BLOG
Damming The Mekong River: Economic Boon Or Environmental Mistake?
July 23rd, 2014
Via NPR, a report on Laos’ plans to dam the Mekong river: The Mekong is Southeast Asia’s most storied river. Its rich biodiversity though has been under threat for decades from things like overfishing and overpopulation. Environmentalists are now adding dams to that list. Towards the headwaters of the Mekong is Laos, one of the […]
Read more »Unplugging The ‘Battery’ Of SE Asia: Don Sahong Dam Threatens Food Security In Laos, Vietnam And Cambodia
March 26th, 2014
Via Future Directions International, a look at how construction of the Don Sahong Dam along the Lower Mekong River may exacerbate existing malnutrition in the region and jeopardise the livelihoods of villagers and commercial fishermen: The government of Laos aims to become the “battery” of South East Asia, by exporting electricity to its neighbours and […]
Read more »Mekong Hydropower Projects Will Accumulate 16 Percent Of River’s Water
February 26th, 2013
Courtesy of OOSKA News, an article on the potential impact that hydropower projects planned within the Mekong River basin could have upon flows: If the hydropower projects planned within the Mekong River basin are completed, they will accumulate as much as 16 percent of the river’s water volume, or 475 billion cubic meters a year, […]
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 »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. […]
Read more »Regional Cooperation On Mekong At Low Ebb
January 11th, 2013
Via WWF, regional cooperation around Mekong River issues is at a low ebb at present: Ministers from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam meeting next week in the Lao city of Luang Prabang must put derailed decision-making on Mekong River mainstream dams back on track or risk sabotaging management of one of the world’s great rivers, […]
Read more »