There is a stir in public opinion about the fate of the Cat Tien National Park after Cat Tien’s director has warned that the park would “die” because of the two hydropower plants to be built in the region, and an expert has pointed out that the reports on possible impacts on the environment are just “copies”.
The Duc Long-Gia Lai Group is awaiting the government’s approval for the two hydropower projects Dong Nai 6 and Dong Nai 6A, expected to be located on Cat Tien forest area.
The project has been rejected by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, but it has been advocated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which acts as the consultancy unit for the government.
If the projects get approvals from the government, environmentalists have warned, the 370 hectares of Cat Tien’s forest would be eliminated, while the other environmental consequences will be very big.
Tran Van Thanh, Director of the Cat Tien National Park, has many times stressed that it is necessary to conduct research works to have scientific reports on the possible environmental impacts when building hydropower plants in the national forest area.
However, it seems that Thanh now “has to pay the penalty” for telling the things which are contrary to the viewpoints of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s (MARD) leaders.
Thanh has been put under hard pressure. In an interview given recently to Saigon Tiep Thi, Thanh said that he was instructed to explain why he spoke against the ministry’s leaders.
Though the dam of the hydropower plant’s reservoir only covers 375 hectares out of the 372 hectares of forest, it would still have big impacts on the ecosystem. For example, animals will have to leave their familiar places to search for food and give birth in other places, which will disrupt the natural balance.
“About ten hydropower plants have been set up around the Cat Tien forest. Who can say for sure that the plants’ officers do not collude with illegal loggers to damage the forest?” Thanh said.
“Both state management agencies and private economic sector need to respect the laws, respect scientists and their assessments,” he added. “It would be too late if you only can find out later that the hydropower plants cause damages and want to afforest again”.
While the story about Cat Tien remains a hot topic on local newspapers, on July 13, Saigon Tiep Thi released other stunning information: it quoted Nguyen Viet Dung, Deputy Director of the Centre for People and the Nature, as saying that “the report on the environmental impacts of the Dong Nai 6 hydropower project is just a copy.”
Dung said that it is quite a surprise that the report contains the information about Quang Nam, or mention the nipa which only exists in the western region.
“I believe that the research on the environmental impact was not carried out in a serious way. This could be seen as a big threat to the integrity of biodiversity and ecosystems of Cat Tien National Park,” Dung said.
The problem is that the reports on possible environmental impacts were made by an agency of MARD – the Southern of Institute For Water Resources Planning (SIWRP).
Building hydropower plants is not a bad thing, but the way of making reports which is not based on serious research, will make Cat Tien die, step by step. The wrong reports, obviously, aim to push up the taking shape of the hydropower plants Dong Nai 6 and Dong Nai 6A which serve the economic benefits of investors rather than the benefits of millions of people.
According to the Centre for People and the Nature, which conducted a survey on the forests and hydropower plants, Vietnam lost 2.35 hectares of forest in order to create 1MW of electricity. In reality, the total lost forest area has reached 62.63 hectares.