Posted on 10 May 2011
Gland, Switzerland: Consultants planning
to bid for a planned reappraisal of the
controversial Xayaburi Dam proposal on the
Mekong main stem need to commit to using
current best practice in the hydropower
industry, WWF has urged.
The call from WWF follows
Mekong River Commission deferment of a decision
on the dam amid mounting criticism from
Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, expert panels
and environment and community groups of
a lack of information on key potential dam
impacts – which could affect the food supplies
and livelihoods of millions.
“Putting it frankly,
the key documentation prepared by consultants
for the promoters of this dam has been nowhere
near international standards and it reflects
very poorly on the consultants involved,”
said Dr Jian-hua Meng, WWF International
Sustainable Hydropower Specialist.
“WWF has been working
closely with the international hydropower
industry for many years on improving sustainability
standards and we know what best practice
looks like, we know that it is available
and we would say this is clearly a case
where the possible adverse consequences
of getting it wrong make it mandatory.”
A recent review of the
Xayaburi Environment Impact Assessment coordinated
by the WorldFish Centre with participation
from the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) and WWF found that “the
gaps and flaws of the assessment lead to
the conclusion that the Xayaburi EIA does
not meet the international standards for
Environmental Impact Assessments”.
Where assessments usually
covered impacts upstream, in the project
zone and downstream, the Xayaburi EIA “does
not cover the upstream catchment area, considers
a third of the project zone and does not
address impacts beyond two kilometres downstream
of the dam”.
On fisheries, a key
concern of WWF, the EIA ignored most studies
and relied heavily on “a very light field
sampling” that captured “less than a third”
of the biodiversity in the impact area.
Just five migratory
species from a list compiled in 1994 were
mentioned and just three of more than 28
studies of Mekong fish migration were referenced.
In contrast, current studies show that 229
fish species exploit habitats upstream of
the dam site for spawning or dry season
refuges, with 70 classified as migratory.
The review finds the
proposed fish passes for the dam ignore
design guidelines, lack critical detail
including any specification of target species
and have a slope and steps which would be
challenging even for strong swimming northern
hemisphere salmon.
Caution to consultants
In cautioning consultants to commit to current
best practice, WWF cited the example of
Swiss engineering company Colenco which
played a key role in preparing the fish
bypass proposals and the also heavily criticised
Feasibility Study for Xayaburi dam.
"The standard of
work done by Colenco for the Xayaburi proposal
is highly unlikely to be acceptable practice
in the company’s home country of Switzerland
and is a poor fit with the company's stated
ethic of environmental and social responsibility,”
said Dr Meng.
“At a time when advanced
hydropower industry players are making notable
efforts to improve the sustainability performance
of the projects they promote, companies
like Colenco should be especially careful
about associating their name with projects
where limited studies leave room for a multitude
of possible adverse outcomes for the river
and the millions that depend on it.”
Assessment should use
the best tools
WWF welcomed quoted comments from Viraphonh
Viravong, director general of the Laos Department
of Electricity that the forthcoming international
consulting review of concerns on the dam
from neighbouring countries would extend
to deciding if the project would go ahead
at all.
“Consultants could give
a clear commitment to best practice by specifying
they will conduct a review on the basis
of best available methodologies and tools,
in particular the Hydropower Sustainability
Assessment Protocol (HSAP) which WWF and
other stakeholders helped develop in collaboration
with the International Hydropower Association,”
said Dr Meng.
“Also highly relevant
is the Mekong-specific Basin-wide Hydropower
Sustainability Assessment Tool (RSAT), developed
in collaboration by the Mekong River Commission
and the Asian Development Bank. Together,
these are tangible ways to identify options
for siting and designing a project with
the minimum negative impacts and for assessing
the sustainability performance of dams,”
he added.
WWF has been advocating
a 10 year moratorium on lower Mekong mainstream
dams until there is adequate information
to assess their impacts, a call now also
being made by Vietnam.
+ More
Illegal bear bile trade
rampant in Asia
Posted on 11 May 2011
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Poaching and illegal
trade of bears, driven largely by the demand
for bile, used in traditional medicine and
folk remedies continues unabated across
Asia on a large scale, a new report by TRAFFIC,
the wildlife trade monitoring network, has
found.
Bear bile products were
found on sale in Traditional Medicine outlets
in all but one of the 13 countries/territories
surveyed says the report entitled Pills,
Powders, Vials & Flakes: The bear bile
trade in Asia. The exception is Macao.
Products were most frequently
observed in mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia,
Myanmar and Viet Nam, where they were recorded
in over half of all outlets surveyed. The
most frequently encountered products were
whole bear gall bladders and pills—found
in half of the outlets surveyed.
TRAFFIC’s research suggests
a complex and robust trade in bear products.
Several of the countries/territories surveyed
were either producers or consumers of bear
bile products, while in some cases they
acted as both. Mainland China was the most
commonly reported place of origin for these
products across the region. In Myanmar,
internationally sourced gall bladders were
reported to come solely from Lao PDR; in
Hong Kong, in cases where the source was
known, products were reported to have originated
in Japan and over half of those offered
for sale in the South Korea were from wild
sources in Russia.
Regulations commonly
flouted
Domestic trade of bear bile is legal under
strict regulation within mainland China
and Japan but is illegal in Cambodia, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.
Regardless of the legality of trade within
countries, international trade is not allowed.
Asiatic Black Bears (predominant in this
trade) and Sun Bears are both listed in
Appendix I of Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES) which prohibits international
commercial trade in the species, its parts
and derivatives.
An analysis of the origin
of bear bile products found in these surveys
makes it clear that import and export regulations
are commonly flouted demonstrating a failure
to implement CITES requirements to stop
illegal international bear bile trade effectively
and protect bears from exploitation.
“Unbridled illegal trade
in bear parts and products continues to
undermine CITES which should be the world’s
most powerful tool to regulate cross-border
wildlife trade,” said Kaitlyn-Elizabeth
Foley, lead author of the report and Senior
Programme Officer of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.
Bears captured in the
wild
The study found that the vast majority of
the bear farms surveyed in Lao PDR, Myanmar
and Viet Nam did not have captive breeding
programmes, suggesting they depend on bears
captured from the wild.
“The study makes a clear
case for authorities to shut down businesses
selling illegal bear products and prosecute
individuals caught selling, buying, transporting
or keeping bears illegally,” said Foley.
“Both the Asiatic Black
Bear and the Sun Bear are threatened by
poaching and illegal trade. The demand for
bile is one of the greatest drivers behind
this trade and must be reduced if bear conservation
efforts are to succeed,” added Foley.
TRAFFIC, the wildlife
trade monitoring network, works to ensure
that trade in wild plants and animals is
not a threat to the conservation of nature.
TRAFFIC is a joint programme of WWF and
IUCN.
