“The fish are so precious. In the past, we made a living by fishing, but now we are short on food.” (Lower Mekong Resident)
20% of the world’s freshwater fish catch
Lifeline of 60 million people, including Cambodia
30% of fishermen leave… Downstream food shortage
China insists on easing the problem through dry season release
It has been pointed out that the Sesan 2 Dam on the Mekong River, built by China as part of the Belt and Road Project, could cause a large-scale food shortage in the lower reaches of the river because it was built without consideration for local residents. One Belt, One Road is a global infrastructure development project that has been promoted since 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The temple was submerged after the completion of Sesan 2 Dam in 2018. [휴먼라이츠워치 영상 캡처]
According to the Financial Times (FT) in the UK on the 10th, Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization, published a 137-page ‘One Belt, One Road Project Impact Report’ on the same day. The report covers the problems arising from the Sesan 2 Dam, which was built as the largest in Cambodia for hydroelectric power generation in 2018. The dam is located at the Dumulmeori of Stung Treng, where the Mekong tributaries, the Sesan and Srepok Rivers meet. China finances most of the US$800 million (about 920 billion won) of the project with its own bank loans and holds a 51% stake in the dam power plant.
Cambodia experienced a chronic electricity shortage, growing at an average annual rate of 7% before the outbreak of COVID-19. Accordingly, the construction of a large-scale dam was started using the Belt and Road Initiative, and the construction of the Sesan 2 Dam, which produces 400MW annually, increased total electricity production by 20%.
The problem is that the freshwater fisheries in the Mekong have been severely damaged. The Mekong River, which originates in Qinghai Province in southern China, passes through Yunnan Province, and passes through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, has accounted for about 20% of the world’s freshwater fish catch. It also serves as a lifeline for about 60 million residents around the river. Cambodia caught about $3 billion worth of freshwater fish in the Mekong River in 2015, equivalent to 18% of its gross domestic product (GDP).
Human Rights Watch reported on the 10th (local time), “After the construction of the dam, some local residents criticize that the catch of freshwater fish has plummeted by a quarter.” [휴먼라이츠워치 영상 캡처]
The catch has plummeted since the construction of the dam. Human Rights said, “As catches have decreased, in some areas, 20 to 30 percent of fishermen have already given up their livelihood and moved.” Brian Ayler, director of sustainability programs at the Stimson Center, a US think tank, said, “The dam construction is a phenomenon in which fish that live in and out of the Mekong River are blocked. pointed out The Mekong River Commission (MRC) predicts that by 2040, catches in the Mekong River basin will be 80% lower than before the construction of the dam.
There is also a forecast that the construction of the dam could lead to a water shortage in the downstream, which could disrupt rice production. In April last year, Eyes on Earth, an American water research and consulting firm, warned that dams upstream of the Mekong River were trapping 47 billion cubic meters of water, leading to drought and environmental destruction in the downstream area. Vietnam and Thailand, through which the Mekong River passes, are the world’s three largest rice exporters.
Human Rights pointed out that “over 5,000 local residents were evicted without any action due to submergence due to the construction of the dam. In addition to Cambodia, China is carrying out more than 10 dam construction projects in Indonesia, Uganda, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Georgia through the Belt and Road Initiative.
The FT said, “The power generation company, China Huaneng Corporation, did not answer questions related to this report.” Earlier in July last year, the China Water Resources Research Institute countered the problem caused by the construction of the dam, saying, “Because the dam stores water in the rainy season and discharges it in the dry season, it does not cause a drought, but helps to alleviate the problem.”
By Kim Hong-beom, staff reporter kim.hongbum@joongang.co.kr
