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Clear water below a dam is said to be effects often occur in the period shortly
hungry water, in that it will recapture following impoundment. As submerged
its sediment load by eroding the vegetation and soil decompose, oxygen
downstream riverbed and banks. is heavily depleted. This de-oxygenated
Eventually, the more easily erodable water can be lethal to aquatic life within
material below the dam will be carried the reservoir and downstream in the
away, leaving a rocky stream bed and river.
poorer habitat for aquatic life. Over A reduction of biodiversity following
time, the river downstream of the dam construction of a large dam and
will become narrower and deeper, reservoir is almost inevitable. These
reducing habitat quality within the river large-scale projects tend to fragment
and the surrounding riparian areas. river ecosystems, isolating aquatic
Downstream water quality will also populations living upstream and
be affected by the construction of the downstream of the dam and cutting off
dam and reservoir. Water temperature, migration pathways. Of particular
turbidity, dissolved gases and importance is the blocking of spawning
concentrations of heavy metals will all fish traveling up-river and then of
change as a result of the impoundment. smolts returning back down-river. In
When water is held within the reservoir, either case, the dam can be an
its temperature increases, nutrients are enormous obstacle, often with great
removed (as they settle out of the water impact on fish populations. In addition,
column), forests are flooded and almost all dams reduce normal flooding,
decompose (raising biochemical oxygen effectively isolating the river from its
demand levels), and large mats of floodplain. Numerous aquatic and
aquatic plants may colonize the terrestrial species will be unable to
relatively stagnant waters of the adapt to these changes in water levels
reservoir. Each of these effects impacts and flow regimes. The whole
riverine ecology. Particularly severe ecosystem will experience a drop in
revenues from the power sales could consumption of fish with high mercury
also be allocated to restoration and body burdens. Fish species and
enhancement of other degraded abundances both upstream and
habitat. For example, the Nam Theun downstream of the dam should also be
Electricity Consortium could be monitored on an ongoing basis.
required to reforest an area that was
recently logged. Or they might
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
contribute funds to the Giant catfish
captive breeding program or commit Currently accepted EIA practice
money to research into improved fish suggests that some improvements
passage designs. could be made to the public
involvement process for the Nam Theun
2 project. The decision to proceed with
ENVIRONMENTAL M ONITORING the project had been made well before
PROGRAM the public was invited to participate in
Baseline environmental monitoring the decision-making process and the
of resident fish species and their majority of public consultation took
migration patterns is an important place after the projects design had
component of the Nam Theun 2 EIA been finalized. More substantive
process. Pre-development hydrologic involvement of local people concerning
data should also be collected, including resettlement options and mitigation
seasonal variations in flow rates and measures, rather than discussions on
volumes. Both the fish species data and whether the local communities
the hydrologic data will be valuable in supported the project, would be
designing effective fish passage desirable. Adequate information may
structures to maintain fish migration also not have been made available to
routes. Resident riparian plant and the local people.
animal species should also be Ideally, project details should be
documented, as these species will lose given to local people in the earliest
their habitat when the dam impounds. planning stages of such a large-scale
Baseline water quality parameters hydropower project. Generally
which should also be examined include: accepted guidelines for adequate public
biochemical oxygen demand, total involvement include:
suspended solids, dissolved oxygen, Ensure that the public has an
turbidity, temperature and mercury opportunity to review and comment
concentrations in water and sediment. on comprehensive study reports
Significant changes in these parameters before any decisions are made
are often associated with large dams
and reservoirs, and these impacts need Governments and international
to be accurately quantified. lending agencies should provide
guidance to project proponents on
Throughout the life of the project, how to effectively involve the public
these same water quality parameters
should continue to be monitored. Funding should be provided to
Reservoir and riverine fish tissue could concerned groups so that they can
also be sampled periodically for participate in the project review and
mercury concentrations, as a local final decision making.
health risk may exist from the