VOA慢速英语--社会团体敦促老挝重新思考大型水电工程

Groups Urge Laos to Rethink Huge Hydropower Projects

Environmental groups and researchers are calling on the government of Laos to carry out an open investigation¹ of the deadly collapse² of a large dam.

On July 23, part of the Xe-Pian-Xe Namnoy hydropower dam collapsed³ releasing a wall of water. More than 20 people were killed, and as many as 6,000 were displaced by the floods.

The village of Attapeu in southern Laos received the most damage from the flooding.

Harming vulnerable people

Keith Barney is an expert in environmental research and natural resource policy in South East Asia at Australia’s National University. He said that governments often try to limit information after large disasters.

Barney told VOA, "The tendency in many cases when faced with difficult issues or external criticism is to cover up and shut down and block out the flow of information.” He added there are signs that this is happening in Laos, but it is being criticized and raising questions.

Satellite images from before the flood show Attapeu on a bend in the river with a network of roads. Pictures taken after the incident, however, show the flooded area as a brown mass of mud with few structures left.

Barney said that many of the people in the area are ethnic⁴ minorities who had already suffered from the dam building process. He said they may have been harmed by the downstream impact or may have been resettled. Barney added that this, “will just be adding on to their vulnerability in the coming year."

The Xe-Pian-Xe Namnoy dam is being built to create 410 megawatts of electricity near the Cambodian border. It is part of a series of dams Laos has planned or built to improve its economy by selling electricity to neighboring countries.

Non-governmental organizations have strongly opposed the country’s hydro power development. They say Laos has not made good safety plans for the social and environmental results of the projects.

of Mekong’s most important tributaries⁵

The Xe-Pian-Xe Namnoy area feeds into the Sekong River. The organization Save the Mekong considers the river "one of the Mekong’s most important tributaries.”

In a statement, the group said the area is home "to tens of thousands of people from at least 20 different ethnic groups, all of whom rely on wild capture fisheries and surrounding forests and fertile lands."

Save the Mekong said a total of 11 large hydropower dams on the lower Mekong River and 120 tributary⁶ dams are planned.

Save the Mekong also said the recent dam disaster renews calls for the government to reconsider the country’s heavy investment in hydropower. It said the Laos governmentshould strengthen the enforcement of laws to guarantee greater responsibility from foreign investors⁷.

The group also said water quality changes had ruined local fisheries along the Xe Pian River. But, it said villagers living there had not received any support for the loss of their livelihoods⁸.

Barney said the collapse also raises questions about safety rules for building projects.

Many countries have donated aid to assist Laos with recovery and redevelopment. South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Australia have donated money and resources to the effort.

The intergovernmental Mekong River Commission released a statement to VOA. The group said it is "working to develop short- and medium-term programs to support Laos and other countries on dam safety” in partnership⁹ with the U.S. Army Corps¹⁰ of Engineers.

This week, the Laos government announced that it was suspending approval of new dams while it examines more than 50 current projects.

I’m Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

displaced - v. to force (people or animals) to leave the area where they live?

tendency - n. a quality that makes something likely to happen or that makes someone likely to think or behave in a particular way?

external - adj. located, seen, or used on the outside or surface of something?

mud - n. soft, wet dirt?

impact - n. a powerful or major influence or effect?

vulnerability - n. easily hurt or harmed physically¹¹, mentally, or emotionally?

tributaries - n. a stream that flows into a larger stream or river or into a lake

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 tributaries   

n. 支流

参考例句：

• In such areas small tributaries or gullies will not show. 在这些地区，小的支流和冲沟显示不出来。
• These tributaries are subsequent streams which erode strike valley. 这些支流系即为蚀出走向谷的次生河。

6 tributary   

n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的

参考例句：

• There was a tributary road near the end of the village.村的尽头有条岔道。
• As the largest tributary of Jinsha river,Yalong river is abundant in hydropower resources.雅砻江是金沙江的最大支流，水力资源十分丰富。

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

11 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。