04 May 2002

MEKONG RIVER

Environmentalists are stepping up efforts to block an operation by Thailand, China, Burma and Laos to clear reefs in the Mekong river for commercial navigation.

The Southeast Asia Rivers Networks is to take a field trip to Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong, the two border districts of Chiang Rai, tomorrow to launch a campaign about the ecological and social damage triggered by the four-nation project.

``We want the public to be aware of the project,'' said Chainarong Sretthachau, the director of the Chiang Mai-based NGO.

China, who sponsors the reef clearing effort, is blasting reefs between Burma and Laos and plans to move the operation downstream to Thailand and Laos soon.

A government official close to the project said the Chinese government had sought Thailand's approval to bring equipment into the kingdom.

Here, reef blasting could kick off this month or in June before the rainy season starts, he said. Only part of the reefs would be cleared for ships to pass through. Khang Kai, between Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong, would be cleared for cargo ships, which pass from Yunnan in southern China to Thailand and Laos' old capital of Luang Prabang.

The work takes place under an agreement which took effect last June to promote greater economic contact between the countries.

In addition to Khang Kai, nine reefs between Burma and Laos and the one inside China have to be cleared.

Bangkok approved the clearance plan in January.

Mr Chainarong said pressure from environmentalists and villagers could stop the operation.

The Southeast Asia Rivers Networks was formed in 1999 by researchers and activists to keep track of the social and environmental issues arising from dams and government policies on resource management.

A preliminary study by the group said clearing the reefs could threaten the complex ecology of the Mekong and threaten bank erosion.

Villagers' water supplies would be depleted and their way of life threatened.

``In terms of its environmental, social and cultural aspects, clearing reefs from the Mekong River for navigation and tourism is inappropriate,'' it said.