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14 Panel 1Dams in the Philippines and in Thailand: Social and Environmental Impactsof Natural Resources Development ProjectsYu TerashimaAbstractLarge-scale development projects in Southeast Asiasuch as dams and irrigation schemes,have often forceddrastic change on local communities. Although localpeople are the most seriously affected by the projects,they have often been left out of decision-makingprocesses and without even access to relevantinformation. However persistent challenges fromcommunities and their allies in Thailand and thePhilippines have shown that local communities,together with outsiders such as domestic andinternational NGOs and academics, can play animportant role in calling for alternative approaches.Outside groups such as NGOs can supportcommunities by sharing information, networking,lobbying government and project proponents andintroducing various other ways to supportcommunities to make responsible decisions bythemselves.IntroductionIt is well known that for some decades, ruralcommunities in Southeast Asia have been facing rapidchanges and the loss of traditional livelihoods thatdepend on natural resources such as mountains, riversand forests. Today, the need is clear for greaterawareness of the limitations of central government-leddevelopment projects, and of the importance of localpeople’s participation, open consultations,Environmental Impact Assessments, socialenvironmentalguidelines and other open processes.Rapid economic growth in recent decades in urbanareas has areas also seen substantial change in ruralareas. Such changes include a move from self-reliantagriculture to the production of cash crops for export,population movement to cities, and the restructuringof cultural and territorial bonds. Large-scale projectshave been implemented under the name of nationaleconomic development or community development,but have also caused exhaustion of forests, rivers,wetlands, mountains and traditional agricultural lands.New approaches are being taken to solve or mitigatethese negative impacts. Communities today can learnfrom the experiences of others and can often predict aproject’s impact before it starts. With anunderstanding of their own past, present and futuresituations, they are better able to reflect upon andchoose their own alternative development for theirareas. Communities already negatively affected byprojects are working to solve their problems andimprove their situations. These efforts are sometimessupported by local, national or international nongovernmentorganizations (NGOs).Objective and significanceThis research was conducted to identify processes ofpeople’s participation around large projects, toascertain how the communities felt about processesimplemented by project proponents, howcommunities acted to try to avoid negative impacts,and how NGOs and academics became involved. Iconducted interviews with community members andNGO workers connected to three separate projects;The Songkhram river basin dam in NortheasternThailand, and the San Roque Dam and the BoholIrrigation Project in the Philippines. The Songkhramriver basin dam was planned in the 1990s but wascanceled in 2002 because of a strong oppositionmovement by the river basin communities and theinfluence of an Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA). The San Roque Dam in north Luzon Island, thePhilippines, was planned in the 1970s and completedin 2003. The Bohol Irrigation Project, which includesthree big dams and water management systems in thecentral Visayas islands, the Philippines, started in the1980s and was completed in 2007.MethodologyThe objectives of the intensive interviews were toidentify:1. Project Information2. The possible and actual project impact on thelocal communities and on natural resourcesThe Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows