Thailand and Southeast Asia Regional Office

Project for Ecological Recovery (PER)

A River for the People

by Naurin Ahmad-Zaki

The Nam Songkhram River, one of the last rivers in the north-east of Thailand which does not have a dam built on it, flows 420 kilometres from its source before it enters the powerful Mekong River at Si Songkhram district in Thailand. As a result of this meeting of the waters, a huge 12,700 square kilometre basin overlaps four provinces, namely Udon Thani, Nogkhai, Sakhon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom, providing a source of food and income to hundreds of communities of fishermen settled near the river banks.

But if the Thai government implements the proposed construction of a dam at the mouth of the Nam Songkhram, disaster will hit the area. The fish will soon disappear and many communities will be forced to either resettle or change the professions which their forefathers have been practising for generations before them.

This project, which was originally proposed in 1981 by the Mekong Committee, will cost a total of 8.9 billion baht and is scheduled to be completed by 2007. The initial plan is to build a large lock at the mouth of the Nam Songkhram River in order to regulate the water level in the river, provide water for the irrigation of farmland and to prevent flooding. In the first phase, the project involves the construction of the lock and 47 pump stations which will provide irrigation water to land in three provinces. In the second phase, another seven locks and 71 pump stations are planned. The whole project will then be able to flood 2,560 ha of wetlands, including bamboo forests, and 1,600 ha of farmland once the reservoir is built.

``We came to this area by chance two to three years ago when we were fighting a campaign against the damaging eucalyptus plantations by a big pulp plant on the river banks of the Nam Songkhram. We realised the immensity of the impact this dam would have on the local communities and their livelihood, and immediately took up this issue,´´ explains Srisuwan ‘Noi’ Kuankachorn about the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Project for Ecological Recovery’s (PER) involvement in the issue. PER, which is based in Bangkok, is trying to help the affected communities by guiding them in organising themselves and by informing them about the impact of the impending dam construction on their future, because as Kuankachorn points out, ``It isn’t us, the middle class and academicians from the cities who can fight this battle, but it is the affected communities who have to go through this struggle themselves.´´ According to Kuankachorn, this is not a strategy which is adopted by most conservation organisations. ``They usually jump onto the scene at the time of campaigning. But here, the villagers had to be organised right from the beginning and long before the time for campaigning was ripe, in order to ensure a better future for them.´´

During the rainy season from May to October, the river floods farmlands on both sides of the banks to a depth of several feet bringing in fish from the Mekong, which swim  up the Nam Songkhram and innumerable tributaries, streams and shallow ponds for spawning and resting. After a few months when the spawning process is completed, the fish travels back into the Mekong River. The variety in fish is crucial for the livelihood of thousands of villagers. Over the ages the communities which live along the Nam Songkhram have adjusted their lives according to the flood system. But this system would be radically altered by the proposed dam construction. The many types of fish would not be able to swim back and forth between the two rivers, and hence the main source of income for the communities would be destroyed. As a result of the Nam Songkhram River Basin Development Project, as the dam construction project is officially called, the present seasonal flooding would be transformed into year-round inundation.

‘Por’ Thai Chabantom is a 60-year-old fisherman from Ban Tha Bor, a village in Si Soghram district which is famous for producing plaa raa, a popular type of fermented fish paste in Thailand, around 20 kilometres from the mouth of the Nam Songkhram. He learnt his profession from his forefathers. He explains that presently there are approximately 30 to 40 kinds of fish which swim up-river. ``In the past, we were famous for our large catch of giant catfish. I grew up here and never had to move to any area, even for fishing. Nowadays my daily catch is 70 to 80 kilograms which is enough for earning my daily bread.´´ For him and his family the future could look very gloomy if the government goes ahead with the dam construction. ``If there are no fish, our family will be broken. If there are no fish, there will be broken homes. In simple words, if there are no fish, we will move. I would also move if there are floods caused by the dam. If I can catch only two to three kilograms of fish per day, I will have to move.´´

Another project in which PER is currently deeply involved in is a campaign against the ecological havoc a pulp factory on the Nam Pong River in the Kon Kaen province is playing in the area. The pulp mill, instead of discharging its sewage into the natural water system like most other industries do, persuaded the nearby village people to let their farmland be flooded by the polluted water. ``They called this venture ‘Project Green’ in order to give it ‘respectability’ and to fool everyone,´´ laughs Porpana ‘Kung’ Kuaycharoen who is handling this project at PER, `` but basically this way of discharging sewerage water is more damaging to the environment, because not only are all water sources contaminated, but also the soil and the underground water -  even the rain water is no longer drinkable because of the high acidity content in the air.´´

During the first three years, PER concentrated on strengthening the organisation of the villages which were affected by ‘Project Green’ along with conducting intense research work in the area. Through the results of this research PER then helped in creating awareness among the people, telling them how much their lives were going to be affected if the pulp factory implemented its damaging plans.

Since 1995, farmers from eight villages have been demanding compensation money from the company after the sewerage water had reverse effects on their farmland as well as on the water quality in the village. In one village, no place was spared and even the village graveyard was flooded with the sewerage water from the factory.

For ‘Project Green’, the management of the pulp factory only asked farmers who were involved in upland cultivation, i.e., cultivation of jute, maize and kasawa, to permit them to flood their fields with the contaminated sewerage water. The other farmers who grew rice on low-lying paddy fields were not asked to participate. This was not necessary, because during the rainy season, due to the surplus water, the flow is downward, straight into the paddy-fields.

Once a farmer agrees to participate in the project, he agrees to grow eucalyptus on his land, let his farmland be flooded with the water from the pulp company and in return the company promises him a good price for his crop.

Till now PER’s work in this area had been organised through a local NGO in Kon Kaen. However, since it isn’t only one particular company which is involved in polluting the natural resources of the area, but approximately fifteen other industries, including a kasawa flour mill, a sugar refinery and a natural gas station, PER decided to change its strategy and started to advocate the setting up of one large network of all the affected communities. PER is of the opinion that if all the communities are united on one platform, they become stronger and hence stand a much better chance of bargaining for a more lucrative deal for themselves.

But although the communities are learning to organise themselves and are willing to take risks in the fight for their rights, although they can count on the support of the many NGOs and their donors dedicated to their cause, although the detailed and frequent reports on their plight in the mass media help them get nation-wide attention, this battle might prove to be a difficult uphill task against powerful vested interests which are often also supported by the government, as in this case where the government is planning to develop a huge industrial estate in the heart of this already ecologically fragile area.