enough science and wisdom that proves the serious damage from these transboundary impacts, but not enough political will to apply the science to stop the dams.”</span></p> <p> </p> </div> <script type="text/html" id="app_story_placeholder"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Chiang Khan, a picturesque Thai tourist town bordering the Mekong River, the new year brought dark forebodings of a hydropower project slated to be installed just 2 kilometers away in neighboring Laos</span><b>.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thanusilp Inda, the head of Ban Klang village in Chiang Khan, expressed his anxiety over the future. “The Sanakham dam will be a disaster for ecology and fish, it will cause worse flooding,</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">”</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> he told the Diplomat.</span></p>[...]</script> <script type="text/html" id="tda-gated-counter__content"> <div class="tda-gated-box"> <div class="tda-gated-box__ribbon"> You have read <b>{{count}}</b> of your <b>{{max}} free articles</b> this month. </div> <div class="tda-gated-box__main"> <h2>Enjoying this article?</h2> <p> Consider supporting <i class="tda-nowrap">The Diplomat</i>'s independent journalism with a subscription.<br> <a href="https://thediplomat.com/subscriptions" class="tda-link tda-nowrap">Subscribe today</a> to continue having full access to our extensive coverage of the Asia-Pacific.</p> </div> <div class="tda-gated-box__footer"> <a href="https://thediplomat.com/subscriptions" class="tda-button tda-width--full">Subscribe Now</a> <a href="https://thediplomat.com/subscriptions" class="tda-button tda-button--ghost tda-width--full" style="margin-top: 8px">View <span class="td-hide--m">Subscription </span>Options</a> <p class="tda-gated-login">Already have an account? <label for="td-account-modal_trigger" class="tda-link tda-nowrap">Log in</label>.</p> </div> </div> </script> </aside> <footer id="td-story-foot"> <section id="td-story-authors" class="td-box td-authors"><header>Authors</header><div class="td-posts"><div class="td-post"><figure class="td-img td-post__img td-post__img--right td-post__img--circle"><img alt="Tom Fawthrop" title="Tom Fawthrop" sizes="58px" srcset="https://images.thediplomat.com/v1/td-list-xs-1/2020/06/thediplomat-2020-06-04-3.jpg 58w, https://images.thediplomat.com/v1/td-list-xs-2/2020/06/thediplomat-2020-06-04-3.jpg 116w" src="https://images.thediplomat.com/v1/td-list-xs-1/2020/06/thediplomat-2020-06-04-3.jpg"></figure><h5>Guest Author</h5><h4 style="padding-bottom: 0;">Tom Fawthrop</h4><div style="padding-top: 0;"><p>Tom Fawthrop has covered the Mekong for 12 years as a researcher and a guest lecturer at universities in Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. His reports on the region have been widely in published, including in the Economist, The Diplomat, and the Guardian.</p> </div><a class="td-post__more" href="https://thediplomat.com/authors/tom-fawthrop/">View Profile</a></div></div></section><section class="td-box td-tags"><header>Tags</header><ul><li><a href="https://thediplomat.com/category/features/"><span>Features</span></a></li><li><a href="https://thediplomat.com/topics/environment/"><span>Environment</span></a></li><li><a href="https://thediplomat.com/regions/southeast-asia/"><span>Southeast Asia</span></a></li><li><a href="https://thediplomat.com/countries/laos/"><span>Laos</span></a></li><li><a href="https://thediplomat.com/countries/thailand/"><span>Thailand</span></a></li><li><a href="https://thediplomat.com/tag/dams-in-the-mekong/"><span>Dams in the Mekong</span></a></li><li><a href="https://thediplomat.com/tag/laos-dams/"><span>Laos dams</span></a></li><li><a href="https://thediplomat.com/tag/laos-mekong/"><span>Laos 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