Phnom Penh Post
A Cambodian representative to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) said yesterday that new guidelines for hydropower development agreed to late last month don’t fully address threats to the health of the imperiled waterway.
Chheang Hong, a representative of the Cambodian government to the MRC, said in an email that while the guidelines are a step towards cooperation between member states, the document “seems not to address food security, sedimentation and other significant concerns [such] as fishery production and catch . . . decrease as results of hydropower, sediment trapping and water diversion by upstream development”.
Hong also agreed with conservationists that efforts to mitigate the environmental impacts of hydropower dams would be ineffective and that fish migration across borders, among other environmental concerns, should be considered in future development plans, as should changes in hydrology, sediment and nutrient transport.
While “limited”, the new regulations do push for a better understanding of the impact of hydropower. They also recommend impact assessments be conducted earlier in the approval process for a project, Conservation International’s Dr Vittoria Elliott said by email.