Environmental flow policy in Lao PDR under rapid hydropower development Christopher Gippel and Peter Gammelgaard Jensen

Lao PDR USD 931 GDP Per Capita (Current US$) in 2009, ChartsBin.com The World Bank

Lao PDR 53,747 m 3 /person/yr Lao PDR 53,747 m 3 /person/yr Thailand 6,509 m 3 /person/yr PR China 2,112 m 3 /person/yr Vietnam 10,151 m 3 /person/yr Total Renewable Water Resources per capita by Country, ChartsBin.com FAO of the United Nations 2010, AQUASTAT online database, Total renewable water resources, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla Rome, Italy

Lancang Jiang

Lao PDR

Regional setting A nation seeking economic development to alleviate poverty Plentiful water Surrounded by wealthier nations, with less water Mountainous, with limited potential for large-scale irrigation development Suited to hydropower development Lao PDR government hopes to transform the country into “the battery of Southeast Asia” by exporting power to Thailand and Vietnam

23 hydropower projects with a capacity of 3,247 MW in operation 29 projects under construction with capacity of 4,097 MW ~100 significant projects are planned 9 dams are proposed along the Mekong River in Laos Xayaburi Dam now being built on the Mekong River

undp lao pdr/valter ziantoni Inland fish is ~50% of animal protein source for Lao people 75% of the population live in rural areas, 33% below poverty line Fishing is an important source of secondary income for many rural people live traditionally beside rivers and streams and grow rice nearby Over 481 species of fish, as well as 37 amphibians, 7 crabs and 10 shrimps identified many species are migratory

Policy issue Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) [2011] Developed a National Policy on Sustainable Hydropower Development Now, rapid influx of hydropower investors and developers (government is 10-20% shareholder) Urgent need for: Detailed policy development Building capacity within MONRE for evaluation of environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA)

Example of environmental flow assessment Nam Ngum 5 Hydropower Project, 2008 “There is no any significant impact on aquatic habitats due to the headpond and/or reservoir is small...For the existing fish species in the project area, it is surmised that those species which can not live in a lentic environment will migrate to suitable habitats upstream of those three main rivers. Whereas, those species that prefer standing water will increase in their abundance.” “The NNg5 powerhouse is located immediately on the right bank the Nam Ngum River where will be the Nam Ngum 3 head pond in the near future and that the NNg5 powerhouse will be discharged directly to the NNg3 head pond. Thus there will be no effect on flow variation or channel hydraulic.” [but Nam Ngum 3 not built, and may never be built]

...another example Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project “The provisions of clause 13.6 of the Concession Agreement...(a) the Minimum Riparian Release Measure (being an obligation on the Company, at all times, to effect a constant minimum water release from the Reservoir into the Nam Theun River, or the equivalent volume of water thereof as measured on a weekly basis, of two (2) m 3 /s...) [the EIA does not clearly identify ecological objectives, and it is unclear how the value of 2 m 3 /s was derived]

Need for change in environmental flow assessment (EFA) for hydropower ESIA Little effort put into scientific investigations for EFA Arbitrary minimum flows simply referring to another EIA – which also did not have any scientific basis Only dealt with minimum flows

Main policy tool for environmental flows: Standard Environmental and Social Obligations (SESO) Developers have agreed to: Do the required Environmental Flow Assessment Propose and implement environmental flows Undertake monitoring of flows and achievement of flow objectives However the developer is not required to commit to flows that would jeopardize the economic feasibility of the project

Water resource developers i.e. hydro- power Water resource managers Local State National Inter- national Water experts Water quality Ecology Hydrology Geomorphology Social Economics River users Irrigators Fisheries Towns Industry Recreation Transport Local residents Routine assessment of Environmental flow requirements Cooperation to achieve agreement ESIA preparation Evaluation/conflict

Water resource developers i.e. hydro- power Water resource managers Local State National Inter- national Water experts Water quality Ecology Hydrology Geomorphology Social Economics River users Irrigators Fisheries Towns Industry Recreation Transport Local residents ESIA assessment of Environmental flow requirements Cooperation to achieve agreement ESIA preparation and approval

Two-Stage process Project pre-feasibility phase Test impact of e-flows on financial viability Little known about local environmental flow needs Make a preliminary assessment of the EFR using a hydrological method assign a proportion or percentile of the natural flow as the environmental flow choice of method advised by expert panel representing a range of perspectives Begin data collection Project feasibility phase Undertake comprehensive holistic environmental flows assessment River specific – use local data Asset-based – locally identified important river assets Interactive – range of e-flow options assessed Holistic – all aspects of ecosystem and livelihood provision Building-block approach – identify important flow components

General objective Specific objectives Hydrology/hydraulics Flow event specification Flow regime of components Monitoring flows and objectives Healthy fisheries Fish diversity / fish abundance Hydrological regime for life cyclesModelling preferred hydraulic habitatFlow events that meet objectives Environmental flow regimes Adaptive management – monitoring flows and objectives Holistic approach to maintain fish

Conclusion Without guidance Non-scientific, poorly documented, no proper objectives E-flows considered an externally imposed inconvenience that threatens Project viability Proposed E-flows are a high risk to ecosystem health and livelihoods Guidance needs to be prescriptive E-flows should be considered an integral part of Project design Open, cooperative, participatory approach to e-flow assessment Away from constant minimum flows, to holistic regimes Compliance monitoring of hydrology Effectiveness monitoring of ecological and livelihood objectives