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In Laos, A Contested Dam Project Moves Ahead
January 24th, 2013
Via STRATFOR (subscription required), further analysis of the disputed $3.5 billion Xayaburi dam project in Laos’ northern province: The Thai company hired to build a massive hydroelectric dam for Laos on the Mekong River announced Jan. 23 that it was pushing ahead on construction of the project, which has drawn severe criticism from Laos’ neighbors […]
Read more »UNESCO: No Evidence Of Coming Water Wars
January 22nd, 2013
Via UNESCO, a study on international water basins: Strikingly, the territory of 148 nations falls within international basins and more than 30 countries are located almost entirely within these basins. In all, there are 276 international basins. These cover around 45% of the Earth’s land surface, host about 40% of the world’s population and account […]
Read more »International Cooperation Over Water Outweighs Conflict
January 22nd, 2013
Via UNESCO, a report that international cooperation over water far outweighs conflict: Researchers at Oregon State University have compiled a dataset of every reported interaction, be it conflictive or cooperative, between two or more nations where water was the driver of the interaction. Their analysis highlighted four key findings. First, despite the potential for dispute […]
Read more »Laos Finally Called Out Over Xayaburi Dam
January 22nd, 2013
Courtesy of The Diplomat, commentary on the the region’s concerns over the Xayaburi Dam: Vietnam and Cambodia have finally found their voice. After months of obfuscating their position on the Lao government’s insistence on constructing the Xayaburi Dam and blocking the main stream of the Mekong River, leaders from both countries have pushed diplomatic niceties […]
Read more »Role Of Institutions In Water Politics And Water Security
January 22nd, 2013
Via the Universities Council on Water Resources, an academic look at how identifying the resilient factors within a system may reduce water security concerns and enhance cooperation: Water security is the availability of freshwater in the right quantity and quality, at the right times, for dependent systems. This is a prerequisite for human and environmental […]
Read more »Vietnam And Cambodia Tell Laos To Stop $3.5bn Mekong River Dam Project
January 20th, 2013
Via The Guardian, an update on the long simmering regional argument over the Xayaburi dam: Vietnam urged Laos to halt construction of a $3.5bn (£2.2bn) hydropower dam on Mekong River pending further study, environmental activists said on Friday. Cambodia, downriver from the Xayaburi dam, accused Laos of failing to consult on the project, activists said. […]
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