Cambodia-Laos dam dolphin threat

Cambodia-Laos dam dolphin threat

PHNOM PENH – The last population of Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong could be driven to extinction by a planned hydropower dam on the Laos-Cambodia border, conservationists said on Thursday.

The building work and the Don Sahong dam itself would change the water quality and could kill off the population of just 85 of the aquatic mammals remaining in the Mekong, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said.

"Plans to construct the Don Sahong dam in a channel immediately upstream from these dolphins will likely hasten their disappearance from the Mekong," said WWF Cambodia’s country director Chhith Sam Ath.

There are an estimated 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins left in the world, most of them in the river of that name in Bangladesh, but with pockets of fewer than 100 individuals in the Mekong as well as the Philippines, Burma and Indonesia, according to WWF.

The group called on Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to request that Laos halt the construction of the 240-megawatt project.

Laos last year announced construction would start in 2014, despite objections from wildlife groups and some of the countries affected, which say the dam will also disrupt fish migratory routes and threaten food security.

"Not building the Don Sahong dam is not an irreparable blow to the development aspirations of Laos, or their ability to produce electricity, but building it will almost certainly cause the extirpation [local extinction] of their dolphins and threaten critical fisheries," said Gerry Ryan, an advisor to WWF Cambodia.

The dolphins not only contribute to tourism in the area, Ryan added, they are also an integral part of the river’s ecosystem.

Cambodia has criticised Laos for a lack of transparency regarding the project, which is just 1.5 kilometres from the Cambodian border, and has expressed concern over its possible impact.

It has tried to convince the Lao government not to build the dam, government spokesman Phay Siphan said.

"We want Laos to consider the long term impact ... to downstream nations," he said.

"We are worried about the environmental impact and fish impact."

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