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The Mekong Delta’s Transboundary Water Problems
May 3rd, 2022
Via East Asia Forum, a report on the Mekong delta’s transboundary water problems: The Mekong River is the lifeblood of countries in the Mekong region, but the past few years have seen water flows recurringly decline and processes of saltwater intrusion accelerating in the Vietnamese Mekong delta. These transboundary hydrological challenges have detrimental effects on millions of people living […]
Read more »Water Woes Risk Boosting al-Shabaab and Derailing Elections In Somalia
April 29th, 2022
Courtesy of STRATFOR (subscription required), a look at how water and food shortages are being exploited by al-Shabaab to derail planned elections: Widespread food and water shortages in Somalia risk boosting al-Shabaab’s recruitment efforts and, in turn, its ability to conduct more terrorist attacks against politicians that could derail long-awaited elections and further undermine the […]
Read more »Laos Pushes Forward With Seventh Mekong River Dam Project
April 29th, 2022
Via The Diplomat, an update on the Phou Ngoy dam which is one of nine hydropower projects that the Lao government is planning on the mainstream of the Mekong River: Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported this week that officials in Laos will soon take an important step forward on a new hydropower project, the seventh large-scale dam project […]
Read more »Western US Drought Could Last Until 2030
April 27th, 2022
Via National Geographic, a report on the western US drought: There have been brief moments of reprieve in the drought that has stretched on since 2000 in the western United States—a water-rich 2011, a snow-laden 2019—but those breaks have only highlighted the more dramatic feature of the last few decades: unrelenting dryness. Without human-driven climate […]
Read more »Southwest Cities Learn to Thrive Amid Drought
April 27th, 2022
Via Yale e360, an article on how southwestern U.S. cities such as San Diego, Phoenix, and Las Vegas have embraced a host of innovative strategies for conserving and sourcing water, providing these metropolitan areas with ample water supplies to support their growing populations: In the rolling hills around San Diego and its suburbs, the rumble of […]
Read more »Overuse and Climate Change Kill Off Iraq’s Sawa Lake
April 27th, 2022
Via Terra Daily, an article on Iraq’s Sawa Lake, a victim of overuse and climate change: A “No Fishing” sign on the edge of Iraq’s western desert is one of the few clues that this was once Sawa Lake, a biodiverse wetland and recreational landmark. Human activity and climate change have combined to turn the […]
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