Community networks in the Northern Thailand have filed a lawsuit requesting the cancellation of the Yuam River diversion project and a revocation of project’s EIA approval on the grounds that it was conducted without public participation.

On 18 October 2023, community networks from Chiang Mai, Tak, and Mae Hong Son, three provinces affected by the Yuam River diversion project, filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court.

Defendants in the lawsuit include the Royal Irrigation Department, the Committee of the Environmental Impact Assessment for Water Resource Development Project, the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, the National Environment Board, and the cabinet.

The plaintiffs asked the court to rule that:

1. the project is illegal and the actions taken by the five defendants are unlawful, so that the project can be cancelled.
2. the EIA for the project is illegal and should be revoked.
3. the project’s public hearing was improperly conducted.
4. all five defendants must perform their duties as stipulated in the constitution, providing accurate information, facilitating public participation, and considering public opinion before taking any action concerning the Yuam, Ngao, Moei, and Salween Rivers.
5. the five defendants must enact a law or regulation to protect and conserve the environment in the area of the rivers.

The diversion project is a scheme to divert Yuam River water to create a reservoir behind the Bhumibol Dam.  According to the EIA report, the project area covers 3,641 acres and includes forest conservation areas, which overlap with the proposed Mae Ngao National Park. It directly impacts 36 villages and 29 households.

According to Sor Rattanamanee Polkla, an environmental lawyer, people likely to be affected were excluded from participating in project planning. In 2021, they received an incomplete EIA report, making it difficult to assess the project’s impact. In July 2023, they received a completed document from the Royal Irrigation Department only to learn that the project EIA had been approved two years earlier.  Sor added that to obtain the EIA report, people had to seek donations to pay the Baht 20,000 price. 

According to Sor, the EIA also contained false information, stating that a public hearing had been conducted when in truth it was a simple social event where no one was informed of the report. Pictures in the report were alleged of Mekong River dams, a different topic.

Noting that it was unacceptable to conduct a public hearing in such a manner, she stated that the affected people have a limited understanding of the Thai language. No interpreter was provided during the first public hearing and at the second, the interpreter spoke a different language from the audience, making it difficult to communicate.