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The Thirsty Dragon: Chinese Dams On The Mekong Not To Be Damned, Says Cambodia
November 18th, 2010
Via Terra Daily, a report that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen dismissed concerns Wednesday that Chinese dams were responsible for the Mekong River’s low water levels, telling environmentalists not to be “too extreme”. As the article notes: “…Hun Sen blamed decades-low water levels in southeast Asia’s longest river on “irregular rainfall” caused by global climate […]
Read more »The (Power) Hungry Dragon: Myanmar, China, and Thailand Agree to Study $10 Billion Hydropower Project
November 16th, 2010
Via Reuters, a report that China, Myanmar and Thailand have agreed to study a $10 billion hydropower project that would be Southeast Asia’s largest by generation capacity. As the article notes: “…The 7-gigawatt project would be built on the Salween River in Myanmar over 15 years, China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said in […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Bringing the Bohai Sea to Xinjiang
November 8th, 2010
Via Danwei, an interesting article on a new proposal to divert seawater to Xinjiang: “…The South-North Water Transfer Project (å—水北调工程) is a major infrastructure project designed to bring water resources from the Yangtze River in the south to the Yellow River in the north. The project is not without controversy, but water scarcity in the […]
Read more »Mekong Progress? Study Calls For 10-Year Freeze on Dam Construction
November 8th, 2010
Via Circle of Blue, news of a new study approved by the Mekong River Commission (MRC) calling for a 10-year freeze on the construction of hydropower dams along Southeast Asia’s Mekong River.  As the article notes: “…When in September Laos submitted its plans for the construction of the 1,260-megawatt Sayaboury hydropower dam on the Mekong […]
Read more »Lake Balkhash: Becoming A Second Aral Sea?
October 27th, 2010
Courtesy of Window on Eurasia, an interesting report on the possibility that – as a Russian commentator recently stated – Lake Balkhash, the 12th largest lake in the world, is on the way to becoming “a second Aral Sea,†but one with potentially even more serious political consequences because both the causes of the lake’s […]
Read more »Thirsty Dragon: Moving Heaven & Earth To Bring Water To Beijing
October 1st, 2010
Via Terra Daily, an updated look at China’s $62-billion South-North Water Diversion, which will bring water to the parched capital via three major phases: 1) the 885-mile eastern line from Hangzhou to Beijing, which mostly follows the route of the Grand Canal and is hoped to be ready by 2013; 2) the middle line, which […]
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