The impact of proposed hydropower plants on the eco-system of Cat Tien National Park in southern Dong Nai Province is concerning scientists and the public.
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| Fishermen at Cat Tien National Park in Dong Nai. Experts have warned that developing hydro-power plants in the immediate vinicity of Cat Tien park may put its biodiversity in jeopardy. |
The impact of proposed hydropower plants on the eco-system of Cat Tien National Park in southern Dong Nai Province is concerning scientists and the public.
This was according to Viet Nam Rivers Network member,doctor Le Anh Tuan, who said projects 6 and 6A would occupy 50ha of forest in Cat Tien National Park which was a protected area under the Law on Biodiversity 2009.
The network last Thursday called on the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to review the projects.
Tuan said the projects' environmental impact assessment reports, released by investor Duc Long Gia Lai Group, remained unconvinced, including calculations on earthquake and reservoir-triggered seismicity.
Department of Environmental Appraisal and Impact Assessment deputy head Nguyen Vu Trung said the environment impact assessment was still under appraisal.
Trung said the ministry was solely an advisory agency for the Government. It only took responsibility to assess and verify the environmental impact assessment of the hydropower projects.
Only the Government had the right to decided whether to implement the projects based on the assessments, he said.
Meanwhile, Duc Long Gia Lai Group chairman Bui Phap said it had taken more than six years to prepare for the projects.
"We constantly give out solutions to minimise impacts on the environment of the two projects," he said.
Phap said preparations for the projects had strictly followed regulations and most of the forest that would be destroyed were considered "poor".
According to the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry's Forest Inventory and Planning Institute, "poor forest" is a category with a small amount of timber.
The hydropower plant projects would have a total capacity of 241MW and a total output of 54.8 billion kWh in electricity, Phap said.
The projects would pay VND15 trillion (US$719 million) in environmental protection fees over 40 years and would create 6,000 jobs for people, he said.
Phap also denied a claim the projects' environmental impact assessments were copied and cursory.
"We have difficulties with different ideas from the public, however, if the Prime Minister orders us to suspend the projects, we will," he said.
Meanwhile, Duc Long Gia Lai Group and the HCM City-based Environment and Natural Resources Institute, which compiled the impact report, have failed to satisfactorily answer questions from local media.
The questions were mainly related to accusations the projects' impact assessment was not based on the Law on Biodiversity and did not fully assess how the projects would impact on the environment of Cat Tien National Park.
Le Bac Huynh, from the Viet Nam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment, said, "It is necessary to set up an independent agency to review all planning of hydropower plant reservoirs on river basins, especially for reservoirs approved by provincial People's Committees."
For reservoirs in the central region, which was often hit by floods and natural calamities, planning and construction of reservoirs must be designed to adjust river flows to reduce floods in the wet reason and store water in the dry season, Huynh said.
Dao Trong Tu, another member of the Viet Nam Rivers Network said, "Consensus plays a vital role in sustainable development of water and energy."
People who suffered direct impacts should be provided with full information and legal support to take part in decision-making processes, Tu said. Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai, told local media on the sidelines of the National Assembly meeting the projects were still being verified and assessed.
The projects would only be implemented if they met all standards, he said.
There were many different ideas on the projects and they presented as good sources for scientists to consider, verify and assess the projects' environmental impacts, Hai said.
Environmental protection and safety of local residents was the first priority, he said.
(Source: VNS)
