Posted on 19 February
2014 | Phnom Penh, Cambodia – The Lao government’s
decision to forge ahead with the Don Sahong
hydropower project in southern Laos, located
just one kilometre upstream of the core
habitat for Mekong dolphins, could precipitate
the extinction of the species from the Mekong
River, warns a new WWF brief.
According to the WWF
paper, the dam builders intend to excavate
millions of tonnes of rock using explosives,
creating strong sound waves that could potentially
kill dolphins which have highly sensitive
hearing structures. Increased boat traffic,
changes in water quality, and habitat degradation
represent other major direct risks to the
dolphins, along with the cumulative indirect
effects of disturbance and stress.
“Plans to construct
the Don Sahong dam in a channel immediately
upstream from these dolphins will likely
hasten their disappearance from the Mekong,”
said Chhith Sam Ath, WWF-Cambodia’s Country
Director. “The dam’s impacts on the dolphins
probably cannot be mitigated, and certainly
not through the limited and vague plans
outlined in the project’s environmental
impact assessment.”
Freshwater Irrawaddy
dolphins are critically endangered in the
Mekong River, where their numbers have dwindled
to around 85 individuals restricted to a
190km stretch of the Mekong River mainstream
between southern Laos and north-east Cambodia.
The dolphins are already threatened from
accidental entanglement in gillnets and
low calf survival, additional pressures
on the population will likely herald their
demise.
“Pressures on the Mekong
dolphins are immense, but as long as they
survive there is hope,” added Sam Ath. “But
the attitude implicit in the dam developer’s
impact assessment – that the dolphin population
is already vulnerable and therefore should
not stand in the way of development – will
do nothing but seal their fate.”
In September last year,
Laos announced its decision to proceed with
the Don Sahong dam on the Mekong mainstream,
bypassing the Mekong River Commission’s
(MRC) consultation process. The dam will
block the only channel suitable for year-round
fish migration, putting the world’s largest
inland fishery at risk. Despite objections
from neighbouring countries, construction
is expected to start soon and finish in
early 2018.
Alternatives to the
Don Sahong dam exist, such as the Thako
Project, which could generate approximately
the same amount of electricity as Don Sahong
but at lower cost and with far less impacts
as it does not involve building a barrier
across any of the channels of the Mekong
mainstream. Unfortunately the Thako project
cannot move ahead if the Don Sahong dam
proceeds as they would be competing for
the same water.
“It is not too late
to suspend the Don Sahong project and consider
smarter alternatives,” said Gerry Ryan,
Technical Advisor with WWF-Cambodia and
author of the brief. “Not building the Don
Sahong dam is not an irreparable blow to
the development aspirations of Laos, or
their ability to produce electricity, but
building it will almost certainly cause
the extirpation of their dolphins and threaten
critical fisheries.”
Mekong dolphins also
have great cultural significance to local
communities and bring tangible livelihood
benefits. “Dolphin-watching tours are a
major contributor to growth, bringing in
much needed income to local communities,”
added Ryan. “It is clear that saving the
dolphins also means smart development.”
The dolphins are also
an important indicator of the health and
sound management of the freshwater resources,
and their decline could signal a potentially
devastating decline in the health of the
entire river ecosystem.
WWF is calling for the
suspension of the Don Sahong dam to allow
decisions to be reached using sound science
and in consultation with impacted countries.
“Lower Mekong countries are bound by the
MRC agreement to hold inter-governmental
consultations before proceeding with dams
that impact their neighbours,” said Sam
Ath. “Laos’ failure to honour the consultation
agreement is threatening transboundary cooperation,
the livelihoods and food security of millions,
and critically endangered species.”
+ More
Groundbreaking analysis
shows China's renewable energy future within
reach
Posted on 19 February
2014 | Washington, D.C. – By embracing conservation
measures and renewable energy, China can
transition to an 80 percent renewable electric
power system by 2050 at far less cost than
continuing to rely on coal, according to
a new report from WWF-US.
As a result, China’s
carbon emissions from power generation could
be 90 percent less than currently projected
levels in 2050 without compromising the
reliability of the electric grid or slowing
economic growth.
The China’s Future Generation
report was prepared by the Energy Transition
Research Institute (Entri) for WWF and uses
robust computer modeling to simulate four
scenarios based on today’s proven technology:
a Baseline, High Efficiency, High Renewables,
and Low-Carbon Mix scenario. To develop
its findings, Entri examines China’s electricity
supply and demand on an hour-by-hour basis
through 2050 using its advanced China Grid
Model.
“By fully embracing
energy conservation, efficiency and renewables,
China has the potential to demonstrate to
the world that economic growth is possible
while sharply reducing the emissions that
drive unhealthy air pollution and climate
change,” said WWF’s China Climate and Energy
Program Director Lunyan Lu. “This research
shows that with strong political will, China
can prosper while eliminating coal from
its power mix within the next 30 years.”
In addition to ramping
up development of renewable power sources,
the world’s most populous and energy-hungry
nation will need to simultaneously pursue
aggressive energy efficiency initiatives
to reduce electricity demand. These efficiencies,
including bold standards for appliances
and industrial equipment, can reduce annual
power consumption in 2050 by almost half,
which would set the gold standard for these
products globally and make the shift to
a renewables-based power system possible.
“This research allows
Chinese leaders to put the questions of
technical feasibility aside and economic
viability aside. Instead, it is time to
focus on how to enact the right policies
and establish the right institutions to
ensure that China’s citizens and economy
are receiving clean, renewable electricity,”
said Lu. “The report shows that today’s
technology can get China within striking
distance of WWF’s vision of a future powered
solely by renewable energy.”
The analysis also describes
recent Chinese regulatory efforts and challenges
to increasing the percentage of renewable
electricity in the country, while providing
a set of targeted recommendations for Chinese
leaders and policy makers on energy efficiency,
prioritizing low-carbon electricity supply
investments, allowing price changes to reflect
the true cost of service, and prioritizing
collection and analysis of key power usage
data.
“Both China and the
United States are at a crossroads where
leaders need to choose between a future
where healthy communities are powered by
clean, renewable energy or a future darkened
by air pollution and the dangerous effects
of climate change,” said Lou Leonard, WWF’s
US vice president for climate change. “This
year, as all countries develop new national
climate targets in advance of talks in Paris,
our leaders need to choose that brighter
future. For Chinese leaders the choice is
simple. This report shows that renewables
are doable. China can meet bold new targets
with today’s technologies while cutting
energy costs.”
