Lao PDR Notifies Mekong River Commission of New Dam

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November 2016

REO

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Pak Beng Dam Notification 1

POTUS Vietnam visit 2

CITES COP17 3

Wildlife News 4

UNFCCC COP22 5

Mekong News and others 6-7

ESTH Cables of Interest 8-10

IN THIS EDITION

On November 4, 2016, the Lao government notified the Me-kong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat that it will under-take the formal process of prior consultation on its new hy-dropower project planned in Pak Beng in the Lao PDR’s north-ern province of Oudomxay. Within the next month, the MRC Secretariat will review the document and verify its complete-ness with the rules before forwarding the case to the MRC’s Joint Committee, a body consisting of four member countries’ representatives at the head of department level where the consultation takes place. The Pak Beng Hydropower Project is a run-of river project located in the Mekong mainstream and is the northern most of eleven proposed dams. The 912 MW project is expected to generate 4,700 GWh of electricity per year, of which 90% will be sold to Thailand and the remaining 10% to Laos’ state-owned utility, Electricite du Laos. The prior consultation is part of the MRC’s procedural rules on co-operation on water use of the Mekong mainstream: the Proce-dures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA). Under the procedures, any infrastructural project using the main-stream water must undergo the prior consultation process. Appli-cable projects include large-scale irrigation and hydropower devel-opment which may cause significant impacts on the environment, water flow and quality of the Mekong mainstream. In the prior-consultation process, with technical and administrative support from the MRC Secretariat, the notified member countries review technical aspects of the project, assess any possible impact on the environment and livelihoods along the riparian communi-ties, and suggest measures to address those concerns. It is not meant to approve or not to approve the proposed project. This process normally lasts six months. You can read more about the process here: http://www.mrcmekong.org/news-and-events/news/mrc-statement-on-the-occasion-of-pdies-15th-anniversary-2/

REO Highlights page 2

President Obama Visits Vietnam Pho to Cred i t : RE UTE RS/Ca r lo s Barr ia

U.S. President Barack Obama's first visit to Vietnam resulted in a bevy of new partnerships and initiatives on Environment, Science, Technology and Health issues, as well as private and public sector clean energy deals between U.S. and Vietnamese com-panies. Many of these were captured in the visit’s joint statement, signed by President Obama and Vietnamese President Quang; and others were captures in factsheets and state-ments released by the White House and the Government of Vietnam.

The United States and Vietnam issued a joint announcement on climate change partnership available in English on the U.S. State Department’s website and in Vietnamese on Vietnam’s agriculture and rural development ministry’s website. Discussing climate change with a crowd of young people at a Town Hall in Ho Chi Minh City, the President stated that it “could have a huge impact on Vietnam's ability to feed its people, on fishermen, on farmers, and it could be a really big problem if we don't do something about it, so it's going to be up to you to start." In the joint announcement, the two countries set out to: implement their respective commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement; strengthen resilience, and reduce vulnerability to climate change in both the Mekong Delta and Red River Delta; increase public and private investment to deploy clean, renewable, and efficient and other low greenhouse gas emissions en-ergy sources in Vietnam; transition Vietnam to a low emission economy while improving the livelihoods of Vietnam’s small-holder farmers; and, support the protection of Vietnam’s forests, carbon stocks, and biodiversity; support disaster risk reduc-tion efforts, coordinated disaster preparation and response, and early warning systems for Vietnam’s climate-vulnerable com-munities. Both countries reaffirmed “their commitment to combating wildlife trafficking and protecting biodiversity.” Under this Part-nership, Vietnam and the United States are committed to strengthening their respective and collective efforts to combat wild-life trafficking and to improving collaboration in four strategic areas: reducing consumer demand for and consumption of ille-gal wildlife and wildlife products; strengthening wildlife law enforcement and prosecution; improving and implementing the legal frameworks for wildlife crime; and, bolstering international cooperation. Both the United States and Vietnam intend to take a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach to addressing the issue of wildlife trafficking under this partnership and also intend to collaborate with the private sector, non-governmental organizations, academia, the scientific community, and other local and international partners to assure its success. For more information on U.S.-Vietnam Relations, please see: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/05/23/fact-sheet-united-states-vietnam-relations

Success at CITES

The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) met in Johannesburg, South Africa on Sep-tember 24– October 5, 2016. By all accounts it was a highly successful meeting with many spe-cies receiving additional protections under the convention.

The CITES #CoP17 was the largest ever meeting of its kind with 152 governments tak-ing decisions on 62 species-listing proposals submitted by 64 countries. In total, over 3,500 people attended the meeting, which also recorded the highest number of side events and in-tense media interest from every region of the world.

The Johannesburg conference was marked by agreement on measures to improve sustainable trade in a number of species, including the queen conch, humphead wrasse, sharks, snakes and African wild dog as well as a large range of timber species, such as bubinga and rosewoods, and the African cherry and agarwood.

There was fresh impetus to further safeguard threatened wild animals and plants with added protection for the African grey parrot, Barbary Macaque, Blaine’s fishhook cactus, elephant, pangolin and saiga antelope; and well-targeted enforcement measures agreed to combat ille-gal trade for specific species. These included the African grey parrot, African lion, cheetah, hel-meted hornbill, pangolin, rhino and totoaba.

Multiple new animals and plants were also added to CITES Appendices for the first time, and hence will come under CITES trade controls. These decisions affect a large number of mam-mals, marine and timber species as well as many reptiles and amphibians and include more than 350 species of rosewood, devil rays, silky sharks and thresher sharks.

Parties also recognized several conservation success stories, including that of the Cape moun-tain zebra, several species of crocodiles and the wood bison, which were all by consensus downlisted from Appendix I under CITES to Appendix II in recognition of their improved conser-vation status.

Changes to the CITES Appendices, Resolutions and Decisions enter into force 90 days after the CoP.

REO Highlights page 5 REO Highlights page 3 What Is CITES?

CITES regulates interna-tional trade in over 35,000 species of plants and animals, including their products and deriv-atives, ensuring their survival in the wild with benefits for the liveli-hoods of local people and the global environ-ment. The CITES permit system seeks to ensure that international trade in listed species is sus-tainable, legal and trace-able. With 182 Parties, CITES remains one of the world's most powerful tools for biodiversity conservation through the regulation of trade in wild fauna and flora. Thousands of species are internationally traded and used by people in their daily lives for food, housing, health care, ecotourism, cosmetics or fashion. CITES was signed in Washington D.C. on 3 March 1973 and entered into force on 1 July 1975.

Learn more about CITES by visiting www.cites.org

REO Highlights page 4

Wildlife News

Rhino Horn and Vietnam: According to WildAid, rhino horn prices in Vietnam have plummeted in recent years,

which campaigners against the consumption of endangered wildlife products have championed as signs that their efforts are working. Late last year, interviews with rhino horn traders in Vietnam revealed that wholesale and retail prices for rhino horn fell to half of their 2013 prices. In the recent past, rhino horn fetched up to $70,000 per kilogram in Vietnam, making it more valuable than cocaine and gold. However, Vietnam has become the biggest hub in the world for trafficking in horns and other body parts of the rhinoceros. An esti-mated 1,300 rhinos are slaughtered for their horns across Africa annual-ly—up from just 100 in 2008—with the bulk of rhino horn smuggled by criminal gangs into Vietnam, according to surveys by international wild-life trade experts. In November 2016, Vietnam destroyed more than 2,200kg ($7 million worth) of elephant ivory and rhino horn. Yet, Vietnam hasn’t launched a single successful high-level prosecution against illegal rhino horn traders.

Pangolins: Hong Kong officials made one of the largest ever seizures of African pangolin scales after discovering

4.4 tons (4,000 kilograms) of scales hidden in cargo labeled “sliced plastics” from Cameroon, according to a press release from the government. The haul is estimated to represent between 1,100 and 6,600 pangolins and be worth $1.25 million, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Hong Kong govern-ment says this is one of the biggest pangolin scale busts they’ve made in the last five years, and the IUCN says it’s one of the biggest busts of African pangolin scales ever. Also, police in Sumatra arrested an Indonesian soldier and his suspected accomplice after finding eight pangolins in the backseat of their car, Mongabay reports. They were intercepted while driving in Medina after police staked out the duo for two days. All eight species of pangolin were uplisted to CITES Appendix 1 at the recent CITES meeting in September, which effectively prohibits all international commercial trade.

Pandas No Longer Endangered: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) ruled that it had re-classified the giant panda in its Red List of Threatened Species. The animal is no longer "endangered," but is still "vulnerable," the organization said. The Swiss-based IUCN credited China's enforcement of anti-poaching regulations and expansion of forest reserves for the giant pandas' population growth, but Chinese officials are not entirely happy about the attention. They said the black-and-white pandas were still endangered. “If we downgrade their con-servation status, or neglect or relax our conservation work, the population and habitats of giant pandas could still suffer irreversible loss, and our achievements could be quickly lost,” China’s State Forestry Administration

said in a statement. The IUCN warned that environmental risks might well reduce the giant pandas' population mark-edly in the future. The international group estimated that climate change could eliminate more than 35 percent of the bears' habitat in China by the end of this century.

Gorillas Critically Endangered: The largest primate on Earth – the east-

ern gorilla – is now “critically endangered” after a staggering decline in their popula-tion in just 20 years. The decision by the IUCN means that four out of the six great apes – both types of gorilla and both types of orangutan – are feared to be on the brink of extinction. The new critically endangered classification for the eastern low-land gorilla, also known as Grauer's gorilla, was announced at the IUCN’s World Con-servation Congress in Hawaii after researchers found its population had fallen by at least 77 per cent in just two decades. The other type of eastern gorilla, the mountain gorilla, numbers only a few hundred.

REO Highlights page 5

UNFCCC COP 22

The twenty-second session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) and the twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 12) was held in Marrakech, Morocco from 7-18 November 2016. The focus on the meetings was the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which entered into force on November 4, 2016..

The Paris Agreement builds upon the Convention and – for the first time – brings all nations into a common cause to undertake take ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist de-veloping countries to do so. As such, it charts a new course in the global climate effort. Its central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 de-grees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 de-grees Celsius. Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change.

In Paris, countries agreed to finalize the transparency framework by 2018. In Marrakech, countries agreed to conclude the whole rule book by 2018. This includes not only the transparency framework, but also the modalities for the ambition mechanism and the mechanism facilitating implementation and promoting compliance. Capacity building was a focal point and Parties delivered on a number of fronts. The Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) is up and running, with about $50 million in pledges.

COP 22 successfully closed with the clear message that the global community is moving forward in tackling climate change. In addition to adopting decisions that lay out a clear path for how to organize the work under the Paris Agree-ment, the parties also adopted a “Marrakech Action Proclamation.” The Proclamation states that worldwide momen-tum on climate change is “irreversible” and that “it is being driven not only by governments, but by science, business and global action of all types at all levels.” The Proclamation calls for continued political commitment and action from leaders, protection of vulnerable populations, mobilization of finance, and efforts to rally non-state actors. The full text

of the Proclamation can be found here: https://unfccc.int/files/meetings/marrakech_nov_2016/application/pdf/marrakech_action_proclamation.pdf

The United States, Mexico, Canada and Germany also submitted their long-term greenhouse gas strategies as encour-aged by the Paris Agreement. The United States has presented a pathway for emissions reductions of 80 percent or more below 2005 levels by 2050. Mexico's pathway is a 50% reduction of greenhouse gases by 2050 compared to the year 2000. Germany has the goal of "extensive greenhouse gas neutrality" by 2050. Canada's emissions reduction goal is for net emissions to fall by 80% by 2050 compared to 2005 levels, consistent with the Paris Agreement's objective of a maximum global average temperature rise of 1.5°C to 2°C.

Secretary Kerry’s Remarks at COP22 - http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2016/11/264366.htm

Press Interview with Special Envoy JonathanPershing: http://www.state.gov/s/climate/releases/2016/264436.htm

REO Highlights page 6

MEKONG REGION NEWS

ASEAN chief justices meet in Palawan to tackle environmental law issues –GMA Network High court justices from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) converged in a two-day exchange of views on environmental law enforcement and challenges. The 6th ASEAN Chief Justices' Roundtable on the Environment fea-tured topics on the progress of ASEAN judiciaries in advancing environmental justice, emerging environmental legal and judicial challenges, and forging the road ahead for ASEAN judicial cooperation on the environment. Changing the Conversation around Development Projects: Over 2000 Comments Received on Regional Public Partici-pation Guidelines -MPE Citizens, governments and businesses from around the region provided over 2000 comments during landmark public consultations in October to finalize guidelines on ensuring communities have more say in infrastructure projects. Over 500 participants attended six national events across the region, a number of local outreach sessions and an online com-ment portal. Communities’ new tool for participation: manual on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in the Mekong Region –MPE MPE partner EarthRights International is bringing a new tool to communities across the Mekong region. On 10 Novem-ber 2016, EarthRights held a workshop on “Community Engagement in Environment Impact Assessment in Cambodia and other Mekong Countries” in Stung Treng province, Cambodia to disseminate the recently-developed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in the Mekong Region manual, to exchange ideas on how to advance the inclusion of communi-ty-based approaches into formal EIA process.

Changing Mekong Currents Compound Dam Anxieties in Southeast Asia –The Diplomat The government of Laos officially submitted the Pak Beng Dam to the Mekong River Commission in mid-November and has begun preparatory work around the future dam site. While this announcement appears to indicate that the government of Laos and international funders for more than 100 hydropower projects are continuing to move full steam ahead despite serious concerns from downstream countries and affected communities, emerging finan-cial risks and regional shifts are increasingly impacting the risk calculus for future projects. (See also: Environmen-talists fear effects of new Mekong River dam –AP (Video))

Xayaburi dam: 'Testing ground for untried technologies' –Channel News Asia In 2019, the first dam on the Lower Mekong will be completed. Environmentalists fear it will threaten fisheries and communities, but the Lao government says the concerns are exaggerated. In the first part of a special series, Picha-yada Promchertchoo visited the dam site to find out how developers plan to mitigate the impact.

Opponents call for cancellation of Hat Gyi Dam –The Nation People’s Network of the Salween River has called for an immediate halt to construction of the Hat Gyi Dam in Ka-ren State, Myanmar. Representatives from 150 concerned communities in Shan and Karen states attended a semi-nar at Chiang Mai University where Sunnee Chiros, a former Thai human rights commissioner, presented a study found that the dam’s environmental impact assessment process was flawed.

REO Highlights page 7

MEKONG REGION NEWS

China continues to court on Myitsone project ahead of commission presser –Myanmar Times As the commission tasked with reviewing hydropower projects along the upper reaches of the Ayeyarwady River submitted its first report to the president this past week, Chinese state media has assured its nation of the ongoing “friendly and cooperative” Sino-Myanmar relationship. Vietnam's hydropower dam fined $5,200 for deadly water discharge –VN Express A hydropower dam which discharged a large amount of water without any advance notice and caused flooding in the central province of Ha Tinh last month has been fined VND115.5 million, or nearly $5,200. Vietnam abandons plan for first nuclear power plants –Reuters Vietnam's National Assembly voted to abandon plans to build two multi-billion-dollar nuclear power plants with Rus-sia and Japan, after officials cited lower demand forecasts, rising costs and safety concerns. ASEAN insurance role in infrastructure financing –The Jakarta Post Insurance, known for its long-term nature, plays an essential role in supporting and sustaining economic growth in the ASEAN region. Beyond the traditional protection products, the insurance industry provides capital with a long-term investment horizon and generates opportunities for public-private partnerships in infrastructure projects that are instrumental to economic growth. Japan’s CO2 emissions drop 3 percent to 5-year low in FY2015—Reuters Japan's greenhouse gas emissions fell 3 percent to a five-year low in the financial year through March due to lower power demand, growing renewable energy and the restart of nuclear power plants, government figures showed on Tuesday. China sets 2020 target for clean air in big cities – Reuters China aims to provide clean air in its largest cities for 80 percent of each year, or more than 9-1/2 months, by 2020, up from a figure of 76.7 percent last year. Amid concern that pollution was stirring social unrest, China launched a campaign in 2014 to revitalize its tainted air, water and soil. Deforestation: $906B at risk via ‘domino effect’ on the supply chain—Forbes A new study released today reveals that, on average nearly a quarter (24%) of global company revenues depends upon four commodities linked to deforestation: cattle products, palm oil, soy and timber products. That translates, it says, to $906 billion in annual turnover potentially at risk.