Mekong: Cambodia builds a dam at Sambor!

Cambodia has just suspended the construction of a massive hydroelectric dam on the Mekong River near the town of Sambor in the Kratié province.

This huge Sambor dam was set to be built near this town, about thirty kilometers north of Kratié, as part of Cambodia's energy plan for 2020-2030. This is a relief for the international NGO WWF, which constantly advocates for the protection of the ecosystem of this legendary Southeast Asian river. "We narrowly escaped," the organization exclaimed in an article published three weeks ago on its website. Supported financially by China, the project would have brought the largest dam in Cambodia out of the river. The monolith was supposed to measure nearly 10 kilometers long, enough to completely wipe out the local biodiversity.

Nature at great risk

Located between Kratié and the Laotian border, this dam could have threatened a particularly rare and endangered species: the Irrawaddy dolphins. Only 92 individuals of this species inhabit this stretch of the Mekong, one of the species' favorite locations. Already threatened with extinction according to the IUCN, this dam would have worsened the plight of these freshwater dolphins.

Moreover, installing such a monolith in the middle of a river inevitably disrupts its natural cycle. The Sambor area is also known as a major migration route for many freshwater fish. Such a project would completely disrupt this dynamic and severely hinder fishing in the region.

Human life dependent on it

The Mekong River, in its entirety, supports over 60 million people across six countries: upstream in China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and downstream in Vietnam. WWF estimates that in Cambodia, 80% of the population gets its main source of protein from fish. Therefore, fishing is a vital sector, just as important as rice cultivation. If the survival of freshwater fish is endangered by the construction of a dam, the daily lives of dozens of fishing villages would be directly threatened.

Preserving the different ecosystems of the Mekong is essential for much of Cambodia’s population, both urban and rural. But so is energy. The energy generated by the dam could have helped many households, which is why an alternative must be found. Solar energy is already popular in Cambodia, with numerous parks equipped with solar power plants, particularly in Kampong Speu province. Projects in this direction will likely follow, potentially allowing the goal set by various WWF offices in Southeast Asia to be achieved: 100% renewable energy in the region’s countries by 2050.