A Dam‐Affected Community Celebratesthe International Day of Action for Rivers and Opposesthe Lower Sesan 2 Dam in Stung Treng Province, Northeastern Cambodia

[Sesan District, Stung Treng Province, Northeastern Cambodia] On Saturday 14 March 2015, 140 ethnic Bunong community membersfrom Kbal Romeas Village in Stung Treng Provinces, Northeastern Cambodia, who are affected by the Lower Sesan 2 (LS2) Hydropower Dam Project, celebrated the International Day of Action for Rivers. They also voiced serious concerns over the LS2 project’s negative impacts on rivers and natural resources, on which their life and livelihoods depend.

The villagers  started the event by praying to the riversprit. They thanked the spirit forsupporting their life and asked them to protect riversfor the sake of future generations.

Mr. Nhoy Sro, a village elder,shared hisfeelings,saying, “Rivers are very important to us. They have supported our life in the community for generations. They have provided us with rich natural resourcessuch asfish and water.” He then made an appeal to young people at the cerebration, “I would like to suggest that you should protect our rivers. It must be started by you. If you lose rivers, you will lose everything. Your life, your future, and everything will be gone. So, let’s protect our riverstogether.”

Kbal Romeas Village will be inundated by LS2’sreservoir. The LS2 Dam islocated on the Sesan River in Sesan District in Stung Treng Province, 1.5 km downstream from its confluence with the Srepok River and 25 km from where the two rivers meet the Mekong River’s mainstream. The project is said to flood seven villagesin four communes and displace nearly 5,000 villagers. However, much wider areas, including upstream, will probably be negatively affected. Although technically a tributary dam, LS2 will have significant negative impacts on the fisheries and biodiversity of the Sesan and Srepok Rivers, Tonle Sap Lake, and the entire Mekong River. One study predicts that the dam will cause a 9.3% drop in fish stocks basin‐wide. This amountsto approximately 200,000 tons of fish per year.

“We are very unhappy about the LS2 Dam, which will be built to block our rivers. The project will destroy them. We strongly urge the Cambodian government and the private company to immediately stop the construction and cancel the project by taking into serious consideration the project’s devastating impacts on not only us but also all Cambodian people ,especially women, children, and the poor,” said Mr. Dam Samnang, one of the organizers of the event. He added, “This isthe first time that we celebrate the International Day of Action for Rivers. It is a very good chance for usto think about what rivers mean to us. Children are also enjoying the event. We will celebrate this day every year from now on.”

The participants closed the cerebration by calling out, “Rivers are notsomeone’s properties. They are propertiesfor us all. We must protect them. We must not let others destroy the Srepok River, which is our valuable treasure. It is our life!”