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Lake Baikal Crisis: Chinese Activity a Handy Scapegoat for Russian Government Inaction
October 23rd, 2019
Via Future Directions International, a look at Russia and China’s collective impact on Lake Baikal: Lake Baikal is the oldest, deepest and the largest freshwater lake in the world by volume. Located in south-eastern Siberia, the lake is 25 million years old, 1,642 metres deep and contains 23,615 cubic kilometres of water (one-fifth of the world’s unfrozen fresh […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: How Dams and China’s Might Imperil The Mekong
October 13th, 2019
Courtesy of The New York Times (subscription required), a sobering look at the future of the Mekong River: When the Chinese came to the village of Lat Thahae, perched on a muddy bend of a Mekong River tributary, they scrawled a Chinese character on the walls of homes, schools and Buddhist temples. No one in […]
Read more »Mekong: When The River Runs Dry
September 6th, 2019
Via The Interpreter, commentary on the impact that both drought and upstream water releases are having on the Mekong River: It has been a bad year for the Mekong. An unusually long period of drought has brought water levels to some of the lowest measurements in recent years. There are fears that the drought will have […]
Read more »Pro-Beijing Camp Wants HK Water Supply Cut Off
August 30th, 2019
Via Asia Times, a report on the threat of water politics during Hong Kong’s current crisis: A pro-Beijing lawmaker and an academic have called for the central government in Beijing to implement national law and to cut the water supply to Hong Kong in order to stop the “violent protests” in the city. Junius Ho […]
Read more »Hydropower Construction Heightens Political Pressure Along Mekong River
August 30th, 2019
Via Circle of Blue, a report on plans by Laos to build big hydropower dams on the Mekong River which are seen by many villagers, the region’s environmental organizations, and some officials in neighboring countries as making a mockery of the river’s natural beauty and its central value as a source of fish, irrigation, and […]
Read more »Mekong River Strikes Another Record Low
August 20th, 2019
Via The Diplomat, a report on the Mekong’s plight: In recent weeks, the Mekong River, one of the world’s longest and largest rivers, which has been under peril due to a confluence of development, demographic, and geopolitical pressures, has been at its lowest levels in a century. Dams upstream are holding back much needed water amid […]
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