Villagers See Negative Impacts from Proposed Dam

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Tuesday, 31 May  2011

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.