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Laos Presses Ahead With Mekong Dam Project
November 11th, 2012
Courtesy of The New York Times, an article on Laos’ dam ambitions: Ignoring criticism that a huge hydroelectric dam could irreparably damage the ecology of the Mekong River, the government of Laos said on Tuesday that it was pushing ahead with the multibillion-dollar project, the first dam to be built on the lower portion of […]
Read more »In Southeast Asia, Big Dams Raise Big Concerns
November 11th, 2012
Courtesy of the Council On Foreign Relations, an interesting article on dam tensions in Asia: A view from upstream of Malaysia’s Bakun dam, in the inland of the eastern state of Sarawak on Borneo island, December 11, 2003. These past few weeks have not been good ones for large dam projects in Southeast Asia. […]
Read more »Landmark U.S. Water Pact With Mexico Could Boost Lake Mead
November 11th, 2012
Via the Las Vegas Review Journal, a report on a recent agreement over Colorado River flows: After years of negotiations, the United States and Mexico have struck a deal that could keep more water in Lake Mead and help improve water efficiency and the environment south of the border. The landmark five-year agreement would allow […]
Read more »India, Bangladesh Near Historic Agreement On Teesta Water
November 11th, 2012
Via the Hindustan Times, a report that India and Bangladesh could soon break a politically significant logjam to sign an interim Teesta water-sharing pact following talks between water resources minister Harish Rawat and visiting Bangladesh agriculture minister Begum Matia Chowdhury. As the article notes: “…An earlier attempt to resolve a deadlock over how to share […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China Buys Japanese Water Rights
November 6th, 2012
Via Bloomberg, an interesting report on Chinese purchases of Japanese land & water rights: Morihiro Oguma’s phone rang every day with calls from brokers representing foreign investors who wanted to buy his Japan Mineral water-bottling business. “In many cases, I was told I could name my price,†Oguma said in an interview, adding he had […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Water shortages Potentially A Perfect Storm
November 5th, 2012
Via MarketWatch, a report on China’s water issues: Water shortages could be China’s own version of the perfect storm, potentially blowing a hole in carefully laid plans of an incoming generation of leaders. Targets for moderately fast economic development, seen as crucial for the Communist Party to maintain its grip on power, no longer seem […]
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