Lower Sesan 2 Dam Would be ‘Catastrophic’

Hydropower dams planned for the tributaries of the Mekong River, particularly the Lower Sesan 2, will have a “catastrophic” impact on fish stocks throughout the country, according to new research that calls for several planned dams to be reconsidered. Authored by an international group of researchers including a scientist at the Fisheries Administration, the study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides the strongest evidence yet of the perils of the Lower Sesan 2 dam. It adds to a growing body of research suggesting the dam will have devastating and irreversible impacts on fisheries, biodiversity and the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people. … Of all the tributary dams still in the planning stage, the most harmful by far is Cambodia’s Lower Sesan 2 Dam, which the researchers estimate will cause a 9.3 percent drop in fish stocks throughout the Mekong basin. The finding dwarfs that of the second and third most harmful dams, both in Laos and expected to lead to decreases of 2.3 and 0.9 percent, respectively. …