Ministry told to monitor environment at hydropower plants

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has just been urged by the Government to monitor environmental impact at hydropower projects that are under construction nationwide, said Deputy Minister Nguyen Thai Lai.

Lai said last week that Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai had asked the ministry to make closer inspections at hydropower plants and impose heavier fines on developers who fail to reforest after construction or that contribute to disturbing water flow in damned rivers’ lower sections.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the development of some hydropower projects in Central Vietnam and the Central Highlands has negatively affected the regions, both environmentally and socially.

Some hydropower project developers have reluctantly obeyed environment protection and dam security regulations.

“Developers of all approved hydropower projects must submit environmental impact assessments before they begin construction; however many developers have ignored the requirements,” Lai said, adding that many barely took notice of the Ministry’s appraisal and the potential consequences before building dams and reservoirs.

To protect water sources in the rivers where there are dams, Lai said that the Government had just issued a decree on the overall management of irrigation reservoirs and hydropower plants to reduce negative environmental impacts and pollution as well as to maintain normal river flows.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the country currently has 1,021 large and small hydropower projects in 36 provinces and cities with a total capacity of 24,246 MW. These hydropower projects have the potential to produce 100 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year.

Most of approved hydropower projects are located at ten main river basins around the country including Da, Lo-Gam-Chay, Ma-Chu, Ca, Vu Gia-Thu Bon, Tra Khuc-Huong, Se San, Ba, Serepok and Dong Nai.

The Dong Nai river basin in particular, which crosses 11 provinces and cities, has a total 17 hydropower projects under construction with a total designed capacity of 3,000 MW.

According to a study recently conducted by the Southern Institute for Water Resources Planning, the massive development of hydropower plants along the Dong Nai river basin has reduced its water quality. Many of the basin’s sections, especially the river’s lower reaches, are now partially polluted.

The institute said that hydropower project construction in all eleven provinces and cities was unmethodical and had ignored overall plans for regional irrigation, river flow, flood control and salinity prevention.

Meanwhile, recent research conducted by the Institute of Tropical Biology also showed that the construction of dams and reservoirs along the Dong Nai river basin had obstructed the fish population’s natural migration.

Some 300 fish varieties live in the river basin – about 30% of the country’s total freshwater fish.

The obstruction has reduced both fish variety and population in the Dong Nai River, while pollution has also affected biodiversity and habitats.

SGT

Tags: Vietnam energy, Vietnam Hydropower Plants