Our Programs

3SPN was officially created in 2005 in order to facilitate and initiate programs to assist dam-affected 3-S communities. 3SPN works in close collaboration with many partners locally, nationally and internationally in order to ensure that "best practice" environmental and social development policies are fully respected and implemented. We are currently focusing on the following programs:

3S Hydropower Advocacy Program

Hydropower dam development is continuing rapidly in the 3S regions as well as in Cambodia as a whole. Scientific research indicates that the decline in a river’s biodiversity and livelihoods of riparian communities are intrinsically connected to the development of hydropower dams. In Cambodia, hydropower dam development is a new challenge. The government of Cambodia has placed energy production as a priority issue in their national poverty reduction strategies. Numerous licenses have been signed between the government and dam companies for numerous dam projects in Cambodia such as in the 3-S, Mekong, Cardamom Mountains and other areas of Cambodia. The degradation of natural resources and social impacts, which are potentially caused by these dam projects, are of great concern to local people. Lessons learned from dams in the 3S region have shown that the river ecosystem has been seriously degraded and livelihoods of local people have been impacted because of irregular changes in water flow, a lack of impact mitigation assessment, absence of proper socio-economic and environmental assessments, and no compensation nor rehabilitation projects have been carried out.

Governance processes are very important factors for the economic growth of a country. Development without incorporating social, economic and environmental values will cause social inequality and environmental degradation. Therefore, development must be based on principles of social and environmental accountability.

The main objectives of the 3S Hydropower Advocacy Program are to ensure that:

- National and international best practice guidelines are fully respected and applied by government agencies and dam companies

- Hydropower dam development planning and decision-making must incorporate local people’s participation and consultation,

- Local people fully participate in discussion and decision-making processes with regards to the compensation and resettlement programs which will be provided by the dam companies and government agencies,

- Transparent and comprehensive social and environmental assessments are undertaken before project design and construction.

Community Research and Documentation Program

The broad objective of the Sesan and Srepok Community Based Research project is for communities to gain a basin wide view of their situation and feel empowered to use their knowledge for advocacy purposes and to protect areas that need conservation, in order to better advocate against the hydropower dams while also working to secure their livelihoods and to protect their natural resources.

In addition to this, the project will have the following objectives:

- To build the capacity of villagers to design and carry out their own research on issues that are important to them.

- To increase the knowledge of the Sesan and Srepok communities to better understand the natural resources in the area and how their lives are interconnected to the environment.

- To gain basin-wide views of the Sesan and Srepok Rivers, in order to enrich people’s understanding of how hydropower dam developments have impacted the environment and lives of the people who live along the Sesan and Srepok Rivers.

- To recognize the areas on the Sesan and Srepok Rivers that require greater protection, and work to conserve them.

- To empower communities to feel ownership of their research and increased knowledge by encouraging them to better manage their natural resources, and to speak out their concerns and demands to government officials, dam builders and other stakeholders.

- To utilize the data and report as evidence the impacts being felt by hydropower damming on the two rivers, in order to help strengthen the advocacy work of 3SPN.

Community Dialogue Program

3SPN feels that our current activities cannot fully address the needs of the 3S rivers communities as, thus far, our work has focused primarily on the Sesan community. However, rapid hydropower dam planning and construction now threatens the Srepok and Sekong Rivers. Communities living along these two rivers have requested greater support from 3SPN. They would like rapid action taken to mitigate and stop the dam process and its negative impacts and have also requested for the opportunity to voice their concerns to those responsible for building the dams and to make the general public aware of their situation. They would also like to meet other communities, in and outside the region, in order to share information, expand and strengthen the network, and to find solutions for their problems.

In order to address the request of the people living on all three rivers, 3SPN has initiated the “Dialogue Promotion and Networking Program” for Dam-Affected Indigenous Communities on the 3 S Rivers.

The following are specific objectives of the Community Dialogue program:

- To strengthen the capacity of local indigenous communities to present their views and voice out their concerns to key stakeholders at all levels regarding development activities affecting their rights, culture, livelihoods, and natural resources

- To provide opportunities for local communities to meet with and present their concerns to relevant government officials, decision and policy makers, donor countries, and the dam’s construction companies in order to work towards improved environmental governance, sustainable natural resource management, and improved rights and livelihoods of the people in the region.

- To promote local network mobilization, network capacity building, and local, national, and international networking.

Community Fishery Network Program

3SPN has received many requests from villagers to assist them in protecting the fish of the Sesan and Srepok Rivers. Villagers suggested that “we cannot wait for a long time until the dam builders compensate us for our losses and restore the fisheries. We must continue our advocacy, but we need to also work step-by-step to restore our livelihoods and our river”.

In March 2006, 3SPN, along with Oxfam Australia conducted a field trip to the area and held meetings with villagers and others to discuss the current state of fisheries on the Sesan and Srepok Rivers. At these meetings, villagers, along with local authorities and the provincial fishery officer, requested support from 3SPN and Oxfam Australia in order to initiate and start a fish restoration project on the Sesan River.

After thoroughly discussing this issue, 3SPN initiated a program titled “Sesan Fisheries Community Project” which has the following specific objectives:

- To support villagers to establish fishery communities and to strengthen their capacity to be able to protect and manage the fishery community by themselves.

- To provide opportunities for local communities, government officials, and NGOs to participate and work together on ecological and fish conservation issues in order to work towards improved environmental governance, sustainable natural resource management, and improved rights and livelihoods of the people in the region.

- To promote local fishery community network mobilization in the Northeastern region of Cambodia through exchange visits, trainings, and workshops.