July 31, 2002

Gen. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense
Royal Thai Government
Government House
Nakhon Pathom Road
Bangkok 10300
Thailand

Dear Gen. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh,

We, the undersigned 76 organizations from 25 countries, are deeply concerned about the potential impacts of the Lancang-Mekong Navigation Channel Improvement Project and are concerned that the project is proceeding without a thorough and careful examination of its impacts on the environment and people's livelihoods.
As you are well aware, the Mekong River is a complex and rich ecosystem upon which millions of people depend for their livelihoods. Many have adapted to the river's ebbs and flows relying on the river's diverse and vibrant fisheries, cultivating vegetables on the riverbanks and using the river for transport and drinking water. However, this delicate balance is in jeopardy due to blasting and dredging for the Lancang-Mekong Navigation Channel Improvement Project.

POOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT, LOCAL OPPOSITION
Despite its potentially far-reaching impacts, the navigation project is proceeding without a comprehensive investigation of the project's social and environmental impacts. A recent article in the Cambodian Daily stated that the environmental impact assessment was “not up to international standards.” The project also fails to meet Thai legal standards on environmental impact studies and public participation, in violation of the agreement between China, Burma, Laos and Thailand. Villagers from Chiang Khong, Thailand, have expressed concerns about the project’s potential impacts. Senators from Thailand have also voiced reservations and called for serious and careful study of the project’s environmental impacts.

DESTRUCTION OF RAPIDS, REEFS AND SHOALS
The most serious impact of the project is the blasting and clearance of many rapids, shoals and scattered reefs to facilitate navigation. The destruction and blasting will have wide-ranging ecological impacts on countries located along the entire length of the Mekong. Rapids and reefs comprise some of the most productive riverine habitats, serving as vital breeding grounds and safe haven for fish and other forms of aquatic life, including plants such as Mekong seaweed (kai). Blasting the rapids and reefs could jeopardize the survival of rare species such as the Mekong giant catfish, which spawns in the rapids. The reefs also play an important role in producing oxygen, reducing pollution and aiding in decomposition of vegetation. Because of their high productivity, islets and rapids are a source of food and income for small fishermen who rely on the river for their livelihoods.
Destruction of the rapids and dredging of the river channel may also have serious impacts on water flow, impacting people who live along the banks of the Mekong and have adapted to the river's flood-drought cycle. Without the rapids, the river may flow faster, eroding the riverbanks and damaging riverside plantations.

IMPACTS ON CAMBODIA AND VIETNAM
While the navigation project directly affects people living in China, Burma, Laos and Thailand, it is also likely to have far-reaching impacts on people in downstream countries. Cambodian and Vietnamese officials have raised concerns that fewer reefs upstream could change the flow of water into their countries, posing problems for farming and other activities. The project could also affect fisheries by destroying spawning grounds for fish that live in Cambodia and Vietnam but migrate upriver to lay their eggs. Despite these potential impacts, people in Cambodia and Vietnam have not been consulted.

SURVEYS IN THAILAND AN INDICATOR OF POTENTIAL IMPACTS
Recent surveys have documented that rapids, shoals and reefs in Thailand that are supposed to be destroyed for the navigation project are crucial for the subsistence livelihoods of local people. The surveys are an indicator of the likely impacts that the navigation project will cause all along the river. The studies have found that local people from Chiang Saen to Chiang Khong rely on riverine plants, such as Mekong seaweed, that grow in the rapids for food and income. The plants, sand dunes, whirlpools and small swamps provide vital spawning ground for Mekong fishes, including the endangered Mekong giant catfish. Blasting of the rapids would destroy important fish habitat and threaten the income and food security of villagers living in the area.
Further, villagers living in Huai Luk-Waing Kaen, Thailand, will lose their common customary lands without compensation due to dredging of the shoal. Fishermen in Chiang Saen can no longer use traditional fishing boats due to waves created by large ships. Last summer, the number of fish caught by fishermen along the Thai-Lao border also decreased because implementation of the project altered water levels and currents in the Mekong.

CALL FOR HALT TO PROJECT UNTIL STUDIES COMPLETED
Given the impacts outlined above, we respectfully urge the Chinese, Lao, Myanmar and Thai governments to stop all work on the Lancang-Mekong Navigation Channel Improvement Project immediately and ensure that comprehensive environmental and social impact assessments are conducted that will examine potential impacts along the Mekong, from China downstream
to Cambodia and Vietnam. These assessments should be carried out in a transparent and participatory process by a study team selected by government officials, villagers who will be affected by this project and civil society organizations in the Mekong region. The health and vitality of the Mekong River and the lives of those who depend on it deserve nothing less.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

Chainarong Sretthachau
Southeast Asia Rivers Network, Thailand
Cc: Mr. Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, Minister of Transport and
Communications, the Kingdom of Thailand
Mr. Bouathong Vongrokham, Minister of Communication, Transport, Post and
Construction, Lao People's Democratic Republic
Mr. Huang Zhendong, Minister of Communications, People's Republic of China
Maj. Gen. Hla Myint Swe, Minister of Transport, Union of Myanmar
H.E. Mr Khy Tainglim, Minister of Public Works and Transport, Cambodia and
Chairman, Cambodia National Mekong Committee
Mr Le Huy Ngo, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam and
Chairman, Vietnam National Mekong Committee
Mr. Joern Kristensen, Chief Executive Officer, Mekong River Commission

ORGANIZATIONAL ENDORSEMENTS
This letter is also endorsed by the following 75 organizations in 25 countries.

ARGENTINA
Elba Stancich, Taller Ecologista
AUSTRALIA
Trevor Edmond, Friends of the National League for Democracy, Australia
BRAZIL
Mauricio Galinkin, Fundação CEBRAC
CAMBODIA
Vong Sarinda, Australian Catholic Relief
Malena Karlsson, Culture and Environment Preservation Association
Sithirith Mak, Fisheries Action Coalition Team
Patrick T. Evans, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations -
Cambodia
Lars-Erik Mackhé, Forum Syd
Joe Heffernan, Indochina Elephant Conservation Programme, FFI Cambodia office
Chhit Sam Ath, International Cooperation Development and Solidarity
Amanda Bradley, Mlup Baitong
Ea Sophy and Russell Peterson, NGO Forum on Cambodia
Kelly Brooks, Oxfam Mekong Initiative
Chan Puthy, Pact Cambodia
Solinn Lim, Save Cambodia's Wildlife
Kim Sangha, Sesan River Protection Network Project
Pete Davidson, Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia Programme
CHINA
Bruce Van Voorhis, Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong, SAR
CYPRUS
Hugh A. Buck, Ceva Animal Health
DENMARK
Secretariat, The United Peoples
FRANCE
Chansamone Voravong, Laotian Organization of Resources Edified for
Cooperation (OLREC)
INDIA
Medha Patkar and M.K.Sukumar, Narmada Bachao Andolan
Ashish Fernandes, Sanctuary Asia
INDONESIA
Arianto Sangaji, Yayasan Tanah Merdeka
ITALY
Jaroslava Colajacomo, Campagna per la riforma della banca mondiale
Elvira Dizon, Franciscan Mission Office
JAPAN
Tetsu Hakoda and Yuki Akimoto, FBC Japanese Service Center
Ikuko Matsumoto, Friends of the Earth Japan
Satoru Matsumoto, Mekong Watch Japan
Okada Kazyuyoshi, Sagami River Camp in Symposium
KOREA
Ik-Bae Kim and Chang-shik Moon, Korean Federation for Environmental Movement
MALAYSIA
Thomas Jalong, Friends of the Earth Malaysia
MOZAMBIQUE
Domenico Liuzzi, Kulima
MYANMAR
Maung Maung, Karenni Evergreen, Karenni
NETHERLANDS
Wiert Wiertsema, Both ENDS
PAKISTAN
Naeem Iqbal, Pakistan Network of Rivers Dams and People
PHILIPPINES
Joan Carling, Chairperson, Cordillera Peoples Alliance
Frances Q. Quimpo, Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment
SINGAPORE
Trixie Tan, Nature Society
SOUTH AFRICA
Liane Greeff, Environmental Monitoring Group
THAILAND
Prasittiporn Kan-Onsri, Friends of the People
Praijit Silarak, Assembly of the Poor
Uthai Treesucon, Bird Conservation Society of Thailand
Tara Buakamsri, Greenpeace Southeast Asia
Steve Thompson, Images Asia
Hsao Tai, Shan Sapawa Environmental Organization
Hannarong Yaowaloes, Wildlife Fund Thailand
Ike Suriwong, Youth in Action
Patcharee & Kamol Komolphalin, Nature Trails
Somkid Mahissaya, Thai Volunteer Service ( TVS )
Taweekiat Prasertcharoensuk, Promotion of Human Resources for Community
Development Foundation
Watcharee Paoleungtong, Alternative Energy Project for Sustainability
Dr. Saranarat Kanjanavanit, Green World Foundation
Friends Without Borders
UK
Sean Scannell, Ilisu Dam Campaign
Brian Sykes, Oriental Bird Club
Chris Woodford, UK Rivers Network
URUGUAY
Teresa Perez, World Rainforest Movement
US
Ken MacLean, EarthRights International
Dan Silver, Endangered Habitats League
Aung Din and Dan Beeton, Free Burma Coalition
Manojkumar Saranathan, Subramanya Sastry, Friends of River Narmada
Paula Palmer, Global Response
Jamie Newlin, Green Democracy Project
Heather Mansfield, International Development Exchange
Susanne Wong, International Rivers Network
Barbara Warner, Marion County Water Watch
Phat Tran, For Mekong River (formerly Mekong Forum)
Sage D. Remington, Native Environmental Justice Advocacy Fund
Diana Bohn, Nicaragua Center for Community Action
Bang Yung, Pan Kachin Development Society
Marty Bergoffen, Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project
Ray Frost, Southern Ute Grassroots Organization
Kevin Bixby, Southwest Environmental Center
Penny Lind, Umpqua Watersheds

INDIVIDUAL ENDORSEMENTS
Institutional affiliations listed for identification purposes only.

Horrie Poussard, Consultant, Natural Resource Management and Agriculture
Australia
Leng Chacrya, MRC/GTZ-SMRP (Sustainable Management of Resources in the
Lower Mekong Basin Project), Cambodia
John Black, Biological Sciences, Brock University, Canada
William Robichaud, Centre for Biodiversity Research, Department of Zoology,
University of British Columbia, Canada
Liesbeth Sluiter, Author of “The Mekong Currency,” Netherlands
Dr. Manee Archawaranon, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science,
Ramkhamhaeng University, Thailand
Chaiyan Kasorndorkbua, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart
University, Thailand and College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State
University, US
Philip D. Round, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol
University, Thailand
Dr J. T. R. Sharrock, Editor, journalist and wildlife consultant, UK
Chin-ju Lin, University of Essex, UK
W.R. Max Niedzwiecki, Ph.D., Director of Programs and Resource Development,
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, US
Guy R. Lanza, Professor of Microbiology and Director, Environmental
Sciences Program
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, US
Piseth Vann, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis
University, US
Dr. Dao Trong Hung , Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR),
Vietnam National Center for Natural Science and Technology (NCST), Vietnam
Nga Dao, Researcher, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam
Ian Grange, Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol
University, Salaya, Nakhon Phatom, Thailand