trends and future of sustainable development - TransEco

(discussed in more detail in following sections) that seem to serve more as a complementary preelectrificationstrategy rather than an alternative pathway.The concerns on environmental impacts of large hydro power dams, and on security of local naturalresources and fisheries based livelihoods seem to have taken a backseat in this vision. Also the questionson e.g. emissions from the large reservoirs that especially many of the Mekong tributary dams, includingNam Theun 2, involve have been so far left unanswered. The support for large-scale dams seems not belimited only for Nam Theun 2. In World Bank Group’s report “Development and Climate Change: AStrategic Framework for the World Bank” support for new large-scale dam development in Laos hasbeen used as an example how the Bank Group is focusing on “scaling up operations in the field ofrenewable energy and green energy.” The report announced that MIGA is prioritising development ofnew applications of renewable and energy efficient projects and that it “identified new leads andopportunities that include” new large hydro developments in Lao PDR. (World Bank Group 2008, 40.)3.1 The Poverty Alleviation Potential of Nam Theun 2 Under QuestioningNam Theun 2 dam is jointly implemented by the Nam Theun 2 Power Company and the Government ofLao PDR and supported by financing from 27 parties including the World Bank and Asian DevelopmentBank. The main investors are from Thailand and France, but the guarantees for millions of dollars ofloans come from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Because of the 1990’s legitimacy crisisof large dams Nam Theun 2 is an important project for World Bank. It is a kind of show case to the worldby which the Bank wants to demonstrate that large dams can be built sustainably. And indeed theinvestments in the resettlement have been higher than ever and there are programs developed to createdalternative livelihoods for affected communities in downstream of the dam site. Also there are uniquemechanisms set in place to assure that the government of Laos uses earnings from the dam operation topoverty alleviation. In terms of environment the project has included for example vast watershedconservation areas. Nam Theun 2 Power Company provides 1 million USD per year for globallysignificant Nakai-Nam Theun National Biodiversity Conservation Area and Wold Bank assisted inestablishing the Watershed Management and Protection Authority (WMPA) responsible for themanagement of the area. This fund has been interpreted as a way to sell the project to environmentalgroups and for some organisations such as IUCN this in fact was crucial in shifting sides from opposingto endorsing the project (Goldman 2005). But one of the core objectives and the main interest fromNTPC side is the “protection and rehabilitation of forest cover in the Nam Theun 2 watershed Area toassure adequate water flows with low sedimentation to or away from the Nam Theun 2 Reservoir”(from WMPA website). This objective then is stated to provide also long-term biodiversity conservation.However, as the International Rivers has pointed out the establishment of the reservoir provides newaccess to the areas that have earlier been very difficult to reach, which is exacerbating logging andpoaching and threatening its ecological integrity (Lawrence 2009).Several other controversies over the dam also remain. Tens of thousands of people livingdownstream along the Xe Bang Fai River have already suffered impaired water quality and fromdeclined fisheries and the schemes for alternative livelihoods have at least not yet been proved successfulin truly mitigating the negative impacts. Also the situation of the resettled 6200 people, mainly fromethnic minorities living on the Nakai Plateau, remains to be under heated discussion (Stone 2010).114