Ethnic communities relate their stories of resettlement by the Pleikrong dam in the Se San River in Vietnam’s Central highlands: unfair compensation, poor or infertile soils, and lack access to their forests has degraded their livelihoods and made them cheap wage labourers.
Local communities voice their frustrations on the Hoi Xuan dam in Vietnam
Dams are touted as bringing “development”. But in Vietnam, they often end up bringing hardship and frustration for local people especially in mountain areas. In many cases, dams are built without the full participation of affected communities, and fail to offer fair compensation or adequate resettlement programs.
Pak Mun Dam: 25 years after World Bank’s loan, problems remain
In Thailand, communities still suffer impacts of the World Bank’s Pak Mun Dam over 25 years after construction started. Whilst fisheries are decimated, and the communities’ fishing culture largely lost, compensation is inadequate. Yuka Kiguchi asks what are the responsibilities of the World Bank and Government for restitution and redress?
Planned Ywarthit mega-dam on Salween River threatens Karenni communities
The Ywarthit Dam in Karenni State, Myanmar is a huge hydropower project planned for the Salween River. To date communities living nearby have not been consulted, and there is little attention by the media or wider public. Ko Thaike highlights the social and environmental impacts of the project, and says it’s time we talked about it.
A nomadic woman’s story of environmental protection on the Tibetan Plateau
The herding communities of the Tibetan Plateau are facing many struggles to protect their grasslands and herding livestock that are integral not only to their livelihoods but also their culture and identity. Mkha Be explains the changes and challenges facing the herding communities through a nomadic woman’s personal story.
Lower Sesan 2: Construction resumed, troubles restarted
The controversial 400 MW Lower Sesan 2 dam in Northeastern Cambodia resumed construction in March 2015, after being suspended in late 2014 due to community and NGO opposition. In this article, Mai Lan meets the communities whose lives are disrupted, and discusses with local civil society the consequences of the project.
Neak Ta Krahom Kor: Guardian spirit of the Se San River
When their calls for participation in Lower Se San II Dam planning processes fall on deaf ears, community members turn to traditional justice, calling upon their ancestral spirit Neak Ta Krahom Kor to protect them from forced relocation. Does Neak Ta Krahom Kor possess the strength to guard the community from this latest threat?
Coal-power complex brings misery and ecological risk to local people in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta
Three coal-fired energy plants have started construction in the coastal Trà Vinh province of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. The construction of the enormous coal-based energy infrastructure has raised concern over the effects of pollution on the coastal and deltaic ecosystems and the consequences to the farming and fishing-based livelihoods nearby.