Meritus Westlake Hotel
1 Thanh Nien Road, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam
26-27 February 2000

Hosted with the financial support of the Asian Development Bank and other contributors

The WCD's 4th and final regional consultation will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam on February 26-27, 2000. The venue is the Meritus Westlake Hotel overlooking the West Lake (Ho Tay) in the Ba Dinh District.

The Commission cordially invites members of the public with an interest in the dams debate to attend the two day consultation, as observers. Consultations are one element of a comprehensive research programme and aim to provide the Commission with an open forum for listening to all interested parties in the debate. We would, however, wish to reiterate that it is not the mandate of the Commission to adjudicate or mediate on any specific dam issue or debate.

 = Programme =

Please note that this is a preliminary draft as the Commission is still in communication with some speakers on their availability. The final programme will be announced closer to the event.

Certain presentations are available online. Click on the titles of the submissions to download a copy in Adobe Acrobat PDF format

February 26, 2000

8:30 - 9:00 Panel 1: Large Dams and their Alternatives in Vietnam: A Country Perspective

9:15 - 9:30  Professor Le Quy An
Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Vietnam
Large Dams: A Challenge to Balancing "Needs-Benefits-Costs"?

9:30 - 9:45  Dr Tran Minh Huan
International Co-operation Department
Ministry of Industry, Vietnam
Potential for Hydropower in Vietnam

9:45 - 10:00  Madame Do Hong Phan
Centre for Resources Development and Environment, Vietnam
Dams and Water Resources Management in Vietnam: Some Institutional Aspects

10:00 - 10:15  Mr Nguyen Dinh Hoa and Ms Vu Hong Anh
Oxfam Hong Kong, Vietnam
Assessing Options, Decision-Making and Planning Processes

10:15 - 10:30  Dr Pham Thi Mong Hoa
National Center for Social Sciences and Humanities of Vietnam
Resettlement and Rehabilitation for Large Dams Project Affected People

10:30 - 11:15  Commissioners Question Time

11:15 - 11:30  Tea/Coffee Break

Panel 2: Benefits and Costs: Understanding the Impacts of Large Dams

11:30 - 11: 45  Professor Alastair M. North and Mr Harvey Demaine
Consultant Team for the ADB Regional Technical Assistance
Project RETA 5828
Study of Large Dams and Recommendations: Pilot Case - The Nam Ngum 1 Dam in Lao PDR

11:45 - 12:00  Mr Arnaldo Tapao Gapuz
Shalupirip Santahnay Indigenous Peoples' Movement, Philippines
What my People Stand to Lose with the Construction of the San Roque Dam

12:00 - 12:15  Mr Lubiao Zhang
Institute of Agricultural Economics, China
Dams for Irrigation: China's Experiences

12:15 - 12:30  Ms Dai Qing
Institute for Agricultural Economics, China
The Gorges Project in China: A Disastrous Political Project

12:30 - 12:45  Mrs Vipada Apinan
Office of Environmental Policy and Planning (OEPP),
Ministry of Science,Technology and Environment, Thailand
Problems & Practices in Environmental Management of Dams in Thailand

12:45 - 13:00  Mr. Shyama Shepard and Mr. Chainarong Sretthachau
Southeast Asia Rivers Network(SEARIN), Thailand
Social Impacts of the Rasi Salai Dam, Thailand: Loss of Livelihood Security and Social Conflict

12:45 - 13:30  Commissioners question time

13:30 - 14:30 LUNCH BREAK

Panel 3 - A: Decision Making and the Planning Process: Responding to Competing Needs

14:30 - 14:45  Mr. Keizrul Abdullah
Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Malaysia
The Beris Dam Resettlement Programme

14:45 - 15:00  Dr Kua Kia Soong
Coalition of Concerned NGOs on Bakun, Malaysia
Empty Promises, Damned Lives

15:00 - 15:15  Mr Masaru Nishida
Japan Commission on Large Dams (JANCOLD), Japan
Dam Development in the 21st Century

15:15 - 15:30  Ms Shalmali Guttal
Focus on Global South, Thailand
Public Participation and Consultation for the Nam Theun 2 Dam

15:30 - 15:45  Tea/Coffee Break

Panel 3 - B: Decision making and the Planning Process: Responding to Competing Needs

15:45 - 16:00  Susannah Hopkins Leisher
Oxfam Hong Kong's SW China Programme, China
Situation Report on Langcang River Development in Yunnan Province, China

16:00 - 16:15  Mr Chanrithy Chuon
Department of Natural Resources Assessment and Environmental Data,
Ministry of Environment, Cambodia
Knowledge and Experience Learned from the Hydropower Project Study of Cambodia

16:15 - 16:30  Mr See-Jae Lee
Citizens' Institute for Environmental Studies / Department of Social Studies,
Catholic University of Korea
Movement against the Construction of the Tong River Dam (Yongwol Dam) in Korea

16:30 - 16:45  Dr Sung Kim
Korea Institute of Construction Technology, Korea
National Water Resources Planning in Korea: Experiences and Perspectives

16:45 - 17:30  Commissioners Question Time

February 27, 2000

Panel 4 - A: The Mekong River Basin and Other Regional Perspectives

9:00 - 9:15  Mr Joern Kristensen
Mekong River Commission Secretariat, Cambodia
Experiences in International Cooperation for Planning and Sustainable Development
of the Mekong River Basin

9:15 - 9:30  Dr Wayne C. White
Foersight Associates, USA
Economic Viability of Mekong Basin Dam Projects

9:30 - 9:45  Dr Hiroshi Hori
Former Chair of the Mekong Development and Environment Committee (JICA)
Recommendations of JICA's Ad-hoc Committee on
Development and Environment in the Mekong River Basin

9:45 - 10:00  Ms Grainne Ryder
Probe International, Canada
Peddling Yesterday's Technology: Aid for Uneconomic Hydro Development is Stifling Electricity Modernization in the Mekong Region and Should be Stopped

10:00 - 10:45  Commissioners' Question Time

10:45 - 11:15  Tea/Coffee Break

Panel 4 - B: The Mekong River Basin and Other Regional Perspectives

11:15 - 11:30  Mr Mike Bristol
Asian Development Bank, Philippines
The Developing Power Sector in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region

11:30 - 11:45  Dr Hans Freiderich
IUCN Aquatic Ecosystem Programme, Asia Region, Thailand
The Biodiversity of the Wetlands in the Lower Mekong Basin

11:45 - 12:00  Professor Michael Horowitz
Institute for Development Anthropology, USA
Environment and Society in the Lower Mekong Basin

12:00 - 12:15  Mr Le Thac Can
Vietnam Environment & sustainable Development Centre, Vietnam
Vietnam, a Country of the Mekong Sub-Region with its Water Resources and Dams

12:15 - 13:00  Commissioners Question Time

13:00 - 14:30 LUNCH BREAK

Panel 5: Changing Institutional and Policy Frameworks: Their Influnece on Current Practice

14:30 - 14:45  Dr Arthur H. Mitchell
Wetlands International, Asia Pacific Programme, Malaysia
Wetlands, Integrated River Basin Management and Dam Construction

14:45 - 15:00  Mr. A Rusfandi Usman
Jasa Tirta-Public Corporation, Indonesia
Integrated Management in the Brantas River Basin

15:00 - 15:15  Ms Reiko Amano
Society against Nagara River Estuary Dam Construction
Dams in Japan with a Special Focus on the Nagara River

15:15 - 15:30  Mr Tomoo Inoue
Japan Commission on large Dams (JANCOLD), Japan
Institutional Frameworks for Social Acceptability of Dam Projects in Japan

15:30 - 15:45 Mr Mikhail Wakil
Hydrosult, Canada
WCD Country Review of China

15:45 - 16:30 Commissioners Question Time

16:30 - 17:00  Chair's summary of proceedings and concluding remarks

17:00  Tea/Coffee