NATIONS SHARE LESSONS OF TRANSBORDER CONSERVATION
 
UBON RATCHATHANI, Thailand, February 18, 2003 (ENS) – Transboundary conservation areas throughout the world are increasing in number and size
as governments recognize that species and ecosystems are not limited by political borders. To facilitate greater crossborder cooperation in tropical forest
conservation, park managers and policy makers from 30 countries have gathered here for a workshop jointly convened by the International Tropical Timber
Organization and IUCN - The World Conservation Union.
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Hun Sen warns that Mekong development could dry up vital Tonle Sap lake
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
By Ker Munthit, Associated Press
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-02-12/s_2627.asp

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday warned that Cambodia's Tonle Sap lake -- a vital source of fish in the impoverished
country -- could dry up if development projects are handled carelessly on the Mekong River upstream from the lake. Environmentalists have said dams, canals, and other Mekong development in China threaten the river. China is a close ally of Cambodia as well as one of its major foreign investors and aid donors, and Hun Sen didn't name any countries in his remarks. The 4,880-kilometer (3,030-mile) Mekong starts in China and runs through Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It feeds Tonle Sap and other waterways along its course.
Hun Sen said the construction of hydroelectric power dams and navigation canals on the upper Mekong River poses "great concerns" in downstream
countries such as Cambodia. "The consequence ... is that the Tonle Sap can dry up, (eventually) bringing an end to the freshwater fishing industry,"
Hun Sen said at an international conference on river management. Tonle Sap, meaning "Great Lake," is Southeast Asia's biggest freshwater lake. Area residents have relied upon its fish for centuries. The lake has an area of about 10,000 square kilometers (3,900 square miles) in the wet season but shrinks considerably in the dry months. In recent years Cambodian officials have noted a drop in the lake's fish population, which they attribute to upstream development. "Believe me, the drying up of Tonle Sap will not just affect Cambodia but the entire region," Hun Sen said. "The change in the level of water flow is an important factor ... relevant to sustainability of the livelihood and biodiversity in the region." During the annual rainy season, the swollen Mekong River dumps extra water into Tonle Sap, flooding surrounding areas and providing spawning grounds for fish.

POLITICS & LAW: VIETNAM, LAOS, CAMBODIA AGREE POWER DEVELOPMENT IN BORDER PROVINCES

Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have agreed to fully tap hydroelectric potential in their seven border provinces at a recent seminar in Hanoi.
The seven provinces, including Kon Tum, Gia Lai and Dak Lak in Vietnam, Stung Treng and Ratanakiri in Cambodia, and Attopeu and Sekong in Laos, have an estimated power potential of 25bn kWh a year. Demand for electricity by the seven provinces will increase from 403m kWh in 2002 to 1,640m kWh a year by 2010. Gia Lai is to build the two hydropower plants of Se San 3 and Se San 3A with a combined capacity of 360 MW. It has recently put the 720 MW Yaly Hydropower Plant into operation. Vietnam will gradually build eight more power projects with a total capacity of 1,433 MW in the three provinces from now to 2010. Meanwhile, Laos will also build two more power plants, Sepian Senamnop and Sekaman 1, in the next few years.
    Power consumption has not been the same among the seven provinces. The number of people having access to electricity accounts for 82% in Vietnam, 34% in Cambodia and 15% in Laos. Vietnam's Dak Lak province leads in electricity consumption among the provinces with 150 kWh per capita a year while the figure of Cambodia's Stung Treng Province is only 25 kWh.
(VNA Website Jan 6)