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Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.

The road to Dawei is paved with empty promises

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

Burma’s State Counsellor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi will meet with Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha to discuss bilateral issues focused on trade and economic cooperation during her visit to Thailand on 23-25 June. Meanwhile, the Thai government has announced yet again plans to put the long-delayed Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project higher on its agenda.

In 2012, Suu Kyi visited Thailand on her first trip outside of Burma in 24 years. She met with Burmese migrant workers in Mahachai, Samut Sakhon province, which has the largest migrant community in Thailand. At that time, she promised to do her best to improve the country’s economy so that migrant workers would have jobs to return home to in Burma.

NGOs to oppose megaprojects during Suu Kyi visit

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

Non-governmental organisations on Tuesday called on Aung San Suu Kyi to put on hold two projects with Thailand during her visit to the country.

As the government is preparing for her first visit to Thailand as foreign minister and state counsellor, 23 non-governmental groups are also making their move against attempts by the host Thailand to ink deals with Mrs Suu Kyi during her three-day trip.

“As one of the leaders in the Myanmar government, we urge you to suspend decisions on any projects, pending the completion of strategic and transboundary impact assessments; and allow people to make informed decisions, ensuring transparent and accountable investments, which mutually benefit both Thailand and Myanmar,” they said in a statement.

PDF REPORT Analysis on ADB Investments in the Greater Mekong – NGO Forum on ADB

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

Since 1992 the Asian Development Bank (ADB) initiated the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Program encompassing the five countries and parts of China. As of 2016, over USD 14 billion has been invested by the ADB. The GMS program is another flagship endeavor by ADB under the strategic pillar entitled “regional economic integration”. Furthermore the GMS Regional Investment Framework (RIF) 2013 – 2022 serves as the master plan for over 200 projects with an estimated investment of about USD 50 billion.1

Civil society-led impact studies on ADB funded GMS projects suggest that groups mostly dependent on natural resources bear the brunt of direct disempowerment from practices such as mining, logging, involuntary resettlement and road-building among others. Once removed from their rights of access to their customary resources, the ADB presupposes that affected communities will invariably integrate into new market-based economies. Most often than not, however this is far from the local reality.

Government Told to Demand Transparency From SEZ Firms

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

The companies involved in planning and building special economic zones (SEZs) in Dawei and Kyaukphyu are failing to disclose impact assessments and other information relating to the massive projects, according to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).

Progress on the Dawei SEZ, in southern Burma’s Tenasserim Division, has been delayed by a lack of funding, but the governments of Burma, Thailand and, more recently, Japan, are all involved in a project that looks to be moving ahead.

Advocacy Groups to Monitor Government’s Dealings with Toyo-Thai

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

Mon State advocacy groups will continue to monitor the activity of the state government and Toyo Thai Corporation Public Company Limited (TTCL) after representatives met recently to discuss the gas energy investment options, according to groups in opposition to the coal-fired plant.

The groups will keep an eye on the government and TTCL due to concerns that the meeting would lead to a resumption in construction work at TTCL’s proposed coal-fired power plant project in Anndin Village.

On 10 June the representatives of TTCL, led by its chairperson, met with the state chief minister and government officials at the chief minister’s guest hall. At the meeting, they discussed the potential for a liquid propane gas bottling plant, which would provide gas for cooking instead of firewood.

Regional Journalists Examine Impacts of Don Sahong Dam on Dolphins, Fisheries, Villagers

By Paritta Wangkiat

Journalists from across the Mekong region met villagers, government officials and NGOs to understand and write stories about the costs and benefits of the Don Sahong dam. Mekong Partnership for the Environment partner Cambodia Institute for Media Studies convened 20 local and four regional journalists in Stung Treng from May 26-28 to learn about the dam and it’s effect on communities, the environment and the dolphin and fish populations.

Report: Coal and gas to stay cheap, but renewables still win race on costs

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

Low prices for coal and gas are likely to persist, but will fail to prevent a fundamental transformation of the world electricity system over coming decades towards renewable sources such as wind and solar, and towards balancing options such as batteries.

The latest long-term forecast from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, entitled New Energy Outlook 2016, charts a significantly lower track for global coal, gas and oil prices than did the equivalent projection a year ago. Crucially, however, it also shows a steeper decline for wind and solar costs.

Mining Activists from Three Provinces Discuss Advocacy

By Paritta Wangkiat

About 30 Community Mining Focal People (CMFP) from Mondolkiri, Ratanakiri and Preah Vihear province gathered on June 14 2016 in Banlung town of Ratanakiri province to present and share their implementation of advocacy plans and updates about impacts of mining on local people.

Ms. Vong Socheat, a CMFP from Mondolkiri province said that one mining company has a license to mine and the company forced villagers to give farmlands to them because the farmlands are in the exploration or exploitation area of the company. She also said that local authorities have not paid attention to those issues, but they have forced local people to leave their farmlands as it belongs to the company.

Public Participation and Learning in Impact Assessment

By Paritta Wangkiat

Members of the Regional Technical Working Group on Environmental Impact Assessment (RTWG on EIA, facilitated by Mekong Partnership for the Environment) participated in the Annual Conference of International Association for Impact Assessment in Nagoya, Japan in May 2016. IAIA is a global conference focusing on Impact Assessment tools and issues such as EIA, Health Impact Assessment (HIA), Public Participation, Biodiversity, Climate Change, and other topics. Here, an RTWG member shares his thoughts on the event and particularly one session “Learning-Centered Approaches to Impact Assessment.”