The Kamchay Hydropower Project -Hydropower development in Cambodia and eastern Asia

Abstract

The objective in this case study is to highlight typical problems of a planned hydropower dam project in Bokor National Park, Cambodia. The focal point in the line of questioning is the usage of public participation in larger exploration plans in a development country and to give a comprehensive survey of some of the participant involved. The study also discusses how the WCD report is used by non-govemental organisation to validate their claims. To be able to understand how the Cambodian society works, the study also includes a short briefing of recent Cambodian history. The study shows that the local people are more or less neglected in the preliminary investigations. Even if information meetings are held open, they are conducted in such a way that it is hard for common people to participate. The meetings are held in English and not in the domestic language Khmer. Critical groups are not formally invited but welcome to attend, most of their statements are withdrawn from the official protocols. The study also reveals that the leading entrepreneurs more or less neglects the environmental hazards in the construction by focus their information and calculations on the positive effects of the project. The study has been made as a field study, on location in Cambodia.