3rd Mekong Forum on Water, Food & Energy 2013. Presentation from Session 2: Cross Border Dialogue: understanding how to best manage the transboundary benefits and costs of hydropower development within the Water-Food-Energy Nexus
1. CAMBODIAN PERSPECTIVES:
THE TRANS-BOUNDARY NOTIFICATION
PROCESS OF HYDROPOWER ON THE SESAN
RIVER
3rd Mekong Forum on Water, Food and Energy
19-21 Nov, Hanoi- Viet Nam
Ham Kimkong
Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP)
Department of Environmental Science ( DES)
1
4. Research Questions
1) Examine practical procedures on notification
process at different levels ( Local community
to nation and region levels)
2) Explore key actors in arrangements on the
notification process, greatly impacts on local
communities
3) Identify challenges in trans-boundary
notification process.
4
5. Chronological Events
… 2006
2009
2012…
• Crops, agricultural production, rice
fields
• Livestock, fish stock and water quality
• Damaged property
• 72 cows, pigs
• 9 buffaloes
• Assets ( Agricultural facilities), Boats and
• Houses, Bicycles,
• Boats , Rice stocks
• Electric devices
Problems:
Problems:
Affected villagers do not get notification/early warning
Affected villagers do not get notification/early warning
After Dam built, the dam operator and VN government did
After Dam built, the dam operator and VN government did
not aware of several flooding impact on downstream
not aware of several flooding impact on downstream
communities along the Sesan river.
communities along the Sesan river.
5
6. Key Actors in practical procedure in the formal
notification process
Dam
Operators
VNMC
Problems
Problems
••Lostin translation
Lost in translation
••Informationtakes too much time to reach
Information takes too much time to reach
stakeholders
stakeholders
••Noclear ownership of responsibility
No clear ownership of responsibility
••Notmandatory
Not mandatory
••Nomeeting of committee
No meeting of committee
Villages
CNMC
Line Ministries
Provincial
Departments
District
s/Offices
Communes
6
7. Key actors in practical procedure notification process
Issues:
•Not reliable information
•Dependent on volunteers
7
8. Challenges
• Equal Benefits [Food, water and Energy]
• Formal and informal notification
process;
• Unclear roles of Key Actors [ limited resources,
Cooperation and truth]
• No guarantees of the informal
notification process [ lack of facilities, uncertainty
of news].
8
9. Questions:
• Why not use simple technology (such as a website or
MMS service, loudspeaker, radio)?
• What mechanisms are needed for emergencies?
• What mechanisms are needed for planned releases?
• What impedes the implementation of these
mechanisms?
9