BANKS DODGY DEALS CAMPAIGNS
About BankTrack
Visit us
Organisation
Our team
Our board
Guiding principles
Team up with us
Jobs at BankTrack
Our annual reports
Funding and finances
History
BankTrack in the media
Our privacy policy
Donate
2023-03-17 00:00:00
Briefing: The role of financial institutions in decarbonising the steel sector
2023-03-09 00:00:00
Dutch bank ING supports controversial pipeline to import gas from authoritarian Azerbaijan
2023-02-23 00:00:00
Financial institutions need to address steelmaking’s coal addiction
2023-02-07 00:00:00
What COP15 means for banks: meeting the Global Biodiversity Framework requires protecting Indigenous rights and divesting from harmful industries
2023-03-20 08:50:41
Who dares to finance Eni and Exxon’s dangerous Rovuma gas plans in Mozambique?
2023-03-14 14:59:00
New ING policy could spark bank shift away from financing oil and gas infrastructure
2023-02-24 13:46:14
Pego power station conversion plans halted
2022-12-14 11:08:26
HSBC announces it will no longer finance new oil and gas fields
Connect
2022-11-22 00:00:00
Banking on Thin Ice: Two years in the heat
2022-11-17 00:00:00
BankTrack Global Human Rights Benchmark 2022
2022-10-21 00:00:00
Burning forests in the name of clean energy? How banks are failing to exclude the harmful wood biomass industry from finance
2022-06-28 00:00:00
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP): Finance Risk Update No. 3
2022-04-05 00:00:00
The BankTrack Human Rights Benchmark Asia
2022-03-30 00:00:00
Banking on Climate Chaos 2022
See all publications
Sections
Banks Dodgy Deals Campaigns
Our campaigns
Banks and Climate
Banks and Human Rights
Banks and Nature
Banks and Pandemics
Our projects
Tracking the NZBA
Banks and Putin's war in Ukraine
Tracking the Equator Principles
Tracking the PRBs
Find a Better Bank
Banks and the OECD Guidelines
Media
News Publications
Fossil Banks No Thanks StopEACOP Forests & Finance Banks & Biodiversity Drop JBS Bank of Coal Don't Buy into Occupation
BankTrack
About BankTrack Visit us Organisation Our team Our board Guiding principles Team up with us Jobs at BankTrack Our annual reports Funding and finances History BankTrack in the media Our privacy policy Donate
Successes Contact BankTrack
Donate Mailing list Facebook Twitter Login
Home › Dodgy Deals ›
Dodgy Deal
Lower Sesan 2 damCambodia

Project – On record

This profile is no longer actively maintained, with the information now possibly out of date
Lead organisation:
BankTrack
Contact:

Ame Trandem, International Rivers

Last update: 2016-10-06 23:15:26

Project – On record

This profile is no longer actively maintained, with the information now possibly out of date
Lead organisation:
BankTrack
Contact:

Ame Trandem, International Rivers

Last update: 2016-10-06 23:15:26
Why this profile?

What must happen

Financiers should withdraw their investment in the Lower Sesan 2 project, which will degrade the Sesan and Srepok rivers and destroy the livelihoods of thousands of local Cambodian communities. Further they should:

 

  • Respect the wishes of local communities who do not want the dam development to proceed.

  • Uphold national laws of the Cambodian government and involved companies.

  • Follow the procedures and recommendations as stated in the respected World Commission on Dams guidelines on dam approval processes, construction, and operation.

About
Sectors Hydroelectric Power Generation
Location

Located on the Sesan River, just below the confluence of the Srepok River in Cambodia's Stung Treng Province Province, the large 400MW, $816 million Lower Sesan 2 hydropower dam will block two of the largest rivers in the Mekong River Basin, the Sesan and Srepok Rivers, forcing thousands of people to relocate. The Lower Sesan 2 dam will also severely diminish the fish stocks in the region, as well as others throughout the Mekong River Basin, near the Tonle Sap Lake in Central Cambodia, and the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. The proposed dam will also effect:

  • Natural resources on river banks, along with natural vegetation, fish varieties, and fauna dependent on the rivers will be affected and lost;

  • Social infrastructure, such as schools, roads, pagodas, health centres, etc., will be destroyed;

  • Farmland will be flooded and lost;

  • Water quality will be severely negatively affected;

  • Water flow will forever be altered and fluctuate irregularly, interrupting people's livelihoods;

  • Fish migration will be affected, and fish varieties will disappear;

  • People's tradition and customs will be affected, and children's education will be interrupted;

  • Communities are also concerned that insufficient compensation will be provided, and are worried sustaining their livelihoods.

Impacts

Social and human rights impacts

There are several social concerns attached to this project:

  • The dam is likely to flood seven villages in four communes. Approximately 4,574 people comprising 1,052 families will then have to be resettled into new locations.

  • At least 38,675 people, including a large number of indigenous peoples, included in at least 86 villages located along the Sesan and Srepok Rivers and in the reservoir area would lose access to the vast majority of their fisheries resources due to the dam blocking fish migrations from the Mekong and Sekong Rivers up the Sesan and Srepok Rivers. In addition, at least 87 villages in Cambodia located along tributaries of these two rivers would also lose access to migratory fish. In total, at least 78,000 people living above the Sesan 2 dam site are expected to lose access to migratory fish

  • 1,290 ha of agricultural land will be lost equalling approximately 25% of total agricultural land in the Sesan district.

  • 3,000 workers are expected to be employed to build the dam and many of these people are likely to come from outside provinces which may lead to problems and impacts to communities and local cultures.

  • If people lose their livelihood they may have to migrate outside of the community to work resulting in families and communities breaking down.

  • The amount of useable or drinkable water will decline.

  • Health problems may also arise. If a free flowing river suddenly becomes a stagnant reservoir this will signal a change in water quality and an increase in health problems: increase in mosquito breeding habitat, Malaria, Dengue Fever, toxic algae, skin rashes, respiratory problems, and other illnesses

  • There will be a massive loss of the number and quantity of different fish species, as the dam will block fish passage to upstream Sesan and Srepok Rivers. People in Cambodia typically rely on fish as their food staple and main source of protein. If there are not sufficient fish in the rivers nutritional and other health issues may increase.

 

The list of human rights concers are as follows:

  • The knowledge of communities who will be directly affected by the LS2 dam is very limited as they have had limited opportunity to be involved in the planning process.

  • Community opposition to the project is evident. Indigenous community in Ratanakiri have sent statements and letters to local and national authorities, governing bodies, and the dam developers themselves.

  • Independent research (refer Baird 2009) conducted with villages in the project area concluded that 100% of the people who participated in village meetings clearly indicated that they are opposed to the LS2 dam.

  • There currently exists no clear information regarding resettlement and compensation plans for the LS2 dam and affected communities. According to a presentation given by PECC1 and KCC during 2008 (the company who conducted the environmental impact assessment), affected communities will be provided with a new wooden house, some farmland, and some infrastructure. It remains to be seen if the government or companies will meet their resettlement requirements. People are worried about impacts to their livelihoods, which are difficult to replace.

  • Cambodia does not have a resettlement law. There is currently a draft version of the law but this has not yet been approved by the National Assembly indicating that there are no clear guidelines to follow. In this respect the policies of the company will likely be used rather than national guidelines meaning that resettlement is often unfair and compensation is not based on the full replacement value.

  • Experience in Cambodia shows that most EIA reports are not public or performed in a transparent manner and it is difficult to know if an EIA has even been completed.

Some of the gender concerns are as follows:

  • Responsibility to collect water and food preparation falls to the women in the household so if water quality decreases and becomes inadequate for consumption, health impacts will be experienced by women first.

  • Also if there is less water in the river, or if the relocation areas are farther from the river, then women will have to travel further to collect water.

  • Children are also at risk because they spend a lot of their time playing in, and beside the river.

 


Environmental and climate impacts

There is a list of environmental concerns as well:

  • The dam site is very flat and therefore the height of the dam will be 75 metres above sea level. The reservoir area of the dam will be extensive and also shallow and will flood 33,560ha of land.

  • Much land will be lost when the reservoir floods:

    • 305km2 of forests, which are used to collect non-timber forest products

    • 7km of the National Road #78

    • 7,086ha of forest in the new resettlement area

    • Since March 2013 there have been reports of a lot of illegal logging taking place outside of the dam's demarcation zones by Cambodia's Ang & Associates Lawyer Group (a company owned by Royal Group's Kith Meng).  Logging was halted in late 2013 following the order of a government investigation, however, it is reported that the investigation never took place and illegal logging has since continued.
  • Rare and endangered species of flora and fauna will be lost

  • The river's water flow in terms of quantity and quality will forever be altered

  • There will be a massive loss of the number and quantity of different fish species, as the dam will block fish passage to upstream Sesan and Srepok Rivers. Over 100 fish species are found in the river and 66% of these fish are migratory species therefore if the dam is built, most of these species will disappear from upstream locations.  A 2012 study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science stated that the project would led to the destruction of 9.3% of the Mekong River Basin's fish biomass and led to the extinction of more than 50 fish species.

  • The dam will block much needed sediment and nutrient flows to downstream water users, experts have estimated that between 6 to 8% of the Mekong River Basin's sediment flows would be blocked.


Other impacts

After 25 to 30 years of operating a dam, the sediment loads in the reservoir will steadily build making the reservoir shallower. This will also reduce the capacity of the dam to produce electricity and reduce the financial viability of the dam and may cause financial problems in the future.

Overall, if the Lower Sesan 2 project goes ahead, it will cause serious negative environmental, social, and health impacts.

The Lower Sesan 2 dam is a big project; 400MW and 75 metres high and estimated to cost USD816 million indicating that this is a developers dream, but independent research and lessons learned from other hydropower projects in the region show that this will become a community's nightmare.

 

 

Financiers
Institution type
Finance type
Year

According to the Law on Authorization of Payment Warranty of Royal Government of Cambodia for the Hydro Power Lower Sesan 2 Company, passed by the National Assembly in 2013, Cambodian Royal Group of Companies will be providing 30% of the financing for the dam and 70% will be provided in the form of a loan a Chinese bank, understood to be China Development Bank (Source: Phnom Pehn Post).

ANZ (Australia) has a joint venture, ANZ Royal Bank, with Cambodian-based Royal Group of Companies, one of the main backers of the Lower Sesan II dam. ANZ Royal is 55% owned by ANZ and 45% by the Royal Group of Companies. However nether ANZ nor ANZ Royal Bank are involved in financing the dam.

source: International rivers

Companies

ANZ Royal Group

Cambodia
Website

EVN (Please use "Electricity of Vietnam")

Vietnam
Website

Hydrolancang International Energy Co Ltd

China
Website

Royal Group of Cambodia (multiple entries - do not use this!)

Cambodia
Website
No companies
News
BankTrack
Partners
Blog
External
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

New database addresses lack of transparency about financial intermediary investments of IFC, FMO

2021-12-01 | International Accountability Project, Oxfam International, Profundo
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Cambodia: Communities impacted by Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Project seek IFC dispute resolution process; Companies' responses

2021-02-22 | BHRRC
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Work underway on 'disastrous' Cambodian dam

2013-05-10 | Deutsche Welle
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Cambodia’s Lower Sesan 2 Dam’s Draft Law Evades Costs and Concerns

2013-02-11 | Phnom Penh | Ame Trandem, International Rivers
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Chinese sign deal on dam, villagers fear flooding

2012-11-27 | Phnom Penh | Phnom Penh Post
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Electricity a matter of transmission

2011-06-03 | Vietnam | PhnomPenhPost
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Electricity for Vietnam

2011-06-01 | Vietnam | PhnomPenhPost
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Hydropower plants depleting rivers

2011-05-27 | Vietnam | Saigon GP Daily
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Flood of hydrodam fears

2011-05-20 | Ratanakkiri province | PhnomPenhPost
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Vietnamese projects get thumbs up in Cambodia

2011-05-03 | Cambodia | VietNamNet
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Sesan dam to proceed this year

2011-04-26 | Cambodia | PhnomPenhPost
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Construction nears for Sesan 2

2011-01-24 | Cambodia | Khmer Property News
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Daming the future of villages on the banks of the Sesan river

2010-04-30 | Cambodia
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Villagers write to Hun Sen over dam

2010-03-15 | Cambodia
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Ratanakkiri villagers say dams have drained rivers

2010-03-02 | Phnom Penh Post
Resources
Documents
Videos
Links
2013-08-07 00:00:00

Factsheet: Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Project, Northeastern Cambodia

NGO document
2013-08-07 00:00:00 | International Rivers
2011-04-19 00:00:00

Economic Valuation Of Livelihood Income Losses And Other Tangible Downstream Impacts From The Yali Falls Dam To The Se San River Basin In Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia

NGO document
2011-04-19 00:00:00 | Bruce McKenney, Oxfam America
2011-04-19 00:00:00

Abandoned villages along the Sesan

NGO document
2011-04-19 00:00:00 | 3 S Rivers Protection Network
2011-04-19 00:00:00

Abandoned villages along the Sesan

NGO document
2011-04-19 00:00:00 | 3 S Rivers Protection Network
2011-04-18 00:00:00

ANZ’s Corporate and Social Responsibility policies

Bank policy
2011-04-18 00:00:00 | ANZ
2011-04-18 00:00:00

ANZ's policy on community development

Bank policy
2011-04-18 00:00:00 | ANZ
2011-04-18 00:00:00

Striver technical brief: Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins

NGO document
2011-04-18 00:00:00 | Striver
2009-10-19 00:00:00

Powering 21st century Cambodia with decentralized generation

NGO document
2009-10-19 00:00:00 | Probe International
2007-01-01 00:00:00

3SPN. 2007. Abandoned villages along the Sesan River in Ratanakiri Province, northeastern Cambodia

NGO document
2007-01-01 00:00:00 | 3S Rivers Protection Network, Ban Lung, Ratanakiri, Cambodia
2007-01-01 00:00:00

I want to eat fish not electricity: abandoned villages along the Sesan River in Ratanakiri Province, northeastern Cambodia

NGO document
2007-01-01 00:00:00 | 3S Rivers Protection Network, Ban Lung, Ratanakiri, Cambodia

Villagers See Negative Impacts from Proposed Dam (Cambodia news in Khmer)

"River protection groups and villagers along the Sesan River in Ratanakkiri province have appealed to halt the Lower Sesan Dam II project, insisting more studies are needed on the dam's impact on community livelihoods. The appeal followed the government's approval of the dam project during a Vietnam-Cambodia investment conference in Phnom Penh last month. Foy Suth, a representative of riverside fishing communities on the Sesan, Sre Pork and Sekong rivers, said the families who depend on the rivers should be taken in to account. "Construction of the Lower Sesan Dam II would cause flooding so we request the government not to give permission to build this dam." VOA Khmer's Say Mony reports from Rattanakiri province."
2011-06-16 14:34:10

Community Video Statements: Our Concerns About The Lower Sesan 2 Dam (part 3 of 3)

2011-04-18 17:13:30

Community Video Statements: Our Concerns About The Lower Sesan 2 Dam (part 2 of 3)

2011-04-18 17:11:55

Community Video Statements: Our Concerns About The Lower Sesan 2 Dam (part 1 of 3)

2011-04-18 17:11:00

Video links

http://desbarragesetdeshommes.unblog.fr/

International Rivers: Sesan river

The Sesan River- Mouth to Source

Contains postings relating to the dam project.
Updates

2013

2013-02-15 00:00:00 | Guarantee of Payments Agreement Signed for Lower Sesan 2

On February 15th, Cambodia's National Assembly approved the Lower Sesan 2 Dam's Guarantee of Payments into law.  This law offers government guarantees to the project developers in the event that Electricite du Cambodge fails for pay for electricity it promised to purchase or in case of a political force majeure.

2012

2012-11-02 00:00:00 | Lower Sesan 2 Dam Approved

In November 2012, the Cambodian government approved the Lower Sesan 2 Dam as a joint venture between Cambodian, Chinese and Vietnamese investment.

2011

2011-05-26 00:00:00 | Latest update

On May 19th, 2011, hundreds of villagers from communities along the Sesan river met in Ratanakkiri's Veun Sai district yesterday to protest the dam. Read more about the protests here.

Recently, on 24 April 2011, Cambodia's Royal group announced the plan to process with its Vietnamese partner on a US$700 million hydroelectric plant along the Lower Sesan River. It is expected that commercial operations will begin in 2017. Read more.

In November 2010 the government of Cambodia approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and negotiations are currently underway to agree a power purchasing agreement for the project. In January 2011, Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment licensed Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to make a US$800 million investment into the project. Construction is expected to start later this year, in 2011. When completed, the power plant will have a capacity of 400 MW with an average output of 1,998 GWh per year.

Send feedback on this profile
Sections
Banks Policies Dodgy Deals Campaigns
Our campaigns
Banks and Climate Banks and Human Rights Banks and Nature Banks and Pandemics
Our projects
Tracking the NZBA Banks and Putin's war in Ukraine Tracking the Equator Principles Tracking the PRBs Find a Better Bank Banks and the OECD Guidelines
Media
News Publications
Fossil Banks No Thanks StopEACOP Forests & Finance Banks & Biodiversity Drop JBS Bank of Coal Don't Buy into Occupation
BankTrack
About BankTrack Visit us Organisation Our team Our board Guiding principles Team up with us Jobs at BankTrack Our annual reports Funding and finances History BankTrack in the media Our privacy policy Donate
Successes Contact BankTrack
Vismarkt 15
6511 VJ Nijmegen
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 24 324 9220
Contact@banktrack.org
Donate Mailing list Facebook Twitter
©2022 BankTrack
BankTrack is a registered charity in the Netherlands (ANBI) - RSIN 813874658
Find our privacy policy here

Stay up to date

Sign up now for all BankTrack's news


Make a comment

Your comment will be reviewed, before being posted