{"id":20101581,"date":"2022-11-01T23:05:12","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T17:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thethirdpole.net\/?post_type=photo_story&p=101581"},"modified":"2022-11-10T20:21:30","modified_gmt":"2022-11-10T14:51:30","slug":"klcm-thai-river-communities-fight-massive-water-diversion-projects","status":"publish","type":"photo_story","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/uncategorized\/klcm-thai-river-communities-fight-massive-water-diversion-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Thai river communities fight massive water-diversion projects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In June 2022, Chantra Chanthathong travelled from his home in northeast Thailand to the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives in Bangkok. Along with around 100 fellow villagers, he was part of a group demanding compensation for thousands of people who say they have been negatively impacted by a host of large- and small-scale irrigation projects intended to \u201cgreen\u201d northeast Thailand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doing it to relieve our concerns from decades of struggle,\u201d he says of the demonstration. \u201cI don\u2019t know when it will end, but I wish we could bring the heartbeat of the river back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chanthathong lives in Ban Don Kaeo, a village in northeast Thailand situated between the Roi Et and Yasothon-Phanom Phrai dams on the Chi River. Completed in 2000, the dams are part of the Kong-Chi-Mun (KCM) irrigation project, which involved building 14 large dams<\/a> on the Chi and Mun, both tributaries of the Mekong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Map<\/div>
Map showing four tributaries of the Mekong River in northeast Thailand \u2022 Graphic: The Third Pole<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The idea to divert water from rivers, including the Mekong<\/a>, to irrigate farmland in the dryer north of Thailand has been a passionately held goal of successive governments. But these mega-projects have long been criticised by local communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chanthathong and his neighbours say they have experienced regular flooding of their homes since the construction of the dams, and that they disrupted the seasonal flow of water that they used to depend on to grow rice. He says a poor response from national authorities in response to their concerns has driven him to the streets of the capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are living evidence that the Mekong water diversion project results in more negative impacts than the benefits it claims,\u201d says Sirisak Saduak, who works with communities on behalf of a local NGO in the Chi river basin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A green northeast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ever since the KCM project was approved by the cabinet in 1989, infrastructure projects have mushroomed across northeast Thailand\u2019s Mekong tributaries. <\/a><\/a><\/a>Two early dams, the Rasi Salai and Hua Na on the Mun River, inundated<\/a> rice paddies, villages and the flood plain forest where locals foraged<\/a><\/a>, leading to decades of protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially announced as a small rubber weir, by the time it was completed in 1994 the Rasi Salai was a seven-sluice concrete irrigation project cutting up the Mun River, the largest Mekong tributary in Thailand. Ninety kilometres upstream, the Hua Na dam followed in 1999, and is twice the size of the Rasi Salai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two dams fundamentally altered the livelihoods of thousands of villagers. Some lost acres of rice paddy as land was inundated and salinisation increased, due to large underground rock-salt deposits. Fishers were forced to adapt to changes in water flow and fish stocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"the<\/div>
A fisher casts his net in the shadow of the Hua Na dam on Thailand\u2019s Mun River, part of the controversial Kong-Chi-Mun irrigation project (Image: Luke Duggleby<\/a> \/ The Third Pole)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Members<\/div>
Members of the Assembly of the Poor, an organisation that assists communities in fighting against the impacts of the Rasi Salai and Hua Na dams, meet every month to discuss their problems (Image: Luke Duggleby<\/a> \/ The Third Pole)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Because of the level of public resistance, dams and the KCM project itself became stigmatised<\/a> and further work was put on hold. But affected communities have been fighting for compensation and assistance ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe state needs to return rights to manage water to the people who know best about their environment,\u201d says Saduak. \u201cAll the problems from the dams built 30 years ago haven\u2019t been resolved and the government is still pushing forward a new mega water-diversion project,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chaiya Chantree, 50, is the head of Ban Nong Orn village, on the banks of the Mun a few kilometres from the Hua Na dam in Sisaket province. He remembers when the area was pristine, filled with abundant life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"the<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Rasi<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Chaiya Chantree (left) sits on the Mun River a few kilometres away from the Hua Na dam, while Ling (right) stands on the Rasi Salai dam. Both are part of movements calling for compensation for the impacts caused by the dams. (Images: Luke Duggleby \/ The Third Pole)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Today, Chantree lives in an unpredictable environment. Every year, he and hundreds of locals contest the local authorities\u2019 decision on when to open the Hua Na dam\u2019s sluice gates. During the monsoon, the dam\u2019s sluices are shut to prevent flooding of the nearby city of Ubon Ratchathani, but this inundates Chantree\u2019s rice paddies. He says government compensation does not cover residents\u2019 losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany communities in the Mekong basin view us as a case study. They ask: \u2018How do you live with dams?\u2019\u201d Chantree says. \u201cIf we resettle, we have to start from zero, so my answer is we must adapt to live here with dams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loei worries and the KLCM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2012, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) was carried out<\/a> for a new mega irrigation project in Thailand\u2019s northeast, involving infrastructure projects on various river basins including the Chi and the Mun. With this, the government introduced a rebranded \u201cMekong-Loei-Chi-Mun\u201d (KLCM) project, with the added watershed of the Loei River, another Mekong tributary and a natural border between Thailand and Laos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its first phase, the revised KLCM megaproject envisages bringing 1.9 billion<\/a> cubic metres of water annually from the Mekong through the Loei in order to irrigate northeast Thailand \u2013 reversing the natural direction of flow. The Loei river mouth, where it meets the Mekong, is to be widened under the project. The water will travel through 17 canals and tunnels to the Ubol Ratana dam in Khon Kaen province. The project is expected to cost more than 1.93 trillion baht<\/a> (around USD 51 billion) and will take 20 years to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/div>
The confluence of the Loei and Mekong rivers, set to be significantly widened under the new KLCM megaproject (Image: Luke Duggleby<\/a> \/ The Third Pole)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Water diversion projects on the Loei are not restricted to the vision of the KLCM. Jiraporn Suwanampai, who works in a rubber plantation near the indigenous village of Ban Klang, is worried about the massive Sri Song Rak \u201cfloodgate\u201d under construction on the Loei, just a few kilometres from where it meets the Mekong. Conceived in 2015, the 5 billion baht<\/a> (USD 132 million) project consists of seven gates on the Loei River: two over a natural stream and five over newly dug waterways. The gates will manage the flow of the Leoi for 16 kilometres before it enters the Mekong, reducing flooding and redistributing the water across a vast area of agricultural land, according to<\/a> the Royal Irrigation Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people in Ban Klang oppose the dam, saying it will affect the local ecosystem and could cause unseasonal flooding; they also worry about land grabs. But other local communities support the project and the infrastructure it could bring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite it being close to a proposed river mouth-widening site, the floodgate is not officially included in the KLCM project and did not require an EIA, according to a project representative, as it does not meet the criteria set out in a notification<\/a> by the Ministry of Natural Resources for projects where an EIA is needed.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"The<\/div>
The Sri Song Rak sluice gate, under construction on the Loei River. \u00a0Construction is set to be completed in the next year. (Image: Luke Duggleby<\/a> \/ The Third Pole)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"A<\/div>
A model of the Sri Song Rak sluice gate in the construction site\u2019s office (Image: Luke Duggleby<\/a> \/ The Third Pole)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"An<\/div>
An anti-dam banner hangs at a house in Ban Klang village, roughly 10 kilometres downstream from the Sri Song Rak sluice gate (Image: Luke Duggleby<\/a> \/ The Third Pole)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Master sergeant Prakorb Poonpol, head of construction for the project, reaffirmed to The Third Pole that the Sri Song Rak project is not part of the KLCM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOfficials like to divide the water-development programme [for the northeastern region] into small-scale projects, so as not to look like a megaproject, and easily progress forward,\u201d says Santiparp Siriwattanapaiboon, professor of environmental science at Udon Thani Rajabhat University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some, including Siriwattanapaiboon, believe the Thai government is simply rebranding the megaproject, which has already attracted years of public scrutiny. \u201cIt is like piecing jigsaws together,\u201d says Siriwattanapaiboon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nature and culture at stake<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Four hundred kilometres from the mouth of the Loei lies the lower Songkhram River \u00ad\u2013 the last expansive stretch of river to remains undammed in Thailand\u2019s northeast. For most of the year, the Songkhram flows into the Mekong where they meet in Nakhon Phanom province.  But during the rainy season, the Mekong flows into<\/a> the Songkhram and the surrounding plains, creating unique flooded forests which offer breeding grounds for many aquatic animals and plants. In 2019, the lower Songkhram river basin was declared a Ramsar site<\/a>, a wetland of international importance, in recognition of its environmental, ecological and cultural significance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"Fishers<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Fishers<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Fishers on the Songkhram River in Thailand\u2019s Nakhon Phanom province. The lower Songkhram is the last major undammed river in northeast Thailand. As a result, a delicate ecosystem of wetlands and tributaries are still able to support active fishing communities. (Image: Luke Duggleby \/ The Third Pole)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The local traditional fishing industry has resisted plans to build a dam on the river for almost four decades. The purposed dam would be built at Na Piang village, Chaiburi district, less than 10 kilometres from where the Songkhram meets the Mekong. The project aims<\/a> to mitigate floods and drought in the river basin. Despite the designation as a Ramsar site, the project is still pending<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposed Songkhram dam is also not officially included in the KLCM project, but in terms of geography and engineering, it would be very similar to the Sri Song Rak floodgate, according to Siriwattanapaiboon, including five gates<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In September 2022, Thailand held another round of public hearings<\/a> for the KLCM project. In response, local communities from different river basins in the northeast came together<\/a> to discuss their decades-long opposition to the project and its predecessors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"placing<\/div>
In May 2022, Amnat Traijak, president of the Network of Mekong Communities in northeast Thailand, places a float on the Songkhram River as part of the Bun Bang Fai festival. A tradition of ethnic Lao communities living along the Mekong, the festival reminds the gods to bring rain. In northeast Thailand, floats are often designed to convey messages to both gods and the government. \u201cDear respected spirits, we want no more dams. We hope the policymakers will listen to us even a little,\u201d prays Traijak. (Image: Luke Duggleby<\/a> \/ The Third Pole)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Thailand presses ahead with its vision of \u2018greening\u2019 the northeast through expansive irrigation projects, The Third Pole looks at the problems that infrastructure on Mekong tributaries have caused for local communities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":20101717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[1],"tags":[502,516,556],"country":[20029326],"class_list":["post-20101581","photo_story","type-photo_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-activism","tag-civil-society","tag-infrastructure","country-thailand"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThai river communities fight massive water-diversion projects<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As Thailand presses on with irrigation projects like the KLCM, The Third Pole looks at problems river infrastructure has caused for local communities\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/uncategorized\/klcm-thai-river-communities-fight-massive-water-diversion-projects\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thai river communities fight massive water-diversion projects\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Thailand presses on with irrigation projects like the KLCM, The Third Pole looks at problems river infrastructure has caused for local communities\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/uncategorized\/klcm-thai-river-communities-fight-massive-water-diversion-projects\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dialogue Earth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-10T14:51:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/20220615_Thai-irrigation-projects-protestors-2_LukeDuggleby_TheThirdPole-1200px-copy.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/uncategorized\/klcm-thai-river-communities-fight-massive-water-diversion-projects\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/uncategorized\/klcm-thai-river-communities-fight-massive-water-diversion-projects\/\",\"name\":\"Thai river communities fight massive water-diversion projects\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/uncategorized\/klcm-thai-river-communities-fight-massive-water-diversion-projects\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/uncategorized\/klcm-thai-river-communities-fight-massive-water-diversion-projects\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/20220615_Thai-irrigation-projects-protestors-2_LukeDuggleby_TheThirdPole-1200px-copy.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-01T17:35:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-10T14:51:30+00:00\",\"description\":\"As Thailand presses on with irrigation projects like the KLCM, The Third Pole looks at problems river infrastructure has caused for local communities\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/uncategorized\/klcm-thai-river-communities-fight-massive-water-diversion-projects\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/uncategorized\/klcm-thai-river-communities-fight-massive-water-diversion-projects\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/uncategorized\/klcm-thai-river-communities-fight-massive-water-diversion-projects\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/20220615_Thai-irrigation-projects-protestors-2_LukeDuggleby_TheThirdPole-1200px-copy.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/20220615_Thai-irrigation-projects-protestors-2_LukeDuggleby_TheThirdPole-1200px-copy.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"On June 15, 2022, a network of around 100 villagers from the Lower Chi River Basin in Roi Et and Yasothon provinces travelled to the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives in Bangkok to urge the responsible agencies to organise a committee meeting to resolve the impacts of dams on the Chi River which has affected with the way of life of the community for 14 years. 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to the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives in Bangkok to urge the responsible agencies to organise a committee meeting to resolve the impacts of dams on the Chi River which has affected with the way of life of the community for 14 years. The villagers are part of a network of people affected by the construction of three dams in the Chi River Basin, namely the Yasothon-Phanom Phrai dam, Roi Et dam and That Noi dam. These dams are part of the Khong-Chi-Mun water management project in the Northeast region, which has built 14 dams in the Isan region even after three dams built in 2000 have been found to cause water levels to fluctuate and flood nearby community farmland ruining their rice crop. The dams have also changed the forest ecosystem which is an important source of food and biodiversity. \u201cRoi Et jasmine rice is very famous. Because the fragrant and quality jasmine rice is rice that is grown in season naturally. But since the dam came villagers are not able to follow water flow anymore because someone has taken control of the water. It depends on whether the dam is open or drained. Today, the villagers have to do secondary farming and off-season farming to earn money to buy rice to eat,\u201d Chantra Chanthathong from Ban Don Kaeo, Bueng Ngam Subdistrict, Tha Khao Luang District, Roi Et Province reflects the problem. He lives between the Roi Et Dam and the Yasothon-Phanom Phrai Dam and has had to face continuous floods for many years."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/uncategorized\/klcm-thai-river-communities-fight-massive-water-diversion-projects\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Thai river communities fight massive water-diversion projects"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","name":"Dialogue Earth","description":"Global climate and environment news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization","name":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","width":256,"height":256,"caption":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_","","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/"],"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/photo_story\/20101581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/photo_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/photo_story"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20101581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/photo_story\/20101581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20101717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20101581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20101581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20101581"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=20101581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}