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LUANG PRABANG, Laos (AP) – Landlocked Laos lacks the famous beaches of neighboring countries that draw tourists, but instead the unspoiled beauty of its mountains, rivers and historic sites.
The crowning jewel is Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site world heritage According to legend, Buddha once took a rest during his journey. Located on a peninsula at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, it is a blend of historic Lao and French colonial architecture, all blended together.
But a multibillion-dollar dam project underway 25 kilometers (15 miles) upstream has raised concerns that the city could lose its UNESCO status, with multiple dams to be built on the Mekong River. Widespread questions have arisen about what impact the government’s ambitious plans to do so will have on the world. Rivers are the lifeblood of Southeast Asia.
“Once the Luang Prabang Dam is completed and there’s already a lot of construction going on, the river will be a dead body of water,” said Brian Eiler, director of the Southeast Asia Program and Energy and Water Division at the Washington-based Stimson Center. says Mr. and sustainability programs.
“People go to Luang Prabang as tourists to see the mighty Mekong River and see how the Lao people interact with the river, and all that interaction will be lost. Fishing, meaningful local boating, and the commerce that local people conducted in relatively small boats will all be lost.” ”
The dam is also built near an active fault, and although design studies have concluded it can withstand earthquakes, local residents are concerned.
For Som Phong, 38, a tour boat operator and lifelong Luang Prabang resident, memories of another dam collapse in Laos in 2018, when shoddy construction killed dozens and displaced thousands, are still fresh. Fresh.
“A lot of people died,” he said.
Luang Prabang is not yet on UNESCO’s list of endangered world heritage sites, but the Paris-based organization is working on a number of issues, including the protection of historic buildings and the impact of dam plans on protected wetlands and the city’s riverbanks. We have outlined a range of concerns and are awaiting reports from Laos.
“Previous studies carried out by the authorities have not yet confirmed whether this project is likely to have any negative impacts,” UNESCO said in an emailed response to questions from The Associated Press.
The issue will be discussed at a UNESCO meeting in New Delhi in July, but construction continues in the meantime.
The site has become a hive of activity, with backhoes ripping shovelfuls of deep red soil from riverside hills and dumping it, along with tons of stone, into the Mekong River to form foundations.
The dam site is within sight of Pak Ou Cave, which houses hundreds of Buddha statues and is a popular detour for tourists visiting Luang Prabang.
Once completed, the project is expected to displace more than 500 households and affect 20 villages.
The Luang Prabang World Heritage Department referred inquiries regarding the status of its response to UNESCO to the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, which in turn referred questions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment by phone and did not respond to emailed questions.
Surrounded by mountains in northern Laos, Luang Prabang was the capital from the 14th to the 16th century, before being moved to Vientiane.
Its historic center includes numerous Buddhist temples, a former royal palace, French colonial buildings, and a mountaintop shrine built around the purported footprint of Buddha. There are several picturesque waterfalls within a short drive from the city.
The bustling night market sells traditional Laotian handicrafts and locally made whiskey, as well as the millions dropped on the country during the Vietnam conflict in an operation to cut off communist supply lines. There are stalls selling trinkets made from parts of American bombs. A lively morning market sells brightly colored peppers, spices, fish and other exotic foods.
Many tourists arrive by small river cruise ships or by a new high-speed rail system built with funding from China as part of the Belt and Road project linking Vientiane to Kunming, China.
It was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. It has been praised for its “unique and extremely well-preserved townscape” and “natural spaces located in the city center, along riverbanks and wetlands.”
Luang Prabang Dam is one of nine dams planned by Laos on the Mekong River. Two other dams already exist, and Laos is also building dozens of dams on its Mekong tributaries, with an ambitious government that wants to turn the country into a “Battery of Southeast Asia” by supplying neighboring countries. As part of the project, construction has been progressing at a rapid pace over the past 12 years or so. By electricity.
Laos relies heavily on foreign funds for construction, primarily from China and Thailand, in part because it currently has a crushing debt to China that it is struggling to repay. .
“When you think about Laos’ ‘Batteries of Southeast Asia’ program, it was really about Laos opening the door wide for foreign investors to come in and build dams,” said Stimson Center Mekong Dam Co. Mr. Eyler, who is also the person in charge, said. monitor program.
He added that dam projects were approved quickly, often without fully considering their impacts, and that electricity was exported mainly to Laos’ neighbors, such as Thailand.
“This dam will not generate much electricity for Laos. It will power a new shopping mall in Bangkok,” Ayler said of the Luang Prabang project. “So there is a mismatch between those who are adversely affected and the beneficiaries.”
The first mainstream dam, the Xayaburi Dam just downstream from Luang Prabang, began operation in 2019 and is already having an impact on the city, said Philip Hirsch, emeritus professor of human geology at the University of Sydney.
“Due to the influence of the Xayaburi Dam downstream, it has already become more of a lakeside town than a riverside town,” he says.
The plan is to allow a constant flow of water to the new Luang Prabang dam, a so-called run-of-river dam, but the water area will become further depleted of sediment, impacting traditional fishing and bank farming.
In a report commissioned by the Laotian authorities, British consultancy CBA concluded that “key issues regarding catastrophic flooding and changes in water levels on the Mekong River due to dam failures have been resolved”. , seismologists and others remain concerned that the dam is being built so close to an active volcano. Area of responsibility.
“If you have a reservoir that is 78 kilometers long and you raise the water level by about 40 meters, you just create a wall of water, which is impossible given how low-lying some parts of Luang Prabang are along the river. ‘It would be devastating,’ Hirsch said.
The Mekong River Commission is an organization established by the countries through which the Mekong River flows (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam) to cooperate on issues related to the Mekong River. It was shown that the value was significantly lower than the design value. “Limits of dams.”
The Lao government has established an independent commission to monitor dam safety issues, the Associated Press noted in a written response to questions from The Associated Press.
The Mekong River supports the world’s largest inland fishery, and the River Commission also investigated the dam’s potential impacts on hydrology, sediment, water quality, fish and other issues.
The report concluded that this dam, when considered with other dams already built or planned by Laos, could cause damage downstream to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and that these countries have expressed confirmed the concerns.
“In isolation, the potential transboundary negative impacts of the Luang Prabang hydropower project may not be significant,” the Rivers Commission said. “However, it could have significant impacts on other riparian countries, in addition to other existing and planned developments.”
For tourist Barbara Kurti, who came to Luang Prabang to see “real people, real life” in Laos, the new dam could have a big impact on the city’s appeal as a destination.
“For me, the construction of dams is a problem, because they significantly change people’s lives and the real character of cities,” says the 46-year-old Italian, sitting on the banks of the Mekong River. Told. friend.
“In my opinion, we have to preserve our tradition.”
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