Cambodia: Power line to Laos will 'destroy forest'

Cambodia: Power line to Laos will 'destroy forest'

A new project to bring electricity to Cambodia from Laos threatens to
destroy about 5 hectares of protected forest land in Preah Vihear and is
being carried out without the consultation of local communities, residents
say.

According to documents obtained yesterday, the China National Heavy
Machinery Cooperation was granted a permit to develop a 115-kilovolt power
line that would connect the Kampong Thom region with Laos' power grid via
Peah Vihear province.

"The wires cross the border close to the Don Sahong site," said an anonymous
source researching the topic, referring to a proposed hydropower dam in Laos
that ecologists say will have a devastating impact on the fisheries of the
Mekong region.

The proposed power lines cut through protected community forest areas, he
added.

Local communities in Preah Vihear have known about the proposed project for
about a year but were not informed that it would require the destruction of
protected forest area, local activists said.

Over the past 10 days, however, residents witnessed workers from the Chinese
firm begin to dig up trees and earth, said Koeung Phorn, a member of Kampong
Sranos Forestry Community.

"It destroys the forest that we have tried hard to protect. We are very
disappointed, and they should have told us about this beforehand," Phorn
said, adding that many people in the community depend on the forest for
their livelihood.

The forest community has since complained to local authorities and requested
that the company stop its work. The Chinese company involved in the project
is a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned enterprise Sinomach, which has
numerous development projects in Cambodia and connections to the hydropower
industry, the researcher and others said.

According to Mory Sar, vice president of the Cambodian Youth Network, which
works frequently on environmental issues, Cambodia's government is putting
energy security above ecological concerns.

"It [is] assumed that the Cambodian government is ready to import the
electricity from Laos, or from the [Don Sahong] Dam," Sar said in an email.

"That is the reason the Cambodian government hesitated to oppose the dam
construction."

Cambodia's energy sector relies almost entirely on imported electricity.
Statistics released by the Electricity Authority of Cambodia in January
showed that in 2015 Cambodia imported 277 megawatts of electricity from
Vietnam, 135.5 from Thailand, and just 4 from Laos.

The Ministry of Mines and Energy did not respond to requests for comment
yesterday.

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com