Nam Song

Completed in 1996, the Nam Song Diversion Dam was funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at a cost of $31.5 million. It was designed to divert water to the Nam Ngum reservoir to increase the generating capacity of the Nam Ngum 1 Dam. In 2001, an ADB-commissioned study concluded that the project had "caused severe impacts on aquatic ecosystems and human use by 13 villages."

These impacts include severe declines in fisheries for more than 1,000 families, the loss of boats and fishing nets, agricultural lands washed away by flooding or erosion, and clean water shortages. Eight people have died due to sudden releases of water from the project. The ADB consultants estimated total losses since Nam Song's diversion to be worth nearly $2 million. But for years the ADB refused to publicly release the findings of this investigation. It also failed to ensure that the Lao government adopted the report's recommendations.

After years of inaction, and sustained pressure from International Rivers, the ADB and the Lao government finally agreed to an environmental mitigation plan for Nam Song in January 2007. While International Rivers welcomes these belated efforts, the proposed plan is insufficient and will not adequately replace what villagers have lost, nor compensate them fairly.

International Rivers continues to monitor the project and pressure the Lao government and the ADB to address the Nam Song legacy.

LATEST ADDITIONS:

Field Report on Impacts of Nam Song Project

IRN Comments on Nam Song and Nam Leuk Environmental Mitigation Implementation Plan

Letter to ADB Concerning Theun-Hinboun, Nam Leuk and Nam Song Problems

The Legacy of Hydro in Laos

CONTACT US:

Aviva Imhof
aviva [at] internationalrivers [dot] org
+1 510 848 1155

Shannon Lawrence
shannon [at] internationalrivers [dot] org
+216 23 456 969