[asia-apec 1487] East and SE Asia Activists Unite to Protect Rivers, Fight Dams

[Li Yuk Shing Kevin]

Southeast Asia Rivers Network (SEARIN)
25/5 Moo 2, Soi Sukhapiban 27
Changkhien-Jed yod Rd., Chang Phuek
Chiang Mai 50300, THAILAND
Tel&Fax: (66) 53-221157
Email: searin at chmai.loxinfo.co.th

PRESS RELEASE

July 4, 2000

East and SE Asia Activists Unite to Protect Rivers, Fight Dams
http://www.irn.org/programs/pakmun/pr000704.html

Anti-dam and river protection organizations in East and SE Asia have
united
to form a regional network to fight dams and protect rivers in East and
SE
Asia. At the First East and SE Asia Regional Meeting on Dams, Rivers and
People, held in Kong Jiam, Ubon Ratchathani Province from June 28-July
2,
more than 60 participants from fourteen countries announced their
intention
to "unite our struggle at the local, national and international level so
as
to stop the funding of dam projects in East and SE Asia and to restore
rivers to the communities who depend on them."

Mr. Chainarong Srettachau, Director of Thai NGO Southeast Asia Rivers
Network, the local organizer for the meeting, said, "the joining
together
of groups from all over East and SE Asia will provide a powerful force
to
protect the rights of communities who depend on rivers for their
survival.
We have recognized that we share common problems caused by dams  the
appropriation of local communities' rights to their rivers and water
resources by governments and private developers. By joining forces we
will
drive a stake through the heart of the dam-building industry in this
region."

Participants at the meeting, which included dam-affected people from
Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan and Cambodia,
together
with allies from across the region, produced the Pak Mun Declaration,
which
calls for:

- a moratorium on large dam construction until the problems created by
existing dams have been rectified and reparations made to affected
communities.
- the decommissioning of dams which have created irreversible social,
environmental and cultural destruction, and
- an immediate stop to the financing of dam projects by bilateral and
multilateral organizations, particularly the World Bank, Asian
Development
Bank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

Participants visited Pak Mun and Rasi Salai dams in Thailand, where
villagers have occupied the dams and are demanding the permanent opening
of
the gates. Participants told the villagers that they would work to
support
their struggle to restore the Mun River.

Ms. Joan Carling, Secretary-General of the Cordillera Peoples' Alliance,
an
indigenous peoples' organization in the Philippines which is fighting
the
Japanese-funded San Roque dam, told the villagers at Pak Mun and Rasi
Salai.

"You are not alone. People from 12 countries in the East and SE Asia
region, and from the United States, Norway and Australia, have come here
today to express our support for your struggle. We can see that the Pak
Mun
and Rasi Salai dams serve no useful purpose, and that the gates should
be
permanently opened to restore the Mun river. We call on the Thai
government
to stop hesitating and comply with your demands, for the sake of the
people
and the river."

ENDS


A copy of the Pak Mun Declaration follows:
http://www.irn.org/programs/pakmun/000701.declar.html

Demanding a moratorium on dam construction, decommissioning of existing
dams, reparations for dam-affected people

Mae Mun and Mekong Rivers,
Kong Jiam, Thailand
July 1, 2000

We, the people from 12 countries of East and Southeast Asia namely
Korea, China, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Burma, Taiwan,
Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Hong Kong, representing organizations of
dam-affected people and their allies, have gathered here at the mouth of
the Mun River (Pak Mun) in order to express our unity in strengthening
the people's power and supporting our struggle against the injustices
that we are now encountering.

We have exchanged our experiences both at the local and regional level
and recognize that all of us are facing similar kinds of problems caused
by dams. Dams have brought about the destruction of rivers and the lives
and livelihoods of villagers. Dams undermine the rights of people, their
community and culture as well as destroying the environment, all of
which are basic needs
for their survival.

In order to protect the rights and livelihood of people and rivers, our
demands are as follows;

1.A moratorium on large dam construction in East and SE Asia until the
problems created by existing dams have been rectified and reparation
made to affected communities. Further, dams which have created
irreversible social, environmental, and cultural destruction must be
decommissioned and the rivers restored. 

2.The bilateral and multilateral organizations must stop financing dam
projects. Development assistance should not be spent on destroying the
lives of the people. The transnational corporations, private companies
and private banks must also abolish their investment in dam-building
projects that do not do justice to people.
 
3.Governments, dam-building companies, dam industry consultants, the
World Bank, private banks and the Asian Development Bank, who are all
responsible for the havoc wreaked upon our communities by large dams,
must pay proper reparations to all dam-affected communities. 

4.Critical and independent inquiries on the rationale and justification
of proposed dam projects should be carried out. Integrated Resource
Planning, demand side management and conservation of natural resources
should be prioritized. Cheaper, cleaner and better alternatives to dams
should be undertaken to meet actual needs of people for energy and
water. 

5.No development projects should be built without the voluntary, prior
and informed consent of all affected people. Information regarding
proposed projects must be disclosed, in a timely and transparent manner,
to the general public and, especially, to people directly impacted from
such projects. Further, we demand democratic reforms throughout the
region to increase freedom of speech, press and assembly so that people
can participate without fear in the decision-making process regarding
the use and management of their resources. 

6.The oppression of indigenous peoples by dams and other projects should
be stopped. We demand that the cultural, social, economic and land
rights of indigenous peoples be fully recognized and respected. 

7.We oppose the privatization of rivers and water resources. We also
oppose the control of rivers and water resources by illegitimate and
repressive governments, as in Burma. Access to water is a basic human
right. Rivers must be in the hands of the people, not the private sector
or military regimes. 

In order for our demands to be implemented, we declare that we will
unite our struggle at the local, national and international level so as
to stop the funding of dam projects in East and SE Asia and to restore
rivers to the communities who depend on them.

Water for Life, not for Death!

Ao Khuan kuen bpai, ao Dhammachat kuen ma! Take your dams back, give us
nature!

Endorsed by

Asian Regional Exchange for New Alternatives, Hong Kong 
Assembly of the Poor, Thailand 
Cambodia Environmental Preservation Association, Cambodia 
Church World Services, Cambodia 
Coalition of Concerned NGOs Against Bakun Dam, Malaysia 
Committee Against the Yongwong Dam Project, Tong River, Korea 
Cordillera Peoples' Alliance, Philippines 
Earth Rights International, Thailand 
Friends of the Earth, Japan 
Friends of the People, Thailand 
Group of Villagers Affected by Hua Na Dam, Thailand 
Group of Villagers to Protect the Yom River (Kaeng Sua Ten), Thailand 
Indigenous Peoples Development Centre, Malaysia 
Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, Korea 
Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-KSK/Friends of the
Earth-Phils), Philippines 
LRA, Indonesia 
Meinung People's Association, Taiwan 
Mekong Watch, Japan 
National Dam Opposition Network, Japan 
Sagami River Campaign-Symposium, Japan 
Sahabat Alam Malaysia 
SOS Selangor, Malaysia 
South-East Asia Rivers Network, Thailand 
Taiwan Environmental Action Network, Taiwan 
TUNOD KSM - Alliance of Indigenous Organizations in Sierra Madre
Mountain, Philippines 
Villager Committee to Restore the Mun River, Thailand 
Villager Committee to Protect the Lam Dom Yai River, Thailand 
Villager Committee to Protect the Rub Ror River Basin, Thailand 
WALHI, Indonesia 
WALHI Papua, Indonesia 
Wildlife Fund Thailand 
Yayasan Tanah Merdeka, Indonesia



-- 
Kevin Li
Researcher
Three Gorges Campaign and China Program
International Rivers Network
http://www.hk-sanxia.org