International Migrants Day: a call for climate mobility justice after COP29

15 years ago, in Nong Khai province, Thailand, Ormbun Thipsuna sold papaya salad (som tam) at Chommanee Beach along the Mekong River to locals and tourists visiting a popular recreational area. At that time, the water levels were normal, and it was common to see people using nets to catch fish while children worked and played on the beach. However, around 2011, the water levels started to be unusual, resulting in irregular flooding and drought. She and other villagers believed these changes were related to the construction of Xayaburi Dam in Lao PDR and sought to generate evidence to support their claim. 

She and others in Mekong communities engaged in Thai Baan (villager’s) research to document daily river fluctuations and loss of land since the opening of Xayaburi Dam. They found that income declined significantly from reduced fish catch and that vendors, like herself, lost regular business from loss of land. In some cases, they found this total annual loss amounted to 200,000 Thai baht for the household.

The researchers also found that strategies to limit land collapse prevented locals from accessing the river. This particularly impacted women who were earning their living from collecting small aquatic life and vegetable farming along the river. These findings supported a 2012 lawsuit against the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) who helped finance the dam construction. However, this case was ultimately dismissed in 2022 as the Thai court argued the power purchase agreement with Lao PDR did not directly impact Thai people along the Mekong. 

Today, these same communities are increasingly feeling pressure not just from upstream hydropower development, but also from slow-onset environmental changes. “Adaptation is becoming even harder,” Thipsuna describes, “For example, the soil was already not as fertile because of sediment loss, and now the weather is also hotter…[and] the frequency of the rains is changing.” She finds these challenges together result in stunted and lost agricultural production, further limiting available adaptation options.  

As a community-based researcher, Ormbun Thipsuna is very interested in the issue of migration, especially for nearby Thai communities most reliant on riparian livelihoods. She believes out-migration is accelerating the loss of local wisdom and disruptions in family structures, as men and youth often leave to find new work, often in precarious industries like construction and other forms of wage labour, while women may remain behind to find strategies to adapt to these changes.