Work to begin on controversial dam in Stung Treng next week

Workers will begin clearing forestland in Stung Treng province as early as next week in preparation for the controversial 400-megawatt Lower Sesan 2 dam, district officials and villagers said yesterday. The hydropower project, funded by Vietnam Electricity (EVN), will flood tens of thousands of hectares of forest and displace 5,000 mostly indigenous minority villagers in Sesan district, according to project documents. Although plans for the dam have been in the works since 2008, villagers were not officially informed of their eviction until last May, and there is still a lack of clarity on where they will be resettled…