Nam Theun 2 / Articles

Opinion piece published by Reuters AlertNet

Opinion piece published in Thailand's The Nation

World Rivers Review article detailing the problems with Nam Theun 2, based on International Rivers' recent visit to the project area.

An article by Aviva Imhof in Bankwatch, published by the NGO Forum on the ADB, examines Nam Theun 2's failings and draws parallels to other ADB-funded dams in Laos: Theun-Hinboun, Nam Song and Nam Leuk. The article also highlights the ADB's role in promoting a regional power grid and electricity trading system in the Mekong subregion.

I. INTRODUCTION

The Mekong region is undergoing a rapid expansion of hydropower development on both the Mekong mainstream and tributaries. Hydropower development in the basin is proceeding in a haphazard and unregulated fashion, threatening the integrity of the Mekong river ecosystem and the livelihoods of its 65 million inhabitants. Most of the plans are being developed without any consultation with local communities, NGOs and other members of civil society, without any opportunity for public debate, without any assessment of the cumulative impacts of the proposed developments on the hydrology and ecology of the Mekong River Basin, and without consideration of other options for meeting the region's energy needs.

World Bank support for Nam Theun 2 is justified only if the project will help to reduce poverty in Laos. Yet there are no guarantees that the revenue from Nam Theun 2 will be used for poverty alleviation, nor that the project’s significant impacts on local communities and on the environment can be successfully managed.

Project Documents Mask Flaws in World Bank Project

A series of technical reviews by independent experts for the Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project in Laos has revealed serious flaws in the project’s environmental impact assessment and social development plan – flaws which call into question the project’s viability and scale of its impacts.

Nam Theun 2 is a hydropower project in Lao PDR with a proposed capacity of 1,070 megawatts. The project is currently the largest and most controversial hydropower project in the pipeline of the World Bank.

The World Bank is poised to consider a controversial dam in Laos, despite the fact that the government’s capacity to manage the project’s massive economic, social, and environmental risks remains in question.