Environmental and social sustainability issues in the Nam Theun 2 hydropower project

摘要

This report analyses the sustainability issues related to the Nam Theun 2 (NT2) hydropower dam in Laos, currently under construction. When completed, the electricity produced by the dam will be exported to Thailand, and the dam will thus serve as one the largest income generating projects in Laos. However, large dams like NT2 have considerable environmental and social consequences, as thousands of people have to be resettled and the environmental impacts are considerable. In this report, the expected environmental and social impacts of the dam and its related activities are investigated, as well as the interests and relations of the stakeholders involved in the dam project. This is done in order to identify critical sustainability issues related to specific activities, practices and approaches to the planning, implementation and management related to the NT2 dam. The impacts are analysed in relation to some of theguidelines for equitable and sustainable development of water and energy resources developed by the World Commission on Dams. Finally, lessons learned from the NT2 project that could be utilised in future hydropower projects in Lao PDR are discussed.