Angela Abroad: Dam good field trip

We just spent the week away at a field trip and man, do I wish that I could take my future students on trips like these.

In front of the White Temple!
L to R: Sabino, Laphai, Khoa, me, Annika, Dara in front

View from Thailand of the Mekong and Laos

On Monday, we had normal class at Mitharsuu to get briefed on our field trip to the river city of Chiang Khong. Billy and P. Khin Nanda, the teachers, discussed the itinerary, logistics of our stay, and what we would we learning about. The purpose of this trip would be to use experiential learning and go out into the field and talk to residents of communities that are affected by hydro-power dams along the Mekong River.

Tuesday we had an early morning and left the center around 8:30am to embark on our 5 hour drive to the Thai-Laos border, where Chiang Khong is located. Despite downloading many episodes of Brooklyn 99 on Netflix, I wasn’t able to watch them (or just look at my phone in general) because the roads are so dang bumpy! On the way up, we stopped and had some delicious noodle soup at a roadside restaurant, along with some 7/11 snack stops. Eventually we got to our destination, where we got settled into our rooms at the local community center. Later that night, we were introduced to the director for the local Mekong River School and walked down to the local port, where people can trade goods with the Lao side of the Mekong.

Noodle soup on the way to Chiang Khong

Port on the Thailand side for local trading between Thai-Laos

The next day, we geared up and visited the village of Baan Huay Luak, a town that has already seen the impacts of upstream hydro-power dams. Going into this information session, I already knew a few things from a previous class session led by the International Rivers group: the Mekong River is a staple for the people of Southeast Asia, and it begins with a large segment in China, reaches the eastern part of Myanmar, acts as part of the border between Laos and Thailand, then runs down along Cambodia and eventually flows into a delta in Vietnam. This river provides livelihoods for many people, as it allows for trading, fishing, collecting river weed for food and medicine, cleaning, along with many other uses. From the class sessions, I had learned that in China there have been 10 dams constructed, creating reservoirs of water that can be released whenever and that there are many more proposed dam projects. But, when visiting Baan Huay Luak, the former village leader told us that their livelihoods had been completely flipped around because of the upstream dams. Nothing is the same as it once was.

View of the Mekong from Baan Huay Kuak

Village leaders speaking

The main issue for the riverside communities was that there is now a varying flow fluctuation. Normally, in the summer months, the river is full of life and has lots of water, and dry in the winter. But this community is now living in the upside down, because I was able to go out and stand on sand dunes in the middle of the Mekong in July. See the problem? These people must now adjust to the fact that they never know when they will have any water in their river, because the people controlling the dam make the decisions about when to release the water. This means that fish can no longer follow their normal mating behaviors and reproduce, lessening the food source and potential revenue for the people. Furthermore, the river weed, which the women of the community heavily rely on, is normally collected in the dry season; however, due to river fluctuations, the plant life in the river is dying. This particular community has been fighting off this development for the last 20 years by documenting information about the impacts of the dams as well as concerns from the local people. They are consistently working to spread the knowledge and simply want to be included in the discussion of this development to make sure that things are done properly.

View from the middle of the Mekong River

The next day, we got to listen to a speaker from the Living Rivers organization, who taught us about rapids blasting. Honestly, I didn’t even realize that this was an issue before listening to his talk. He told us that there are projects in the works to blast the rock out of the river so that 500 ton barges can make their way down the river for transporting goods. While that may seem like a good thing, it will only be a good thing for the people who are controlling the shipments – so big corporations and people with money. To everyone else who lives along the river, it will be incredibly destructive. By blasting the rapids, it takes away the 11 subecosystems for fish, birds, and plants, reducing the habitats and leading them on a path towards extinction. Those giant catfish that people are always trying to fish on those crazy Animal Planet shows? They’re basically gone now.

Taking notes at the Mekong River School

But, there’s hope. Many individuals have dove into the world of research to come up with the numbers to back their stories. They are documenting the different species, numbers, and sizes of the river creatures. They’re gaining knowledge and passing it on, doing what they can to stop these processes.

In the afternoon, we heard from the director of the Mekong River School about the local community forest that was at risk for land grabbing. The forest was designated to become an SEZ – special economic zone – but the people were not about to let that happen. Through fighting back, they managed to prevent the SEZ from becoming a reality, and the forest can live on.

Learning about the community forest

Trees that have been ordained by monks

That night was the last night that we would be staying in Chiang Khong, so our brains needed a break from all of the sessions we had attended. So, during dinner the students of the Mekong River School played some live music while we ate and laughed together. The students even got up and sang songs from their home countries! It was a great time.

Billy with a melon hat

Myanmar students singing

The next morning was Friday, and it was time to head home. On the way back, some of the students, Annika, and I chose to do an extra overnight in the lake town of Phayao. On the way to Phayao, we stopped at the famous White Temple, as well as the Boon Rawd tea plantation, a temple with a giant Buddha, and a blue temple. Then we arrived in Phayao, and after scrounging around a bit for food we ended up having hotpot for dinner. The next morning, a few of us woke up early for a bike ride around the lake and saw some beautiful mountain views before stopping at a hotspring and then heading back to Chiang Mai.